Study Task 3 - Blackletter in Graphic Design

Study Task 3 - Blackletter in Graphic Design

In response to study task 3 I originally used black ink and paint brushes to replicate some of letters in a blackletter style. The shapes and letters that I created can be seen in Figure 1 and Figure 2. Once these had dried I cut all of them out and tried putting them together in different ways to create the arrows and my chosen pictograms.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

I created all of the arrows using elements of a couple of the letters that I replicated when painting the letters. You can see the outcome in Figure 3.

Figure 4

The first pictogram that I recreated was the elevator pictogram. I tried to use the blackletter style to simplify the design but also make it more contemporary. You can see the outcome in Figure 4.

Figure 5

The second pictogram I recreated was the telephone. I decided to completely change the design for this and based my design on a telephone pole and wire. I used one of the shapes I had painted and vectorised and added the lines to represent the wire. This is my favourite of the designs and can be seen in Figure 5.

Figure 6

The final pictogram that I decided to recreate was the one for exit. I kept this one fairly close to the original design like I did with the elevator one but using the blackletter style in a more contemporary rather than it being cliché. Figure 6 shows this design.

Study Task 3 - Blackletter in Graphic Design Brief

Blackletter in Graphic Design Brief

Study Task 3 

Presenting a objective word as a subjective word 

design a pictogram and sign system for a hospital that uses a blackletter typeface as its foundation
Design arrows and 3 chosen pictograms. 

blackletter = starting point, must be contemporary aesthetic.

designs should embrace the possibilities offered by the alternative system.

purpose:

way finding systems = aesthetically aligned to notions of clarity and consciousness. 

san serif typeface and well-defined formal layout = dominant approach.

change the aesthetic to see what happens.

Start by hand - onto computer, etc. 

Blackletter:

Volk - german

mainly used in 1930 by hitler in nazi germany - seen as the nations typeface - fracture

1941 - blackletter was changed to the juddenlettern 

5 visual characteristics:

1. sharp, straight, angular lines - all curves made up of sharp straight lines. consequences = breaking when drawing the thin lines 
2. high contrast between stroke widths - uppercase/lowercase, between the angles. David Rudnick
3. Compression - highly compressed letterform, tall and narrow
4. sharp and ornamental finials ( terminal of a letter which tapers), decorative ornamental flourishes. 
5. bitting - two letters that have bowls in them - share the joining stroke. 

Contemporary - avoid cliche:

• David Rudnick 
• Raf Rennie
• Eric Hue

Study Task 3 - Blackletter in Graphic Design Research

Black Letter in Graphic Design

An artist who has used Blackletter with in their Graphic Design work is David Rudnick. He created a contemporary take on Blackletter for the vinyl cover of Evian Christs EP called Waterfall. The contemporary typeface that he created for this was named HyperZeit and combined classic elements used within Black Letter but in an updated, more futuristic approach.

Study Task 2 - Presenting a Subjective word as an Objective word

Presenting a Subjective word as an Objective word

Study Task 2 involved us using the vital language of an object to create pictograms or type that represents the meaning of the word. 

Figure 1

The first word that I decided to create a series of images for was the word Anxiety. For this I looked into the hand gestures that people use when they are feeling anxious. Using these hand gestures I simplified them using only straight lines. I then took the shapes which I had created by simplifying them and cut them up and moved the shapes around to create completely new ones. You can see the outcomes that were created in Figure 1.

Figure 2

The second word which I decided to create a pictogram for was the word beauty. To create this image I drew a pattern that came to my mind when I was thinking of the word beauty. I then overlaid the same pattern many times changing the rotation and reflection each time. Once I had a much bigger image I then created a clipping mask putting the pattern into a circle as seen in Figure 2.

Figure 3

To experiment further I then put the pictogram into context in a rural setting. Figure 3 did not show up extremely well and therefore didn't work exactly how I would have liked it to however when I placed it on the background used in Figure 4 I think that it added an interesting feature to the picture.

