F+S Music Video With Type

Once I found out that I was behind on a Dream Theater album, I realized there was also a music video. I think Dream Theater produced a pretty good music video that incorporated the lyrics throughout it. It made me think of our Typographic Intervention from Typography1: Introduction to type. I was actually surprised at the kerning throughout the video, minus a few small times, the kerning was pretty spot on. The video also incorporated some of the color techniques that we learned in Image class, as well as terms that we're currently learning in Visual Communication 2 and Applied Communication Theory. I thought I would share, though I question how many of you will actually like the music (perhaps you'd like to mute it); to each their own.


Dream Theater - Build Me Up, Break Me Down 


or copy&paste in your URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgBfdIpunVE

Visual Interview: the final result

The object of this assignment was to interview one of our classmates and design a spread that explains that person.  Through the use of text and photographs we were to create both a visual and physical experience to get to know our person. 

I struggled with this assignment, which is something I did not see when beginning this project.  I actually went into this assignment thinking that I would do something based heavily on a gridded system, and that did not end up happening.  The one thing that I used that was part of my first idea was the poem.  After my interview with Quinn I realized that poetry, the written word was something that she really enjoyed.  I then wrote a poem about her based on the style of the two poets that she gave me.  

One of the best things about the incorporation of poetry into design is that you have the ability to add more meaning to the words.  I don't think I fully gave the words all the impact that they could have, but I think I ended closer to the final concept.  I chose Archer for the typeface because it is Quinn's favorite and thought that it spoke a lot about her.  I think that it explained more about her that I did not discuss within the poem or in the visuals.

Prior to this assignment I had never thought about fully illustrating a person through mainly images and a bit of text.  It was difficult because I was trying to be less abstract. Abstraction is the style that I gravitated towards during this class.  I wanted to try to move away from that style towards a more cleanly, and professionally laid out composition.  This was hard to create because I struggled with how to lay text and images that it made sense and was not confusing.

But it ended up being a fairly well done design.  I think the composition on the outside really worked together.  I question if there was a better way to incorporate the text into the image.  I still need to work on the composition on the inside of the fold.  I had tried using different images or more overlapping to keep the same color scheme as the front, but couldn't find something to work.  All this means is I need to take more time later on down the road to make more of a connection of the outside to the inside.

front cover/fully folded.

back cover/fully folded.

first open full spread/opened like a book.

up-close detail of front composition.

open folded out side/fully opened outside.

inside of the poster/fully opened inside.

reflection: describe a scene that doesn't exist

I was constantly plagued by struggles in this class. It's as if my eyes, hands, and mind were afraid to create and explore. The class started out difficult - although I'd seen the color wheel before and done projects related to it, I wasn't used to being quizzed on it repeatedly. I came face-to-face with my fear of the camera tripod. It was a only half-admitted fear, but one that I seemed to stray from. I wasn't used to being confined to one specific setting, unless I wanted to spend more time resetting it. I'm impatient, despite all that I've struggled through in different situations, I like the feeling of instant satisfaction. With a tripod, it's the long run that's the real prize, coincidentally it's the only one that matters.

With this course I also learned how difficult it can be to photograph some materials. In this specific instance I am referencing mirrors, but not only a couple mirrors, but pieces, all aiming different directions. I was faced with the struggle in this project of not only preventing myself and my surroundings from being in the reflections but the ability to create a successful message within one confined photo shoot. I was not used to using various objects within a scene to create a statement that may or may not be understood by the user.

In my most favorite, but most difficult to start project I learned more than I thought I would. This may sound like a negative statement, but I mean it in the most sincere way. I used digital manipulation skills that some may call "my style," but I did each with reason. Within each composition I was trying to portray a certain idea through manipulation of images and later the incorporation of text. I was challenged by taking and combining images in the best way to portray the message. I was then challenged again in the adding of text to the book cover compositions. I was more in my element of designing with layout, but also struggled with incorporating text that went along with the image. My main struggle was trying to make the typography speak at a matching level to the image on the covers.

I definitely became more comfortable with recognizing colors in a scene and how they can add to a meaning. The ability to describe and illustrate a story through photographs is the main lesson that I take from this class. I know that I am still struggling with the successful conquer of this concept, but I am getting closer to an acceptable level for this point in my career.

Visual Interview: the second layout

This is my second attempt at manipulating the images that I was using.  I wanted to try to bring more cohesion between both sides.

outside front 1(optional).

outside front 2(optional).

outside spread.

inside.

