f&S TYPE

this is neat

Weather Typography

I still need to do more iterations. I plan to invert and see how exactly a storm would look like at night. I took paper and just cut it up, using my hands to convey and tweak the composition. I tried to then compose photographs at different angles, focusing on certain place while blurring others out. I wanted to take one typeface and use different fonts of that typeface to show weight change, scale change, and give a sense of depth. It was amazing to me how the using this technique really helps to show the choice of weather.

Change One Thing: Give Hugs

This is the final that I submitted into the contest. It was challenge to get the text and image to work together, since the image is already so intimate. In the end I enjoyed sharpening my cutting skills with the paper collage. I looked for inspiration from Mattise's cut compositions. In the end I believe the composition to be strong, yet have a warm tone to it.

yuck, Ew, Gross progression extended

Yuck, Ew, Gross Reflection

Reflecting back on the icons I made their was a lot to think about. Taking the title Yucky, Ew, Gross I wanted to make a story based on exactly that. At first I thought of the human anatomy and taking a story into what gross bowel movements people have. After being grossed out, I looked further into biology and what many type there are. Organisms- such any living system, animal, plant, fungus, and microorganism. After looking into insects (Hemiptera) and their curious nature, I choose bugs because of just that, they seem to have an interest in people as well being able to make people cringe. I wanted to approach a little kid going on a bug hunt, correction yucky bugs. I wanted to think of key objects that are associated with hunting, and bugs. When picked apart these objects just appear to be an object but when you put even three objects together the viewer is able to understand the narrative.

Objects- Jar, Backpack, Magnifying Glass, Bug Net, Leaf, Caterpillar, Snail, Cockroach, Spider, and Glove

Researching these objects was difficult to think about all of Index’s and Symbol’s. For example, the index for a bug net would be a bug, and net. The symbolic meaning would be to capture something. This is important to the icon process because it helps to further strengthen the narrative because one icon can represent all three semiotic signs. Becoming familiar with the objects by the end I was enlightening, I learned a lot about different bugs. (Once again I was grossed out)

Moving into the drawing portion was hard for me to do. Finding the difference between icon, illustration, and drawing can feel just like the three semiotic signs, it is easy to overlap them. When first drawing it was hard for me to let loose for the intuitive drawings and really focus of wrap one swipe of charcoal for a full drawing. Even intentional drawings were a challenge being that I haven’t tried to balance three-dimensional object to a more graphic surface. (It was different, but good for me) Because icons are just that, they do not look like a three dimensional object but reference one (a.k.a iconic). However, you may reference a three-dimensional surface by scale change, reflection, and other techniques. I used those for my bug jar (which in the end the reflection was not included in the composition). To get the surface of glass, I had to look at the lid, the angle of how the jar sits, and the lid of the glasses ridges.

In class we discussed four things that make an icon an icon. Those are legibility, scale change, remembrance, and cohesion. To blend all three of these elements were the next step, and practically working in that order. When beginning to take my “sketches” and translate them into objects, I had a huge problem with legibility, practically until the end. I never realized how easy it was to mistake one object for something completely different. For example my leaf to begin with look as if it was a cocoon, my spider looked like a crab, and my jar well it just didn’t look like anything. We used a matrix system, which made me take my objects and try and create them in different stylistic forms. By making stylistic choices such as negative, and background I started to look at all the option my icons can make. By making these choices it not only makes them stylized to what I had created by also cohesive. Problems I had were being able to communicate them clearly, while making them not boring.

Once I had drawn out all of my objects in a clear way of what exactly they were, like a jar for bugs, not jam, not a saltshaker, but a bug jar. The direction I choose was to make my objects with a black background, more organic curved shapes, and positioning them all in the same direction. They also break the frame, and let the viewer’s eye imagine where some of the black spaces would be. Looking at all the matrix iterations we had done some objects were dismissed because they did not fit with the representational I wanted them to, like the spider. Even sizing the objects was an element to look at, because of certain details sometimes they are lost when scaled down, or when some objects are scaled bigger they seem to not be balanced in proportional of positive and negative space. Looking back at all the steps we took, and all the iterations we had done, they were important to finalizing an icon. To me an icon can speak in that semiotic signal way. This is how they are apart from illustrations, and drawings, because a set of icons is cohesive and can be scaled to vary proportions.

Overall I am pretty happy with my icons. I would however like to have pushed myself to do more than just six. In the end though I believe my story to have a complete narrative with the six, but more is always better. Something that I really need to push myself on is my craft. Not just on this project have I had problems with craftsmanship. I believe I really need to work on getting to the point of perfection. As a designer it is good to talk verbally and written wise. In my icon’s I wish I could just have a few more go around on how to improve the white/black proportions. As individuals I feel they look complete but as a set I am starting to notice more that some have more black space and some have more white space. I also am not a fan of my bug in the bug jar; he just doesn’t look quite right in there. The one icon I believe that works the best would be the caterpillar. The shape is organic, equal negative and positive space. The caterpillar also follows the elements that were mentioned earlier.

Yuck, Ew, Gross Icons

final image making

This image was a lot of fun to make. I really enjoyed learning about Frida Khalo and recognizing the different symbols that she is associated with. I wanted her index's to represent what she was on the outside. Although most of her index's also have a much deeper meaning, they are easy to identify with Frida. Her index's include the beads, representing her Mexican heritage. A lot of her inspiration in her career was based on her proud Mexican heritage. She is also one probably the most famous Mexican woman artist. Indexical compounds like the flowers and birds represent different things she enjoyed to be surrounded by. Another symbol of her is her hair. This symbol can be interrupted in many different ways, for example her facial hair was very recognizable. She had a unibrow and a mustache, trying to establish her natural femininity. She also once cut off all her hair after her husband had an affair with her sister. Frida was also bi-sexual, by cutting off her hair she represented herself as a man. I thought it would also be appropriate to put a portrait of Diego Rivera. Her relationship with Diego was rocky, but in the end they did find happiness with each other. The biggest symbol would be the the bed. As many people know she was in a horrific bus crash, in which she should have died. This bed is where she spent much of her time painting. The isolation of being bed ridden is, to me, what makes her such a remarkable individual.

Type Rounds

Change one thing- making text mix with image can be more challenging that one would predict. One thing that I tried to remember from Steven Frykhom is to shrink down your poster and see if it still is capturing to your eye. This was an interesting suggestion but valid because most likely if a poster is being used in its most functional way, people will be viewing it from a distance, and it is up to the designer to be able to capture them, by interesting typography, and an image that speaks to the viewer. I've been looking back into 18 and 19th century poster's. I really enjoy their choice of more relaxed colors and mix of text and typography. Since I am also referencing Mattise in my poster, it makes it all the more appropriate to look back through that time period.

Vis. Com Update

This is the second round of icons, well icons in the making. Through this process it is crucial to think about what shapes the objects hold, when closing your eyes what details do you remember about that specific object. These details help to bring clarity to the object. Now with the next steps of the process, I need to think more crucially about craft, and stylistic choices. What details are revelant in making the object clear without becoming an illustration. This balance will most likely be the hardest part, but in the end I think the results will be exciting.

image making

FIrst tile, and first step process in getting closer to Frida Khalo's room. They're still some improvements that need to be made, like making the text more visable.

Vis. Com Update

Here are some quick screen shots of my progression in making our icons

type II- update

This semester we have been studying the importance of semontic symbols. For typography we have been looking at image verses text and what the relationship can mean. I wanted the comfort of a hug to be captured and relate type that has the impression of being comfortable and flowing text. I still have many iterations to do, so more is to come