typography IV : advanced typography

week 14

2010-05-03T14:52:00.000-05:00

REVISIONS + LECTURE

turn in all new work and revisions to existing projects by noon on wednesday may 12. i will grade and return to you by friday may 14, 5pm. comments will not be happenin' on these.

also,

one of our faculty candidates, susana la luz houchin will be presenting her work during our class time on finals week. you are required to go to that lecture, as we are technically still in class. her lecture is on friday may 14 at 10:15 in irving. i will take attendance.

and finally,

class monday may 10 is cancelled, as i will be in sophomore reviews.

week 14

2010-05-02T22:25:00.000-05:00

FINAL WEEK WRAP-UP

today all of your type conference process is due by the end of class. post anything not already on your blogs that will make a strong case for the amount of work you did to arrive at your final project. the two main criteria i use are "consistent level of effort" (not a burst of effort at the end) and a "logical and thorough (iterations!) path". the amount of stuff you've posted in the past week vs all weeks prior should say something about the former criterion...

this week, monday and friday
take advantage of this last week to do the following to improve your projects:
- run additional type experiments
- refine documentation of your type experiments, packaging them into a portfolio-worthy piece
- revise/improve type conference materials based on critique
- add new type conference materials to round out your system

OR

if you just can't bring yourself to do any of that, or are satisfied with it all, do this!

regardless of what you do, be absolutely sure to show me the results so i can factor that effort into your final grade. revisions to assigned projects will be averaged with your existing project grade and will typically boost your standing. any noteworthy effort made in the new activity above will be noted when you are on the edge of a grade, and could easily bump you into the higher category.

week 13

2010-04-23T08:00:00.000-05:00

FINAL CRIT FOR TYPE CONFERENCE PROJECT

crit will be over two class sessions -- monday and friday of next week. monday will be quick set-up presentations, open discussion, and written feedback for your peers.

friday will feature three guest critics (kcai alumni) who will act as your client (the typecon board) and you will present to them and hear their feedback.

prep before monday and friday classes:

make a post on your blog titled "T4 type conference criticism" and post your logotype.
work together to determine space allocation for all groups and individuals. should be similar to last big crit. don't plan for projection usage.
have all mock-ups ready and pinned up or on a table.
have screen-based work on your laptop on a table for review.
for grading purposes, place any digital work in my CAS dropbox. name the file or folder “T4_lastname”. add multiple last names for group work.

monday presentations:
2 or 3 minutes max, since everyone should know the basics of everyone's work.
5 minutes open discussion.
3 minutes written critique. each group crits two other groups via the comments on their blog.

friday presentations:
6 minutes max. this should be a professional presentation, such as you would give to the client. a realistic client in this situation is a group of designers (the SoTA board, AIGA board, etc) so speak appropriately with them in mind.

include the following brief statements (please be concise):

recap of your conference theme,
an overview (tell AND show) of how the visual identity reflects the theme,
where each artifact fits into the communications timeline (when and where the attendees see this piece),
whether that artifact is primarily practical, poetic, or persuasive,
any other information you feel would make a strong case for your work.

the presentation portion of your grade will be determined by how well you address each of the above requirements. overall level of professionalism and smoothness of the presentation will also be considered.

our guests will then give their feedback (about 4 minutes max) and you will either take notes yourself or have a classmate take notes for you so you can listen carefully. each session will be about 10 minutes total.

week 12

2010-04-19T08:00:00.002-05:00

GRADING CRITERIA

FOR TYPE CONFERENCE PROJECT

the following criteria are taken from the larger list of course objectives in the syllabus

