Monday, May 9, 2011

Gloria Steinem's Address to the Women of America

For typography class, we were to pick a speech and create a motion video for it. Here is my motion video for Gloria Steinem's Address to the Women of America.

Friday, April 29, 2011

Journal Entry 5/2


David Carson: David did not have formal training, and he designed magazines spreads. He designed them based on what felt right for him. He stated that it is important to pull from your personality. I really enjoyed all of the visuals that were shown. I responded to the variety of each piece. Each page that was in a magazine he made was a piece of art.



Milton Glaser:
Milton says that none of us have the ability to understand our lives or path until it's over. Design and art has a pacifying function in our culture, it creates a commonality between two people. He says in cultures where people exchange gifts, this passing on of gifts is a device in order to prevent everyone from killing each other. Milton says he teaches because it makes him feel good and helps him clarify his own objectives. It is exciting for him to see someone change and learn because of something that he has said. He goes on to say that Graphic design and social commentary correspond. Designers have the ability to transfer great ideas, that will cause no harm, to people all around you. I really responded to when he talked about doing things that affect my time, neighborhood, city, country, and the world. I also responded to when he talked about someone's later life. He says if one can sustain their interest in their profession then you are a lucky person. Some people loose interest in what they do and loose their "capacity for astonishment". The world is a very astonishing place and Milton says he is still astonished. He is very thankful for this.




Mark Romanek

He says when you are making a music video, you are creating a fake moment that you need people to believe. You are forced to think about every single detail. He says he plans his videos very little so the process of editing becomes a sort of journey and so he doesn't get hung up certain things. The most important thing is to emotionally engage the audience. It doesn't matter how beautiful the shot is, if it's a cold shot, it's got to go.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Journal Entry 4/18

While I was looking at the Good website, I noticed that many of their information graphics and videos were about bettering the world, or shocking information that may cause someone to want to help the world. They took public news and information and are presenting it in a visually appealing and sometimes humorous way.

Their website says that "GOOD is the integrated media platform for people who want to live well and do good. We are a company and community for the people, businesses, and NGOs moving the world forward. GOOD's mission is to provide content, experiences, and utilities to serve this community."

I watched The Incredible, Preventable Cost of Malaria. This video provided me with a ton of facts and information about the disease, but in just a few minutes. They presented the sad truth about malaria, but then explained how the disease can be prevented. I can tell that good wants to make an impact with everything they put on their site. Every video, information graphic, and article is packed full of meaning.

Good gives people a chance to get involved with projects and competitions, including doodling and photo competitions, and even one where you can your ideas about how to spread the word about the importance of vaccines or what to do with abandoned school buildings.

I really like this aspect of their website. I think it is fun to include and involve their audience. There are many creative and intelligent people who have a place to apply their skills to a good cause. They are using the power of the internet to spread their message to a huge audience. I really enjoyed looking at this website because they are a creative site that is helping the world in small ways.

"Good is for people who give a damn."

Clever Ads






Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Gloria Steinem's Address to the Women of America




For my Typography class, our next project is to choose a speech from the 20th Century. With the audio of the speech I have chosen, I will be creating a typographic expression/visual of the speech. I chose Gloria Steinem's Address to the Women of America.


Who is speaking?


Gloria Steinem, an American feminist, journalist and social and political activist

Why was/is the speech important to society?

This speech addresses the equality of women and other races, and questions the fairness of some things in America. This speech was given at the height of the Women’s Movement.

Why do you feel in is important or interesting?

I think it is interesting because the speech was made during a critical time in Women’s Rights. This speech is relevant today because of the movements and everything going on with trying to stop Planned Parenthood.

What is the emotion, mood, tone, personality, feeling of the speech?


This speech is powerful and strong, as well as hopeful and courageous. It is not a sad speech, but rather one that is empowering other women and minorities.

What is intonation, emphasis, what is loud, stressed, or soft. Where are there pauses...

There is an emphasis on many powerful words, and there are also many pauses in between phrases and sentences. She stays strong and powerful through the whole speech, and never softens her voice.

