The assignment was all about playing with different fonts. To be honest, I hardly ever use any font except Times New Roman 12 because it is required for MLA and APA. It was fun to be able to go through the fonts and think about them as personalities. Some of the fonts had obvious personalities. For instance, Earwig Factory looks like it is cut out of magazine letters so it easily reminded me of some creepy Hollywood movie with a stalker or serial killer. Stereodelic was also a fun font because it reminded me of the type of font that one might find at an Improv Comedy Club. It is definitely not a font for the academic world! Other fonts, however, were not as easy to think about. For example, Wickendern Cafe seemed pretty straightforward. Finally, I decided on coffee shop and cemetery (which I realized I spelled incorrectly - whoops!) because they have such different feels.
Mini Art School Activity #2:
I completed activity #2 on page 56 which was to log on to the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Reading Room and analyze some different pictures. Here is the first picture:
I like this picture because it definitely has a focal point - the dancers in the center of the picture. However, I like that they are small to show the grandiosity of the room in which they are standing. The difference in size between the couple and the room also provide the picture with contrast (principle no. 2). There is also balance in the picture (principle no. 3) because of the layout of the columns behind the couple. However, my favorite part of this picture is the lighting fixture hanging off-center at the top of this picture. It is my favorite part of the picture.
This is a picture of the Vietnam Memorial in DC in snow. I picked this picture because of the lines in the picture. I love that the focal part of the picture is the angular line (which is the structure of the monument). But I also enjoy the contradicting soft lines of the chain "fence" on the left hand side of the picture because it brings the picture some softness. Finally, I love that this picture is all black and white because of the snow, but I don't think it is actually developed as a black and white picture - it's just nature turning the world into a black and white photo.
I picked this picture because I was specifically looking for something that showed movement. The little girl is captured in the perfect moment of childhood. I know that movement means moving your eye across the page and not actual movement, but I think that this picture does both - it shows the little girl in a great childhood moment and yet the reader's eye still moves through the picture with the girl.
Finally, I picked this picture because it was taken in my hometown of Verona, NJ at Annin Flag Factory. I think this picture hits all of the principles of basic communication. The flag is obviously the focal point, but your eye travels through the entire picture taking in all of the women. It has a great contrast of color with dark and light which balances the picture out nicely.
Overall, it was very helpful to look at these pictures when thinking about laying out a design. It helped to make sense of the different principles outlined by Golombisky and Hagen. I will be more aware of the overall look of my designs in the future.
Hi!
ReplyDeleteI love the layout of the fonts in the table. This example shows that tables can work. Did you paste this or create it directly in your blog? I find that sometimes when I try to work in Word then copy and paste it into my blog, the format gets changed. I noticed that we did the same exercises.
I like the second picture and the element of movement that is present. Both the leg of the little girl and the rope helps add to the illusion of movement. I also like the value contrast of the dark and light. I think that is is amazing to see all the elements and principles at play. I think both exercise challenged me to look at all the different components of visual literacy. I now realize why certain things appeal to me while others don't. Before this class and this exercise, I never considered why I liked a picture or an ad. I have a beautiful picture over my couch and I never stopped to think about why it appeals to me and everyone that visits me, but I am going to analyze it when I get home. I also love how what we are learning can be directly applied to our "real lives."
Jennifer, I usually create whatever we are doing in Word, take a screen shot of it, save it as a picture in Paint and then add it to my blog!
ReplyDeleteSusan,
ReplyDeleteI too did the fonts exercise and found it really rewarding. I will now be able to choose fonts that are more meaningful and convey the message I intend. I usually stick to a handful of "safe" font but now I want to explore more about how fonts effect my design and how fonts can change the meaning of a message or advertisement. I think the fonts you chose really capture the meaning of your word choice and help to amplify them.
As far as the images you chose for your second activity: BRAVO! Your image choices really speak to all the design tips and lessons we have been learning about, not to mention they are all beautiful images. It's amazing how two images that can be complete opposites can still use the same design principles effectively. Great job dissecting each image and applying the design principles we have been learning about!
Sean
I agree with Jennifer, I also like your table of fonts - its organizes the information and makes it very easy to interpret. I also like how you used the font to demonstrate how it does not resemble that specific theme that you wrote.
ReplyDeleteSusan,
ReplyDeleteYou hit the nail on the head with the serial killer font! So creepy! I did the same activity and I also found that I had trouble coming up with words that fit the font perfectly.
The photos you chose are great examples of the principles they demonstrate. There are lines in each photo (vertical columns and horizontal molding in photo 1, the sidewalk in photo 2, the girl's leg in photo 3, and the vertical lines on the flag in photo 4) and I love how different they are. My eyes involuntarily follow these lines to scan across the photograph to look at the other details. I was not aware of this until I read this week's readings.
Hi Susan,
ReplyDeleteI love your font table as well. A few of your fellow students did the same, which ensured that when uploading the document to Blogger, you wouldn't lose the fonts themselves, which unfortunately happened in some cases. Nice job with the chart!
I am always interested to see how students interpret font voices with this exercise. I was laughing a few different times because I've used several of these fonts before and they were all the opposite of the context that you labeled the font as. That's not to say you're wrong --- there is no "wrong" with this exercise, and I can certainly agree with all of the descriptions you used for these fonts, especially when you're just staring at the font and it isn't in any particular context. For Stereofidelic, I actually used it for a Professional Development flier for the title of the event -- it made the flier pop without being overwhelming... For the "serial killer font" I watch enough Investigation Discovery (the television channel) to know that it does surely resemble the letters various psychopaths used to write to the police with -- cutting out all those magazine letters to compose a message to taunt the officers looking for them... Here again, I actually really like this font, but I didn't associate it with serial killers at first. I did think of magazine clippings, but I'm a scrapbooker, and my immediate thought was those cool shaped varying letters you can use to decorate craft projects with. I used this particular font when I created www.kuwpthespacebetween.org actually. I felt that it went well with the overall look and feel of my website -- contributing to the reader's visual experience... It's all about perspective and context!
For additional fonts you can check out www.dafont.com for free downloads! I know some of your colleagues asked in their comments where you found yours but that's my go-to source for fonts whenever I want to change things up.
You did a very nice job of articulating what principles have been demonstrated by each of the images you selected for the second task. I like each of the photographs you selected because they're so different and yet represent so many of the design principles in much the same way. The more you look for the principles within these assignments, the more you'll find yourself subconsciously looking for them in everyday life -- guaranteed. The mini art school unit always changes your perspective on art, architecture, and the world of design at large when you study the theories and principles that guide their development!
Very nicely done!
prof h