Advanced Typography - Task 2: Key Artwork

20/5/2024 - 14/6/2024 / Week 5 - Week 7

Cindy Clarissa Leslie / 0367677
Advanced Typography / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media
Task 2: Key Artwork

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LECTURES

Link to lectures 1 to 4

Week 5: Lecture 5

Perception and Organisation

Contrast

Figure 1.1 Different ways to create contrast in typography. Week 5, 20/5/2024

Contrast - there are different methods that can be done to create contrast:

• Size: provides a point where the reader's attention should be at, ex, bigger letters will be seen first before the small ones.
  
  
• Weight: Using bold type to make it stand out in comparison to the lighter type of the same typeface, using rules, spot and square.
  
  
• Form: distinction between capital letter and its lowercase, roman letter and italic, condensed and expanded.
  
  
• Structure: Different letterforms of different typefaces.
  
  
• Texture: the way the lines of a type look as a whole up close and from a distance, depending on how they are arranged.
  
  
• Colour: second colour is less emphatic in values, diverts attention to the first colour.

Form

Figure 1.2 Use of form in a poster. Week 5, 20/5/2024

Form - plays an important role in deciding the visual impact and first impression, good forms would be eye catching for the viewers. When a typeface is perceived as a form, it is no longer considered as a typeface as it is already been manipulated using distortion, texture, enlargement etc.

Gestalt Theory/Organisation

Gestalt Theory - theory of how perceptual grouping happens under variety of circumstances. The types are:

• Law of Similarity: elements that are similar to each other tend to be perceived as a unified group.
  
  
• Law of Proximity: elements that are close together tend to be perceived as a unified group.
  
  
• Law of Closure: the human brain's tendency to see a complete image based on an incomplete one.
  
  
• Law of (Good) Continuation: the human brain tends to perceive objects that are intersecting to be different, singular or interrupted.
  
  
• Law of Symmetry: elements that are symmetrical tend to be perceived as a unified group.

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INSTRUCTIONS

Task 2(A): Key Artwork

Research

Before starting my sketches I had to come up with a keyword that I want to incorporate into my design as a way to represent who I am as a person to potential clients. From this keyword, I went on and searched for inspiration online.

Keywords:

• sharp
• alternative
• straightforward

Figure 2.1 Inspiration board for key artwork. Week 5, 20/5/2024

These are the inspirations that I have collected, they all rather edgy and has this certain style that is either similar to genres such as metal or goth.

First Attempt

Figure 2.2 Initial sketch ideas for first attempt. Week 5, 25/5/2024

Within my first sketches, I wanted to incorporate my aesthetic and have a gothic look onto my design. I wanted it to be based on some of my favorite animals, which was a cat in the top one and a bat in the bottom.

Digitalization process of first attempt. Week 5, 25/5/2024

Using Adobe Illustrator, I used the sketch as a template and started tracing it out using the pen tool. After tracing it, I made it look more symmetrical and neat by adjusting each of the strokes.

Final design for first attempt. Week 5, 25/5/2024

In the end, I made the strokes of each letters thicker. However, after receiving feedback, the design was not executed well and will only appeal within a certain niche of clients.

Second Attempt

In my second attempt, I chose keywords that were able to represent my values and personality in a professional/working environment. I wanted something that was able to show clients that I could be reliable and trusted in creating their designs, my keywords were:

• Flexible
• Crafty
• Creative
• Reliable

Figure 3.1 Second sketches. Week 6, 1/6/2024

From these sketches, I chose the paperclip idea since it really reminded me somewhat of 'arts and crafts', this also represents the flexible keyword really well since paperclips are easily bendable to any kinds of shapes.

Figure 3.2 Process of making 2nd key artwork. Week 6, 1/6/2024

Using an existing paperclip vector, I traced the shape out and decided on using a typeface that would fit the whole style. I then integrated the letter 'C' in front of my name to the clip before creating the highlights with white lines to create the illusion of a curvature. 

