Proverbally Yours Final Designs.

Here are my final designs for my poster collection. I have added colour. I am pleased with my finished results but I think they could be improved with more time as I would have liked to experiment more with composition and colour. Even though, I think the are successful as a set due to their consistency and also have a lot of impact because of the simplicity...

I have also applied my designs to some phone boxes to demonstrate how they could be used in context...

Proverbally Yours Colour Experimentation.

This was my first colour experimentation, I chose red as it is a colour that is instantly associated with love, hearts etc. Although I think this would be a suitable colour I also think that it could also be a bit predictable.

I next looked at blue because of it's links with sadness which could be portrayed through the two charters being apart. I chose this light tone as it works well with the white without having to much contrast and being to overpowering. Although this colour is less obvious than the red I don't think it helps to create the right mood and doesn't work as well with the heart imagery. 

I then looked at this pinker tone. I think this is a really attractive colour that looks good and helps with the theme. It has quite a feminine look but I don't think this is a problem.

I then experimented with using black instead of white. I like the impact this has created but I prefer the lighter appearance of the white which I think will give more relevant connotations of positivity.

Proverbally Yours Type Creation.

This is how I created the type for my poster...

I started by making a template on PhotoShop which I printed out. I then hand drew my type into the template so it fitted inside the outlines to create the desired shape. After this I scanned it in and edited it so the contrast between the two sections was more clear. Finally I live trace it in illustrator to make a more useable image.

Proverbally Yours Design Development.

I have no progressed with my idea and have moved on from the tree onto the love between people who are apart. I have thought about what would be the best way to represent this and have now come up with some ideas...

This was my design for the poster with just image. I have tried to convey the fact that the two figures are separate from each other with the use of contrasting colour. I have also removed the hearts to symbolise that they are incomplete. I think the use of icons works well as they are easily recognisable and create impact with their simplicity. 

 These designs are for my type poster. Although I have entered any type in yet I have created these to help show how it will be laid out within the composition. I am planning on hand rendering it so it fits within the shape I have made. I made the first image to mirror my image design with vertical separation, although I think this will work well within my set I think it could be difficult to fit type into the smaller shapes and it will also be less legible. This then led me onto my second design, I like how there is more space but I feel like it could easily be interpreted as a landscape poster rather than being kept verticle. Finally I did my last design which I think solves the previous problem. I also love the interesting shape that they make.

Here are my compined type and image. As of yet they are all just developments of the progression of the image as until I have my type I'm unsure of how it will work within the space. The first example here is the most simple and just shows the figures reuniting. I then moved on from this as I wanted to portray the love between them more. First of all I added the white outline of a heart that is in contrast from before, filled in. I did this to symbolise that now the characters are back together their heart has grown. Finally I experimented with using the hearts as eyes, as if the figures are 'blinded by love.'

Proverbally Yours Tree Experiment.

Here are some experiments into the first idea that I have decided to look into. I have looked into creating a  tree that has been absent of water, which then grows. To start with I created this basic tree shape on Illustrator...

To do this I found a suitable image on google that I wanted to trace. I then went around the outline with the pen tool and filled with colour. I am pleased with how this has turned out because of my limited experience with the programme, this was also the first time I had used it without assistance.

I then developed the image and put it onto the context of the poster by adding raindrops and leaves. The leaves would finally be created using hand rendered type but I have used the outlines initially just to demonstrate my idea. I don't think I will carry on this idea after doing these initial designs as I don't think the idea is strong enough and will enough impact.

Proverbally Yours Initial Ideas.

For this brief we are moving away from working solely on type and focussing more on message and interpretation. It's nice to be moving onto something different and will be interesting to focus on something new. Again as usual I found the time frame of finishing this project a bit daunting as it is only for one week. Here is the brief...

Before receiving the brief we were all given a different proverb mine was 'absence makes the heart grow fonder.' I was quite happy with this as it was a saying that I'm already familiar with. Even though I had heard before I still researched definitions on the internet and in dictionaries which said...


Meaning: The lack of something increases the desire for it.
Origin:

The Roman poet Sextus Propertius gave us the earliest form of this saying in Elegies:

"Always toward absent lovers love's tide stronger flows."

The contemporary version appears in The Pocket Magazine of Classic and Polite Literature, 1832, in a piece by a Miss Stickland:

'Tis absense, however, that makes the heart grow fonder.

We then had to produce approximately forty five thumbnail sketches exploring ideas of portraying our proverb, fifteen for each poster style...