What do you FEEL should be loud or soft, long pause or ruhed?

She rushes a few words together, but most of her phrases are steady.

Is there a call to action? When listening to it what are key/emphasized words?
The words/phrases “revolution,” superior and inferior groups,” “chosen” “earned” and “humanism” are all emphasized. While there isn’t and call to action directly stated here, there is a general feeling that Gloria is hoping will grab peoples attention and make a difference.

How does it make you feel?

It is nice to hear a woman speak about fairness and humanism in the world. It is a positive speech that is powerful.

How do imagine that the audience felt?

I can imagine the audience felt like they should support the Womens movement and really try to make a difference. Because most prominent figures during this time were men, I'm sure most women were thrilled to be hearing powerful words from a women.

Could there be another interpretation of the speech?

For someone who didn’t believe in Women’s rights, another interpretation of this speech could be that it is negative and useless.

Write/find a short bio, of the person giving the speech.


Gloria Marie Steinem (born March 25, 1934) is an American feminist, journalist, and social and political activist who became nationally recognized as a leader of, and media spokeswoman for, the women's liberation movement in the late 1960s and 1970s. A prominent writer and political figure, Steinem has founded many organizations and projects and has been the recipient of many awards and honors. She was a columnist for New York magazine and co-founded Ms. magazine. In 1969, she published an article, "After Black Power, Women's Liberation" which, along with her early support of abortion rights, catapulted her to national fame as a feminist leader. In 2005, Steinem worked alongside Jane Fonda and Robin Morgan to co-found the Women's Media Center, an organization that works to amplify the voices of women in the media through advocacy, media and leadership training, and the creation of original content. Steinem currently serves on the board of the organization. She continues to involve herself in politics and media affairs as a commentator, writer, lecturer, and organizer, campaigning for candidates and reforms and publishing books and articles.


The Speech:



This is no simple reform. It really is a revolution. Sex and race because they are easy and visible differences have been the primary ways of organizing human beings into superior and inferior groups and into the cheap labour in which this system still depends. We are talking about a society in which there will be no roles other than those chosen or those earned. We are really talking about humanism.

Journal Entry 4/11

SCHOOL OF VISUAL ARTS VIDEO LECTURE WITH JACOB TROLLBACK




Motion graphics designer Jakob Trollback started out as a DJ. He eventually started the company Trollback + Company. In this video I watched, he talked to a group ofs students about his personal views regarding design, and how to be a better designer. Designing is about storytelling and understanding when something is right. Working in certain ways has forced him to figure out why he thinks certain things are right or wrong. Being a completely self taught designer, he has made a name int he design world. All personal discoveries involve personal thinking. While he was re branding the Discovery Channel, he focused on finding the right feel that suited the personality of the company.

I really enjoyed this video. I thought it was interesting to see his personal philosophies and thoughts about design and I agreed with some of the things he said.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Journal Entry 4/4



TYPE MEANS NEVER HAVING TO SAY YOU'RE SORRY
BY JESSICA HELFAND

While participating in a student portfolio review, Jessica Helfand found something had gone wrong how things were being taught. She notice book upon book was being set in Futura.


Paul Renner released Futura in 1928 and he was inspired by geometric and streamlined shapes. "Futura was important for a number of reasons: arguably the first sans-serif font to be widely distributed, it has since its inception influenced countless other typefaces and remains, to some, the epitome of modern design."

Futura today remains a typeface of its era: smooth and sleek, round and uncompromising.

I learned from this article that I really need to pay attention to WHY I choose typefaces. I shouldn't pick a typeface just because I like it. I need to take into consideration how it reads, the organization of it, size, etc.

Helfand says, "True, we live in a multi-cultural, aesthetically pluralistic world now —one where the form-to-content relationships aren't so easily identified, let alone made visually manifest." This is so true because most people now just choose something that looks good, and hardly consider it's application and meaning.

I think that DIN would be a good alternative because it is a sans serif font that seems to be based on geometric shapes.

