Weekly Outline
LAST DAY: Dec 19, 2008 / Final Critique
Hope all is moving along smoothly with your preparation for friday’s final critique.
From our one-on-one discussions this week, it seems like we’ll be finishing off the
semester with a lot of very strong work. I’m excited to see the end results.
Here’s an outline of what projects should be included on your CD/DVD portfolio:
(BRING TO FRIDAY’S CLASS FOR FINAL GRADE)
- Parameters & Limitations (Phase 3 digital version of all 4 comps)
- Pattern Design (include pdfs of all finals - include what network was used in the title)
- Texture (include all hi-res scans of your textural mark-making experiments)
- Typographic Layout (final comp as hi-res pdf)
- Typographic Word (all 3 final comps as hi-res pdfs)
- Color Harmonies (pdfs of all 6 final comps - name according to corresponding harmony)
- Photo Illustration Series (hi-res pdfs of all 3 panels - be sure to include opposing forces titles)
- Subculture Project (include your 1 pg design brief, final hi-res pdfs, placement shots & any other
documentation you feel is appropriate to properly archive your work)
!!! VERY IMPORTANT !!! As you name your files, please use the following naming conventions:
yearSemester_Course_FirstLast_ProjectName.extension
Example: “08F_Image_DanaMcClure_ProjectName.pdf”
Be sure to print your Name, Year, Semester, Class Name & Section on the actual
CD/DVD that you hand in. All files should be Hi-RES, Flattened Artwork.
(no psd files! pdfs are the most preferred format)
*Also, this is your last chance to complete any blog responses that you may not have
finished. I’ll be reviewing them one final time after Friday’s class.
Gook luck finishing up and I’ll see you on Friday.
Feel free to bring treats, I’m going to for sure.
Tue 12.01 / Wed 12.02
- return graded Photo Illustration projects
- Research Document - (one-on-one reviews)
- In-Class work on Design Briefs, Rough Comps & Subculture Presentations
Homework:
1. In your class reader, read the article entitled “Design Process” by David Lauer and Stephen Pentak. Write a response to this article on the class blog and consider your own design process that you’ve begun to develop this semester. Discuss how inspiration, experimentation, problem-solving and ideation overlap and come together in the creative process. (due next class)
2. Read the article “Type & Image” by Phillip Meggs (download here) - unstuff the file and open the tif in Preview to view or print the hi-res pdf. This article extensively reviews the various methods of integrating words and images through the language of graphic design. Write a blog response to this article explaining how some of these techniques and examples might inform your own ideas for the final project. (due next Tues/Wed)
3. (due Friday) Complete your Design Brief & preparation for your Final Subculture Presentation. Use Powerpoint, Flash or any other software you feel comfortable presenting in. Hand in a printed version of your design brief. Be sure to include ALL of the following elements in your presentation in this order:
- STATEMENT
- OBJECTIVE & MESSAGE
- AUDIENCE
- MEANS
- PRECEDENCE
- EVALUATION
- ROUGH COMP
Fri 11.21
- Photo Illustration Series Final Critique
- Hand in Subculture Research Document
Homework:
- Create a completed rough draft of your Subculture Design Brief and bring a printed version to the next class. Be ready to walk me through the sections of your brief in a one-on-one review. The next class will used to revise your final brief and prepare sketches and other material for your Final Project Presentation on Friday December 5th. For the next class, be sure to include ALL of the following content in your Design Brief:
STATEMENT: State the specific inquiry, concern, problem, issue or need you would like to address in your project in a concise statement. For example, if your subculture was NYC cab drivers, here are three statements that might result from narrowing down your research:
1. “Many cab drivers are third world immigrants who face racial targeting and harassment by police, customers and garage owners on an everyday basis.”
2. “One of the quirks of being a NYC cab driver is overhearing the conversations of a disparate group of New Yorkers, from intimate secrets to the widely absurd.”
3. “NYC cabbies haven’t warmed up to the newly installed credit card machines in their taxis due to their fear of lower earnings and smaller tips.”
OBJECTIVE & MESSAGE: Develop a point-of-view about your statement and define a straightforward objective that you’d like to achieve with your project. What exactly do you want to say and how will you say it? What will the emotional tone or personality of your message be? Will your piece promote, inform, excite, tease, enrage or raise questions?
AUDIENCE: Who will your piece speak to? Consider who your audience is and describe them in full detail. Be as specific as possible. What is their age, gender, cultural background, occupation, interest etc.? Will you be speaking back to the subculture that you are investigating or is your target audience outside of this group?
