Typography
Letter Selfie
For my 'Letter Selfie' task I chose the letter C as it's the beginning of my name and I like the curvature this letter has. The image represents my love of nature with the inclusion of the mountains faded and the letter conveying the message of waves as I love to be near water or in it! The Whale and moon are special symbols to me as I love both as I feel quite connected to the moon it reminds me of when I was young and my Dad saying about the man in the moon, plus whales have always been a favorite animal of mine since I was young. This connection is also due to a book I read when I was young called 'The Brave Whale' which was again something I was very fond of. The deep pink and red tones in the background are colours I like and create a nice depth to the image, I also chose to feature a pattern of lotus' as they remind me of a painting my Mum has on the wall which was bought when I was younger on holiday from Arran in Scotland.
Typography Quiz
Find 3 examples of each of the following classifications or styles:
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Find a typeface that has the opposite personality to the following words and display the word in its opposite typeface:
https://www.creativebloq.com/typography/commandments-11410425
The 10 commandments of typography was a witty read and I did actually come out with a lot of useful tips that are seamless and simple! I found the information regarding kerning and mixing fonts i.e. Serif and Sans Serif a really useful tip which I had never considered before. The rest of the list of do's and don'ts are a good 'go to' to check all your typography work before completion, but hopefully this would be done along the way as most of it is fairly straight forward however I believe it's information like this which stick with you forever, and yes I agree with the 11th commandment undoubtedly!!
The 10 commandments of typography was a witty read and I did actually come out with a lot of useful tips that are seamless and simple! I found the information regarding kerning and mixing fonts i.e. Serif and Sans Serif a really useful tip which I had never considered before. The rest of the list of do's and don'ts are a good 'go to' to check all your typography work before completion, but hopefully this would be done along the way as most of it is fairly straight forward however I believe it's information like this which stick with you forever, and yes I agree with the 11th commandment undoubtedly!!
Ampersands
This week's topic were Ampersands, the first task set was to research 8 different typefaces of Ampersands and find out a little bit about them and also what was it that attracted my choice of Ampersand style.
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The second task was to create 3 Ampersands each in a different theme and font of choice to choose from. I chose Pets, Garden and Winter Wear.
Pets
I roped my dog into this one with the lure of lots of treats! This was in the Typeface of Garamond in the font Bold Italic. The flick of the tail is a favourite.
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Garden |
Winter Wear |
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This Ampersand was based on my Mum and Dad's garden, I actually preferred it when it wasn't in colour as I was a bit rough with it however it still speaks to me. The typeface was Baskerville in font Bold
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I tried to create an Ampersand out of my winter clothing however I could not get the bottom curve of the character to stay in place and have everything else stay and not fall off the door! However I still took a photo of the process before it all collapsed! This was supposed to be in the typeface Bauhaus.
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Cheesy Lines
During the last session the task was to create a visually pleasing design of a well known cheesy quote of your choice from the list given and to make it using different hand rendered typographic styles.
My quote that I chose was ' Don't put off your happy life'. I began by writing the quote out normally and playing around with layout and styles. I quickly realised that I wanted to make it seem like road signs and lit up billboards, something you could pass by if you were in a car and notice.
I really enjoyed this exercise as it let me view my capabilities of hand rendered type, it also made me aware of how I need to make sure to align my work better so that is flows nicely.
My quote that I chose was ' Don't put off your happy life'. I began by writing the quote out normally and playing around with layout and styles. I quickly realised that I wanted to make it seem like road signs and lit up billboards, something you could pass by if you were in a car and notice.
I really enjoyed this exercise as it let me view my capabilities of hand rendered type, it also made me aware of how I need to make sure to align my work better so that is flows nicely.
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Books which I found helpful
During the time spent on typography I did research and read through these books, they gave a good insight into the world of typography from basic rules and interesting lettering designs. I have not finished them yet but aim to continue to expand my knowledge and desire to become a greater typographer as I believe it is an essential skill to have as a Graphic Designer but also to learn to play and experiment with hand rendered type for fun.
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Digital Typography
This weeks typography topic focused on digital type, with the main idea to develop the skills to create shapes and interesting contrasts.
This was one of my favorite weekly tasks to complete as the range of typefaces available through digital software and online creates an abundance of varying typefaces. It also gave me a slight feel of logo design and how from playing around with typefaces and different combinations can create more than what you expect.
This was one of my favorite weekly tasks to complete as the range of typefaces available through digital software and online creates an abundance of varying typefaces. It also gave me a slight feel of logo design and how from playing around with typefaces and different combinations can create more than what you expect.
Task 1
The first task set was to create four digital pieces of work which each contained an opposite combination of typographic elements. The main objective was to bring the characters together in a way that produced organic forms using typefaces. Several rules applied to this brief to add a pleasant challenge; characters were allowed to be rotated however not stretched, they must also touch or overlay and be kept to a point size of 120pt-130pt.
