Advanced Typography · Task 2 · Key Artwork
13 MAY 2024 - 03 June 2024 / Week 4 - Week 7
YANG ZHI CHING / 0365154
Advanced Typography / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media
Task 2 : Key Artwork
INSTRUCTION
Doc 1.1 MIB
Task 2A · Key Artwork
We are tasked with creating a key artwork using our first name or a pseudonym. This artwork should function both as a wordmark/lettering and as a standalone piece that can be used on items such as lapel pins, T-shirts, or posters.
About Me - Mindmap |
To start, I created an "About Me" mind map to help define the style of my brand. For my style, I considered two different approaches: a cute, soft style with curved shapes, reflecting my gentle personality, and a sharper, more aggressive street-urban style with high saturation colors.
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| Fig 1.1 About Me Mind Map, Week 5 |
Moodboard/Reference |
I have two distinct styles in mind for my design. The first style is cute, with curved and soft shapes, reflecting my love for cute, pink things and my gentle personality. The second style is sharp and aggressive, featuring high saturation colors and a bold, street-urban aesthetic.
Idea #1
| Fig 1.2 Reference of Idea #1, Week 5 |
Idea #2
Fig 1.2 Reference of Idea #2, Week 5
Sketches |
Idea #1 - "Soft" Personality
Inspired by my gentle nature, I thought of using rounded shapes since they have no sharp edges. My first idea was to draw the letters with smooth, rounded endpoints to reduce any "aggressive" elements.
Fig 1.3 Sketch of Idea #1, Week 5
Idea #2 - Street Style
This concept uses a rounded rectangle as the base, which is then cut to form the letters, creating a bold, urban look
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Fig 1.4 Sketch of Idea #2, Week 5 |
Attempts |
I made two attempts based on these ideas, using my name "Chelsea" and the nickname "xixi" (Chinese pronunciation of 'sea sea').
Idea #1 - "Soft" Personality
I associated softness with water, so I designed the letters based on the shape of water droplets.
Idea #1
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Fig 1.5 First Attempt of the Letters, Week 5 |
Idea #2 - Street Style
I started with a rounded rectangle and adjusted it to form the letters.
Idea #2
I chose the second idea for presentation to Mr. Vinod. He pointed out that my design needed four letters instead of three, so I revised it to "C'SEA" and added more metaphorical elements to link the concept and design.
I adjusted the rounded rectangle shapes for better visual balance and consistency, ensuring the thickness of vertical and horizontal lines matched across all letters.
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Fig 1.7 Progress of Letter "C", Week 6 |
In the letter "C," I also used a rounded rectangle for the inner space silhouette. After cutting out the shape, I first adjusted the curvature of the rounded corners to make them look less deliberate. Finally, following Mr. Vinod's advice to refer to serif font thickness, I reduced the thickness of the horizontal lines while maintaining the vertical line thickness, achieving a "thick vertical, thin horizontal" effect to give the letter more volume. Below is the comparison before and after the adjustment.
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In the letter "S," I adjusted the effect of "thick vertical and thin horizontal" strokes and ensured the thickness of the vertical and horizontal lines matched the other letters.
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Below is the comparison between the shape directly cut from the rectangle and the adjusted shape.
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| Fig 1.10 Compare of "S", Week 6 |
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| Fig 1.11 Progress of Letter "E", Week 6 |
Below is the comparison before and after the adjustment.
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In the letter "A," I adjusted the direction of the middle stroke, shifting it from the center to the left with more white space, attempting to add more variation to the font.
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Below is the comparison before and after the adjustment.
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| Fig 1.14 Compare of "S", Week 6 |
And the creation of symbols.
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| Fig 1.15 Progress of Symbol, Week 6 |
Below is the comparison before and after unifying the thickness of the strokes.Below is the comparison before and after unifying the thickness of the strokes.
before
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After completing the keyword design, I began working on the animation GIF. First, I exported the word 'C'SEA' to FontLab to ensure I could type it out when creating the animation in Adobe After Effects.
