anat cohen. promo material sketches.

These are the initial sketches for the billboard, program cover and animation. My focus for these pieces were for them to be cousins of my final poster. So, I wanted them to have similarities but not just be a resized version for the new promotional material dimensions.

billboard sketches.

program guide covers.

Specifically for the program guide covers, I was bringing in my previous knowledge of going into this designing was experience of having gone to plays, or musicals in Chicago. I know that plays are different than musical performances and venues handle their program guides differently.

animation sketches.

Program Guide Covers + Billboards Feedback.

The main feedback from Sir Galloway was to stick closer to a "first cousin" status than a "fourth cousin." This means that for my program cover and billboard I will be trying to keep the combined instrument and name type on an angle. I am going to push forward with the idea of further illustrating the instruments coming together for the performance, than the instruments already together.

kinetic type. half step progression.

tender buttons. physical + digital.

The main concept behind my book revolved around the presentation of traditional, easy to explain objects to abstracted ideas. This is the breakdown of what we can accept as a physical item to what can only be spoken about and not always understood. One can explain and show what “a chair” is, but one cannot easily explain and show what “more” is. This same concept can be used when trying to understand the poems. At first they may appear to be simple, but there is more that goes into them than what first meets the eye. Thus, the layout of the poems will slowly transitioned from traditional poetry form into more abstract layouts where hierarchy was tampered with.

covers + binding thread.

notes from the reDesigner. this is the first spread with text that the viewer will encounter.

table of concents.

middle of book + you can see the binding thread bound.

final poem spread + last poems makes connecting back to first poem.

The digital version is a direct transfer from the physical version; so the emphasis is on the viewer being able to react more with the text. The main difference is in the first page of the magazine; the viewer is able to decide how they want to experience the text.  They can view the poems from traditional to abstract, abstract to traditional, or the descent down to abstract. The first two options allow the viewer to read the poems with minimal sounds or music clips to further experience the seriousness of the poems. The third option is the ability to scroll from the cover all the way down to the abstracted poems, moving the focus to the physical structure of the text, hierarchy and layout as it moves from traditional to abstract.

iPad opening screen shot with video still. the choosing begins.

still from video in background as the scroll text slides down to state the reDesigner note as well as give a third option to interact with the poems.

clickable table of contents if you choose the traditional viewing.

view 3, the descent down to abstract begins in traditional linear form.

view 3, towards the end, in abstract territory.

iPad experience. the sketches.

the first ideas. tiny physical mock-up of a digital app.

close up of the first "viewer" decision

second sketch idea for iPad experience.

The basis was to have the main pages of the book scrolling right to left + left to right. Then there was going to be a drop down into a different page where one could simply experience the poems in a descent down from traditional to abstract. The third way was to scroll up and experience the poems in all sound with abstract lines and shapes going from concrete shapes to abstract forms.

anat cohen. the final poster.

Below is the final poster for the Jazz Folly Series with the Anat Cohen Quartet. My concept revolved around the idea of "organized chaos." What proved to have been the most impactful part of the concept building for me was when I looked up reviews on the Anat Cohen Quartet and Anat Cohen in general. The specific quotes that I kept in mind was: "bacchanalian riot of Cohen in person, whirling on the stage, curls flying, unleashing clarinet notes in formally elegant torrents" from imnworld, "unconventionally configured ensemble" from allaboutjazz, "A musical world traveler who likes to mix things up " from NYT and "… I was delighted by the liquid runs and rich, woody tone" from Washington Post.

My main musical inspirations to design came from her album “Clarinetwork Live at the Village Vanguard.” Although the actual sound of the music was not a major focus in my designing experience, it was taken into account.

In reference to rhetoric tropes, which was part of the initial concepting of this poster, I would say that synecdoche and hyperbole. Within this piece, synecdoche can be seen in parts of the four instruments pieced together to complete one instrument. The idea that this is portraying is the bringing together of four instruments to be one almost mind-blowing musical experience. More specifically what I mean is the idea that the four instruments together create one beautiful and almost unreal musical experience. Hyperbole is slightly seen within this composition as parts of the instruments are brought together. There is no instantly recognizable exaggeration of size of instruments, but they are slightly enlarged or downsized to create the best-combined mega-instrument.

