Advanced Typography Task 2

 28/8/2023 - 1/12/2023 Week 1 - Week 14

Wong Kai Xin / 0353027

Advanced Typography / Bachelor of Design in Creative Media / The Design School

Task 2

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LECTURES / CLASS NOTES

Week 5 :

Today in class, we were asked to place our design on a picture with a black tshirt and print out the design only + design on tshirt.  Also, we were given one-to-one feedback sessions on how to improve our logo.

Context & Creativity

Handwriting

• The look of the letterforms are affected by the tool we use, as well as the material we write on. 

Fig 1.1 evolution of Middle Eastern alphabets

Fig 1.12 evolution of the Chinese script

- The oldest writing systems present in SEA were Indian scripts. The most remarkable ones would be:

Pallava

• a South Indian script used for writing Sanskrit and Tamil.
• the basis for writing systems across SEA

Pra-nagari

• an early form of the Nagari script
• used in India for writing Sanskrit

- Indonesia's most important historical script:

Kawi

• Sanskrit term kavya which means 'poet'
• script used for contract with other kingdoms
• became the basis of other scripts in both Indonesia and Philippines

Week 6:

Designing type

Type design

• carries a social responsibility so one must continue to improve its legibility
• a form of artistic expression

Things to consider while creating a typeface:

•  keep in mind that the letterforms could be recognized even in poor lighting, or can be seen even when unfocused. 
• extrusion of curved forms past the baseline and cap line
• distance between letters

General process of creating type:

1. Research

• understand type history, anatomy, conventions
• determine type's purpose / what it would be used for / what different applications it will be used in
• examine existing fonts as inspiration 

2. Sketching

• using traditional tool set like brushes pen paper
• using digital tool set 

3. Digitization

• using FontLab and Glyphs or Adobe Illustrator

4. Testing

• part of refining and correcting aspects of the typeface

5. Deploy

• even after deploying, some problems might occur, so we have to go back to the testing stage to fix the issues

Perception and Organisation

Fig 2.1 ways to create contrast

Size

• provides a point to draw the reader's attention
• example: headings are bigger than body text

Form

• distinction between a capital letter and its lowercase equivalent / roman letter and italic / condensed and expanded versions of a typeface

Structure

• different letterforms of different kinds of typeface

Texture

• reflects on the way lines of type look up close and from a distance
• mainly focusing on how they are arranged

Direction

• opposition between vertical and horizontal and the angles in between
• example: mixing wide blocks of long lines with tall columns of short line

Color

• a different color to emphasize and element with the tonal values of the color used

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INSTRUCTIONS

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EXERCISES

Key artwork designing process:

First, I did some sketches on my ipad to get a rough idea of what I want 

Fig 3.1 drafts 20/9/2023

After going through multiple discussions, I decided to go with the one on the bottom left as it looked most interesting and I felt like I could express myself more with it.

Then, I tried refining my it to be more expressive. 

Fig 3.2 final KA look 20/9/2023

I made the strokes of some letters thinner so it creates a nicer silhouette 

Next, we were asked to place our letterform on a plain black t-shirt, as if it was our self-made merch.

After that, we were asked to pick a color palette from colorhunt

Fig 3.3 color palette chosen 3/10/2023

I selected this with a mix of pinks, browns, greys as I was going for a ballet-core theme for my page later. 

Picking collaterals:

We were then required to pick 3 collaterals then express our key artwork's identity there.

 

Fig 3.4 collaterals I picked 4/10/2023 

I picked quite a few so I could have a better vision of what looks better. I ended up picking the beanie, sweatpants, and socks.

IG page:

Next, we were to consider creative ways of displaying your work on an instagram page, as if we were to sell our items. 

Fig 3.5 ribbons I designed 6/10/2023

I designed some ribbons to add into my page as well as it compliments the theme.

Fig 3.6 first draft 11/10/2023

As shown, I went for a ballet-core theme for my page. Why? Personally, i am a big fan of the ballet-core theme as it just looks really elegant to me + I used to do ballet so it holds a special place in my heart At first, I didn't know what my key artwork meant/symbolized. However after flipping it around multiple of times, I figured it looks like the ribbons on a ballerina's shoe so that was the main reason I had chosen that as my theme. 