• interpret verbal or abstract concepts through typography at a proficient level. (is the visual form meaningful?)
• apply ideas and abilities in typographic expression, conceptual interpretation, and experimentation at a proficient level. (are you trying new things, applying your experiments, and being expressive where appropriate?)
• apply individual visual / verbal perspectives to projects through writing, research, and content development at a basic level. (does your design hold true to what you believe in, how you believe it should function? is your theme thoughtful? speakers well chosen? does all of the content make sense and fit together well?)
• integrate accumulated typographic knowledge with form, image, sequence and narrative. (how well is your typography integrated with other design elements?)
• apply knowledge of pacing, duration, and transition to time-based type projects at a basic level. (especially true of motion graphics and animated banner ads, but everything is time-based on some level. are you considering this carefully at micro and macro levels?)
• consistently apply knowledge of fine typographic detail – small caps, dashes, ligatures, lining and non-lining figures, baseline grids, technical issues, and so on – to all projects at a proficient level. (how well did you apply all the content from the series of five review lectures?)

these are all of the things that will be considered in the “project objectives” portion of your project grade. the typographic detail stuff will figure into craft and presentation issues. the other half of your grade is the same -- participation and process.

i have a pretty decent idea of your process from my desk crits with you, but please add any process to your blogs that will bolster your case for a logical and thorough process effort.

type on screen -- lecture update

2010-04-16T09:49:00.000-05:00

updates to "type on screen" lecture

obviously some pieces of the lecture are old, so here are a few recent developments that may be of interest.

new web font formats
fontshop international's "web fontfonts" are designed to provide a seamless experience between print and web through using the WOFF (web open font format) in html tags. that way, you can use any of fontshops (currently) 30 web fonts in your site design and 90% of browsers can see them.
check out this link first.
then another link with more detailed info.

newer screen sizes
iphone and ipod touch: 320 x 480 (163 pixels per inch)
ipad: 1024 x 768 (132 pixels per inch)

2010-04-14T00:01:00.003-05:00

--brian eno

2010-04-13T23:56:00.004-05:00

week 11A

2010-04-12T08:00:00.002-05:00

IDENTITY REFINEMENTS

in class
- lecture 2 on type details
- main identity elements due
- work time

homework
tight sketches for all artifacts due at start of next class.

week 10C

2010-04-09T08:00:00.001-05:00

IDENTITY REFINEMENT

in class
lecture: typographic details 2
work day / desk cris

the next deadline -- monday april 12 -- is to have all of your identity elements nearly finalized and ready to apply to any and all things you might make. work toward having decisions made about the logotype; color palette; secondary elements such as patterns, textures, additional graphic elements, etc; and additional typefaces for subheads, body copy, etc. make sure all of those elements are working together to visually communicate what your conference theme is all about. having the ingredients (identity elements) is one thing, but mixing them in the right amounts is another (application).

it will be very helpful to not only have visuals of each of the above elements separately for evaluation, but also have super-quick test applications like we did before, so you can judge the validity of your elements in a practical context.

daily schedule for remainder of the semester
april 12 main identity elements due.

april 16 tight sketches for all artifacts.

april 19 final concept maps/timelines due. final designs for all artifacts.

april 23 production. detailing type and content. production, test prints, user feedback, etc.

april 26 final crit part I

april 30 final crit part II

may 3 blog process due.

may 7 re-dos due. prep for reviews.

week 10 B

2010-04-05T08:00:00.015-05:00

PROCESS CRIT DAY
in class
process crit on typographic identity work

homework
identify the artifacts you plan to design in the next 3 weeks and post to your blog. set realistic goals and prioritize the pieces. in your writing, discuss what interactions are happening that create a need for your particular artifacts. simple example: there is a need for people to make acquaintences so i'm making nametags.

continue with identity development

finalize concept map+timeline [DUE MONDAY APRIL 19]
i'm working on simple feedback for these, and will have that to you soon.
- print in color, tiling is acceptable but must be well crafted
- don’t neglect the goals and principles of information design
- add your conference title in the center
- make all content areas as specific as possible
- add any new content you deem necessary
- label each communication on the timeline as primarily practical, poetic, or persuasive
- list the most obvious context/setting for each artifact (where will it appear?)
- make sure timeline scale is consistent
- make sure the artifacts are specifically named
- make sure your time units are clearly and specifically labeled

together, both pieces will be reviewed for 15% of your final grade.