The red haze, slightly sepia color that is applied to the overall image was based off of a color sample from the word of double bass. That red-ish color was also one of the initial colors off of the mood board. Red is used to emphasize love, passion, energy and rhythm. Geared Slab was chosen as the typeface for Anat Cohen Quartet to give personality but also control + structure. I also wanted the typeface to help further bring emphasis to the combined instruments; to play off one another with curves and straight lines. I chose Helvetica Neue LT Std for the date and time to bring in more stability, as well as create a closer tie-in to the typography being used in the Folly banner.

From this project, I learned more about the need to slowly build up an idea and not just jumping straight into the final piece. By adding more time and slowly building the concept, I realized how more achievable the ability to be proud of a piece of work can be. In previous projects, when I would jump ahead of steps, there would inevitably be one step that I end up not being able to reproduce right as I imagined, but by slowly building those steps, I was able to walk up a less steep incline to the final solution. Overall, I am fairly happy with my composition, images, and color. I know that the typography still needs some kind of work, but it is much closer than when I first started.

anat cohen. last set iterations. almost done.

Based off of the in-class feedback, Professor Kidwell feedback, and the person on the street/non-graphic designer opinions I completed more iterations on my folly poster. What was still a very difficult task was deciding how much I had already invested in Geared Slab, which was being used for Anat Cohen. I also was trying to figure how much I wanted to mess with the design that the person on the street liked. If the audience likes what is not up to our department's graphic design standard; is it OK to "settle"? My goal is to create a piece that is both beautifully designed, that entices the average viewer+non-designer to attend the event. I think that I am closer with the typography, but not there yet. The mainly limiting fact may be the typeface that I have chosen for Anat Cohen Quartet.

below are some screen grabs of different layouts or typefaces/sizes that I was playing around with.

Open publication - Free publishing - More folly

almost done poster.

anat cohen. feedback2.

I decided that it would make most sense to me to get follow-up feedback from the same people that I first polled. So, I emailed them all again with the following questions + image.

"Hi Friends!
I was wondering if you would be kind enough to provide some follow-up feedback. :)

1. What is the emotion that you get from this poster, if any.

2. Is there anything staring at you in the face that does not fit together? If so, what?

3. What do you think of the overall composition?

4. What do you think of the typography?

Thanks!"

the people.

the rap/hiphop lover + dj for a job, 22.
1. a music emotion if thats any.
2. the morphed instrument is awesome.
3. really good the black background is good for the instrument and artist name, helps it pop out  
4. good it flows good and you can tell its a concert with the fine print. great job overall looks good keep up the designing.

the 80s/punk/metal lover + player of instruments, 24.

1.The only emotion is an urge to play an instrument again.
2. Nothing really sticks out in the picture. The colors and the lettering work well together and nothing odd sticks out.
3. Overall the poster design works well. The lettering and colors go well together. I like the reddish touch to the poster, goes well with the black background.
4.  The white lettering with the instruments highlighted in a reddish tone works well and stands out.

the older woman + eclectic music lover, 61.
1. with black background it seems more somber, classical. an evening extravaganza. the white background seemed lightweight and spontaneous like for an afternoon performance.
2. I liked seeing more of the instruments on the prior version of the poster.  seems like they're cut off now before you can tell what they are. the beauty of the instruments, their lines adds to the effect of  "hey I want to see and hear this."
3. i like the use of pics of the instruments, blended together just like the sound would be, rather then just words like most music posters I've seen, excluding current rock posters. you can feel the kind of music that wil be played.
4. i like the font for the quartet name.  makes it seem more special.  don't like the lower case friday seems like it should be more like the date font.

the blunt know-it-all + educated man, 27.
1. SHARP. QUIET. IN A THEATER.
2. THE LIGHT SOURCE ON THE INSTRUMENTS CONFUSES ME. ARE THERE MULTIPLE
LIGHT SOURCES?
3. SHARP AND LOOKING GOOD.
4. FRI DEC 14 NEEDS WORK--BORING, SLIGHTLY. OTHERWISE, IT LOOKS GOOD.

the librarian + mother of 4 children, 36.
1. Oooh!  I really like it. My first thought/feeling was of a dark room with a spotlight on a small stage.
2. I think the dark background gives it that feel.
extra comment: I like it all.  Am I allowed to say that?  I think even a gradient couldn't make it any better!