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| Fig 1.17 Import the letters to Fontlab, Week 10 |
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| Fig 1.18 Creating Wave Background in Adobe Effects, Week 10 |
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| Fig 1.19 Adding Key Words on the background, Week 10 |
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| Fig 1.20 Creating Side Texting in Adobe Effects, Week 10 |
Final Submission 2(A) |
- Black wordmark on white background
- White wordmark on black background
- Colour palette
- Wordmark in actual colours on lightest shade of colour palette
- Wordmark in lightest shade of colour palette on darkest shade of colour palette
- wordmark animation
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Fig 2.2 Color Board, Week 7 |
Fig 2.3 The Brightest Color and Darkest Color in Color Board, Week 7
Task 2B · Key Artwork & Collateral
Attempts |
I have two parts of outcomes: designing posters and collaterals. Before starting on these, I created a final word outcome and printed it on A4 paper to get a clear view, as instructed by Mr. Vinod. Then, I designed the poster to establish a clear concept of my 'brand' through typography layout and color presentation.
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| Fig 3.1 Printed Preview in A4, Week 9 |
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| Fig 3.2 Process of doing design posters, Week 9 |
Mock-ups |
After confirming the poster, I began working on the collateral by using and transforming my designed poster. I found suitable mock-up templates online and used Photoshop to simulate my design in these mock-ups.
Fig 3.3 Mock box packaging, Week 9
Fig 3.4 Mock Keychain Design, Week 9
Fig 3.5 Mock Envelope Design, Week 9
Fig 3.6 Mock T-shirt Design, Week 9
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Fig 3.7 Composing the 9-grid, Week 9 |
Design Poster:
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Fig 2.4 Design Poster #1, Week 7 |
Fig 2.5~2.8 Design Poster #2~#5, Week 7 |
Fig 2.9~2.12 Collateral Poster #1~#4, Week 7 |
9-grid Preview:
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Final Submission 2(B) |
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FEEDBACK
Week 5 - Task 2(A)
General Feedback:
Attention to the weight of the stroke.
Specific Feedback:
I have to add one more letter, need 4 letters: SEA --> C'SEA
add more metaphor of the letter design, to link the concept and the design.
REFLECTION
| Experience |
I feel quite stressed in this task, because I always think that I am not good at font design. I can have design concepts and ideas, but when it comes to certain principles (such as font rules, font structure, etc.), I will start to get confused and will not apply them to my design. I will easily make mistakes, such as the stroke weight of the font, etc. I think the solution is to review the basic knowledge and principles of typography. (But this semester is too busy, which makes me feel stressed)
| Observation |
After Mr. Vinod's feedback in Task 1, he said that my e-portfolio has a lot of room for improvement. I think I have overlooked the importance of progress in my e-portfolio. I often get stuck in a dead end, or submit the finished product directly, and I am lazy in managing my e-portfolio and just hand in the work. But I think my work is not so good that I can ignore my progress, so I still need to use progress to improve my completeness.
| Findings |
I tried to add more progress to this task, showing my production process instead of just handing in the work.
FURTHER READING
A Type Primer (2020)
by John Kane
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In addition to its thorough exploration of letterforms, A Type Primer by John Kane offers invaluable insights into the practical applications of typography. The book delves into the principles of typographic hierarchy, providing clear guidelines on how to establish visual order and guide the reader's eye through a layout. Kane discusses the importance of contrast, alignment, repetition, and proximity in creating effective and aesthetically pleasing designs. The intricacies of type alignment are covered in detail, with discussions on the nuances between flush left, flush right, centered, and justified text, each accompanied by examples and scenarios where they are most effectively used.
Kane's attention to detail extends to the use of grids and the role they play in typographic design. He explains how grids can create a structured and cohesive layout, making complex information more accessible and understandable, and provides practical advice on setting up grids and using them to align text and images consistently. One of the standout sections of the book is its discussion on the relationship between typography and other design elements. Kane emphasizes the importance of integrating typography with color, imagery, and negative space to create harmonious and dynamic compositions, providing case studies and real-world examples to illustrate how typography can work in concert with other design components to convey a message effectively.
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