week 10 A

2010-04-05T08:00:00.014-05:00

FINAL DELIVERABLES

1. timeline/concept map
due monday april 19
for 15% of your final grade
grading criteria (again)
- clarity and logic of spatial organization (does it follow any principles of information design?)
- typographic craft
- breadth and depth of insights
- craft of presentation

2. conference materials+identity standards doc
due monday april 26 and friday april 30
for 40% of your final grade

conference materials grading criteria
- demonstrate the technical / perceptual differences and potentials of type on screen and in print at a basic level. (does the typography capitalize well on its media?)
- visualize abstract concepts through expressive and/or experimental typographic form at a proficient level. (does the typography visually show your concepts well?)
- apply your individual visual / verbal perspective to projects through writing, research, and content development at a basic level. (is your writing/work embodying how you think typography should be designed/used?)
- integrate your existing typographic knowledge with compelling and appropriate form, image, sequence and narrative at a proficient level
- apply knowledge of motion, duration, and transition to time-based type projects at a basic level.
- consistently apply knowledge of fine typographic detail at a proficient level.
- raise interesting and sustainable questions about the fundamental aspects of typographic form.

identity / i.d. standards doc grading criteria
- conceptual innovation of identity elements and their assembly/combination(s). (identity)
- appropriateness of visual form to content. (identity)
- clarity of visual and written material. (standards)
- balance of thoroughness and brevity. (standards)
- usefulness and relevance to an audience of designers, programmers, production personnel. (standards)

3. blog process (unlabeled posts will not be reviewed)
due monday may 3
included as the process portion of the above 40%

- written theme
- designer bio(s)
- concept map/timeline development
- concept map/timeline final
- identity development
- design development
- overview of final i.d. standards
- final conference materials

the last week before finals will be devoted to re-dos and polishing any elements of your system. any improvements made this week will be reflected in your grade.

week 9 C

2010-04-02T08:00:00.003-05:00

PROCESS CRIT
group crit of work in progress is next class, monday april 5. bring anything and everything you want feedback on.

week 9 B

2010-04-01T23:16:00.001-05:00

BRANDING LINK

micah sent over a reminder about underconsideration's great branding blog. check the site out here.

week 9 A

2010-03-29T08:00:00.004-05:00

QUICK TEST APPLICATIONS

in class
- discuss "c/id" reading
- “readability vs legibility” lecture + other type detail tidbits
- review test applications in small groups
- work time / individual crits

your identity elements and the conceptual approach should, at a minimum, draw heavily from your experiments. an ideal scenario is for them to be a direct result of new experiments rooted in your theme. now that you know how to ask questions and explore those questions, you should be able to do some small experiments rather quickly as form generation exercises. don't worry about how they look -- worry about whether your questions are interesting and your are pursuing them whole-heartedly.

homework [due mon april 5]
- continue developing more design work for process critique on monday april 5
- browse through “designing brand identity” on my reserve shelf for process ideas on approaching identity design
- post to your blog valuable things you learned from this book [required post]

week 8C

2010-03-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

TIMELINE / IDENTITY TALK

in class
review timelines and concept maps as a group
guest lecture: tad carpenter on k.c. design week identity design

required artifact categories for final critique
your work needs to encompass a range of approaches to demonstrate your ability to successfully address a variety of typographic problems. make sure your final set of pieces covers the following areas:

1) emotional/brand-centric pieces
2) rational/info-centric pieces
3) print media
4) screen media (linear or non-linear, interactive or not)

obviously the first two are different comparisons than the last two. you could have a print piece that is emotionally based and a screen piece that is rationally based, or vice versa.

homework [due monday march 29]
- further ideation/visualization of theme typography, colors, formal processes, etc.
- quickly develop three test applications (ex: name tag, directional sign, 1” button, 5-frame 5-second logo animatic, etc). these can be loose, but are meant to force you quickly into making. we will look at your messes in class, so have something to show.