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

The last word that I experimented with was the word ecstasy. The definition of this word is 'an overwhelming feeling of great happiness and joyful excitement'. I therefore decided to attempt to create some type that portrayed the emotions that the word defines. To do this I used the photo booth app on my computer and used some of the effects to create a strange look a drawing of the word ecstasy. You can see this in Figure 5.

The outcomes can be seen in Figure 6 which is once I had edited and vectorised them on Adobe Illustrator. 

Study Task 1 - Video and Evaluation

Video link:

https://youtu.be/vlN6rlf8-ps

As a group we tried out a couple of different techniques to attract and change the normal habits of the general public.

 For the first task in order to create a diversion we decided to use bright tape to block off an area which we had witnessed a huge amount of people walking through that day. We used brightly coloured red and yellow tape as we feel this represented some kind of danger to stop people walking through this certain area of the walkway.





This turned out to work quite well as no-one walked through the area that we had blocked off or even attempted to. I also noticed that we got a fairly good reaction as a lot of people stopped to have a look as they were confused as to why there was tape stopping them from walking through the area.

The second diversion we created using signage was taping an arrow onto one of our groups chest and then standing them in the middle of a busy street (Headrow - Leeds). We decided to use a green arrow as we thought it would be more inviting as we pointed it up to his hand in the intention to make people stop and give him a high five.

We found that this didn't work quite as well as the first one due to people being a little bit reluctant to give him a high five. However once one person had done it we noticed that a look more people were happier to join in.







When watching all of the other groups videos I picked up on the fact that colour and material has a lot to do with whether people will respond to a sign. Also I noticed that the location that was chosen was a hugely important factor when trying to get a reaction of the public as when using a quiet area there are less people to interact with the diversion. When in a busy area there are many more people who are more likely to react and watch others. This meant that the groups which chose the better locations got a better reaction to the signs and diversions that were created.

Pantone My Street - Research

Pantone:
A pantone is specified in the dictionary as ‘a system for matching colours that is used in specifying printing inks.’ A pantone uses a universal numbering system to identify colours. This allows the colours to be standardised and for manufacturers of different companies to be able to math colours without having to bring them into contact. A pantone is commonly used in the production of coloured paint, fabric and plastics. 

Joseph Albers uses of colour:

Josef Albers was born on the 19th of March 1888 and died the 25th of March in 1976. He was extremely famous for his iconic abstract paintings which influenced Op-Art Artists who went onto further his research into human perception. In  1963, he developed an experiment looking into an alternative way of understanding and studying colour through trial and error and experience. This was a new way of looking at colour in contrast to attempting to understand it through theoretical dogma. Josef wrote a book called the Interaction of Color which changed the way of people looked at the art of seeing colour. It incorporated many mind-bending optical illusions and visual exercises to engage with the reader and help to explain his theories. The key points that Josef develops in his literature explain the way his understands colour and how he believes that we should also. He explains that “we can hear a single tone but rarely do we see a single colour unrelated to other colours”, so colour is always related to another colour. There is always some sort of connection between one colour and its neighbour. This quote links to how Josef believed that colour is best taught through experience. This is one of the key ways in which he developed a different understanding of colour and he believes that unless you experiment and take the time to work with colour you will never fully understand how one colour works with another and how the quantity of a colour can change the way that is appears. 

Example of Josef Albers colour squares

Klein blue:

Internation Klein Blue is a distinctive ultramarine which was first mixed by Yves Klein (born in France) and was known as a trademark colour in 1957. It is a deep blue hue that is based on the consideration of pure space and portrays the feeling of something beyond what can be touched or seen by any human being. Klein would take the International Kelin Blue and paint canvases completely in the colour making the viewing audience question the meaning behind the work using block colour. To create the paintings he would use rollers and sponges. None of Kleins painting were given titles but when he died in 1962 his widow Rotgut Kelin-Moquay developed a numbering system to all of the known monochromes of blue using the label IKB 1 leading all the way up to IKB 194. The sequence however did not in any respect reflect their chronological order. The letters IKB used for the numbering system stand for International Klein Blue. The production of all of these monochromes of blue were explained by Klein as a spiritual and a marketable activity. He furthered this explanation in one of his exhibitions in Milan when displaying 11 of the same monochromes all at different prices as they represented a different spirit. a quote taken from Stich explains this theory, 'Each blue world of each painting, although the same blue and treated in the same way, presented a completely different essence and atmosphere. None resembled any other - no more than pictoral moments resemble each other - although all were of the same superior and subtle nature (marked by the immaterial)  The most sensational observation was from the "buyers". They chose among the eleven exhibited paintings, each in their own way, and each paid the requested price. The prices were all different, of course.'

