Brooke Garner

This is a hydrating treatment by Fresh that I picked up the other day to try. It is used to reveal softer, firmer, and healthier looking skin. Fresh Black Tea Instant Perfecting Mask is for people that are looking to enhance their skin. I enjoy the simplicity of the packaging because it allows the typography to do its work. The brown colored text works nicely with the plain white container. The hierarchy is very clear for the product label with the title of the product largest and the brand name kerned loosely and italic. All of the text, besides the brand name ‘fresh’ is a serif that looks very similar to Goudy Oldstyle. I cannot identify the sans-serif brand name however. The simple packaging and clean type works well for this product because the product is working on refreshing the skin and the senses. This example of type will help influence my own work by knowing that simplicity is sometimes best. 

Madison Hanlon

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I found these images on Pinterest. I think its cool that the artist used type with 3D objects. I love the colors used. The black lettering standings out and catches the viewers attention. While the strong use of  off white helps giving it a clean feel. But my favorite is part is the use of simi colorful flowers and leaves. This use of color is not overpowering but help complement the type. I believe this is a very cool and interesting way to catch the viewers attention. I would love to take pictures using type and three dimensional objects. It would be a fun and interactive way to create posters.

robert johnson 3-31

This is a gorgeous use of type. It is a mixture of colors and warping to create a fully 3 dimensional image of a bearded man. The font is a standard sans serif with the natural heirarchy  being set by both size and color. In this case lighter fonts seem more important.
This image gave me inspiration to create more artistic uses of type, and allows me to see at least one great way to think outside the box.

Jessica Prohl

This is a business card I got a couple of months ago at PaxSouth. I thought it was cool how they incorporated the arrows symbolizing jumping into the name of the game. It's very clean, almost everything lines up in terms of lettering. The only thing I think could have helped was more space between each letter, because the I in HIVE tends to get absorbed into the H when glancing at it.

Bria Crain: Week #9

This week's example of typography is an exhibition title treatment by Luke Williams that I found on Fonts in Use. He used Knockout, a grotesque sans serif font. The title treatment was created to accompany "Soundings: A Contemporary Score", which was an exhibition of sound art at the Museum of Modern Art. The curator of the exhibit said that she wanted the design to fill the space as sound fills a room, and I think Williams achieved this in a really interesting way with a purely typographic solution. He used scale and spacing to literally fill the exhibition area with the title. The spacing is non-uniform to represent how sound changes throughout a room (including tempo/rhythm) and color us used to represent different noise levels and their impact. This title treatment will inspire me as I move forward with my own exhibition catalog design. It shows how much concept can be packed into a seemingly simple, purely typographic solution.  I want to achieve this with my design.

Ashley Tann

This is a bottle of almond milk I found at Kroger. I really enjoy the packaging of this product. I think that the choices in color and type do a good job catering an all-natural product to health-conscious consumers. It looks like there are three different typefaces being used: a sans-serif that is used for both the small type on the bottle and "almondmilk," a serif to indicate the flavor, and a script for the word "pure." I like that one typeface is used for the majority of the bottle with changes in size and weight. This creates an interesting design without being overwhelming. The script and serif also give a nostalgic feel to the brand--making the consumer think of a simpler time, when all products were made without hormones and chemicals. This will influence me to pay close attention to my type hierarchy, and remind me that I typically won't need more than two or three typefaces.

Swertfeger, Aida

As of late it seems to be very trendy in the type & hand lettering world to create messages with excessive decor: swashes, tails, descenders, flags, etc that are all connected in a collection of curves. Some typographers join letters in words in elaborate and initially attractive manners, however, they end up completely compromising legibility. 

I chose this type specimen because it is decorative, connective yet still legible. It may be a person issue, but there is nothing more irritating that to have illegible type. I was also curious if having a sans serif type face is more successful because it forces one to produce a clean design. This is just a thoery.

Below is an example of the type movement I'm talking about. This sample is still slightly successful because it is legible. 

BOOOOOOO!

Danika_Birkes_Old_San_Antonio

Walking around downtown San Antonio you are deeply immersed in many different cultures, and time, one of the biggest contributes to this is the typography all over the city. From Old to new, San Antonio is a blast from the past. Here I focused on two different vintage signs, the first two mimicking hand script, followed by neon lighting San serifs, when first designed I believe the designer stuck with the script to make it seem familiar and safe to many of its viewers. The Next two are carrying the strong New York, neon sign feel from the golden age, with layered san serfs, these were designed to dress up the night and draw you in like a bug to a light, a true design of the downtown city life.