week 8 B

2010-03-25T13:27:00.002-05:00

THOUGHTS ON CONFERENCES
as we've moved forward in this process, i've begun to think maybe i'm jumping the gun in having you think about the visual identity of the conference. seems like more thought needs to happen in terms of creating effective interactions between people, and let the designed objects assist that. so friday our discussion on the design of the timeline/concept map will be brief. we will focus mostly on the issues outlined below so be pondering those hard.

interactions
to my mind, this is the core issue, but is tempered by the kinds of participants, their interests/skill levels, etc. it is also tempered by the settings people will be in. interactions will be occurring on every imaginable level -- between conference volunteers and attendees; students and professionals; old schoolers, no-schoolers, and new-schoolers; speakers and attendees; and on and on...
what kinds of interactions do you want people to have? what will be the most effective and gratifying interactions for your audience? how can you make that happen and what kinds of design artifacts should be made to support those interactions?
just like we encourage you to think "beyond the format" (poster, brochure, website, etc), think "beyond the lecture" here. maybe a lecture is perfect, but why? can it be improved upon? viewed critically, a lecture implies that only one person is worth listening to. is that okay?

settings
how can you take full advantage of the setting as a way to orchestrate these interactions? do you need large open spaces? work rooms? virtual spaces? do interactions happen in a dark room with a projector or over a small table at the lunch room? are they outside on the lawn or over dinner at night?

artifacts
this will come last, after you devise -- at a basic level -- a range of interactions you want to occur at your conference. it can be anything and everything, really, as long as it smartly facilitates communication between human beings with shared interests.

participants
it's important to recognize the range of interests, abilities, backgrounds, and knowledge embodied in all of the people involved. this goes beyond their generic title of "volunteer" or "student".

all of this thinking should be done in light of your stated conference theme. is there a way the interactions, settings, and artifacts can embody the values implicit in your theme? for example, if your theme is about guerrilla typography, it seems silly to stay cooped up in a room theorizing about it because guerrilla typography (or anything "guerrilla") is about getting out there in small groups and gettin' it done, grassroots style. it's about action and energy. so think about what values are part of your conference theme and if it's possible to reinforce those through your designerly designing.

week 8 A

2010-03-22T08:00:00.003-05:00

VISUAL IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT
in class
- discuss “crystal goblet” reading
- review conference titles and descriptions (read aloud). make decisions about conference titles.
- lecture: principles of information graphics
- lecture: type identity
- review timeline revisions individually, as time allows

homework (in this order)
- post your final theme title, written description, and designer bio to your blog.
- read: “c/id: visual identity and branding for the arts” pp 68-73, 96-105, 153-157, 166-171, on my library reserve shelf.
- begin concepting visuals for your theme. your process for doing this is totally up to you. just keep in mind that you are in the initial stages of building a visual system that will be applied across a wide range of materials. also keep in mind that i expect to see progress during each class session. the next class is the beginning of a long period of making stuff. yay!

week 7B

2010-03-12T08:00:00.001-06:00

THEME DEVELOPMENT
in class

review conference themes as a group. read statements (or a synopsis) aloud and consider the following questions:
-- as a designer, would you pay money to attend this conference? why or why not?
-- does the theme invite multiple interpretations and an interesting range of possible talks, workshops, etc?
-- is the theme suitable for contemporary and forward-looking design practice?
-- what could improve the theme?
review timelines as time allows, in pairs or in small groups.

homework
read “The Crystal Goblet, or Printing Should Be Invisible” by Beatrice Warde (1900 - 1969)
brainstorm a list of theme names and decide on a few favorites to share with the class on monday. if your name is esoteric in some way, consider a descriptive tagline that aids understanding.
write a concise and clear paragraph describing what your theme encompasses -- about three or four sentences. this will appear on major conference materials and should be written in a way that generates excitement about the event. be creative, energetic, smart, and sophisticated. consider your audience.
refine your designer and bio from a few weeks ago. this person(s) will serve as your keynote speaker(s) for the conference. you can use the bio as content for your conference materials.