the speech pathologist student, 21.
1. It's weird to say but vintage? I think it's just because of the color.
3. I really like it, it's complex with the many instruments, yet simple with the sepia-like coloring and black and white.
4.  I like the anat cohen font, I also like the friday one. I can't tell if the 8pm and dec 14 are the same font or not. I wouldn't mind seeing the friday font for dec 14 (but bolded).Looks great! Better than the earlier draft of this one. This looks more put together.

iPad experience. the concept.

the initial thoughts.
the first thing that is going to be seen when you open the book on the iPad is the front + back cover pieced together in one layout. The user will be able to scroll to the left to experience the book from the traditional perspective from traditional layout to abstract OR the viewer can choose to scroll from the left from abstract to traditional. Based off of the title of "articulate void" via more text within the layouts. My thoughts are for each page to have a drop down information page with word definitions on each page, for each poem. Or maybe I could make a more interactive use of words+definitions.

sound wise.
I still need to figure out something to have the viewer interact more with the text + design concept. Professor Kidwell suggests that I look up Igor Stravinsky, whom was a classical composer. For incorporation of music with imagery+text, Professor Kidwell suggests that I look more at Bug Bunny + their infusion of classical with images. My thoughts are still no to voiceover of the text.

possible songs.
Firebird (finale) by Igor Stravinsky
The Rites of Spring Part 2 by Igor Stravinsky
Nocturne in E Flat Major, Op.9 No.2 by Frederic Chopin

kinetic type. the firsts.

This concept is being further defined since my last post.

the concept.

This is all basically the same. I am still going with the lines of text dropping like bombs. I want each statement to be impactful and thus believe this can be accomplished through the hard drop of each line. My thoughts are to currently drop the first line in the stanza in two different drops, because it is the repetitive and most important line of "These annual bills." 

the typeface.

Helvetica Neue LT Std. Specifically the type when it first falls in will be 27 ultra light condensed and become 95 black. Based on the screen size and initial testing I think the light condensed type will drop in at 12px and grow to black to be 146px.

color scheme.

I really just want to stay with the contrast of black + white. I want to play off the fact that he was a writer, and thus the two most common colors related to writers is black + white.

the music.

checking out some instrumentals that I found recently, seeing if I think any will work well.

the first test in AE.

This is really bad + not even where I fully wanted it to go, but my first solo attempt at After Effects. That Ultra Light is so light, you can't even see it here. 

mock up/storyboard.

first shot/blank.

first movement/drop down of first line. 

first line dropped+stuck. 2nd line drops.

1-2 lines dropped+stuck. 3rd line falling.

1-3 lines dropped+stuck. 4th line falling.

all lines dropped+stuck, then drops the title.

close to end. all lines of poem drop down + poem starts over+continues dropping.

end image?

The Gift. the response.

The Gift from BLR_VFX on Vimeo.

“The Gift” is a short sci-fi film that takes place in a futuristic looking Russia.  This is a future in which technology is heavily rooted in the everyday life; where your identification can be taken from a machine that reads your saliva. I still don’t fully know how to feel about the whole film being centered on an upper ranking man in society wanting to see a unicorn; the unicorn, which is miniaturized and hidden in a box that opens with some special piece of hair. Then again, the viewer never gets to see the miniature unicorn, so it really could be anything that is in the box. And then it is odd for me that the higher-ranking man then is killed.

The theme that I get from this film is knowledge is deadly; put more simply, this film could be visually representing the story/proverb of curiosity killed the cat. This then would teach people to just accept what they have and is given, not hoping for something more.  This message could be further seen through the depiction of Russia being similar to how it may have been during the Cold War, or at least how I think security and all was similar to. There were not many people out in general; police looking forces mainly guarded the town/city.

The main emotions that I received from this piece was fear/the fear of a higher-ranking people or organization to be watching your every move. This was shown in every scene, as the film camera and we were always looking down/centered on the gift deliverer. It was interesting for me and I was not expecting the dead man’s robotic servant to take the box and run away with it; it is almost a major disconnected moment for me and I don’t know how to interpret it. Did the robot actually know what his boss has been up to? Was this moment to show again that knowledge is powerful and can get those close to you killed?

anat cohen. more digital attempts with narrowed focus.