Deyton Koch #10

How amazing is this photography project by Peter Defty? Even the title is awesome; "Alphatecture". The letters formed by the buildings are bold and wonky modern serif lookin' letters. I am really impressed by the photographers result because they all go so well together, with a few exceptions. This reminds me of a project we had to do for Type I, where we designed our own alphabet through unconventional means. I slowed the shutter and exposure of my camera and first tried to use sparklers, but ended up using a candle to draw letters in the air with a flame. It was fun and some of the letters turned out really beautifully, while some did not. But they all went well together because of distinctness of the flame, like these all go together because of the distinctness of the architecture, even though they vary in characteristics like line-width. I think projects like these could be used as inspiration for some cool new typefaces. 

Brooke Garner

This is a poster design by Rachel Han, a visual communicator based in Singapore. The poster is intended for those interested in post-modernist and radically contemporary styles. San serifs are used for the numbers and the word ‘odyssey,’ and serifs are used for the other words in the poster. Han uses surrealism, distorted type and geometric shapes to offer different perceptions for her viewers. Some of the text is legible, such as the numbers, but the movement of letterforms repeated closely after another create more of a shape or form that is visually interesting. The recurring movement of letterforms creates a sense of space and time. I like the amount of white space surrounding the letterforms, numbers and geometric shapes, because it gives the eye a break from the dramatic movement of the words. I plan on experimenting more with letterforms to make my designs more interesting and creative.

Cantara Ali: Week 8

This is the cover of a chapbook by a contemporary poet that I really admire, Fabian Romero. The title is Mountains of a Different Kind (the picture is cut off at the top). The type is ink stamped and is mostly sans-serif. If you look closer the "a" and the "i" have serifs. This breaks up the mechanical quality of the other letterforms. Romero is a social justice activist and advocate, especially for LGBTQIA rights and racial equality. The poems in this chapbook speak of alienation from American society because of Romero's identities of Indigenous, queer, transgender, and first generation immigrant. The highlighted theme of the book is the differences in experience between Romero's opportunities and their parent's opportunities in Mexico. The type treatment is appropriate because of the subtle addition of the serif letterforms, symbolizing the simultaneous alienation and invisibility of people like Romero. This subtlety  is what inspires me and what I would like to achieve in future projects.

Jessica Prohl

These are from the SHCH Graphics Group online and I think they're really beautiful. I'd think these are busy, but they're so precisely executed and considerate that I don't feel overwhelmed. I can clearly read them, and I think they're successful.

Bria Crain: Week #8

This example of type is from the 2015 Communication Arts Typography Annual. It is a series of murals created by the Leo Burnett team at local courts to advertise coverage of the U.S. Open on The Sports Network to tennis fans. They created square sans-serif type with tennis balls inserted into the fencing. The type is bold and dramatic; it really captures the intensity of a sport match/tournament and works well with the messages displayed. I really like how creative this is and am impressed with the execution. As graphic designers, we tend to rely on the computer to create type. I'd like to try and challenge myself to create type with other, more inventive off-screen methods to incorporate into future projects.

Austin Stone - Amber Rowland

This design ones to us from Austin Stone Church's worship page. The designer chose to depict a friendly only feel by using a script typeface. The handwritten looks expresses creativity and uniqueness. When paired with a smaller San serif, the feeling of the design gains more professionalism. 

Kara Albe

This is Nulo, a brand of dog food that I saw and whose design I appreciated. The name itself is a variation of Helvetica and I think "medal series" is Gotham. It's successful because it looks cool but it doesn't give me much to go on as to what the company is. Good hierarchy is established on the logo as well as the rest of the package. I'd like to experiment more in my own work with manipulating familiar letterforms.

Ashley Tann

Images from AIGA

This is the packaging design for the liquor company 1842 Ratafia. The packaging is minimalistic and uses 19th century typography, making the bottles feel aged, yet clean. The numbers 1842 is wrapped around the bottle, well spaced, leaving one number to each side. This is cool because 1842 is the date that the traditional recipe was created. This design is really successful because even though it isn't immediately obvious what the product is, it still draws potential customers to it. This packaging is a good example of how to bring two different feelings together with just the use of typography.