week 7A

2010-03-08T08:00:00.005-06:00

TIMELINE+CONCEPT MAP+THEME
in class:
- review tiled out concept maps as a group. post a screenshot of your concept map to your blog for documentation purposes.
- review timelines as a group, looking on everyone’s blogs. make sure you have a good quality image (fairly large) of your timeline posted to your blog.
- discuss “experience” reading.
- concept map lecture.

homework:
- continue to refine both the timeline and concept map, adding and reorganizing as needed.
- final concept map is due friday march 26, as a carefully tiled color printout, roughly 34" by 22".
- determine a conference theme based on your type experiments. the theme must be flexible enough to generate a decent amount of interest and attendance, so carefully consider the interest level of your previous research topic and how it might be expanded or contracted slightly. you want to attract more than ten people, but you also want something to focus the dialogue. a good theme can be interpreted and expressed in many ways, and opens up dialogue on the topic. here are some examples:

bad: type made of cubes; good: dimensional typography
bad: typographic optical illusions; good: type and visual perception
bad: handwriting fonts; good: type and the hand

the theme needn’t have a snappy title yet. we’ll worry about that later. just have the subject matter figured out at this point.

a written paragraph about your conference theme is due next class period. define/describe the depth and breadth of your typographic focus as well as its importance to the field.

group work: you are encouraged to work with other students who have similar themes if you want to make this into a group project. you have three options for group work:
one: co-development of theme only, based on the similarity of your experiments.
two: shared theme + shared visual identity, but divide up artifacts you want to make.
three: you could work together on everything, including co-creating artifacts.
however, once you make a commitment to a group project, you are stuck with it. no quitters.

grading criteria for concept map and timeline
due friday march 26 as tiled color prints -- 90% size is fine
- clarity and logic of spatial organization
- typographic craft
- breadth and depth of insights
- craft of presentation

week 7

2010-03-08T07:52:00.002-06:00

EXPERIMENTATION PROJECT DELIVERABLES

due wednesday march 10

blogs:
- any and all process work
- label all posts T4, type 4, or similar (as long as it's consistent)

hard copy:
- books, printouts, and any physical artifacts should be left in an obvious place on your desk

digital work:
- put everything into a folder labeled with "T4-yourlastname" and place in my CAS drop box.
- include a designalogue banner if you made one. i heard/saw lots of ideas, but actually received only a few banners.

week 6

2010-03-05T08:00:00.003-06:00

CONCEPT MAPS / COMMUNICATIONS TIMELINE
for monday, have your concept map tiled out full size black & white and posted for review. i think if you print it at 90% actual size, you can fit it on four 11 x 17 sheets.

also for monday: based on your accumulated knowledge thus far, begin brainstorming a digital timeline of communications touchpoints for potential conference attendees.

- what all artifacts should be produced in support of the conference?
- how far out from the conference does this need to begin?

the purpose is to identify every point of contact the conference needs to have with attendees, from letting people know the conference is coming up, to helping them find their way while there. this communication process over time will intersect with the various contexts you’ve identified in your concept map. together, they set up the framework in which the design system can happen. at each touchpoint, identify whether the communication should be predominantly poetic, persuasive, or practical.

read for monday: “having an experience” by john dewey

week 6

2010-03-01T10:00:00.003-06:00

CONFERENCE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
for the remainder of the semester, we will be examining the idea of “typographic systems” using a more holistic approach. the specific object of study will be a typography conference, but the concepts learned about typography and communication design should be generalizable to a range of communications problems. we will be conducting a lot of background research and identifying a range communications problems based on this theme.