Figure 3.3 Key artwork after refining. Week 6, 1/6/2024

After receiving feedback, I got help in refining the design further by making sure that there is equal spacing between the lines. Both the strokes and typeface were created using the shape tool and rounding the corners.

Figure 3.4 Process of animating the key artwork. Week 7, 4/6/2024

For the animation, I used after effects since I was more experienced with the program. I was able to create the animation mostly by utilizing rotation and scales, which was set on 30 fps for 4 seconds. This animation was then transferred onto Photoshop to export properly as a gif. For the animation itself, I wanted to highlight how mendable a paper clip is, which is why I set a stroke that slowly revealed the clip in a line supported by a playful and bouncy warp shake in the end.

Task 2(B): Key Artwork and Collateral

Figure 4.1 Process of creating expansions and collaterals. Week 7, 3/6/2024

I selected a colour palette that could fit the design especially in making it rather 'paper' like. From my key artwork, I attempted to make different ranges of expansions, which were heart patterns, spiral and clip-shaped texts. In the end, using a mockups website, I chose my collateral items to be daily used objects and pasted my designs onto it.

Figure 4.2 Initial colour (left) and revised colour (right) on book collateral. Week 7, 3/6/2024

I had to make some changes to some of the design I made for the collateral, the feedback I was given was to always keep in mind about how these items will be used in real life on a daily basis. Therefore the book being predominantly white wouldn't be ideal as it would just get dirty overtime instead.

Figure 4.3 Initial design (left) and revised design (right) on mug collateral. Week 7, 3/6/2024

In the revised design, I wanted an expansion that necessarily retained the paperclip design as a whole, therefore I tried playing around mostly with the shape and lines, eventually ending up with a spiral design that I also kept rather minimalistic.

Final Task 2(A): Key Artwork

Figure 5.1 Final black wordmark on white background. Week 8, 14/6/2024

Figure 5.2 Final white wordmark on black background. Week 8, 14/6/2024

Figure 5.3 Final color palette. Week 8, 14/6/2024

Figure 5.4 Final key artwork with lighter colours. Week 8, 14/6/2024

Figure 5.5 Final key artwork with dark colours. Week 8, 14/6/2024

Figure 5.6 Final animation of key artwork. Week 8, 14/6/2024

Final Task 2(B): Key Artwork & Collateral

Figure 6.1 Book collateral. Week 8, 14/6/2024

Figure 6.2 Totebag collateral. Week 8, 14/6/2024

Figure 6.3 Mug collateral. Week 8, 14/6/2024

Instagram profile link: https://www.instagram.com/ccl_crafts/

Figure 6.4 Final instagram screengrab. Week 8, 14/6/2024

Figure 6.5 Final pdf. Week 8, 14/6/2024

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FEEDBACK

Task 2(A): Key Artwork

Week 5

General Feedbacks

Design should be able to represent yourself in some way. To create a good wordmark, it must be relatively legible at smaller sizes, make sure it looks good on black and white. Whitespace should be considered, it could weaken your wordmark as it affects the design's impact. The keywords used in creating the design should relatively tell something about yourself. Design must be readable. Come up with different sketches for the design. Form should be present in the design, not just typeface.

Directed Feedbacks

Find a letterform that could work with the design, slowly turn it into the sketch by slow dosage especially with the pointiness. There is too much whitespace in between the letters.  The gothic design is very niche and will only appeal to specific clients, this should be kept in mind. There's issues in the readability of the letter 'Y'.

Week 6

General Feedbacks

Consider a client's point of view especially when creating a design that is rather personal. Don't need to overload the wordmark with repeatitive elements. Consider the whitespace around the mark. Readability should always be considered, clients should be able to read the letters within a second. 

Directed Feedbacks

The thickness of the stroke for the paperclip should be equal. The design should be seen in a smaller scale too, consider changing the white strokes and make sure it stays visible. There is a problem in the double lining at first glance, recommend embedding the rest of the letters ('INDY') into the paperclip itself. You can decided whether or not the typeface in the paperclip to stay as it is or changing some strokes and curve it up even more to embed it further into the paperclip element.