_________________________________________________

13 WAYS OF LOOKING AT A TYPEFACE
BY MICHAEL BIERUT

For years of his career, Bierut worked for Massimo Vignelli, a designer who is legendary for using a very limited number of typefaces. Most of Bieruts projects were set in five fonts: Helvetica, Futura, Garamond No. 3, Century Expanded, and Bodoni. It truly was a time-saver.

Massimo said, "Out of thousands of typefaces, all we need are a few basic ones, and trash the rest." Michael didn't understand why someone would need to waste hours choosing a font, and his Catholic school upbringing must have well prepared me for this kind of moral clarity. I accepted it gratefully.

After he left his job with Massimo, he went crazy with his fonts. He used 36 fonts on 16 pages.

"She [his wife] remembered classmates who had switched to public school after eight years under the nuns: freed at last from demure plaid uniforms, they wore the shortest skirts they could find. "Jesus," she said, looking at one of my multiple font demolition derbies. "You've become a real slut, haven't you?"

Bierut gives us 13 reasons to choose a typeface:

1. Because it works.



2. Because you like its history.



3. Because you like its name.


4. Because of who designed it.


5. Because it was there.


6. Because they made you.


7. Because it reminds you of something.


8. Because it is beautiful.


9. Because it's ugly.

10. Because it's boring.

11. Because it's special.


12. Because you believe in it.

13. Because you can't not.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Journal Entry 3/28

While visiting downtown KC, the Power and Light District, and the Westbottoms, I noticed a lot of typography. Here are some pictures of what I saw:
















Sunday, March 13, 2011

Journal Entry 3/14

Little and Co asked 30 designers the same two questions... “What single example of design inspires you most?” and “What problem should design solve next?”


JESSICA HISCH: The work that other students inspires her most. She just recently graduated in 2006, and she feels like she has grown so much since then, and she can't imagine how others have grown, and that both intimidates and motivates her. She thinks that designers need to prepare for the decline of print design, primarily unnecessary print, and she thinks that everyone needs to be aware that digital will be the primary form of design, and artists shouldn't get paid awfully just because of that.


TONY HAWK: Apple products have inspired him most. They have taken what use to be a business product only and turned it into something that is easy to use and you are proud to display. They have done this time and time again with music products and phones. They took an idea and make it less intimidating. As our technology advance,s it becomes more intimidate, and we need to embrace it and make it easy and fun to use.


STEFAN BUCHER: Hummingbirds have inspired him the most. They have shown that evolution has an excellent of humor. He said"they are evolution showing off" There is a whole range of birds, but the hummingbird is so elaborately simple. Also,hummingbirds eat huge amounts of energy, but they do it with style. Mid air refueling is the most impressive, and doing it in a state of iridescence. They are needlessly ambitious. Design should inspire to that sort of complexity. Designers should "make the fucker shimmer."

GEORGIA CHRISTENSEN: She thinks it is impossible to pick just one example of design that inspires her. Things such as Phillip Johnson's glass house, to a Jill Sander coat are all beautifully designed and made. She showed us a chimney that her father designed and said it is purposeful and well designed. Design needs to tackle public transportation, primarily trains: from the lighting to the interiors and they need to be energy efficient.


AMI KEALOHA: She thinks about a rubber band a lot. It seems simple but then when you look closely at it, it has so many uses. It is a simple principle and it has tons of applications. Ami would like to see design solve noise and light pollution in our rapidly urbanizing world, and also design to tackle health problems such as water availability. Designers should strive to make the world a better place, not just add to consumerist products.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Journal Entry 3/7




Jonathan Harris is an artist and code writer. He said he's always had an underlying schizophrenia in his life between physical stuff and digital stuff. He kept tons of sketchbooks that he worked in daily, and painted every chance he could. At the age of 22, Jonathan was robbed and gun point and the bad they took contained a sketchbook that had about 8 months worth of work in it. He stopped keeping those sketchbooks and started creating art on the computer because he didn't want his stuff to be destroyed. He turned to his training in computers science to create various informational graphics. He talked about how he got so wrapped up a project called "I Want You to Want Me" he hardly felt human anymore, and after this project was completed, he went into a bad phase of depression.