this week: develop a digital concept map identifying various aspects of what a “conference” is. as starting points on the map, identify the conference’s setting(s), artifacts/objects involved, interactions, and participants. use indesign or illustrator with a page size of 3 ft by 2 ft. text and image are acceptable.

i encourage you to consider working in groups for this project, based on similarity of experiment areas. you need to be able to justify how your themes relate. for the concept map, i'd like for the final form to be worked on individually, but ideas can be shared if you find that hepful.

concept mapping links:
wikipedia
a link to skim through, from the man that invented concept maps
a great example of an image-oriented concept map

the concept map will be a quick two-week graded project, due monday march 24. it will serve as the origin for the remainder of your project work, so work to make it a thorough and all-inclusive idea space, but remember it is subject to revision as you learn more about your project and conferences in general.

week 6

2010-02-28T21:00:00.002-06:00

CRIT MAP

here is a map showing suggested spaces for everyone on monday and friday. the room and all work will be ready to present at 8:00 am or it will receive a zero. no joke.

week 6

2010-02-28T20:54:00.001-06:00

GRADING CRITERIA -- EXPERIMENTATION PROJECT

project objectives
- raise interesting and sustainable questions about the fundamental aspects of typographic form. how well did you do this? what is the quality and potential of the questions you asked? were the results interesting? was the pursuit passionate? what was learned?
- apply individual visual / verbal perspectives to projects through writing, research, and content development at a basic level. how much of your perspective is evident in this work? how much does your blog writing reflect opinions you are forming about your work?
- integrate accumulated typographic knowledge with form, image, sequence and narrative. how well have you built upon what you already know about form-making, type & image, storytelling, etc. in this work? does this look like type IV-level work?

presentation/craft
- arrangement of crit space
- clear and understandable presentation of your experiments and results
- overall craft and attention to detail in individual studies

participation (clarity of description, thoughtfulness, quality of insights)
- during final crit
- process writing on your blog

process
- how well you were prepared for desk crits in class
- thoroughness of process documented on your blogs

week 5B

2010-02-26T08:00:00.001-06:00

TYPE EXPERIMENTATION CRITIQUE
monday march1 and friday march 5
8:00 to 10:00 each day

format (same thing on both days)
100 minutes total
30 minutes open discussion
30 minutes brief presentations 9 students (graded) = 3 min max, each
40 minutes paper crit 9 students (graded) = 4 min each

wall and table spaces have been assigned based on your requests. sunday night at 9:00 i will post the classroom layout and you will know who we are critting monday vs friday. everyone should be ready to roll monday regardless of when you go, because we will get the new project monday and there won't be time to noodle around with more stuff before friday's crit.

your presentation
state briefly what questions you were asking; ideas, methods and processes used to pursue those questions; and what you learned about type through this process. three minutes max.

written crits
i will have written forms for everyone to fill out for all of your classmates. you will have about 4 minutes at each person's space to look at work and make constructive critical comments.

week 5A

2010-02-22T08:00:00.000-06:00

READING RESPONSES

regarding the "type image message" reading:

which of these composition strategies have you used the most in the past?

how do you see these strategies applying to your current type work at kcai (are you already using them in some way), or how might you re-imagine your current experiments to try these out?

week 4B

2010-02-19T08:00:00.001-06:00

READING

for monday, read "type image message" by skolos and wedell (on my reserve shelf in the library) pp 9-17, 64-65, 108-109, 154-55, about the various ways type and image may be combined.

also post to your blogs your most recent process work and what you've been learning. both aspects are important here -- not just images, but what you're getting out of this process. that's not just for my sake, but more for your own growth and reflection.

keep in mind that crit is coming up and you need to have your work packaged up in a presentable form. you can do test applications if that would help showcase your work better, but it's not required. you need to be able to show clear evidence of your explorations and talk about the ideas behind it in a compelling way. we'll discuss this more later on.

week 4A

2010-02-15T08:00:00.002-06:00

EXTRA CREDIT!

