robert johnson 2/21/15

This week I have selected the cover of one of my dvds. It is the directors cut of the 2003 version of George Romero's Dawn of the dead. a simple font with sort of a semi serif lends a sharp, pointed look to the main type that gives the reader a sense of evil or sinister content. The way it is arranged so that the top of the word "Dawn" is blended into the imagery also gives the viewer the sense that the words themselves are coming from beneath ground, falling in line perfectly with the risen dead or zombie theme. The heirarchy is simple, and obvious as the title of the movie takes center stage as well as being by far the largest type on the cover, but as you can also see, the fact that this is not the original version, but the unrated directors cut is also given some more importance than for example the fact that it is a widescreen version of the film, or the names of the actors.
There is a scratchy quality to the main text  that feels dirty and beaten up, further reinforcing the gritty theme of the movie. Personally I see this kind of typography as some of the most applicable to my own style, and I feel like using subtle type features that reinforce concepts of whatever artwork they accompany will be a big part of my typography choices in the future.

Madison Hanlon

Blog: 5

Text on text on text. This is a page from the Washington Post magazine in 2012. I love the idea of making typography out of simple objects such as peeled back paper. I think this is a creative way to display typography. Not only did the designer decide to make a title out of this, but they also decided to add in text into the slits of the title. The viewers eye has a lot to look at, but still are not overwhelmed with what is going on. I think the way this layout is set up its interesting but still clean. I also love the amount of different styles of text used for this cover. You have bold, thin, and cursive working together. I would love to incorporate this creative idea, using simple objects to make text, in my own work. I feel it would be a cool design for future projects.

Kara Albe

This type treatment was created by Drew Melton, one of my favorite type designer and letterers. He posted this recently on his Instagram. It's a hand-drawn script that was screen printed onto a baseball t-shirt. I love how clean and simple but still stylized and loud it is. It gives you that bubbly but laid-back Cali vibe and clearly displays "California." I've been working on my hand lettering and I hope one day I can get on his level.

Kara Albe

This is a Valentine that I received on the fourteenth. Mostly Egyptian slab-serifs with decorative elements and one hand drawn, elevated stickers and letterpress. I'm assuming this stood out to my boyfriend because he knows how much I value typography. The differentiation of typefaces conveys the wild energetic vibe that this card was going for, and when you open it it sings "Hot Blooded." I'm always looking for well-done ways to use multiple fonts and this is a good example.

robert johnson 2-17 blog post

 This image depicts a sans serif font that Feels very similar to a helvetica bold type font. Although it seems this is not the exact typeface it comes pretty close. This image is something of a PSA or a tongue in cheek message to clients from a designer who wants to convey their irritation for being considered a simple tool rather than a creative mind. In this page, the hierarchy is determined by color choice rather than by font size but the emphasis is clear. The designer here is upset at the clients are relating them to a screwdriver and not giving credit to their mind as a designer. The footnote at the bottom gives an explanation, but it almost seems unnecessary as the main text is so bold and eye catching.

In my own work, I see the use of color for emphasis as hugely helpful as an alternative to font size as it is just not possible sometimes to make font size properly convey the message in situations where space is an issue.

Bria Crain: Week 4

I found this advertising campaign in the September/October 2014 Communication Arts Design Annual. Milto Cleaners is a small, family-owned dry cleaning chain in Indiana that was founded in 1970. They wanted an update to their branding to communicate the experience and care that goes into their dry cleaning. Molloy Design used a slab serif font to give the advertising materials a traditional, yet modern feel. It helps to communicate to potential customers that Milto Cleaners has been around long enough to become masters of their craft, but that they aren't out of touch or too old-fashioned. This campaign shows that the right font can convey your message without having to directly state it, which I'll keep in mind for future design work.

Professor's Website

I was surprised when I discovered that this site belonged to a medieval history professor. The old german style fonts and distorted serif typefaces give this website a distressed appearance.