MEANS: What is the appropriate medium to use to best communicate your message? The limitations for this project are to create a printed piece that integrates type and image. Within those parameters, create a final piece that you feel is the most effective use of the medium. (poster campaign, cd packaging, brochure, book, signage, zine etc.)
PRECEDENCE: Conduct extensive research of artists and projects that relate to your chosen topic contextually and aesthetically. Include at least 3 examples in your brief and explain how this work will inform your final project.
EVALUATION: Propose a method of evaluating the success of your final project.
Tues 11.18 / Wed 11.19
- Photo Illustration Series - Informal Critique
Homework:
1. Make revisions to your Photo Illustration Series based on feedback you received during the class critique. Prepare your final file in Photoshop with .5 inches in between each panel. Create a thin outline for each comp if your image background is mostly white. Save your file as a pdf. Allow 24 hours advance to bring your files (properly formatted) to the 4th floor plotter at 55 West 13th. Bring finals to class mounted on Illustration board.
2. Complete your Subculture Research Document. (AT LEAST 5 pages, 12pt, Times New Roman, Double Spaced). Include all attachments (interviews, photos etc.) and a complete bibliography.
Friday 11.14
- In-Class work on Photo Illustration Series
- one-on-one informal critiques
Homework:
Complete your Photo Illustration Series for an informal critique early next week (tue/wed). Print your three panels at full size (18″ X 18″) on the large format printer on the 8th fl. of 55 West 13th. For the final critique on Friday November 21st, you will print your series on the 4th floor color plotter and mount to illustration board. (Deadline for plotter files is 24 hours before pickup).
Tue 11.11 / Wed 11.12
- Complete Photo Illustration Series Presentations
- View more Photo Illustration stuent examples
- Photoshop Tutorial on masking, color adjustments, blend modes (see handout)
Homework:
1. Begin the RESEARCH (both historical & observational) & DATA ANALYSIS & ORGANIZATION stages of the Final Subculture Project. Hand in a thorough RESEARCH DOCUMENT by 11/21. This document should be a minimum of 5 pages and should properly site all sources. Your DESIGN BRIEF stage will be completed by 12/5. On this day, we will have formal FINAL PROJECT PRESENTATIONS in which you will present your STATEMENT, OBJECTIVE & MESSAGE, AUDIENCE, MEANS, PRECEDENCE, & EVALUATION and will hand in your completed Design Brief.
2. Work on your Photo Illustration Series and bring your work-in-progress files and ALL corresponding materials to the next class (which will meet on the 8th fl. lab of 55 West 13th). Our informal critique will be Tues/Wed next week and the final project is due before Thanksgiving Break on Friday, November 21st.
Fri 11.07
- Photo Illustration Presentations
Homework:
1. Finish reading “The Craft of Research” and post a blog response before the next class.
2. During these next few weeks, you will be researching and recording your observations of a subculture for your final project. By the next class, narrow down your choices to one VERY SPECIFIC group. Name and describe this subculture in a blog response before the next class.
3. Photo Illustration Series: Continue to gather all the necessary materials you will need to design your series. Use this weekend to take more photographs, look through more found imagery or create tactile marks and illustrations to add to your final piece. Come to class with three documents set up properly for your final series. (18″ X 18″ / 300dpi / in Photoshop). Be sure to bring ALL of your tactile and digital materials to use during the next class. Get started on either your tactile or digital montage to show me during a one-on-one critique during the next class.
Tue 11.04 / Wed 11.05
- Meet at Mid Manhattan NY Public Library at the 3rd Floor Picture Collection
- Gather imagery for both Photo Illustration Series & Subculture Final
Homework:
1. Read “The Craft of Research” in your reader and write a response to the class blog explaining how you will apply some of the methods discussed in the article to your own final research on your subculture. (Due next Tues/Wed).
2. Finish Photo Montage Research Paper. Hand in printed version on Friday with your Presentation material. Research Paper Assignment- Study the background of photomontage in Dadaism, Constructivism, & Surrealism. Explore how this technique was originally invented and how it became instrumental to various artists of the 19th and 20th century. Choose two artists from any time period and compare and contrast their use of the medium. Specifically, choose two pieces (one from each artist) and examine their use of scale, placement, juxtaposition and color. Speculate what the intended meaning of each piece is and discuss what principles of composition the artist used to convey his or her message. (1 page Word Doc, single spaced, 10pt, Times New Roman, approx. 700-1000 words)
3. Prepare for your Photo Illustration Series Presentation. Each student will get 20 minutes to present their material and receive feedback from the class. Be sure to have ALL of the following presentation materials on a disk to hand in and present from on the overhead projector:
- 300 words or more articulating your concept (same as Monday night blog post)
- concept sketches (be sure to demonstrate how you will strategically make use of color, texture, & form)
These sketches will be shown during your digital presentation and should be scanned to view on the projector.