20 points to anyone who makes a designalogue banner using their experimental processes. do it! it will be very cool. for those of you who would benefit from having a practical application for your experiment, this will be a nice quick little exercise.

week 3

2010-02-08T08:00:00.002-06:00

DESIGNER BIO

recall from last week’s research the key type designers, graphic designers, or non-designers engaged in your typographic area of interest. select one contemporary example you feel best represents this area and write a brief but informative bio on them. write for a graphic design audience -- give us all the usual info a fellow designer would be interested in.

read “it is beautiful...then gone”, by martin venezky, pp 60-67, 80-91, about martin’s reebok and sundance processes. the book is on on library reserve.

post to your blog some of the things you’ve been making and what you’ve learned about typography through your making.

for monday (in one week), bring everything you've made for a massive show and tell. we will browse the work as a group and talk about what we're learning, difficulties we've had, and where to go from here.

week 2 B

2010-02-04T21:24:00.002-06:00

MAKING / ASKING

in class: share summaries of what you learned through both the writing process and the visual organization of collections. make sure your collections are in a form that can be shared with the class.

we will talk as a group about what area(s) might be ripe for exploration within your interest area. it’s time to start asking questions about where this area can go. we can do this individually, in small groups, or as a class. these questions should be carefully considered and balance open-endedness and focus. do not ask yes/no questions, but “what if...” and “how” and “why” questions.

to prime the pump, here are a couple of 100 questions that brue mau asked about typefaces. they are incorrectly worded (yes/no questions), but you get the idea.

“Can we make a font that has memory?”
“Could you imagine a font that has a limited lifespan?”

try to have a good list of questions -- maybe at least ten -- by the end of class.

homework: select a question that has some interesting potential; that could lead into unusual territory. start making stuff that explores that question. this is not about finding one solution and declaring the question answered, but about exploration, play, and discovering the implications of that question. it’s a process of discovery.

keep working on locating significant people engaged in your area of interest. ideally they are making multiple projects dealing with your issue, or closely related to your issue.

read: triggs chapter openers, pp 108-113, 144-149, 180-185 -- no need to write a response on this. make sure you’re flipping through this book to find designers working in areas similar to your own interests.

week 2 :: reading

2010-02-01T08:00:00.006-06:00

TRIGGS RESPONSES PP 12-17

what do you think about technology's role in enabling typographic experimentation? what technology is the present-day equivalent to the desktop computer, and how might that be utilized in type design or typography?

what potential exists for continuing to explore the "second order of denotation" as mentioned in the cranbrook/mccoy sections?

further, what potential might your area of interest have to "promote multiple rather than fixed meanings" as jeffery keedy mentions? and what role might the reader play in the construction of your typographic messages?

thoughts? does this spur any ideas for your own work? respond in the comments here.

week 2 A

2010-02-01T08:00:00.005-06:00

RESEARCH TRENDS PART DEUX
in class: in a quick session of one hour or less, we will review everyone’s area(s) of interest as a group.

narrow things down to one large interest area, “architectural typography” or “sign painting” or “utilitiarian type” for example. spend time organizing your collection of stuff into appropriate categories. if you can give it a loose descriptive title like above, it’s probably an appropriately sized chunk of the type world. before the end of class, make something visual that represents your collection/interest area. it can take any form and include all of your (2nd) collection, just a few bits, or be something entirely new. just respond visually -- no pressure. we will look at everyone’s creations the last five minutes of class.

homework: outside of class, meet up with other classmates working on similar themes. share findings, observations, and just generally get a feel for what others are doing.

write a page or so (not including images) about this recurring typographic tendency or larger trend you observe from your research. how would you describe it? what are its traits? where did it begin? where does it appear? who’s doing it? why is it important?

writing is another mode of expression and creation apart from visual making. it can help you think, analyze, categorize, and clarify to yourself what it is you’re working with.

make a visual organization of your 2nd collection, or some edited version of your collection. put it into some visual form according to appropriate subcategories, gradients, or other organizational strategy. we’ll look at these in the next class session.