He read the audience something he wrote about a quote Hemingway said. He talks about how to live life boldly is difficult because when you write code you can't really live life. He felt like he was serving the computer, not the computer serving him. Everyone is smart and ambitious, but no one seems to be wise anymore. Our world is sadly too wrapped up in technology to interact with each other in a personal way. No one has really stopped to think about what this technology is doing to us has humans.

He talked about the mind of a programmer. Just like a computer, the human mind only has so much space and memory. When you are a programmer, one must visualize the program and know where everything is. This, in time, will fill up the whole brain, leaving no room for personal interactions. So in a way, there is a trade off of either being a good person and a person with feelings, and having those personal moments, or just letting technology control your life with no feelings.

The web use to be a place of experimentation; everyone had weird things and diverse. Gradually, more and more people began to come on the internet, but weren't sure how to "build their home in this space." Companies swept in and provided places for these people. He used the analogy of everyone having a huge, free apartment in this new condominium.

Ideas are not the goal. The goal is the goal. The outcome. Idea is just a technique. As designers, we often get too wrapped up in how cool and sexy an idea is.


The digital world is becoming the world.


I completely responded to this video. Unfortunately, I get so frustrated and tired of using computers. I get so wrapped up in my work that I sometimes do feel inhuman. Everything he said, while I didn't relate to everything he was saying, I did understand how the art of code could take the emotion out of a person.

Magazine Spread Information

For my Typography class, our next project is to design a magazine spread. Our solution must be type only, no images. We must use typographic grids to control the visual organization of the page space by supplying a particular kind of structure developed for typographic organization.


For this project we must complete some research. By reading The Mac is not a Typewriter, I was able to learn many things, and was able to answer the following questions:


What are the advantages of a multiple column grid?

It allows for the use of multiple columns, which will add interest and variety to the page.


How many characters is optimal for a line length? words per line?

Between 45 and 65.

Why is the baseline grid used in design?

Baseline grids keep continuity across the page. If all texts sits on a baseline, thenthe space between lines and the margins are equal or at least proportional.

What is a typographic river?

Typographic rivers are gaps appearing to run down a paragraph of text, due to a coincidental alignment of spaces.

From the readings what does clothesline or flow line mean?

Flowline: Horizontal intervals that separate columns of a grid to create alignment throughout the page.


How can you incorporate white space into your designs?


By not filling up the entire page, and by allowing negative space, white space can be incorporated into the design.

What is type color/texture mean?

type color refers to the weight or boldness of a typeface and is used by designers and typographers to describe the visual tone of a mass of text on a page.

What is x-height, how does it effect type color?

X-height refers to the distance between the baseline and the mean line in a typeface. The difference in x-height affects the typographic color of a page. The smaller the x-height, the darker the typographic color.


In justification or H&J terms what do the numbers: minimum, optimum, maximum mean?


The computer must decide how much to adjust the space between the letters and words. These terms mean the minimum, maximum and optimum amount of space used to justify this text without making it look bad.

What are some ways to indicate a new paragraph. Are there any rules?

New paragraphs are usually indicated with an indentation. Other ways are to highlight part of the new paragraph with new color, font, size, etc. If you indent, do not space in between paragraphs.

What are some things to look out for when hyphenating text.

Never hyphenate a word in a headline.


What is a literature?


What does CMYK and RGB mean?

RGB are Additive colors while CMYK are Subtractive colors.
CMYK has 4 inks: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black
RGB has 3 inks: Red, Green, Blue.


What does hanging punctuation mean?


In justified text, the punctuation is sometimes allowed to extend into the right-hand margin area to make the margin look neater. This is called hanging punctuation.

What is the difference between a foot mark and an apostrophe?

They are simply different characters that mean different things. Visually, a foot mark is a straight dash while an apostrophe has a curve and a ball serif on it.

What is the difference between an inch mark and a quote mark (smart quote)?