Serif and Sans Serif
Upper case and lower case
Black and White
Letters and Punctuation
Task 2
The second task of the day was to produce 9 dynamic 7cmx7cm digital compositions containing 2 characters or numbers from 2 different typefaces. The main objective of this task was to experiment with repetition, scale and rotation within the frame whilst also overlapping the black and white compositions to create one form.
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Alphabet Experiments and Research
To begin the start of this brief I researched several different ways that letters could be created and different styles. I have started looking around household objects and being out to find inspiration, it's a learning curve some things work and some things just don't however I feel it is important to go down all avenues until you find the right one!
Make up
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I tried to re arrearage my make up to make up letters A , B , P , D, I don't think this is a choice I will develop further as I felt quite restricted when it came to making shapes like Q's and G's as I did not have any items that could resemble these letters neatly. I did like the lipsticks on the A.
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Light
I was intrigued as to how I could project letters through glass, using a head torch I experimented with placement of letters and different angles to project the light. I may come back to something like this idea but developed.
I was considering a larger scale maybe using a large sheet of card and a vaster area to project the letters onto different surfaces
I was considering a larger scale maybe using a large sheet of card and a vaster area to project the letters onto different surfaces
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Trees
I was on my usual local walk when I noticed many of the tree branches and tree trunks made strong resembelences to letters, I even found a funky looking 'O' (The quality of the pictures is quite bad due to time of day and weather!) I enjoyed searching for more letters that could either be obviously made just from looking or letters that would appear if you stood at a certain height or angle.
I may explore this idea further as I know of somewhere with some larger tree's that have more curves in the branches which would help with the difficult shapes that have lots of swoops and rounded sides.
I may explore this idea further as I know of somewhere with some larger tree's that have more curves in the branches which would help with the difficult shapes that have lots of swoops and rounded sides.
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Vegetables
I don't know what it is about this set up but it makes me happy. It's quite a cliché' ensemble to use vegetables however I believe the wooden background and lighting in the top photo gives this a nice 'country' 'Jamie Oliver' vibe.
I will develop these idea's further, it's simple but fresh, switching vegetables and background to see what looks best.
I will develop these idea's further, it's simple but fresh, switching vegetables and background to see what looks best.
Chocolate
I had inspiration to play around with food and see what I could create, I love chocolate and thought why not try making letters and numbers etc. out of chocolate and see what I could do to make them look fun and interesting.
Some of these were a disaster and the consistency of the chocolate didn't always work however this is all part of the creative process.
Some of these were a disaster and the consistency of the chocolate didn't always work however this is all part of the creative process.
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I then had a little photoshoot...
Cable Ties
Whilst I was trying to find everyday objects that are at home I came across a pack of mini cable ties. I thought something so simple and yet overlooked could be transformed into visual communication through angle and colour.
I decided not to trim the cable ties but instead colour in pen the letter forms that could be made from putting them together. I wanted to experiment with different camera angles, this led me to notice that even from a variety of angles the letter could always be made out especially from the pop of colour that could be seen.
I don't think I will develop this idea however I enjoyed experimenting and creating interesting visuals from a simple object, I will carry further the variations of eyesight angles which can be played around with.
I decided not to trim the cable ties but instead colour in pen the letter forms that could be made from putting them together. I wanted to experiment with different camera angles, this led me to notice that even from a variety of angles the letter could always be made out especially from the pop of colour that could be seen.
I don't think I will develop this idea however I enjoyed experimenting and creating interesting visuals from a simple object, I will carry further the variations of eyesight angles which can be played around with.
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Fruit
I seem to have a bit of a food theme at the moment but I like it! I tried to carve out some letters on an old apple using a toothpick. It looks okay, I'm not inspired by this style really as the apple goes a bit funny after a while and it would be difficult to cut something more detailed into it. However I'm glad I tried it as I might stick going down the fruit route and play around with more exotic fruits like mango's and strawberries.
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Forks
I just got a random idea that I thought would be quite interesting and that was to see what I could do with the cutlery draw! The straight structured lines of the forks combined created some interesting forms, I also loved how just laying one in the other side of it's self created that lovely bump which creates that lower 'B'. I may take this one forward and develop this, I might instead incorporate paint like Acrylic and instead create the letters using the lines, I have added an example below.
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Shaving Foam
This was clearly an idea I got whilst in the shower! I was intrigued as to what letter forms I could produce out of shaving foam as the bumps and ridges that form once it is foamy are quite lovely when looked at up close, it reminds me of the moon or mountain forms! This experiment was okay, it was quite difficult to get the style or shape you wanted, plus it is quite messy! I had to play around with different objects to carve the letters out at first I used my fingers, then a scoring knife, a spatula and eventually pens and highlighters. It was a fun experiment however I do not believe I will develop this idea forward.