ideally your interest area is something more lasting than the industry’s year-long obsession with a particular script typeface, but is a emerging undercurrent of typographic practice. feel free to go back and add example images after you write.

read: triggs chapter openers, pp 20-25, 54-57

WEEK 1 B

2010-01-29T08:00:00.002-06:00

SHARE AND DISCUSS

in class: group share and discussion of the items you collected. pin things up, organize, categorize. what do we see? how do we feel? what are the criteria for organizing?

homework: from this huge pool of information, think about large areas of typographic practice you’re interested in, or things designers should be paying attention to. do more research on those things, perhaps getting a bit more specific or in-depth than before. bring in more stuff. look at key designers engaged in this kind of work and find tons of examples. bring that in too.

read triggs pp 12-17

week 1 :: reading

2010-01-26T12:52:00.004-06:00

BIL'AK + TRIGGS RESPONSES
what did you think of these readings? does their definition of "experimental" match what you previously thought of the term? is it really useful to experiment if it doesn't have real application?

week 1

2010-01-19T10:02:00.002-06:00

FIND + SHARE
find+share is so much fun! stick all of your found stuff here.

post anything and everything related to typography, type design, type systems, and especially experimental approaches/processes.

we will occasionally view in class to be sure everyone has the benefit of seeing this work. good times, kids!

week 8

2009-03-26T10:48:00.008-05:00

OPTIONAL READINGS

more details of the projects covered in the recent “identity” lecture:

walker art center identity

casa de musica identity by sagmeister

WEEK 1 A

2009-01-25T19:00:00.006-06:00

RESEARCH TRENDS

research current topics in type design and typography to identify tendencies, trends, areas of practice and topics of personal interest. we want to assemble a “state of the typographic union” as a junior class, amassing as much information as we can. gather everything you can find. read lots of design and non-design magazines (important), skim books (important), go out and observe the real live physical world, and skim blogs. look at things that aren’t necessarily design – a trip to walgreens might reveal some interesting stuff, for example. collect stories, images, etc. make notes, prints, photos, copies, etc, as needed. shoot for collecting 50 things for next class. this definitely means you have to work quickly and intuitively.

- what things are you seeing over and over again?
- where is type appearing that is new, unusual, important, or that we don’t normally think of?
- what’s an area of typographic practice that you’re personally interested in?
- who’s using type, both inside and outside of the design profession?
- how is type being used by both groups? how is it different or similar?
- what types of type are being utilized today? are there cultural preferences or market-based preferences?

TYPE WALL!
bring in physical, visual stuff (copies, printouts, actual printed pieces, photos, etc) for next class for a massive find+share and discussion. we are going to assemble things, and keep collecting things as we go, into a massive wall which will be our visual “state of the typographic union”.

in class: read the bil'ak reading under "course materials" in the blog sidebar to the right.

homework: collect stuff! and read the triggs link under “course materials”, up to p 12, stopping at “typography and its swiss roots”.

ABOUT THIS BLOG

2009-01-25T18:26:00.002-06:00

1
all project descriptions, objectives, specifications and deadlines will be posted here. it is your responsibility to check regularly for important updates, new assignments and topical references.

2
i intend the blog to function as an ongoing dialog and extension beyond the classroom. if you have project-specific questions that arise outside of class please email. i will respond as soon as i am able, or in the next class session.

3
required readings and discussion topics are provided to clarify and expand your knowledge of issues addressed in studio and design in general. we will discuss these either as a class or you will be asked to post responses to this blog.

4
visual & creative inspiration abounds online and i encourage you to embark upon serendipitous or purposeful surfing. once you find something share-worthy post it to "find+share".

5
occasionally i will assign an online crit in order to provide an alternative forum for classroom feedback and collaborative effort.

if those reasons aren't enough to get involved, remember, your online presence does count toward your online participation grade. i evaluate post quality and quantity.