I hard a hard time trying to find the best typefaces to use in this poster. I had started out with the composition being a far away layout where the whole combined instruments was merely an image in the layout. I realized that the composition became more interesting when I zoomed in closer to the combined image. So, more than half of my attempts were attempting to find a typeface that worked. I thought that Geared Slab was a good typeface, but I received mixed reviews from some of the senior students that I talked to; something didn't quite bring all of the pieces together. So, I went exploring more typefaces...I'm still not very pleased with the typeface selection, but it is getting closer. I need one for "Anat Cohen Quartet" and another for the time and date.

And I definitely need to figure out what I didn't make the correct black.

folly poster attempts part 1.

Open publication - Free publishing - More folly

folly poster attempts part 2.

Open publication - Free publishing - More folly

folly poster attempts part 3.

Open publication - Free publishing - More folly

poster for class crit.

anat cohen. digital iterations.

some attempts at combining the quartet.

Open publication - Free publishing - More folly

some attempts at using water/fluidity/movement.

Open publication - Free publishing - More class

tender buttons. basically the final.

the concept.

The main concept behind this book revolves around the presentation of traditional, easy to explain objects to an abstracted idea. This is the breakdown of what we can accept as a physical item to what can only be spoken about and not always understood. One can explain and show what “a chair” is, but one cannot easily explain and show what “more” is. This same concept can be used when trying to understand the poems. At first they may appear to be simple, but there is more that goes into them than what meets the eye. Thus, the layout of each poem will slowly transition from traditional poetry form into more abstract layouts where hierarchy is tampered with.

This book was named an articulate void, in reference to the definitions of the two words. Articulate means having the ability to speak fluently and coherently as well as meaning to have combined segments. Void means the emptiness caused by the loss of something. Together, the words represent the segmented, yet fluently spoken loss of Gertrude Stein’s thoughts from Tender Buttons: objects, food, rooms.

digital layout of booklet.

Open publication - Free publishing - More book

the photographed basically final, final book.

front cover.

opened cover to reveal within book.

abstract spread.

last poem spread.

the colophon/last spread.

inside of back cover.

back of book

anat cohen. people on the street thoughts.

For this part, I knew I needed some very honest feedback, so I looked back at the group of people that I know who I needed to hear from. I know there is a wide variety of potential audience members. So, that's what I went for.

poster 1.

poster 2.

the questions.

method was via email.

"Hi There Fans!

I need some feedback for my class project in Human Centered Design...and luckily I know a few humans. ;)

These posters are not finished nor complete ideas yet, just the top two of my digital iterations.

For each one, could you please:

1. tell me your initial reaction to it

2. tell me what words/emotions/memories you associate with it

3. if you saw this out of the corner of your eye, would you stop or continue moving + why either way.

4. what is working well or what is not working well?

5. any additional things that you would like to tell me about the piece ie Did you like it? Were you just confused? Do you feel like I wasted your time?

Thanks, you're awesome."

the people.

the rap/hiphop lover + dj for a job, 22.

poster1.

1. Some kind of science speaker. What kind of science I couldn't tell, not much info.

2. Reminds me of high school.

3. No.

4. Cutting off the a in the science one makes my brain think it's a word puzzle and thatI need to figure out what the word actually is.

5. You didn't waste my time 'cause I'm charging you for this. lol but I want to know what it is? That's all. 

poster2.

1. Some kind of musician that plays as if she is her own band. She might play all those instruments at once.

2. Thursdays in Lancers at CLC.

3. Yes because I love music and because I would want to see how other people do Thursdays in Lancers. 

4. What is well is how you put all those instruments together it's the eye catcher like holy cow what instrument is that.

5. That's all.

the 80s/punk/metal lover + player of instruments, 24.

poster1.

1. First thought that came to my mind just by looking at it was a science poster but then I read that it said Anat Cohen Quartet. 

2. Dark,mysterious,Gothic( the purple background seems like it could be used for a Cure album)

3. I would continue to look/read it. With the text and color used in the poster I would probably would be interested on what the poster is promoting.

4. What is working well is the choice and how the text is position. What might not work is the poster seems to basic, can't say what in particular but something could be added( another graphic?)

5. This one I was a little thrown off. Just by glancing at it I thought of one thing but turns out it was for something totally different. 

poster2.

1. Plain and simple: Poster for a music concert

2. Music, instruments, band, classical music, trombone(I know there is no trombone in the poster but it made me think of when I used to play).

3. I would be intrigued by this poster just by the presences of the instruments.

4. How the instruments are put together is a cleaver idea and works well. You could add, but it's not necessary, another set of instruments together?  