I am really happy with the variety of designs I have produced as to begin with I struggled to break away from my initial idea. Quite a few are versions of each other where just the composition has been altered. Some of my main ideas are people absent of a heart, lovers who are on opposite sides of the world, scientific representations of a heart, visual representations of growth e.g plants and also jigsaw puzzles with a piece missing.

Detailed Type Experimentation.

Task One

For this first task we had to select an upper and lower case version of five different letters from the collection we put together through the summer. We then had to produce five different sizes of each that were: 1cm, 3cm, 5cm, 7cm and 10cm. I chose these particular letters because I think they show a good variety and cover a lot of different styles...

Task Two

Then, from the letters we selected previously we had to deconstruct them into parts and put them together again to form a new letterform and again organise them into five different point sizes, in an outlined and filled form...

Task Three

Finally we had to pick one of our typefaces and name it, I chose my 'N' and called it Linear Duo. After doing this we had to manipulate the letter further to create a font family that included light/italic, regular/italic, bold/italic and ultra bold condensed...

Alphabet Soup Typeface Further Development.

After the crit for this brief it was said that maybe my letter 'J' didn't fit as well with the rest of the set. Here are some developments I have designed to hopefully resolve this problem...

I designed my previous 'J' initially so that it would fall down the center axis, although after designing these alternatives I think they work better. My favourite is the one on the left as I think it mirrors the curves in other letters well.

Alphabet Soup Typeface Final Piece and Crit.

Here are my final pieces for this brief, it includes my A-Z typeface with five glyphs and the name badge I created for Kate...

I am really happy with how they both look and it was great to see my trace sheet up on the wall as I feel it really stood out and the letters and pattern was visible, this was not the same though with my name badge as although the type was still legible the compass design was harder to distinguish on a smaller scale. I am also happy with how successful my hand rendering has been, it took a long time, especially drawing out the grid, but I think the end result was worth the effort.

I had good feedback from the crit and I was happy that Kate liked it and also understood the thought behind it

Alphabet Soup Typeface Font Manipulation.

After deciding to use typeface 'Taller Evolution' as my existing font to base my letters on I had to some slight manipulation of their structure so it fitted perfectly with my grid that I drew out previously on Adobe Illustrator. I am really pleased with how I has turned out as I don't have a great deal of experience using the programe. It took me a while to get the linear symmetry correct but I think it was worth it for the end result...

I then started applying the letters to this pattern. Some fitted perfectly whilst oters needed adjusting...

After all of this I had completed my entire alphabet. I am really pleased with it's final appearance digitally, although I am interested to see how it works hand rendered and whether any adjustments will need to be made...

Alphabet Soup Typeface Layout Experiments.

In response to an idea mentioned in my crit I have decided to experiment with bringing the layout of my typefaces close together to form a pattern. I really like this idea and I think it has turned out successfully. Here are the few experiments that led to me making my decision...

This was my first experiment, it was based on the first full alphabet that I drew out. After doing this though it became apparent that there is a few problems with this approach as having the letters different widths doesn't look right when you view it in a group. Eventhough I like having the wide circular letters and others running down the verticle line they don't work well together so this is something I will have to address.

Next I drew out this design I really like how the circular structures mirror the form of a compass very well and look good next to the other letters that have now been made a similar size.



Finally I drew out this style. I really love the aesthetics of these letters and I think they look good together as a typeface, but eventhough I still think I will use the previous design as I think carrying on the compass theme is more important in this case.

Alphabet Soup Typeface Development.

Statement of Intent: For this brief I plan to create a typeface based on the word 'travels', to do this I will incorporate a compass into the design.

I have decided to continue with my compass design idea as I think it is the most visually striking and effective idea. After making this decision I wrote out a whole alphabet to get an initial understanding of how the other letter in the alphabet would work on my grid. Here is the results...

After doing this I was really happy with the end result and it backed up my choice of design. Although I really liked it I also wanted to experiment with a few developments of using the compass grid in alternative ways...

With these letter E's I really focused on portraying the direction of east, with the use of arrows and the placement of them on the grid. I prefer the designs where the letters are placed on the centre line rather than alongside it.

With these K's the idea of experimentation was more with the direction of line and how far it could be pushed before it became less legible. I think the first two are acceptable but the third has maybe been pushed to far and looks readable and attractive.

I think these letter M's have the most variation in experimentation. It was interesting constructing the letters with the strict boundaries of the grid. A you can tell from the top two images there is a big contrast in both letters structures that can't be altered. I like the shape of the third M but I don't like how it only uses half of the composition. Also through the E's and K's as well I have looked at incorporating arrows into the design I like this look but I feel it could be overpowering included into the whole set.