Print Press Pre-Production + Finals

With a partner we were to choose a quote and design a postcard set to be given out on a First Friday.  My partner was Jesse Selz.  Our chosen quote was by Jack London, "You can't wait for inspiration.  You have to go after it with a club."  

This was my first test at working the printing press.  I did the brown text on the printing press.  The black text was done on the computer - I set up a document and spaced it so that the black text would be printed around the brown text.  I wanted to try to mess with what press printed text and digital text looked like together.  I chose to go with lyrics from "The Hollow" by A Perfect Circle.

I wanted to see what the different type looked like that I could work with.

Century School Book

Alternative Gothic

These were the main options of type to use with the project.  My first thought after finalizing on the quote was to choose which type would work and create the design based off of that.

Type: All type used was Alternative Gothic.  The larger text was 36pt, the smaller was 14 pt.  This was final Postcard one option.

Type: All type used was Alternative Gothic.  The larger text was 36pt, the smaller was 14 pt.  This was final postcard option two.

Type: The type used was Alternative Gothic and Century School Book.  The larger text was Alternative Gothic 36pt, the smaller was Century School Book 14 pt.  This was final postcard option three and what we chose.

Type: The type used was Alternative Gothic and Century School Book.  The larger text was Alternative Gothic 36pt, the smaller was Century School Book 14 pt.  The was final postcard option four and what we chose.

One photograph of our various options for the first run at the printing press on various types and of paper.

One photograph of our various options for the first run at the printing press on various types and colors of paper.

The top two are was the print press versions of final postcard option three and four.  The bottom two were our "creative" approaches.

Hierarchy Excercise

The in-class assignment was to create 20 variations of using leading, indent, weight/style, and scale. This was a bit of a challenging assignment for me because I am still trying to get used to the Tabs menu in InDesign, plus in the past I just used multiple text boxes when I wanted a different location or style of text. But I forced myself to only use one text box per variation; so it took longer than expected. Also, I did not realize how difficult designing of text can be when one is limited to how the text may be manipulated. It helped to show me that emphasis can be put on design with minor changes such as leading, indent, weight/style and scale. Shown below were my four favorite, below each prompt is my favorite variation of what I designed. I was not a huge fan of what I designed due to time restraints, but I feel that I learned enough during that time that I can accept not having created the best designs.

1. Leading (vertical relationships): Using one text size with a right reading, flush left, ragged right alignment, explore hierarchy through adjustment of the vertical space between lines of text (leading). Choose the left edge where the text begins and keep that same placement through all 5 compositions.


2. Indent (horizontal relationships): Using one text size and leading with a right reading, flush left, ragged right alignment, explore hierarchy only through indentation of text using “tabs”. Choose the top edge (y-axis) where the text begins and keep that same placement through all 5 compositions.


3. Weight/Style Using one text size, explore hierarchy through the use of bold, italic (oblique) or roman (normal) styling. You can freely apply leading and indent throughout the compositions.


4. Scale Use three type sizes to explore hierarchy. You can freely apply leading and indent throughout the compositions.

Project 4: Choose a Quote

Assignment: Choose 3 quotes, state who said it and why you choose it.


"You can't wait for inspiration.  You have to go after it with a club." - Jack London, 1876-1916, writer, journalist, social activist.
I was a bit put off by this quote when I started reading it, because I was not sure where it was going to go.  But by the end of the quote, I had a slight laugh and smile.  I thought it was a clever way to describe how a designer, writer or anyone gets inspired.  I can't tell anyone the last time that I waited for inspiration to come and it was what I wanted and needed; if inspiration does come, it's not the final idea that I run with and it often puts me further behind in my creation process.  It also goes with a philosophy that I've been slowly coming to believe; that if you want something enough and work for it, you will get it.  


"The good thing about bad taste is you don't know if you have it." - Sam Becker, current designer.
This is another humorous quote and is a statement that I never thought about it.  It's a very true statement though, because even though you think you're a successful and good designer, you aren't to everyone else. Often when design initially starts to change, people are often not open to the changes, but slowly it grows on then.  This is something I associate with bad taste, because as you grow, so does your taste in design and everything else.  So I thought it spoke to how open and closed design is, where all designers do not design the same, yet many designers create a following of loyal customers.


"The difference between closing or opening your eyes is the choice between the imagined vs. real.  Blinking is only human." - John Maeda, current designer.
I like this quote because it makes me think.  There is definitely a literal and figurative meaning behind the statement.  The literal is saying that your eyes being closed is the imagined, so basically when you're sleeping.  When your eyes are open, you're seeing what is real.  Figuratively though, this is saying that if you "open your eyes" and look past our already conceived notions, there is the possibility of seeing how others see.  Then if you close your eyes to what everyone else thinks then you'll really be able to let your imagination run.  He then makes the statement connecting all ideas stating this is what makes us human, being able to move back and forth between what is real and what is imagined.