Week 16: Best use of typography by me this semester

For this weeks final post I will be talking about, what in my opinion is the the best typography I have used all semester. For my example I choose this screen cap of a current project I am working on for my typography class involving the design of magazine spreads. My favorite part of the spread so far has to be the heading and sub head. Although they are in grey the do not seem boring to me at all (even against another gray background) and they convey the message that I want them to without being overly obvious. I hope to improve this project even more when I am done with it.

Week 15: Interesting/innovative typography found in Sharadin

This week I will be talking about Interesting / innovative type found in Kutztowns own Sharodin Arts Building. For This weeks example I choose a buisiness card that I created for a project in my typography class. Although I admit this card was defiantly not the best one of the many in my class, I find fondness when looking at it. It is very simple and clean and lets you know what you need to without the need for using obnoxious colors and ridiculous type to get the persons attention. There is even a little bit of an unintentional double meaning going on with the lines separating my first and last name (my middle name happens to start with a "T" so the lines do resemble the letter pretty closely.

Week 14- Interesting type on food Wrappers

This week I will be talking about interesting type I found on food items that I have recently eaten. For this weeks example I choose a jar of "jet-puffed" marshmallow creme. Although the logo type may be a little predictable in the fact that it looks like big marshmallows, it still never fails to make me want to eat it. So in that sense I think he logo works successfully. The big letters also make it easy to read, so when-ever I am in the kitchen looking for something to eat I will almost certainly pass by this jar, and end up having a little bit of marshmallow fluff.

Week 13- Type as art

For this weeks journal I will be talking about type as an art and how it can affect layouts. For this weeks example I choose a dollar bill; simple, but complex at the same time. Although much of the surface is covered by pictures the images would mean nothing without the type that accompanies them. Also the design as a whole would loose a lot of it's impact. Much of the type is too small to see in the picture, but it ornaments almost every-part of the bill. These subtle parts of the dollar are part of what give it its official look and feel.

Week 12- Rebus/Icon incorporated into the type

For this weeks post I will be talking about type that incorporates icon or rebuses. For the example I choose a bottle of "Miracle Bubbles", although it is not overly apparent if you look closely you will see that the dot over the "I" in miracle has been replaced with a bubble. Subtle but noticeable, somewhat predictable as well. Although I think it works just fine with the product, being fun and playful as well. Some designs do not need to be overly elaborate or fancy so to speak in order to be successful, this is a good example of that. Although the type does not completely replace the letter it does blend in with it still making a rebus.

Week 11- Inspirational type

For this weeks entry I will be talking about inspirational type. The specific subject I have decided to include for my example is a picture of one of my keyboards, Although the subject material my be a bit uninspired for some I have always enjoyed looking at the type and fonts that appear on keyboards and other electronic type equipment. The type is small so it will have to be easy to read, in most cases you will find that type on keyboards tend to be plain and simple sans serif. One of the reasons I find keyboard type to be inspiring in particular is not just its plain yet elegant forms, but its use of pictorial elements as well. Although not pictured this key board has many other signs on that indicate a specific task (such as the return key which has an arrow shape on it, as well as fast-forward, play, and stop buttons) all of these actions represented by simple slash and arrow signs. I think it is quite incredible for someone to have developed such a simple sign to signify a universally known task.

Week 10- When good type goes bad -ie “How could they use that font—What were they thinking?

This week I will be talking specifically about an item that had promising typography, but the final product came up slightly short. Although it is in my opinion I believe that this product could have been advertised a little better, for example the type in the bottom black and white squares: even up very close it is difficult to read. The placement of the type could probably be made a little more exciting as well, although it is a pencil so it is probably not the easiest item to advertise as exciting. This pencil package is actually quite old as well, so there may have been improvements made to the design that I am unaware of. In it's defense the package does read "classic" which does seem to be implied by the simplicity (perhaps like it is supposed to be one of the first products that where released.) So while this packages design is hard to read and not exactly the most interesting thing to look at, it may actually serve its own purpose by looking like it was one of the first pencils ever released.