- Asset folder - all of your digital photographs, scanned found imagery and mark-making exercises
- At least 5 large jpgs downloaded or scanned that demonstrate how the work of other artists have
influenced your concept.
Fri 10.31
- Discussion on Subculture Articles
- Overview of Subculture Project (handout)
- BREAK
- Discussion on Photomontage Article
- Presentations- Photomontage / Photo Illustration / Student Examples
- Overview of Photo Illustration Project (handout)
Homework:
1. Photomontage Research Paper (due next Friday)
2. Begin preparing for Photo Illustration Series Presentation- see handout (due next Friday)
3. Before next class, post 300 words or more to the class blog describing in detail your idea for your
Photo Illustration Series - see handout
Note: Next class will meet at the Mid-Manhattan NY Public Library
on the 3rd Floor Picture Collection:
Mid-Manhattan Library
455 Fifth Avenue [at 40th Street]
http://www.nypl.org/branch/central/mml/
*Tuesdays class will meet at 9:20am SHARP
*Wednesdays class will meet at 3:20am SHARP
Directions: Take the F train to 42nd street Bryant Park and walk to 40th Street and 5th Ave.
Be sure to bring your student ID for a free library card.
Tue 10.28 / Wed 10.29
- Final Critique: Color Harmonies / Hue Research Project
Homework:
1.Complete 3 Readings:
- “Introduction to Subculture & Style” (in your reader)
- Excerpts from Stephen Duncombe’s “Cultural Resistance Reader” (handed out in class)
- Photomontage by Dawn Ades
Take notes on all three readings and be ready to discuss each on Friday during a group discussion. Write a thorough response to the Photomontage article and answer these questions for the articles on Subculture:
- Explain the relationship between culture and sub-culture.
- What characteristics help to define a sub-culture? Discuss some ‘forms’ in which the experience of sub-culture is expressed.
Fri 10.24
- Class Discussion about Visual Language used for Election 2008
- Review technical issues concerning Color Harmonies Project
- In-Class work on Color Harmonies Project / one-on-one critiques
- Hand out Midterm Evaluation Forms
Homework:
1. Color Harmonies: (due next class) Based on the feedback you received
in class, revise your 6 comps for the final critique. Mount (to bristol) and trim each
composition. Consider how well your set of 6 Color Harmonies works as a series.
2. Finalize your Color Hue Research Project and bring the final 30″ X 20″ board
to class on Tuesday along with a printed version of your research paper. (Also be
sure to post your paper to the class blog.)
3. Read “Introduction to Subculture & Style” (in your reader), and excerpts
from Stephen Duncombe’s “Cultural Resistance Reader” (handed out in class).
Use these readings to begin investigating your the topics of culture and sub-cutlure.
Thoughtfully and thoroughly answer the following questions on the class
blog by next Wednesday at midnight:
- Explain the relationship between culture and sub-culture.
- What characteristics help to define a sub-culture? Discuss some ‘forms’ in which the experience of sub-culture is expressed.
Tue 10.21 / Wed 10.22
- Color Chart Presentations
- Review Digital Color Wheel & Phase 1 of Color Harmonies
- Technical Tutorial for Phase 2
• Kuler Color Tool
• eyedropper / paint bucket
• select color range
• using the brush & pen tool
• working with layers
• using HSV palette
• image adjustments > selective color
Homework:
1. Color Harmonies: (due next class) Work on 6 comps and bring trimmed prints to the next class for a one-on-one critique. *Be sure to use the 4th floor printer and no need to mount yet.
2. Election 2008 Graphics: (due next class) Research the visual language used in both the Barack Obama & John McCain campaigns. How do the two differ in their approach? Discuss in detail, the use of typography, color & imagery in the graphics used to support each. Examine the difference or similarity of the particular audiences that are being targeted and the ‘voice’ or tone that is used to do so. Bring to the next class, 5 or more printed full-color examples of the graphic materials you’ve researched (websites, posters, tv ads, multimedia, buttons, banners, graffiti etc.) Post a thorough response to the above questions to the blog before the next class.
