Project III
On-Brand E-Newsletter
Exercise 1: Type Tracing
Using translucent paper, we traced the provided letters in an effort to develop a sense of typographic forms and counter forms.
For this exercise, I used a chisel tipped, green marker. The flat edge was perfect for Helvetica and Futura, but for Didot and Adobe Garamond I had to rotate between the flat edge and tip of the marker to trace over where the type would transition between thick and thin lines.
Exercise 2: Type Analysis
The next exercise involved taking a careful look at the typographic samples we were given. This included elements of typography, such as the baseline, x-height line, cap height line, and unique details in the positive forms or counters.
Examining these aspects of the Playfair let me better understand the anatomy of what makes a type. Now, I can spot where baselines, x-height lines, and cap height lines are or tell if it is serif or sans serif. When I try to examine a type next time, I’ll mentally superimpose these height lines and keep an eye for elements like serifs or ascenders / descenders.
Exercise 3: Type & Meaning
Next we looked at the relationship between a specific word, the typeface, and meaning. I decided to use the word architecture, because I am an architecture student :)
Well that actually wasn’t my only reason. I chose the word because I thought it would be a good challenge for this exercise. What I mean is that architecture is a really universal concept that all cultures experience. And looking at the first part of the exercise which involves selecting a typeface that enhances the meaning of the word, the majority of typefaces would work. But for this exercise, I decided to use Helvetica, a commonly used typeface in architecture.
The challenge would come from the second part of the exercise. Now we need to find a typeface that challenges or alters the meaning of the word.
I went through MANY different typefaces. And most of the ones that I tried would look right to me, reflecting how universal the concept of architecture is. But, I settled on using a type called Rubik Puddles.
After many iterations over typefaces, I chose this one because applying this to the word architecture, it gave the word a feeling of uncertainty which clashes. The word also looked like it was floating in water. Architecture is something that is deliberately planned. Concrete. It can’t be unsure.
Exercise 4: Business Card
After learning about typography and its anatomy, meaning, type, and how to pair them, we apply our knowledge into creating the simplest forms of business communications — the business card.
The organization brand sheet that I chose was for City Theatre, located in the South Side area of Pittsburgh. The brand sheet for City Theatre caught my eye. I loved the logo design and after reading their brief description on their rationale, it made sense. A simple logo that is timeless and represents the tightly woven community of Southside Pittsburgh.
After studying City Theatre’s brand sheet, I quickly iterated through a couple of business card designs. At first, I really took note of how striking the logo was by itself and made some designs taking advantage of that. Then I noticed that the logo could be patterned. And after iterating through that a couple of times, I ended on a design I really liked; the entire face of the card was patterned with the logo, but in the center was ‘City Theatre’ in black, to contrast against the white filled pattern.
E-Newsletter
Afterwards we used the brand sheet of the organizations we chose and designed e-newsletters. Depending on the specific brand we chose, we were given content to populate our designs.
Over the course of project 3, I developed a number of iterations exploring elements of typography that we learned previously, using images and other visuals, how to use negative space, organization of content within a grid, and how to utilize color.
For my final e-newsletter design, I decided to incorporate the different colors from the brand sheet to highlight the different shows featured for this season.
Reflection
Designing the e-newsletter was a great way for me to apply many of the concepts that were discussed earlier in the course. It allowed me to practice how I could use elements like image, spacing, grid, color, etc. together to create a well-designed email that builds stronger connections & gets readers to take action.
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What was super helpful for my process was the in-class crits where we were able to discuss our designs together. Especially when I was on the first iteration of my design. Looking at other’s works also helped inspire me when creating my next iterations. In particular, I didn’t use much color when I made the first draft of my e-newsletter. After the crit I added in colors as a way to emphasize and differentiate each showing, which I thought was successful and added to the design of the e-newsletter.
Overall, it was an excellent opportunity to exercise all these different principles we learned earlier and practice how we might give / recieve feedback or critique from others.