What is a hyphen, en dash and em dashes, what are the differences and when are they used.


A hyphen is 1/3rd of an em dash. It is used to connect words, break syllables, and to connect two broken parts of a word when reading justified text. An en Dash is half of an em dash. It is used to indicate a range between to preceding and following words, or to substitute the word "to." An em Dash: The size of a capital "M," relative to the type face. Substituted for brackets or parenthesis, indicates a sudden change of thought or thought patterns, or to indicate a rest less strong than a period, but stronger than a comma.

What are ligatures, why are they used, when are they not used, what are common ligatures

Book Covers

Here are the book covers that I have designed for my Typographic systems class: There are two flaps, back cover, front cover and spine, as well as interior pattern, and a title page and chapter page for one of the covers.












Sunday, February 27, 2011

Journal Entry 2/28



Bruce Mau is Chief Creative Officer of Bruce Mau Design. Some of his clients include oca-Cola, McDonald's, MTV, and Arizona State University. His Incomplete Manifesto for Growth guides designers with his design strategies and motivations for creativity. "Mau seeks to prove that the power of design is boundless, and has the capacity to bring positive change on a global scale."





Coca-Cola: Creating a Global Green Platform for the World's Best-Known Brand.

Coca-Cola has help defined American Culture. BMD helped them transform into the 21st century culture through a campaign called "Live Positively." It represents Coca-Cola's commitment to making a difference through redesigning the way they work so that sustainability is a major factor in everything they do. They created tools for employee engagement and added an entire visual identity across all media.

Coke is one of the largest companies today, and one of the most famous brands of all time. I thought it was interesting that such a large company got such a HUGE makeover to stay true to the time and trends that are occurring in today's society.


I really responded to mantra number 41 : Laugh. Laughing is honestly one of my favorite things to do, and sometimes I just get too busy and wrapped up in my design work to remember to laugh. I need to laugh more! Bau says laugther is a "barometer of how comfortably we are expressing ourselves."

The Four Lessons of Lou Dorfsman


by Michael Bierut

Lou Dorfsmand was responsible for everything at CBS from its advertising to the paper cups in its cafeteria. "Every bit of it was executed with intelligence, verve, glamour and taste. " His work was timeless. He had 4 lessons:

1. Mind the client's business.

When Dorfsman began working at CBS at the age of 28, he was working along side his hero and mentor, Bill Golden. After CBS was divided into two sections, Dorfsman was made art director of the radio unit, the company's "orphan child." He embraced this new position and did hundreds of ads for this seemingly fading media type. After Golden died in1952, Dorfsman was made the creative director of the CBS TV

2.Learn to identify opportunities.

Through his career at CBS, Dorfsman never sat around passively waiting for requests from his internal clients. He created a way to document technological feat of broadcasting multiple games each Sunday all over the country.

3.Assume responsibility.

He valorized every one of CBS's shows as if they were separate clients, each with individual importance. He advocated for programs he thought were great, and created ads that supported them. Dorfsman, who began his career as an exhibit designer for the 1939 New York World's Fair, never limited his ambitions to print and broadcast. He didn't worry about his job description, he did what needed to be done.

4. Define the company's character

1n 1965, CBS moved to a new building, a black granite skyscraper designed by Eero Saarinen. Quickly nicknamed "Black Rock," the tower was conceived as a defining symbol for the company by its leader. Dorfsman understood that this new building would play a role in how the company would be seen, and it's commitment to excellence. Dorfsman commissioned two new fonts from Freeman Craw, CBS Didot and CBS Sans, and these were deployed everywhere throughout the building, including door numbers, elevator buttons, and wall clocks, 80 of which had to be dismantled and reassembled with new faces installed. He applied his typographic skills to a 40-foot long blank wall that was covered in three-dimensional collage combining words related to food and culinary phrases. This art work was named "Gastrotypographicalassemblage."


There is no one today that can match the excellence of design work from Dorfsman designed in his years at CBS.