Fig 3.7 placing my KA as ribbons on a ballet shoe 11/10/2023

For the gif, I decided to go for a simple, clean looking animation. I made it to look as if it's like a ribbon unwrapping

Fig 3.8 frames for my GIF 11/10/2023

Final Task 2 Submission:

1.  Key Artwork (KA) in BW & colour (for colour one version where your KA appears in primary colour but against the lightest colour in your palette; another version where it appears in reverse)

Fig 4.1 KA in BW (JPEG) 11/10/2023

Fig 4.2 KA in color- lightest (JPEG) 11/10/2023

Fig 4.3 KA in color- darkest (JPEG) 11/10/2023

2.  KA animation in GIF 

Fig 4.4 KA animation in GIF 12/10/2023

3.  introduce final KA: colour palette

Fig 4.5 color palette (JPEG) 11/10/2023

4. IG handle and link or hyperlinked

@kaixinswrld

5 Desktop screen grab of your IG page and tiles (9). Your profile must feature a bio that explains the

purpose/job-scope/reason for being

    Fig 4.6 screen grab of IG page 15/10/2023

Fig 4.7 PDF view of all (PDF) 15/10/2023

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FEEDBACK

Week 5

Specific feedback: - Make the "X" straight - Don't connect the "I" to the "N"

Week 7

General feedback: - a tight identity can help you feel the artist's intentions

Specific feedback:

- use the strokes to create a pattern instead of repeating the logo constantly - add logo to self potrait

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REFLECTION

Experience

A lot of thought has to be put into branding, and personally I found the process of creating a page the most challenging, as there were lots of considerations to be made for example: the relevance of the content, if the content matches the theme and etc. Not only that, but coming up with the KA was as difficult as it had to be a remarkable logo, at the same time interesting but not too complicated. This process took the longest for me as I was really stuck and drained of ideas, however I eventually got it. 

Observations

A lot of thought has to be put into branding, and it definitely isn't an easy process. From the logo, collaterals, to a page, everything has to be in theme and according to your brand identity. I also observed that when I have more drafts and spend more time looking at my work, the more ideas come to mind like when I was trying out to figure out the thing my KA represented. It was tough but eventually I figured my KA had a familiar image with ribbons as I used to do ballet, so I went with that idea as I also loved the ballet-core vibe.

Findings

I found that having a color palette could really be a big assist in helping you create your whole identity as colors reflect on the mood you are going for and can help convey your brand's message. A strong brand identity could leave a strong impression on individuals, helping you to be more memorable in people's minds. 

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FUTHER READING

Humans, not Users: Why UX is a Problem | Johannes Ippen | TEDxYoungstown

Fig 5.1 Humans, not Users: Why UX is a Problem | Johannes Ippen | TEDxYoungstown

From this talk, I have learned that:

• UX requires a lot of research
• red circles make people attracted

Fig 5.2 password field 

• this overly complicated password field is forgettable, which leads to people not wanting to sign back in again
• spotify facebook twitch are examples of applications that create amazing user experience

Snapchat streaks (bad example)

• sending a message with a friend forth and back for a couple of days
• get rewarded with a icon beside their name 
• started off as a fun little feature to emphasize relationships, which could then ride anxiety and fear of losing the icon
• creation of a product which cost fear of missing out, direct result of lack of product thinking

• we need to shift the way we thinking, think like the users
• not only think of the product when it is being used, but also when it is not being used
• think about the people's dreams, needs, wishes and purpose in life

Fig 5.3 an app designed helping war refugees to deal with PTSD

instead of using notifications to get people back into the app and do exercises,  they put up a big, red emergency button so when they face an issue, they can open the app and get immediate help. It's an app that won't nag you to go back, but is always there when needed. 

• Instagram and Facebook has started to take action by removing the like count, removing a source of social anxiety and peer pressure. 

Fig 5.4 an app that removed the red notification circles (a primal trigger) and replacing them with green circles, which creates a more mindful experience for the users