3. Color Hue Research Project: (due next Tuesday) You will be assigned a color hue from the list below to research. Using imagery from your own photography and found scanned images, create a collage that explores the various uses of your hue and it’s associations (cultural, emotional, social, political, historical, psychological etc.) The objective is to demonstrate a broad range of responses to this particular hue. Make use of the picture files and magazine in the Gimbel Library and be sure to print all of your images on the 4th floor. The written component of this assignment is to write a short paper presenting all of your research. Post to the blog before Tuesday’s class and bring in a printed version to hand in.
- Red
- Orange
- Yellow
- Green
- Blue
- Purple
- Pink
- Brown
- White
- Black
- Turquoise
- Gray
Fri 10.16
- Finish Typography Critiques (section B)
- Color Theory Overview
• hue, saturation, value
• tint, shade, tone
• additive vs. subtractive color
• color harmonies
• color contrasts
• emotive qualities of color
• after image
Color Presentations:
- Color Theory
(http://www.danamcclure.com/parsons/presentations/color/)
- Color Harmonies Presentation
(http://www.danamcclure.com/parsons/presentations/color_harmonies.pdf)
- After Images
(http://www.shadford.net/parsons/links/-color/after_images/after_images_1.html)
In-Class Demos & Group Work:
- Pantone Color Swatch Book
- Painted Color Wheel
- (http://kuler.adobe.com/)
- Munsell Color Charts (In-Class Group Project)
Homework:
1. Digital Color Wheel / due next class
2. Color Harmonies Portrait Project / Phase 1 due next class
- Use the Kuler Color Tools to explore various color schemes
- Color Harmonies Project Examples
3. Color Research (Color Chart Exhibition Site) / be ready to present during next class
Color Chart celebrates a paradox: the lush beauty that results when contemporary artists assign color deci-
sions to chance, ready-made source, or arbitrary system. Midway through the twentieth century, long-held
convictions regarding the spiritual truth or scientific validity of particular colors gave way to an excitement about color as a mass-produced and standardized commercial product. The Romantic quest for personal expression instead became Andy Warhol’s “I want to be a machine;” the artistry of mixing pigments was eclipsed by Frank Stella’s “Straight out of the can; it can’t get better than that.” Color Chart is the first major exhibition devoted to this pivotal transformation, featuring work by some forty artists ranging from Ellsworth Kelly and Gerhard Richter to Sherrie Levine and Damien Hirst.
Choose five of the following fundamental elements of color that we’ve reviewed in class and in a thorough blog post, discuss how each is explored in the work of artists in the show. Be sure to site title of the piece, artist’s name and year.
- hue, value, saturation
- tints, shades, tonality
- primary, secondary, teriary
- simultaneous contrast
- after image - the emotive qualities of color
- harmonies (monochromatic, analogous,
complimentary, split complimentary, triad, tetrad)
Tue 10.14 / Wed 10.15
-Final Typography Critiques
Homework:
- Read Color Theory Made Easy, by Jim Ames. Be sure to read the article in full color either on your screen or printed out. Answer the following questions on the class blog before the next class:
1.) Explain the difference between the additive and subtractive color spectrum. Give examples of how each are used.
2.) Describe the main three dimensions of color and Munsell’s Color Tree System
3.) What is meant by primary, secondary and tertiary colors? Give examples of warm hues versus cool hues. Explain the difference between complimentary and analogous (contiguous) color harmonies.
4.) Explain the difference between shades and tints.
Fri 10.10
- One-on-one critiques for 2nd round of first two typography assignments
- Hand in methodology for “Type As Image” project
- In-class work on “Type As Image” Project
Homework:
Based on today’s class feedback, make final revisions to all three typography projects and mount and trim the final compositions for next weeks critique. Remember to print your final 15″ X 20″ typography poster on the architectural printer on the 8th floor of 55 West 13th. DO NOT wait until the day of class to do this. Give yourself a few days for printing and mounting to avoid any mistakes. Projects that are no handed in properly or on time will drop a full letter grade each class it is late.
Tues 10.07 / Wed 10.08
- ilovetypograhy.com (3 Class Examples)
- Informal critique on “Typographic Layout” & “Typographic Word” projects
- Typographic Diminuendo Examples:
• New York Times Front Cover
• View magazine examples in class
- Overview of “Type as Image” Project:
Ex. Marian Bantjes / http://www.bantjes.com/
- Saks Fifth Avenue “Want It!” Campaign
- New York Times Square “Love Banner”
- Stefan Sagmeister Sugar Project
Homework:
Continue working on all three typography assignments. Based on the feedback received in class, make revisions to the “Typographic Word” & “Typographic Layout” projects and bring your revised work to the next class trimmed and ready to present.