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Paper
Whilst researching typography designs I came across some which incorporated paper, I want to improve on my paper cutting skills also therefore I believe this will be a challenging yet interesting experiment as there are many different ways in which you can create letter forms. One of these ways which I am going to have a go at it quilling, I know it was popular during the Elizabethan Era and she had a reputation for being very good at it herself. I will attempt after watching YouTube tutorials, which I will post below.
Random Odd Bits
Development
I have narrowed my choices down to 3 which I will develop further than what I have, however to begin with I have just changed certain aspects such as size and objects slightly. Once I am sure of my final Alphabet style I will be more thorough in finalising my ideas.
Chocolate
I started playing around with the idea my letters/numbers being on small wooden spikes and placed upright, so far I have just experimented with size and seeing how well they hold up once set.
I need to change the sizing and get a foam board to stand them up in. After doing this I also realised the potential to have them hanging using fish wire and a nice back drop, however it depends on temperatures too as I do not want them to melt!.
I need to change the sizing and get a foam board to stand them up in. After doing this I also realised the potential to have them hanging using fish wire and a nice back drop, however it depends on temperatures too as I do not want them to melt!.
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After trying these out again I feel I know how I want my alphabet to look in regards of the sprinkles. I prefer the letters to be half chocolate and half covered whereas numbers fully covered, as for special characters I am not sure yet as I may try to change it up one last time.
Nature
I have developed my tree idea further by instead collecting twigs and leaves from the area where I first got the idea and pictures to use tree's and their branches. I decided not to further the development of the tree's which I had as imagery was quite tricky and unclear due to the height of the tree's and I found I could not complete my DIY alphabet.
Instead I collected twigs and leaves and arranged them to start to form letters, numbers and special characters. I preferred this method much more as I absolutely loved the details that were created in each form, the leaves curling in and the nobbles on the twigs.
Instead I collected twigs and leaves and arranged them to start to form letters, numbers and special characters. I preferred this method much more as I absolutely loved the details that were created in each form, the leaves curling in and the nobbles on the twigs.
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Swirls
This idea was a sudden one as I was inspired by the sunsets over the weekend, the weather has been sunny and Spring like and with this the colours in the sky inspired me to create a swirled design it reminded me of the colours melting in to one another.
I also wanted to develop the style of my 'letter selfie' so this felt like a good start. I hope to develop this idea more into a wave and water feel.
I also wanted to develop the style of my 'letter selfie' so this felt like a good start. I hope to develop this idea more into a wave and water feel.
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Nature Development
Before I started on my final designs for my alphabet I played around with different techniques to create the characters, this helped give me a better idea of how I wanted to style my characters. I knew they were not going to be perfectly rounded or contain Serif's as I much preferred the unique shapes the natural products could help me create, also I felt that serif's might throw the characters off and cause them to look a bit too 'wonky'.
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Once I had created my characters and took photo's of them I decided to take it digitally into photoshop and cut each character out so that there was no shadow and the colour of the leaves could be more focused on and brought out with the contrasting white background. I did this for letters and punctuation as well.
Although this looks very crisp and clear I didn't feel it quite my style as it's a bit too neat for my liking!
Although this looks very crisp and clear I didn't feel it quite my style as it's a bit too neat for my liking!
I edited both style into black and white and I absolutely love how the black and white version has came out, the textures from the twigs and leaves are so apparent and I love the off white tone balanced out with the contrasting shadows and darker nooks of the characters.
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Final Alphabet Development
For my final alphabet choice I chose to keep the canvas background which gave off the natural light and shadows created. To some people this may seem messy or not complete however, to myself this is exactly how I wanted it to turn out.
The whole message of this piece to me is the natural world around where I live. The wonky lines and perfectly imperfect textures and ever changing quality in each character is what makes this more relatable to the subject. For me the various shades of grey and cream in the background with the natural shadow cast over help my work to become ever more organic and natural.
I chose the name 'Nature's Breath' as I know it's a bit cheesy however all the items I collected were the old leaves from last Autumn just scattered on bundles on the ground and the twigs were all fallen from bigger branches which fell during blustery and wild windy weather, I thought it was rather fitting.
The whole message of this piece to me is the natural world around where I live. The wonky lines and perfectly imperfect textures and ever changing quality in each character is what makes this more relatable to the subject. For me the various shades of grey and cream in the background with the natural shadow cast over help my work to become ever more organic and natural.
I chose the name 'Nature's Breath' as I know it's a bit cheesy however all the items I collected were the old leaves from last Autumn just scattered on bundles on the ground and the twigs were all fallen from bigger branches which fell during blustery and wild windy weather, I thought it was rather fitting.
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Final DIY Alphabet - Nature's Breath