The word foundations is accented by being surrounded in the klein blue 'F' which gives the viewer the impression that foundations is what the poster is about. The large 'F' is designed to look 3D and is highlighted by the klein blue colour to allow for the 'F' to look this way. 

This poster was created by Stefan björklund on Behance. It was created for the Architecture Sans Frontières. This poster includes the use of klein blue for the scribble which is over the text meaning that it is trying to dominate the page. This is however contradicted by the white space because that is the largest area of the poster. 

This design was created for the Prague Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design identity by Stepan Malovec. The use of Klein blue in the poster is the background colour which is an effective use of the colour to fill the negative space. The writing in a simple white, san serif typeface allows it to stand out boldly and clearly against the klein blue background.  

Klein blue is used for the writing in the background of this poster which is covered with illustrative imagery. The typography doesn't stand out extremely well against the background so the klein blue is difficult to recognise. However the use of the same colour over the top of the typography helps the writing become more noticeable.

The use of Klein blue is the main focus of this poster as it is used to colour the focal point of the poster which is the image of the hand holding the eye. By having this image on a plain white background it allows it to stand out more as it doesn't get lost in a over complicated background. 

The final image is a 'Design for tomorrow', The future of Finnish design and going global. The Graphic Design for this booklet was by TSTO. Klein blue is used throughout the publication and therefore becomes a recognised aesthetic throughout the publication. The use of the simple, san serif type on the front cover and throughout the publication works well as a contrast to the klein blue making it stand out and be clear to read. 

RGB v CMYK:

RGB is red, green and blue where as CMYK is cyan, magenta, yellow, and key (black) and they are colour modes that can be used on screen and when printing in colour. The RGB colour mode uses many different quantities and variations of the base colours red, green and blue to create pretty much every other colour that can be thought of due to red, green and blue being additive colours. RGB is usually used for computer monitors and other screen displays and the reason that it is used so much is because the combination of those three colours allows for the widest selection of other colours. CMYK on the other hand uses subtractive colours rather than additive colours. This basically means that the more colours you put together the darker the colour created is going to be. As you add colours together light is removed or absorbed creating other colours but it is not until you add black that the colour is fully removed from the picture. CYMK is not used much anymore however it is still very popular in the professional printing industry.

The use of colour in graphic design:

There are various reasons why the use of colour is important with in graphic design as it is a huge part of designs that are created and therefore is important to get correct. One of the main reasons that it is important is because its essential to get it right when branding an organisation or company. Colour plays a significant role in the way a brand is perceived by the viewer and is important when trying to specify a brand to a certain target audience. This can be very difficult to get correct as colour within graphic design can be extremely subjective as the way it is viewed and portrays to one person may be completely different to the way that someone else interprets the use of colour with in a design. It is therefore very important for graphic designs to know and understand colour theory. With the information that colour theory provides graphic designers an gain the knowledge of what colours work the best together and also which colours stereotypically represent which kind of brands. One of the most iconic places to understand the use of colour theory and how colours are formed was in the 1920s - the 1930s by the Bauhaus. The staff in the Bauhaus would experiment and create colour theories on which colours evoke which moods and emotions. This is an important part of using the correct colour as you want the viewers and clients to gain the feelings and emotions that suite the brand rather than associating the brand with emotions that are felt due to other colours. 

