OUGD404: Visual Literacy, studio session 2

We were asked to take two images away from Fred's session and describe why one fit with our rules, and one didn't. Here are my rules:

1. A certain set of skill for the execution of the design.
2. Innovative, clear and simple message.
3. A considered and intelligent use of type imagery and colour.

Here is the first image:

I picked the poster above as the image which fit to my rules. The message is clear innovative and simple. The poster is for the movie Kill Bill, which is clear from the header. The symbolic and relatable footprints at the bottom for fans of the movie. There is definitely a considered and intelligent use of type, imagery and colour. For people who have seen the movie this will be much more clear, but the poster has been designed for fans who are interested in collectables. So the red footprints allow the viewer to relate to a memorable scene in the movie. The posters been designed well, and theres a high level of skill in the execution of the design. I love the texture and the clear text. The colour works brilliantly and the whole simplistic style of the poster makes it look very professional.

Here's the image which didn't fit with my rules. I really dont like the whole layout of the piece, it doesn't have much thought behind it at all. The colours are very random, there isn't any means of consideration for the colour choice. I see that the image has been given an illustrative effect, which shows through in the type. The message isn't so clear either, the text is telling you to close your mouth and open your eyes, but the image has both the eye and the mouth open?

For each rule i was asked to find three pieces of Graphic Design which i thought best fulfilled my rules.

A certain set of skill for the execution of the design

Really like these three designs, and it's clear to see there is a certain level of skill needed to produce each. I really like the last image, which is handrawn. Each image is interesting and engaging and the quality for each is of a professional level.

Innovative, clear and simple message

Very clever and engaging pieces here. Each image is simple but relatable. The messages are clear, precise and to the point! I like how you only have to take a glance at most of them and you can get the gist of the message which is being portrayed.

A considered and intelligent use of type imagery and colour

Really interesting pieces of Graphic design, Intelligent and original. I really like the clean cut edges, the considered use of type and the colours for each work brilliantly. A very clever use of type for the top image, playing around with the arrangement of the text and the way in which it is supposed to be read.

OUGD404: The anatomy of type

Type & Character

Type is a form of illustration

"... speech made visible"

The introduction of books in the 14th century pushed typography.
Beforehand was town cryers, story tellers, information was passed verbally.
Accents in speech were brought into type when books were introduced.
(?!"")

Vocabulary 

Font
Typeface
Font Family
Weight
Stroke
Upper case
Lower case
Tracking
Kerning
Serif
Sans Serif
Script
Blackletter
Display
Monotype
Symbol

Typeface - A collection of characters, letters, numbers, symbols, punctuation etc.. Which have the same design

Font - The physical means used to create a typeface, be it computer code, lithorgpahic film, metal or woodcut.

Block Helvetica - Font
Gothic Helvetica - Font              }   TYPEFACE
Roman Helvatica - Font
Script Helvetica - Font

Gothic - Stripped down, simple, sans serif font.
Roman - Serif
Block - Big, headings, headlines etc.
Script - Fluid style, sweep of a bruch.

Leading - the amount of lead placed between each letter with block printing

Legibility

Is the degree to which glyphs (individual characters) in text are understandable or recognizable based on appearence.

Readability

Is the ease in which the text can be read and understood. It is influenced by line length, primary and secondary leading.




 

OUGD404: Visual Literacy, studio session

'You will be introduced to a range of fundamental Design Principles including the anatomy of type, colour theory, frame & format, Type and Grid all of which will inform your emerging understanding of the building blocks of Graphic Design.

Using these sessions and the related tasks as a starting point , develop an increasingly independent investigation into the principles that are introduced. You should document and evaluate your practical research thoroughly on your Design Practice Blog and record any Contextual research on your Design Context blog.'

Visual Literacy

-The ability to construct meaning from visual images and type.

-Interpret images of the present past and of a range of cultures.

-Producing images that effectively communicate a message to an audience.

Visual communication...

... is based on a level of shared understanding of signs/ symbols, affected by audience, context, media/method.

Difference between rules and principles...

Rules - Cant be broken

Principles - There to be explored

Type

Different materials produce different type...

stone, sable, bone, wood, lead, silicone/ digital.

A lot of type is now mimicked through digital textures.

Fred asked us previously to bring 5 fonts, lowercase and uppercase to the session. We were split into groups and had to create 5 categories which we thought each of our fonts could be placed into.

Here are a selection of the categories which the class came up with:

Script

Typewriter

Modernist

Transitional

Contemporary/ Digital

Serif

San Serif

Handwritten

Western (cowboy)

Decorative

Bold

Light

It was interesting to see the range in which the type could be placed into. From this we had to place the fonts into categories of 'method of production'. It was difficult to depict some of the fonts, and we realized a lot of the fonts could fit into the category of 'silicone'.