Task 2(B): Key Artwork and Collateral

Week 7

Directed Feedbacks

Change the book cover's colour to dark purple, consider how these items would actually be used by clients in real life. Change the design on the mug into something else, try to create and incorporate a design from the highlights instead. The heart shaped expansion is good enough, the paperclip made from words could be improved, mug design could also be improved.

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REFLECTION

Experience

In my experience, I initially had the impression that I was able to go with completing this task by creating a design that I could present my aesthetic in, however, after receiving feedback, what stuck onto me the most is that I should be able to appeal to a wide range of clients as much as possible. I mostly struggled with the expansion of my own design, since I felt like I couldn't explore further beyond just the paperclip design, which was okay but it clients would possibly find boring which is what I would improve on if I have the opportunity to repeat this task. Aside from that, I thought that this task was overall fun since I had a lot of freedom and possibilities in creating the design I want to express myself in onto people, the lecturer had also been a great help by providing useful feedbacks that I used to improve my designs with.

Observations

What I observed was the many possibilities in expanding a design. I learned that it was possible how these expansions are able to create an image for the brand and a lasting impression onto their customers. Though these expansions have varying designs, they came from the same key artworks and help audiences in recognizing a brand. This shows the importance of design, even typography, in helping certain businesses to continue growing as long as it is executed well.

Findings

Through this task, a finding that mostly stuck onto me was a feedback that had been given to me by my lecturer. During my first scrapped idea, I was told that the design was only going to be able to appeal to a certain niche of clients and that I have to constantly keep in mind about the clients that I want to reach to. I found that to make a good design, I have to know what exactly the purpose, what message I am trying to communicate with my design and who do I want to communicate with. In this case, I simulated how this would appeal with professional clients, which is why I created a design that will show my work ethics and points that would be advantageous in my design carerr.

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FURTHER READING

Typographic Systems by Kimberly Elam

Figure 7.1 Carter, Rob, et al. Typographic Design: Form and Communication. John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 2018.

I chose this book to review on the basics of typography that can help me create better designs especially fonts for the upcoming task 3.

Figure 7.2 Letterforms analyzed, page 32. Week 5, 25/5/2024

In this page, I was able to learn about basic information regarding typefaces especially in its construction. To create a guide for creating a good letterform, designers should initially decide on its:

• Capline - line that runs along the tops of all uppercase letters and the ascenders of lowercase letters.
  
  
• Meanline - line that establish the height of lowercase letters
  
  
• x-height - distance between meanline and baseline, usually establishes the height of lowercase letters using an 'x'.
  
  
• Basline - line that acts like a base for letters to rest on.
  
  
• Beard line - line that runs along descenders.

Figure 7.3 Basic principles of legibility, page 55. Week 7, 4/6/2024

Readability/legibility is important in typography, a good design can be easily read by the audiences. In this pages, I learned about the different factors that could affect legibility, starting from interline spacing, weight, character width, italics and obliques. I learned that typefaces with larger x-height would need more interline spacing in comparison to those smaller. Line length should be kept minimal at 52 characters for typefaces with larger x heights. Strokes should also be examined as light strokes could barely be distinguished from the background while heavy ones may lose their patterns on their counterparts. Weight can also be used in order to emphasize certain aspects in typographic page elements. Character width can affect legibility when condensed or expanded typefaces are used, condensed are generally hard to read.  Italics are overall bad for legibility, however good when someone wants to emphasize a specific information in the text.

Figure 7.4 Basic principles of legibility, page 52. Week 7, 4/6/2024

This page helps the readers discern a good design and bad design while comparing them side by side. For legibility, a text should have the same typeface and size, changes in weight should only be changed only if necessary. Contrast to emphasize something should be strong. Interletter, interword and interline spacing should be manipulated based on the typeface. Do not place two word spaces after any punctuation marks. Rags should be considered to not make reading awkward. Manually kern display type settings.