It is also important not to just follow colour trends that are popular at the time that a design is being made. This is because trends are not forever and they age and become outdated meaning that if a design is made using a trend that is popular at the time the design will also become outdated when the colour does. Another issue with the use of colour trends is that many different pieces of work by different designers will begin to all look similar due to the use of the same popular colour. This would mean that there is no individuality in designs as the use of the same colour would take away any originality that the design may have possessed. 

Colour is one of the first things that stands out when looking at piece of design work. This therefore is one of the main elements that will stick in a persons memory of the piece of graphic design which they have viewed and therefore must be portrayed in the way it is wanted to be remembered. 

Colour - Study Task Brief

Pantone my Street:

- Photograph your street/ a scene.
- Take colour swatches from a small area of the photograph.
- Look at the relationship between the colour.
- Make a pantone group/colour swatch of the chosen scene on Illustrator.
- Produce a booklet of my choice that is backed up by research.
- Include the colour swatch in the booklet.

In your own words:

• 250 words on Joseph Albers use of colour.
• 250 words on Klein (blue) 
• 6 examples of Klein blue in graphic design.
• 100 words on Pantone. 
• 100 words on RGB v CMYK
• 500 words on the use of colour in graphic design.

Research, images, evaluation of colour group and harmonies/ contrasts.

Due 6th December.

Book references:

M to M of M/M

Making and breathing grid

Art of the book

Japanese book binding

Artist Research

Eltono

Eltono is a french artist who lives in the South of France. His work is based on his interest in what is happening around him and the knowledge which he possess about the nature of the street. His work is present in the Tate Modern, the Somerset House, Fundacion Miro and Artium Museum but he has also worked on the streets in over nighty cities. 

The work of Eltonos that I find particularly interesting and inspiring for this brief is his RUFO project. RUFO stands for “Rudimentary Unidentified Frictional Object” and the project consisted of Eltono dragging 11 different pieces of his artwork along the floor on the streets of Russia. This allowed his artwork to interact with the outside world before he displayed it in a studio space. This relates to wayfinding as by taking his artwork onto the streets it meant people were taking the time to stop and take notice of what he was doing and even change there direction to allow them to be able to have a closer look. 

Studio Task 1

Study task 1 

test how people react to your interventions:

Gather visual research/ideas for subjective sign system:

Eg. Beauty, Loss, Fear…

Record how members of the public move through and interact with public space.

record through video, drawing, photography and writing.

gain experience with the effects through supergraphics and way finding have on our passage through public space, we need to:

Create a diversion

Create a new connection

Make someone pause or stop

use graphic abstract language

no text

use: take, 3d, objects, paper constructions, chalk etc.

consider colour semiotics abstraction area pattern site human traffic line of sight line plane scale sequence camera angle time lapse humour

tripod to carefully compose video

the success of the interventions

Things to do this week:

Walk around and thoroughly document leeds - find and record ideas to base your sign systems on

photograph existing sign systems and super graphics

photograph you interventions

video stills print as story boards

explanations of ideas and interventions, together with evaluation of your public interventions

research into other designers

sketchbooks

collage and draw, document a lot, put in a lot of sign systems.

OUGD405 - Module Briefing - Brief 1

Module OUGD405

Practical and conceptual approaches to research and problem solving

awareness of issues relating to form function and contrast

recording, documenting, processing and evaluating work

use learnt relevant skills where necessary

Process = more important than outcome

Graphic Design is creating and communicating a message through the use of type and image.

engages challenges and surprises 

critical engagement - why is it successful.. etc.

Studio Brief 1:

Deadline - 13/01/17

Helpful info: Sarah Borris

‘Most sigh systems have the appearance of an objective, functional, almost scientific construction….’ on estudio, wayfiars definition.

Objective = Factual

Subjective = Opinion, Feeling… etc.

Design a personal sign system for directions.

Research:

Breakdown brief:

10 key words, then 5…

etymology of the key words

change convention - list them and opposites

site research

interviews, surveys, etc

reading: design, art, history, sociology, politics

Photography/video - continually - document everyday experience, things of interest

interventions - test ideas in context

exhibitions, talks

Conventions:

Objective

uniform

stable

clarity

subjective

varied

dynamic

universal

authority