casey callis FINAL TYPOGRAPHY PORTFOLIO

Problem Statement: Class Discussion: The power of language and meaning; words as symbols for objects and ideas (conceptual) as well as combinations of letterforms (practical). Class Exercise You are being given a printout of a word and a piece of black contact paper. Cut through the printout to create letters and save all pieces, including the negative form (what’s left of the contact paper once you have cut out your letters). Place your letters somewhere in the environment: UTC campus, your dorm or Apt., the street, etc. Do not destroy or damage any public or private property. Think about how and where you place your word. Is it public or private? Who is your audience? How do you want them to feel or think when they encounter the word? Consider CONTEXT; i.e., the relationship between the word, the object and/ or location within which the word is placed. How do all of these “parts” inform or shape their environment? Also consider the physical properties of the letterforms; spacing, orientation, and alignment. Photograph your installation at the highest resolution possible, horizontally oriented, and convert to grayscale in Photoshop. Crop to 6x8 and adjust contrast as desired. Think about the quality of your documentation as evidence of both your formal and conceptual thinking. For Tuesday (January 25) Print your image (centered) on 8.5x11 paper using the Color Ricoh or equiv. Spray-mount to Bristol board and trim to 8x10. Prints due at the beginning of class for discussion. PROJECT 1: environmental lettering Designer Statement: When you hear the word ‘lust’ what do you think of? Something sexual, no doubt. Lust has been cast to describe negative things, and its been deemed a deadly sin. But what about the real meaning of Lust? According to Dictionary.com lust is a noun that represents either a sexual craving or “a passionate or overmastering desire or craving; ardent enthusiasm; zest; relish”. So why not use lust in a positive light? The location I chose for my environmental lettering speaks to my target audience, which is the art students at UTC. To anyone this locked doorway with the word lust on its frame would allude to sexual ongoings behind closed doors, but to myself and other design students this is a door to which we want the key code. This is the door to the senior design studio. The door that pre-review design students dream about opening. I want this to be an inspirational sign to undergrad design students. When I look at this door I have that much more passion and desire to push my designs. I want to make it past review and one day use the studio beyond this fortress. I want everyone to lust after this door--not necessarily the door itself, but what it stands for.

Problem Statement: Class Discussion: A brief history of the development of Latin alphabetic form; the architectonics of letterform; proportional systems; measurements; major classifications of typefaces and sub-classifications within families. Class Exercise In typography, a ligature occurs where two or more letterforms are joined as a single glyph of character. Ligatures usually replace consecutive characters sharing common components. Using Univers (1954, Adrain Frutiger), ITC Garamond (c. 1545, Claude Garamond), or Bodoni (1798, G i a m b a t t i s t a B o d o n i ) , e x a m i n e t h e architectonics of letterforms within a type family and create formal combinations that take advantage of shared physical properties between letterforms to create a single combined form. For Tuesday (January 25) generate a minimum of 50 thumbnails (appx 2”) using black marker and tracing paper. Consider optical balance, visual logic, synthesis and resolution. You may consider minor alterations to one or the other of the letterforms in an effort to unite the two, but any modifications must be defended in terms of the physical properties of the face overall. Look for precedent in other forms. Work in class to refine and ink your best solution so that the largest measurement is 8”. Center the new character on a 10”x10” piece of Letramax 2200. Working from enlarged copies of the letterforms, you may create a tracing dummy using tracing paper and graphite to transfer the form directly onto board for inking. Final inked panel due Thursday (January 27). Thursday (January 27), working from a full-sized copy of your inked panel, create a cropping tool to explore possible cropped compositions; considering a balance between abstraction and recognition. Consider the overall balance of figure to ground. The viewer should recognize the form as having been derived from letterform as they are simultaneously aware of the formal properties for the letterform(s). Generate 50 thumbnails exploring various potential solutions. On Tuesday (February 1) Reproduce the best PROJECT 2 : letterform analysis Designer Statement: I wanted to create a ligature that had a sort of flow to it. I narrowed my font choices down to univers because it contains the weight varyation in the stroke that I though would cause for an interesting juxtaposition. I chose the ga because of the way that the strokes come out of the top of the g and come back in again to meet. I knew that all of the curves would work to my advantage for the crop in. When I was working on the second part of the project I wanted to zoom in and twist my composition enough to make the characters unidentifiable. I wanted the composition of the crop in to be strong enough to be able to stand on its own. I didn’t want someone to be able to walk up to the crop in and know that they were looking at letters. Only after studying the nature of the forms could someone notice that it is actually letters. solution using Adobe Illustrator and apply color using a complimentary color scheme of your choosing. Due Thursday (February 3), from a single Illustrator file measuring 10”x20”, print on the Epson (or equiv) on matte heavyweight paper and mount both solutions front to back.