Danika Birkes_warning_posters

Over spring break between work and family, I've been researching horror, and Blood/Gore films to get inspiration for my book, one thing I've noticed is that the majority of film/book posters have nice San serif  fonts or hand lettering. Here both of these poster have nice think San Serifs, in all caps and nicely kerned, drawing the viewers eye and playing on the social conduct of warning signs. 

Textile

Why purposefully trying to locate interesting typography specimens in downtown ATX this past week, I realized I could only locate examples that I feel others have shared. Hopefully this isn't one of them, especially because I believe this building is temporary for SXSW. I gravitated towards this example because of the linear qualities displayed, the simplicity and the diverse design aspects. This building displayed the 'textile' text and had the simple "X" wrapped about the other side of the building.

This typeface is sans serif and is open. It works effectively and inspires me as a designer through its use of line to create a typeface as well as to embellish a building. This logo has capabilities of being integrated into a branding system, which is exemplified on the walls.

Deyton Koch #9 (Spring break 2)

Not sure how kosher this was but I went to the Annual Student Show and Conference in Dallas over spring break and I wanted to show you guys some of the amazing work.

This was the cover of a Junior's portfolio book. The die cuts are so precise and delicate and she chose a great font to compliment this execution. It helped that paper was so thick but I was very impressed and it made that bad ass shadow every time you opened her book. I am confused at how she did this because of how clean it was, but there appeared to be burn marks on the back of the cover page. 

This is so simple and it is such a great message that has so many possible applications.

Another strong message made by manipulating simple type.

Yet another strong message made much stronger by the type treatment. Great copy made even more memorable. I like how chaotic it looks and the fact that they put in on warning sign yellow. 

In the process of designing a book I was intrigued by this. It is a book that opens both ways. For such an interesting concept and crazy color palette though the type treatment seems a little boring. I would really like to see this book in person.

Hugely successful. The message is so clear and well-executed. It is funny how the more you look at it, the harder it is to read. 

I thought the grid depicted on the bottom of this poster was strange, especially the use of contrasting colors to form weird diagonals. The jumbled numbers are very eye-catching and fun to look at so I think that the hierarchy is correct (though I wish it was moved slightly to the right). Side note: this is a printed poster but the gold was painted on .

Just liked this modern twist to a gothic font and I really admired the student's work in showcasing their font. I also really liked the negative space form by the letters, especially the "G"

... .--. .-. .. -. --. / -... .-. . .- -.-

... .--. .-. .. -. --. / -... .-. . .- -.- translated is Spring Break.

This week's inspiration comes via typefaces derived from Morse Code. I am very intrigued by all things code and although Morse is fairly commonplace in today's society, I love to see the integration of it in typeface, art pieces and posters.

This particular post inspires me as a designer because Morse Code, in it's own way, utilizes the bare aspects of letters and numbers in a format that can easily be transmitted through radio frequency, light exchanges, etc. A lot of artists use Morse Code to convey exactly what they want through a level of intrigue and the necessity of work for the viewer.

The first photo is a typeface that took essentials from Morse Code. Once you compare the typeface to the actual letter breakdown of Morse, you can see what elements the designer had in mind when he did this.

Deyton #8 (spring break 1)

So I went to the AIGA event last week called "Luchas de Letras". I really had no idea what to expect, but basically there were two designers that were competing for three rounds. Each round they were given a random letter and 30 minutes to design and decorate that letter, and we are given these little tokens to vote on who won each round.

It ended up being so much fun and I wish I could have stayed for the whole thing.
First, I would like to say that the venue was awesome, and the Austin chapter of AIGA is really bad ass at putting these events together. It was an old warehouse-looking building and inside they had 2 kegs and some snacks in the middle of a really cool little art exhibit. The art had nothing to do with the event but they did have a little stand set up advertising the event with goods to buy. (Please ignore the horrible quality of my pictures).

Once the show actually started we went into the other side of the exhibit and the warehouse was set up like a boxing match. They had a boxing ring and folding chairs. Here are some more awful pictures of what went down. The last picture was the end of the first round. (I voted on the cowboy A).  

(and here are some much better photos I stole from their Facebook page):