Main points: Dorfsman was an excellent designer, he took responsibility and initiative, he was responsible for all of CBS' design work, he created a piece of art called "Gastrotypographicalassemblage," he was proud of what he did.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Journal Entry 2/21


Stefan Sagmeister shares happy design:






Stefan discovered that he was happy while experiencing elements of design. He made a list of things that took his breathe away, and he then crossed off what wasn't related to design. Over half of the ones that weren't crossed off were about design. There is a scale of happiness--Comfort, contentment, joy, delight, bliss. He comically mentions how one way to see if a designer is happy, while they are designing, is to look at the photographs of themselves. A museum opened in Japan, and an exhibit in there was called "Happiness." The exhibit was sectioned off into 4 sections--Arcadia, Nirvana, Desire, Harmony. The exhibit showed different ways to write happiness, various paintings. What he took away from the exhibit was that the pieces were about the realization of happiness. One artist replaced subway procedure signs with signs of his own that were about how to be happy in life. Also, a room that has retractable ceiling that opens during dusk and dawn and allows viewers to see the subtle changes in light during these times. He ends talking about various ad campaigns he has done with various life sayings. I really enjoyed what he was saying when he talked about the different life lessons, and the list that he put up. I would ask him what makes him happy other than things in design, and what he thinks is sad design. I can tell why he is so popular; he is very humorous has interesting points of view on design and happiness.




J.J. Abrams' mystery box


J.J. Abram begins by talking about why his grandfather was such an amazing guy, and says he was the one that got him interested in crafts, like printing, book binding, etc. Abram loves boxes. At one point he went to a magic store, where be bought a box of magic. Over the years, he has never opened it, and he questioned why this was. It represents hope and potential. Mystery is sometimes more important than knowledge. Technology is very inspiring. Why are stories but mystery boxes? withholding information is mysterious too. What comes next? the creation of media is everyhwere. There is an amazing sense of opportunity. Technology allows people to create and express themselves. There is nothing stopping you from making something great. Don't need the greatest technology to do great things.

I loved his approach to talking about design and the mystery behind it. Being a fan of Lost, I enjoyed his references and clips from the show. This video was inspiring because it made me view things in a slightly different way--everything has a sort of mystery behind it.


Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity





The three themes of the lecture were that 1. there is extraordinary evidence of human creativity. 2.the world is a place where we have no idea what will happen 3rd- children have exceptional talents and creativity. He thinks that creativity has the same importance in education as literacy. If you are not prepared to be wrong you will never come up with anything creative. As children grow up, they are fearful of being wrong. He discusses that there should be more of an emphasis on the arts in school. He says that he thinks the whole purpose of education is to produce college professors. Some people were steered away from things they loved to do because others told them they'd never get a job doing that. People who are extremely talented don't think that they are because in school what they loved to do was not valued. Intelligent is diverse, dynamic, distinct.



How Good is Good?
by Stefan Sagmeister

In a year away from having any clients, Stefan realized that he wanted a part of his studio to move from creating cool things to significant things. There might now finally be room for content, for questions about what we do and for whom we are doing it. As Victor Papanek said about advertisement design, "In persuading people to buy things they don’t need, with money they don’t have, in order to impress others that don’t care, it is probably the phoniest field in existence today.” Bad design can harm our lives, but good design for bad causes can as well. He then discusses things such as why so many celebrities involved in charities--are they in it just to promote their own career?

When philosopher Edward DeBono talks about values, he puts them into four equally important sections:

Me-values: ego and pleasure
Mates-values: belonging to a group, not letting it down
Moral-values: religious values, general law, general values of a particular culture
Mankind-values: human rights, ecology

No matter who you are, there is ALWAYS room to be nice to people.
The small simple things that make someone's day better.

Most of current graphic design done by professional design companies is used to promote or sell, which is fine, but design can also do so much more. Good design + good cause = good! Design can help us remember, design can simplify our lives, design can make someone feel better, design can make the world a better place, and design can inform and teach.

I am so impressed by how he views life and design. He is inspiring with his optimism towards both of these, and I think everyone, not just designers, can learn from him.