PROJECT 3 : letter spacing Problem Statement: For Thursday, February 3rd please read and be prepared to discuss the following articles and excerpts: Syntax and Communication Chapter 3 from your text, up to “Typographic Space” The Word, The Line by Jan Tschichold, excerpted from “Asym- metric Typography”, c. 1935 The Crystal Goblet or Printing Should be Invisible by Beatrice Warde, 1932 Available on Google Books: http://books.google.com. Search “Look- ing Closer 3” Refer to pgs 56-59 The Rules of Typography According to Crackpots Experts by Jeffery Keedy, 1993 Available on Google Books: http:// books.google.com. Search “Looking Closer 2” Refer to pgs 27-31 Tuesday, February 8 (in class). Please divide into teams of 2. Each team-member will be responsible for researching both assigned faces and designers (individually drawn from a hat), and for sharing the research and working together to refine and condense the findings into a cohesive 150-200 essay. Present a synopsis that you feel appropriately and adequately captures information relevant to the face and/or the designer. For instance: Was the type designed to meet a particular objective? When was it designed? A general classification? Did the designer have an agenda? Etc. Make it interesting, make it yours, and take care to cite sources. Designer Statement: I learned a lot about the mechanics of typography from this project. I found out how tedious it used to be just to lay out a simple body of text or even just a headline. I never realized how much goes into each and every letter that I type out. Even the predetermined spacing of one letter next to another. For my kerning I wanted to make the name and the font name flow well without appearing to have any breaks in the words. I had the most difficulty with spacing between letters that are round and letters that have counters and shoulders. In the end I feel like I did a good job creating a clear and readable headline.

PROJECT 4 : typographic space Problem Statement: Class Discussion Typographical space, hierarchy, perceptual alignment, visual dynamics Class Exercise Working from text excerpted from an inaugural address of your choosing, create a composition that explores the “rhythmic and dimensional field in which typographic communication exists” (Carter, Day, Meggs). In working towards potential solutions, explore relationships between “parts” of information (letters, words, groups of words) and remain conscious of the relationship of those parts to the negative space of the page and to the page itself (not as an arbitrary format, but as an active participant in the composition). Working from one of the four type families below, manipu- late scale, alignment, position, density, and space to actively amplify (or subvert) meaning. As stated in your text, you are working “to establish coherence between the viewing experience and typographic form, between the verbal statement and written language”. Typefaces Gotham: ITC Caslon 224: Knockout: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdef ghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdef ghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdef ghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz You may work with any face within the family in combination; but, for the sake of visual unity, I would advise restraint. Knockout, in particular, has over 70 versions from which to choose. You will be restricted to the use of Black, White and tints of a single color; one from among the follow- ing: C=0, m=100, y=100, k=0 (red) C=0, m=15, y=100, k=0 (yellow) C=100, m=0, y=100, k=0 (green) C=100, m=20, y=0, k=10 (blue) Your finished composition will measure 14x22.5 – a proportion based on the golden section. Initial comps will be b/w and scaled to fit an 8.5x11 format, refined roughs should be in color and scaled to fit 11x17. Finals will be printed on the Epson printer or equiv. 5A0=:;H 1>;3;H =^fXbcWTcX\Tc^b_TPZcWTcadcWcWTfW^[TcadcW Designer Statement: For my inaugural address I chose Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first address. I chose the quote, “now is the time to tell the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly” because I wanted to send out a message of being true to yourself and being unafraid to be who you are instead of being fake. I wanted to create a visual metaphor for the quote by creating a poster that is in your face without any arbitrary words. I blew out the word boldly to make it so large that it couldn’t fit on the page. I highlighted the word bold in boldly to add extra importance to the message. As a happy accident the incorporation of the black cube in the bottom right corner created an exclamation point to the composition which neither makes or breaks the poster. Upon receiving some constructive criticism in the final critique of this poster, I decided to rework it resulting in a more resolved look (bottom right).

PROJECT 5 : columnar grid Problem Statement: Class Exercise: Using InDesign (.id), create a 4-page layout using a multi-column grid of your design. Page format is 51 x 66 pica (letter) and the final composi- tion will be printed front to back on 102 x 66 pica (tabloid) paper that will be folded to create the letter- sized folio. Page 1 will serve as a cover/ introduction to the article. Pages 2 and 3 will function as a spread, and page 4 (back cover) will carry any remaining content. The primary content will be the assigned article On (Design) Bullshit by Michael Bierut (pub. 5/9/05). Secondary content will be a minimum of 3 of the responses to the article following the original post. Finally you are responsible for 3-5 images (b/w) to accompany the article. All images must be appropriately cited. Images found on-line MUST be a minimum of 72 dpi at full-size. The primary goal is the design and implementation of a multi-column grid (based on the spread) – applied consistently to all 4 pages – creat- ing formal cohesion while allowing for variety, contrast, and rhythm. You will consider the relationship of type size (between 9 and 12 point) and leading; the relationship of column size to page size; the relationship of “activated” space (type/image/ column) to void; the relationship between gutters, exterior margins, and column interval. You’ll be asked to consider hierarchy of content (headline, bi-line, primary and secondary content, type and image). You may use up to two type-families in combination (although you’re not required to do so) and you should consider variations in type-face, weight, and size to help to articulate the text. You are restricted to the use of type- families already introduced in the course. Black and white only. Your finished output will measure 102 x 66 flat and 51 x 66 folded. All digital roughs should be presented full-scale on letter-sized paper with the center spread (pages 2-3) taped together at the gutter. Designer Statement: I wanted to create a design that was easy to read. When I read an article I feel that it is easier to read with a shorter line width. So I tried to generate thumbnails with columns. One of the first designs I made on the computer featured full bleed images that were incorporated to break the grid and a continuous black bar running along the top of each page, but as I worked through it I decided that it wasn’t as clean as I wanted it to be. I n the end I went with a design that I thought was clean and easy to read, but still dynamic. (Pictured Below.)