For your “Type As Image Project”, bring:
- your 8 comps (trimmed)
- a printout of your written response to the methodology with three examples of precedents
- post your written response to the blog by midnight on Thursday
- bring in ALL necessary materials needed to construct your final “Type As Image” project
(digital camera, lights, printed photographs, photo copies, ink, cutting materials, adhesive etc.)
Be sure to bring all digital versions of your projects as well as your Process Book.
Friday 10.03
- View student Process Books (Typographic Documentation Project)
- Class Demonstrations on Typographic Projects (from ilovetypography.com)
TYPOGRAPHY LESSON:
Typographic Anatomy & Usage
slides: anatomy.pdf , x-heights.pdf , specimen.pdf
- x-height, cap height, baseline
- stem, bowl, counter
- descender / ascender
- serif / sans serif
- ligature
- typographic units - measured in points, picas or pixels
(12pt = 1 pica, 6 picas or 72 points = 1 inch)
- setting type - point/leading
- x-heights can make the same size type seem bigger or smaller
- type families (regular, bold, italic, light, semi bold, caps, condensed, extended)
- controlling the ‘color’ of a block of text
Typography & The Grid (slideshow)
- communication vs. composition
(type is both verbal information AND texture / tone on the page)
- negative spacing and grouping (activated vs. inactivated white space)
- perimeter edge and axil relationships
- the law of thirds
Typography Examples
- digital typography (slideshow / compiled by Carol Shadford)
- handmade type (slideshow / compiled by Carol Shadford)
- type as image (slideshow / compiled by Dana McClure)
Technical Overview
(InDesign)
- document setup
- the grid
- kerning, tracking, leading
- avoid rivers, orphans & widows
- smart quotes
- ligatures- must be checked in the character palette
- drop caps
- lorem ipsum text
- hyphenation
- filling up a path with type (using vector shapes from illustrator as path)
- typing on a path
- placing imagery
- printing grids (check off “Print non-printing objects” “print baseline grids”
(Illustrator)
- NEVER distort (stretch or squish) a letterform
- using the pen tool manipulate a letterform
- create outlines, open arrow tool, pathfinder
- tracing bitmap imagery
Homework:
1. Read: “Art Direction & Editorial Design”, by Yolanda Zappaterra (download pdf) 5.48MB
“Body of the Book”, essay from Design Writing Research (in your reader)
2. Typographic Word Project (download pdf handout)
3 Type Designer Layout (download pdf handout)
Wed 10.01
Museum of Arts & Design
http://www.madmuseum.org/
Directions: 1 to Columbus Circle at 59th Street
Walk down to the South East corner of the circle
Phone: 212-299-7777
2 COLUMBUS CIRCLE
NEW YORK, NY 10019
Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary features work by 50 international established and emerging artists from all five continents who create objects and installations comprised of ordinary and everyday manufactured articles, most originally made for another functional purpose.
Elegant Armor: The Art of Jewelry presents innovative pieces of contemporary art jewelry from our permanent collection, dating from the 1940s to the present. The works on display range from the subtle to the flamboyant, from the purely geometric to the organic, and from narrative to sculptural works that extend the limits of the human body. The exhibition presents the major themes, materials and techniques that make contemporary jewelry visually exciting and intellectually stimulating.
Permanently MAD: Revealing the Collection presents approximately 250 works from the Museum of Arts and Design’s permanent collection. For the first time in the Museum’s 52-year history, dedicated collections galleries introduce visitors to the phenomenal ceramic, glass, wood, metal, fiber, and mixed media works in the Museum’s collections. Many of the pieces are on view for the first time.
QUESTIONS FOR MUSEUM VISIT
Choose four pieces in the museum to write about. Record the project details (title, artist, date, materials).
Apply one or more of the following elements we have discussed in class to each piece. Be sure to discuss
each of the four principles in total. Hand in your written responses before leaving the exhibition.
