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.

Week 9- Good use of a ligature

This week I will be talking about ligatures and there common uses. Most often ligatures are featured on books or as an advertising means (although they have other useful purposes as well) in order to draw attention or just as a way of looking nice well saving space. For this weeks example I choose a packet of "Whisper Soft" tissues. The nature of the product would seem to imply softness as well as the font that was selected for the product. The joined "f" and "t" are the ligature in this picture and although the design of the box might not be affected to much if the letters were separate it still would not look as good as it could be.

Week 8- Poor Kerning

For this weeks post I will be talking about poor kerning. For my example I choose a heater located in the basement of my own house. It is rather old, but because this is something that is intended to be be used for personal heating, that instructions on operating it should be easy to read. Although the text is not impossible to read I find my self sometimes having trouble distinguishing letters because they are too close together. Another reason why I believe clear type is so important for instruments such as this are the heath factors. Something that heats obviously presents a danger if not handled properly, so for things like this kerning is an essential factor .

Week 7- Bad Typography

For this weeks post I will be talking about "bad" typography. For my example I have a newspaper pictured to the left. I considered this to be "bad typography only because it does not utilize any real design or creative placement of type, but since this is a newspaper (which focuses on providing information rather than displaying anything to fancy or distracting) there is really not much room for creative type placement as the job of a newspaper is to provide information, not art. So although this is not typographical interesting it still does its job, providing people with stories and of course news everyday.

Week 6- Good Typography

For this weeks post I will be discussing what is in my opinion a "good example of typographical placement". I choose this bottle of wine because I think the placement of the letters an the choice of fonts look nice, but also because this bottles design was what caused me to buy it in the first place. Based on nothing more than the appearance of the bottle I decided to take a risk and buy it. I would say that whoever designed the label of this bottle did a good job because in the end I bought it just based on appearance. For the subject matter "wine" usually a more sophisticated and elegant font would be required. The type on this bottle is simple but, does seem elegant in an old fashioned kind of way.

Week 5: Hand rendered typography

For week fives post I will be talking about hand rendered typography. All though some of the type may not appear as clean or easily readable, many hand rendered types can be just as successful at grabbing someone's attention or communicating a specific message. Often because these types are more difficult to read in certain situations it is better if they are displayed large, so as to avoid strain on the eyes. Although not all hand rendered type has to be used for advertising purposes. Sometimes it can be used for something as simple as labeling a VHS tape. 

Week 4: Historically influenced typography

This week I will be discussing historically influenced typography. For week four's example I choose the logo from my own school. Although it may not seem to be historical, typography has played an important part in the design and advertisement of college logos for quite a long time. Rather than wasting unnecessary space the logo uses minimalism as well as negative space in order to create a pleasing design. It is also a nice means of advertisement for the school.

Week 3- Naturally occurring letterform

For this weeks assignment I went in search of natural objects that happened to be shaped like letters. Surprisingly enough it did not take very long to locate several objects that did bear a fairly close resemblance to actual letterform. This could be because of all the twists and turns found in most natural objects (since many happen to be growing) or it might just be that I've never stopped to look at the detail of the outdoors. The object I Found was tree not too far outside from were I live. I didn't quite notice at first, but if you look at it just the right way you should be able to see the letter "N".