PROJECT 6 : modular grid Problem Statement: Class Discussion: Columnar grids vs. modular grids, grid resolution, designing for macro and micro viewing. Class Exercise Design a broadside based on a supplied grid and using the provided text and images. Use Illustrator to create a one page file measuring 105 picas x 137 picas with 5 pica margins. Within the margin area, setup a 15 pica grid with a 1 pica gap between each square unit. Set the provided body copy in 9 point Helvetica Neue Regular on 12 point leading. Headline, image captions, and notes will also be set in Helvetica Neue, but you may use variations within the face t your discretion . As always, give careful consideration to the harmony and relationship between the headline, body copy, and auxiliary copy.You must utilize all provided content, but may place the images at any size. Work to balance visual interest between the macro scale (across the room) and the micro scale (reading at close range). Experiment and take risks within the boundaries of the assignment. Thursday, March 31 - generate 30 refined thumbnails with enough clarity to accurately communicate your intentions to another designer. Thursday, April 7 - present digital comps scaled to tabloid size and with grid lines faintly visible. Work in class to review, and refine work in progress. Tuesday April 12 - work in studio. Review printing and output guidelines for final output. Final output due Thursday, April 14 Designer Statement: For this project I really enjoyed working with the modular grid. I thought that it allowed for a lot of freedom while still providing an organized structure. I really didn’t know where I wanted to go while creating thumbnails, but eventually I remembered a project from 2D that I though would work nicely in the grid. The triangular motif made by the images is the manifestation of the 2D tangram project. It was a challenge to incorporate all of the information and images in the Tufte article, but I think that I made it work in the end. For the title I wanted to apply a visual metaphor by using variations of helvetica neue. For ‘micro’ I used a thin variation, and for Macro a black condensed. For t’readings’ I wanted to differentiate by having a neutral gray and regular weight. I wanted to make the author’s name special by making it red. All of the healine is made to justify into a rectangle that is grid based. The text columns are also based on the grid. I made the references a lighter gray and slightly smaller than the body. Overall I wanted to create a poster that is clean and dynamic.

PROJECT 7 : type and script Problem Statement: Class Discussion: Use of open source programming in design. Scriptographer javascript plugin for Illustrator. Experimental design using generative/biological mod- els and self organizing systems and its application in typography. The sale of what cannot be sold; what does it mean to generate desire? How to appropriate tools of advertising and design for the purpose of self-expression. Class Exercise Design a 17 x 22 inch broadside using the scriptographer plugin. You will create a broadside/poster for a material object that is not mass produced using one Scriptographer script of your choice. On your broadside you must set the name of your object (dirt, clouds, etc) in the typeface of your choosing along with 250 words of text relating to your object. This text can come from any source (must be cited) and can be related to your object directly (example: scientific definition of dirt) or peripherally (example: significant event in the history of dirt). The layout for this project is open but you will be evaluated on the effectiveness of your composition along with your ability to generate a compelling statement about your chosen object. 1. Choose an and object write out any associations, opinions, metaphors, stories or other research/history you can find. 2. R e s e a r c h S c r i p t o g r a p h e r (www.scriptographer.org) and determine which script might be most interesting for your project concept. 3. Play with Scriptographer, get it out of your system! This is a “neat” plugin so you’ll have to spend time getting over the novelty effect. 4. Choose which script you’ll be using and begin laying out text with your script composition 5. Refine roughs, print, repeat Designer Statement: For this project I decided to choose dead opossum as my object that isn’t mass produced. I recently read a poem called “Carrion” by Baudelaire. The poem romanticizes a decomposing animal describing its stench as a perfume. So I decided to go with the curve amplifier tool. I thought that it would make for a nice array of stink lines. I incorporated the pink background to hint at a “stinky perfume” to maybe romanticize the stench the way that the poem does. I wanted the text to read as clean and structured. I chose to emphasize the word dead over opossum because I wanted to remind the viewer that its not just a opossum, but a dead one...which I believe is the best kind of opossum.