- visual continuity (amongst a set or series)
- hierarchies (consider how your eye moves through the piece, direction, movement)
- figure/ground relationship (dominance, balance, interchange, pattern)
- texture (optical, tactile or illusory)
Friday 09.26
- Complete Visual Composition Final Critique
- Film Screening of Helvetica
Homework:
1. From the list below, you will be assigned a type designer or typographer to research. Due next Friday, write a formal essay describing their contribution to the art of typography (3 or more pages, 12pt Times New Roman, double spaced). Some content areas to consider writing about in your paper are:
- background, education, country of origin
- influences / inspiration
- body of work, typefaces
- work’s relationship to the time period in which it was designed
- technologies used
- works or artists infuenced by their work
Dead:
- Claude Garamond
- William Caslon
- Frederic W. Goudy (Soyeon)
- Francesco Griffo (Gorgio)
- John Baskerville (Nickoli)
- François-Ambrose Didot
- Morris Fuller Benton
- Giambattista Bodoni (Lu)
- Emil Rudolf Weiss
- Edward Johnston
- Eric Gill (Mark)
- Stanley Morison
- Rudolf Koch
- Nicholas Jenson (Nick)
- Paul Renner
- Roger Excoffon
- Herb Lubalin
- Max Miedinger
- Chauncey H. Griffith
- Evert Bloemsma
- Frederic W. Goudy
- Jan Tschichold (Josh)
Living:
- Tobias Frere-Jones & Jonathan Hoefler (Neal)
- Herman Zapf (Ron)
- Edward Benguiat or Robert Slimbach (Joey)
- Gerrit Noordzij
- Adrian Frutiger
- Bram de Does
- Mathew Carter
- Erik Spiekermann
- Gerard Unger
- Frank Blokland
- Kris Holmes
- Carol Twombly
- Margo Chase (Trish)
- Wim Crouwel (Zhawing)
- Zuzana Licko
- Paula Scher (Cari)
- Massimo Vignelli (Meagan)
- Neville Brody (Victor)
- Stephan Sagmiester (Molly)
- David Carson (Josh)
- Joseph Muller-Brockman (Hannah)
- Michael Place (Paula)
2. Collect 12 4″ X 4″ typography specimens for your Process Book to show next friday. Be ready to explain to the class what you find compelling about these examples.
3. Write a response to the Helvetica film explaining your thoughts on the use of the typeface. What camp do you see yourself identifying with if at all?
Tue 09.23 / Wed 09.24
- Visual Composition Final Critique
Steps for Critiquing:
1. IDENTIFY
- No interpretation / just observation
- What are the dominant elements of the work?
- What is the dominant subject matter?
- What medium is used to construct the piece?
2. ANALYZE
- How is the work constructed or planned?
- Is there a sense of dominance and balance in the piece?
- How does your eye move through the composition?
- Is there visual tension within the composition? How is it created?
- What medium is used to construct the piece?
3. INTERPRET
- How does the work make you think or feel?
- Make note of cultural, political, social, personal associations.
- Describe the expressive qualities you find in the work. (funny, tragic, futuristic)
- Does the work remind you of other things you have experienced (analogy or metaphor)?
- How does the work relate to other ideas or events in the world and/or in your other studies?
- How does the medium used to construct the piece effect its outcome?
3. EVALUATE
- Present your opinion of the work’s success or failure. What qualities of the work make you think this?
- Compare it with similar works that you think are good or bad.
- How original or non-original is the resolution of the assignment and what makes it so?
Homework:
1. Read the following two articles on Typography and post responses to each before the next class.
Be ready to discuss all of the topics presented in both these articles during a class discussion.
- The Elements of Typographic Style, by Robert Bringhurst
- Thinking With Type, by Ellen Lupton
- Browse through the I Love Typography site and find a type project that you feel is compelling.
On the class blog, link to this project and describe why you like it.
http://ilovetypography.com/
Friday 09.19
- Review Process Books / Pattern & Texture Documentation Assignment
- In-class work on Texture Value Progressions
- Overview of Pattern Project
Homework:
1. Revisit the article on Pattern Design to thoroughly understand the relationship between units and networks. Through the use of FIGURE/GROUND interchange, repetition, rotation, and reflection, create one pattern design in Illustrator (10″ X 10″ mounted to bristol) within a network of your choice- square, brick, half-drop, diamond, triangle, ogee, etc. The objective of this assignment is to create a compelling figure/ground interchange and to obscure the network used to create the pattern.
