Thursday, April 23, 2009

Typography Test Review

This is what you need to know for the typography test, and where to find it:

World of Letterforms Video:
1. What the letter A originally symbolized
2. Who invented moveable type & what they created with it
3. What did Mantius create and why?
4. What did Bodoni, Garamond, Baskerville & Benquiat create?

In your typography packets:
1. Type measurement conversions: Points>Picas / Points>Inch / Picas>Inch
2. How to measure LEADING
3. How to measure the line length of different text alignments (Examples A-E)
4. How to use the E-Gauge to measure type

In Basics of Design: Layout and Typography for Beginners
1. 4 Things to Know before starting a design: Page 2
2. Graphic Design Principles: P 12-14
3. Graphic Design process: P 14-19
4. Different text alignments: P 101-104
5. Type Anatomy: P 205 (baseline, ascender, serif, counter, descender, x height, crossbar, cap height)
6. Vocabulary: Thumbnail, rough, comp, alignment, format, visual hierarchy, grid, serif, sans serif, decorative, script.

Miscellaneous online info:
1. How LEADING got its name: http://lowendmac.com/designer/11.html
Business Card Thumbnails:
In creating our business card thumbnails, we will focus on the design principles of EMPHASIS, CONTRAST and ALIGNMENT. You will set up an InDesign document and apply these principles to your experimenting with typography options for your identity system.

1. Create a Portrait oriented Letter sized document in InDesign, with 0.6 inch top and bottom margins and 0.5 inch inside and outside margins.

2. Create guides at the following locations.
Use the X and Y dialogue boxes at the top of your screen to enter the numbers:
X coordinates-- 0.5, 4, 4.5, 8
Y coordinates--0.6, 2.6, 3.2, 5.2, 5.8, 7.8, 8.4, 10.4

3. Label this layer "Guides". Lock the layer.

4. Start another layer. Label it "Thumbnails."

4. On the second layer, make a Rectangle (the tool without the x inside the shape) measuring 3.5 x 2 inches. Place it at x0.5/y0.6, using the X and Y dialogue boxes at the top of your screen to enter the numbers.

5. Begin experimenting with the fonts you used in your concept board. Develop eight possible typographic solutions in the business card spaces. Each solution should address the following design principles. Indicate what you have applied and where on your printed thumbnail sheet.

EMPHASIS: There should be a clear visual hierarchy in the design. (A strongest point of emphasis, backed by secondary and tertiary accents.)

CONTRAST: Apply contrast to the styles of type in your design and your color choices. Try combining a decorative or script font with a serif or sans serif font in each solution. Try combining regular and bold type, etc. Be sure that whatever choice you make, that the type retains LEGIBILITY. Experiment with contrasting colors, in the type and background colors.

ALIGNMENT: Use the Paragraph panel to try out different type alignments in your thumbnails. Experiment with each alignment style (Left, Center, Justified, Right) at least one time. Think about where your logo would fit on the card once it is developed.

6. Your business card should list the following information:
FIRST AND LAST NAME
JOB TITLE
COMPANY
1234 YOUR STREET
ANYTOWN, MN, 55555
(555) 555-5555
PROFESSIONAL_EMAIL@ANYCO.com

Friday, April 17, 2009

Independent Study 4/17/09

1. Pick up your journals from the table. Fix them if incomplete. Leave them in the same location at the end of the day if you are re-submitting them. I did not receive assignments from Cody or Jerry and Will was absent yesterday. Flag the Tuesday and Thursday pages and turn in today!

2. NO DARKROOM OR SCREEN PREP STUFF TODAY!
Chemicals make me nervous. I want to be here. End of story.

3. In the meantime, work on current projects, Q4 project ideas, criteria, etc. Be ready to go over it with me on Monday! You can also knock your next week journal assignments out of the way.

4. You can still have a long break today BUT YOU CANNOT TAKE IT AT THE END OF CLASS. The cafeteria closes at 1:00 on Fridays anyway. If you want to go there, go at like 12:25. THE SUB CANNOT DISMISS YOU FROM THE COMMONS. End of story.

4. Yep, the new printer is here. But it is not up and running yet. To touch is to die!