Visual Interview : the mock up

The mock up of our Visual Interview poster is due.  This is what the two images are below.  The top one is the image that is the outside of the poster that will only be seen as a whole image if the viewer chooses to unfold it all, otherwise it will just be in the split sections.  The main thing that I am questioning is whether the viewer will be able to understand all the poem text going together, and if all of that text is legible.

Opening - fold 1.

Spread - fold 2.

Closing - fold 3.

Full open image.

Inside image spread.

Visual Interview : the text

First part of the "Visual Interview": the actual interview.  My interviewee is Quinn Mahler.  We chatted for a while and I decided that the best way to describe Quinn is by using a poem that I wrote, as well as a few quotes that she said during our interview.  I wrote the poem, because Quinn is not only majoring in Graphic Design, but also Creative Writing.  I was asking her what types of writing she really likes, and one of them was poetry.  I asked her who a few of her favorite poets were and she told me two of them, Gertrude Stein & Lisa Jarnot.  I looked up and attempted to replicate their style of writing when I wrote the poem about her.

two sides that bind

flip the world to see all the sites

two pieces that combine

not as initially thought

fight for what she wants

help those who fall short

eyes hold the smallest piece

compassion cradles the world

time is limitless

            future sits high in the trees

her vision sets scenes

            clicks follow suit

           

her fingers wait for the moment of action

            utensils at the ready

her voice waits

            for the moment of need

her hands yearn

            for the ability to create

“I hate wearing pants.”

“Girls had to be in the kitchen cookin’ shit.”

“I like the relationship between person and self”

“I’m driven directly from my mood.”

Illustrating An Idea Meets the iPad

This is the final documentation of the iPad mock up - ebook of our Illustrating an Idea.  I tried to lay out the pages as you'd come across them if you were actually on the iPad.

Search for book titles on Amazon.

Click on "The Pit and the Pendulum" cover to purchase.

Click on "Silence: a Fable" cover to purchase.

Click on "The Tell-Tale Heart" cover to purchase.

All purchases are located on "my bookshelf".

Click on a cover to open the book.

The book opens to the chapter index and first chapter.

Continue to the next page and see the other two chapters.

*exit out to the bookshelf and click on the "Silence: a Fable" cover*

 "Silence: a Fable" book cover.

  "Silence: a Fable" chapter index and first chapter.

  "Silence: a Fable" last two chapters.

*exit out to the bookshelf and click on the "The Tell-Tale Heart" cover*

  "The Tell-Tale Heart" book cover.

   "The Tell-Tale Heart" chapter index and first chapter.

  "The Tell-Tale Heart" last two chapters.

Illustrating An Idea: The iPad Layouts

Illustrating An Idea: Book Cover Final

Below are my final book covers for the Illustrating An Idea project.  The first part of the process was to create three theme image compositions for three different stories.  The second part was to create a cover for each story based off of the theme compositions and the story in general.  I struggled a lot in the beginning with designing the theme compositions but I feel that it really came together when I designed the covers.  It seemed as if the story came alive with the covers, creating the emotions that I wanted to associate with the stories.  I feel that the emotions associated with Edgar Allan Poe and each story are just as important as the plot itself.  One of the main style elements that is repeated in Poe's work is a dark, eerie, and off settling feeling.  His work is normally read more often near Halloween, so I definitely wanted to keep that within my covers.  I also wanted to keep the themes evident through the use of an image, object, or color scheme from the three themes.

From the first and only class critique on my book covers, the response was fairly positive.  I had two solid designs, that needed no work.  "The Tell-Tale Heart" cover was the only cover that still needed work done post critique.  The main changes that needed to happen was editing the layout of the title and author.

"The Pit and the Pendulum"

themes: suffering/depression, fear/unknown, torture

"Silence: a Fable"

themes: control, insecurity, solitude

"The Tell-Tale Heart"

themes: guilt, time/change, identity

Illustrating An Idea: Book Cover Almost Finals

At this part of the assignment we were to create a book cover for each story we read.  I wanted to pull ideas, colors, layout and images straight from my final 3 theme layouts from each story.  The only requirement was the title and author's name.  Below are the title of the short story follow by my initial sketch, an after that is the variations that I did of each cover.

The Pit and the Pendulum

quick cover sketch

The difference between these two variations is the color.

Silence: a Fable

quick cover sketch

The difference between these two variations are the cropping of the image.

The Tell-Tale Heart

quick cover sketch

The main difference between these three variations were the placement of the title and author.