2. Finalize all ‘Visual Composition’ projects for next week’s Final Critique:
- Limitations & Parameters Phase 1 (4 vertical line compositions)
- Limitations & Parameters Phase 2 (4 tactile compositions based on your own set of parameters)
- Limitations & Parameters Phase 3 (digital translations of Phase 2)
- Hierarchies (4 figure/ground compositions based on your cropped letterform)
- Texture Value Progression (bring final progression as well as 8 letter size copies of your mark-making experiments for me to collect)
* Extra Credit: 10″ X 10″ Textural Icon or Symbol (digital or tactile mounted to bristol)
- Pattern Design Assignment (10″ X 10″ mounted to bristol)
3. Read the ‘Class Critique’ article handed out in class and write a response to the class blog explaining what you feel makes for a constructive class critique. (Due at midnight before the next class)
Tue 09.16 / Wed 09.17
- Overview of Paul Rand Article & Form & Content Imagery
- Pop Quiz on Principles of Form & Design
- View examples of Texure Value Progression Project
- In-Class Work on Texure Value Progression Project
Homework:
1. Finalize your texture mark-making experiments and make multiple photocopies of all value studies. Bring this stack of photocopies to the next class to use in constructing your final Texture Value Progression.
2. Bring the following materials to the next class:
- 20″ X 30″ 1ply white illustration board
- rubber cement
- exacto knife & mattboard / scissors
- photocopies of texture studies
- black ink
3. Bring process book to class with your Texture & Pattern documentation project completed.
4. Continue to revise all ‘Visual Composition’ projects for our final critique next week.
Fri 09.12
- In-Class work on Figure Ground Hierarchies Project
- One-on-one critiques on Phase 2 of the Parameters & Limitations project
- Overview of Texture and Value Progression Project
Homework:
1. Finalize your 4 Hierarchy comps and mount and trim to bristol board for the final critique.
2. After making final revisions to your Phase 2 Parameters and Limitations project, translate each of your four compositions digitally (using Illustrator or Photoshop) and mount and trim to bristol board for the final critique.
3. Bring “Texture and Value Progression” handout to class along with the following materials:
- bristol pad and a stack of cheap computer paper
- an object that fits into the palm of your hand to use as stamping tool
- black ink
- digital camera
- any other tactile materials for mark-making experiments
4. Process Book Assignments: (Due next Friday)
PATTERN DOCUMENTATION ASSIGNMENT: Over the weekend, gather imagery of patterns found in your environment (street photography, magazines, textile design, packaging etc.). Create at least 12 (4″ X 4″) specimens in your process book and identify the network used in each (reference the article for network types). Bring to Friday’s class.
TEXTURE DOCUMENTATION ASSIGNMENT- Collect multiple samples of texture in your sketchbook from both your visual surroundings and mark-making experiments. Keep all the examples gray-scale so that you can study the value contrasts of each. If you find a texture that is in color, photocopy or scan the material and convert it to gray-scale by removing its saturation. The swatches can be photographs, photocopies, cropped paintings, ripped paper etc. Create at least 12 (4″ X 4″) specimens in your process book and identify where you found each. Bring to Friday’s class.
5. Finish reading the last 3 articles that were assigned:
- Paul Rand’s “Form & Content” (email me your 3 images for our discussion)
- Wucius Wong’s “Priciples of Form & Design”
(Be ready for a pop quiz or questions referring to this article during the next class)
- Richard Proctor’s “Principles of Pattern Design”
Be ready next class for a pop quiz on the last two articles and a discussion on the first. Don’t forget to bring your Process Book and Class Reader.
Tue 09.09 / Wed 09.10
- Discussion on Paul Rand Article “Form & Content”
- Informal Critique on Phase 1 of Parameters & Limitations Project
(discuss visual continuity, dominance, spacial arrangements, balance, rhythm)
- In-Class work on Phase 2 of Parameters & Limitations Project
- Overview of Hiearchies Project
Homework:
1. Based on the feedback you received in class for Phase 2 of the Parameters & Limitations Project, make revisions to your final four compositions and bring the completed versions to the next class.
2. Complete Phase 1 of the Hiearchies & Pattern Project: In Adobe Illustrator, set up an 11” X 17” document.With the type tool and rectangle tool, design a black letterform that fits in a white rectangular format so that it touches all four sides. The letter must be easily recognized and occupy 50% of the space in the format. Any style of upper or lower case letter may be used. Keep in mind that you will use the negative shapes from this assignment in the next one so design the letter with the negative shapes in mind. Try to find a good balance of FIGURE/GROUND. There must be at least five negative shapes in your composition. The rectangle surrounding your letterform must fit within the 11” X 17” page but should be no smaller than 7” X 7”. Both rectangular and square formats are acceptable. Slight adjustments can be made to the letterform to help it fit the format you havechosen as long as it remains recognizable. (i.e., enhancing the stroke, rotating, cropping, scaling etc.) However, DO NOT DISTORT OR STRETCH THE LETTERFORM. When completed, print 8 black and white laser prints to bring to class. Save digital file as “initials_Hierarchies.ai”.