5. I thought the poster was self-explanatory and simple. The concept of combining the instruments was interesting.

the older woman + eclectic music lover, 61.

poster1.

1. Liked the color and bubbles but wasn't sure what it was about - without the word quartet to indicate music.

2. Purple - thought regal, classy, sophisticated, laid back, peaceful - reminded me  of the old Lawrence Welk show  with his champagne orchestra on tv 50's & 60'S  played big band music, everybody wore suits - champagne music, there are lots of bubbles in champagne, just close your eyes and listen.

3. I'd stop cause I'd want to know what it was for. Deeper colors always grab my attention more then pastels.

4. Liked the color and the white lettering, easy to read. But as I said earlier I needed the word quartet to figure it out. 

5. Liked it but I needed the word  'quartet' to get a feel for what it's about. 

poster2.

1. Intrigued by the combination of instruments. Wondered if it was real. took a bit to find the 4th instrument, but I finally did.

2.  Jazzy, upbeat, casual, energetic, music you would more actively respond to, though not dance. Reminded me of the entertainer who would have assorted instruments on his body and a harmonica wrapped around his head and be a one man band,  but the instruments weren't that big. But were interesting to watch and hear.

3. I'd stop to look to see if it really was a combination pic of instruments and how they fit together. 

4. Combo instrument draws you in to see what it is.  The placement of the words threw me off though. Wasn't sure if that was part of the image or no place else to put them.

5. Liked it, understood it was music by the visual alone.  

the blunt know-it-all + educated man, 27.

poster1.

1. That's a boring font; what the heck is "Anat" short for?

2. Are those bubbles or brass knuckles? Oh, bubbles. Kinda looks like "knucks" out of the corner of my eye.

3. I stopped because I thought "purple brass knuckles--is this a gay thing?"

4. The purple is eye-catching. I don't understand "Anat" or the bubbles.

5. On second glance, there is a weird line between the bubbles (on the right) and the text in the center--it's unattractive.

poster2.

1. Anat looks smashed against the keyboard; the drum doesn't fit convincingly with the upright bass.

2. Oh, a music performance. Those are classical instruments--must be classical music.

3. I'd stopped in confusion. Why the heck is that drum and bass smooshed together? This better be good ...

4. The keyboard doesn't fit between the instruments and the same problem with the font. The keyboard is not instantly recognizable.

5. I was confused with this one. I didn't see the wind instrument (oboe?) until the 4th time. The keyboard looks like a cartoon. I don't know why they need to be combined in the first place. The white space feels more like an afterthought and not as something deliberately worked into the piece.

the librarian + mother of 4 children, 36.

poster1.

I found the first one eye-catching.  I like the colors.  I'm curious to know what text will go on the bottom, because I feel it needs more text and information.  I think the theme probably doesn't tell you much about the band (I'm guessing it's a band) so I want to know more.

poster2.

It didn't really catch my eye at first, but it was intriguing after I looked at it for a moment.  I do like the fusion of instruments and I kind of picked it apart and appreciated the assembly.  But that might work better on a flyer or brochure, something that a person would take with them and look at a little closer.  Not so good as a poster that needs to grab you instantly.

the speech pathologist student, 21.

poster1.

1. Piqued my interest because the bubbles were cool to look at, and they were purple which is out of the ordinary.

2. Purple, fun, interesting, the "what is that?" vibe.

3. I would stop and read because the main part of the poster doesn't have much writing so I knew I could get the direct info. quickly which is what people want. Then, for more info, they could read on at the bottom

4. I seriously like the fact that the words are ever so slightly cut off by the edge of the poster of the art itself. The "empty" space you left (with no text) works to your advantage.

5. It's great in its own way.

poster2.

1. Tells give me an immediate response as to what the poster will be advertising for.

2. music, crazy good artist, the "makes sense" vibe.

3. I would stop and read because the main part of the poster doesn't have much writing so I knew I could get the direct info. quickly which is what people want. Then, for more info, they could read on at the bottom.

4. I like the incorporation of many instruments in one image (crazy awesome graphic design stuff I couldn't even dream of doing ;p). This poster gives me a better idea of what I am about to read before I even start reading. Because the background is white though, I felt like there was a lot of open space. I like the varying text size and maybe I get the sense of a lot of open space because of the white (but white works well with poster so nevermind me.)

5. More direct and effective in relation to what you're trying to advertise.