3. Bring the printed project handout to class along with the following materials:
- bristol board
- scissors or exacto knife
- rubber cement
- metal ruler & mattboard
- 8 black and white laser printouts of your cropped letterform (MUST BE LASER / NO INK JET)
- print out 2 (11″ X 17″) full black sheets of laser paper to use as possible backgrounds
4. Read “Principles of Form and Design” and “Pattern Design” and be ready to discuss the design principles explained in both articles on Friday. No need for blog responses.
5. Based on the idea of design being the synthesis of “form and content”, photograph 3 examples of design from your environment this week. One that has an emphasis on form, one with a strong emphasis on content and one that you feel successfully merges the two. The idea is not to find examples of “good or bad” design, but to photograph 3 examples that resonate with you in some way. We will view these examples in class and discuss the notion of successful design as a merge of these two elements. Downsize the files so that they are under 1MB each and email them to me by Thursday at midnight, named as follows: form_initials.jpg, merge_initials.jpg, content_initials.jpg.
Fri 09.05
- Review introductions & blog responses to article and Ellen Lupton interview
- Overview of Phase 1 of project 1
- Work in class on phase 1
- Informal class critique
Homework:
1. Based on the feedback you received in class for Phase 1 of project 1, make revisions to your final four compositions and bring the completed versions to the next class.
2. Examine these final compositions from Phase I of the project and answer the following questions in your process book? What visual elements are most intriguing to you and why? What are the essential visual elements that make your compositions successful? How might the visual elements in your compositions be more compelling? What limitations may need to be altered or added to construct a more expressive composition? Explain why these new limitations will help you to create a more successful design. Make a list of new limitations (at least 5) in which to repeat the compositions from Phase 01.
a) Random - a composition that adheres to each of your 5 or more limitations.
b) Symmetrical - a composition that uses identical or similar elements or units on either side of a vertical axis.
c) Asymmetrical - A type of balance where elements are arranged differently on each side of an imaginary midline. Without symmetry.
d) Repetitive - a composition with repeating elements or units.
Bring to class the necessary materials to complete your four final compositions in Phase 2 of Project 1. (collage, paint, marker, paper etc.)
3. Read the article in your reader by Paul Rand titled “Form & Content” - download pdf of article here. (Disregard the second page of this article that says “telling the truth, Milton Glazer” - this is from another article). Write your response to the article on the class blog by midnight before the next class.
Tue 09.02 / Wed 09.03
- Student & Instructor Introductions
- Overview of Syllabus & Materials List
- Introduction to Class Blog / Tutorial for Student Use
- Screening of Paul Rand Short Film
Homework:
1. Write your first blog post to introduce yourself to the class and title it “Firstname’s Introduction.” Tell us a bit about your creative background (music, painting, drawing, video, sewing etc…), your hometown, technical capabilities (are you a Mac or PC person and what software are you familiar with), and what you hope to get out of this class and the CDT program in general. Tell us who your favorite artist/designer is and why. Be sure to include links to their work. Also, upload a picture of yourself so we can learn everyone’s name as soon as possible.
2. Listen to the Design Matters Interview of Ellen Lupton by Debbie Millman. Read the essay in your class reader (Contemporary Graphic Design (forward), by Charlotte & Peter Fielland) post a blog response to each of these pieces before the next class. Often, during this course I will ask you to ‘respond’ to an article, essay, film, interview etc. By this, I mean for you to pull out some of the ideas that interest you in the piece and tell me YOUR response to them. Not just what the author is intending to say but also how you feel about the issues being discussed. Be specific, quote when necessary and point to other references if needed. Be ready to have a class discussion about these two pieces at the beginning of the next class.
3. Bring the following materials to the next class:
- The Class Reader (you can buy this at East Side Copy on 13th Street btw. 5th and University)
- A printout of the handout for Project 1
- All necessary materials for Phase 1 of the Parameters & Limitations Project:
• Your Process Book
• 18” X 24” Bristol Board Pad
• Black Markers (wide, medium, fine, extra fine)
• Metal Ruler
• Light Graphite Pencil & sharpener
• Right Angle Triangle
• Exacto Knife, Exacto blades and Matt Board