maddybryson

[maddybryson]

This is Fit Hebrew and Fit English by David Jonathan Ross (Fit Hebrew was also made by Oded Ezer). We discussed this font as an example of parametric design. This width of each letterform adapts to the amount of space and number of letters written, making it a ‘variable font’ which ‘allows multiple font styles to coexist within a single file’. The extensive number of possibilities available within this one typeface makes it incredibly unique and innovative. ‘Fit is anchored by its white shapes: regardless of width, the space within the letters and the space between the letters always remains the same. These white shapes cut dramatically through the letterforms, fusing them into a mesmerising network of black and white.’ This is especially apparent in a video or gif format, seeing the letterforms squish while the white space stays the same. This new approach to creating typefaces really elevates the capabilities of standard type and I think it will become much more common as parametric design progresses. Source: (https://djr.com/fit/#variable-font)

[maddybryson]

Reflection Statement

Some of my personal objectives going into Communication Design Studies was to really broaden my understanding of what communication is and what it might look like in the future. I think I did achieve my objectives, every lesson I walked out feeling like I learnt something new and the course has really forced me to think outside the box (not to sound generic). I can’t remember his name but one creative who inspired me or I thought was really interesting was the guy that did the Ted Talk on typefaces, just his development process I found was really cool and he got a lot of really interesting outcomes by just basing a typeface design on a simple object and pushing it further. I love postmodernism and find its seeming randomness quite inspiring. Its not really a particular activity but I think the overall encouragement, especially with typefaces, to see what potentially might already be there really made me think differently about design. Instead of looking at an object and thinking ‘how can i make this into a typeface’ I look at it more ‘how is the object already a typeface’ and I think its really interesting perspective to have on design, to look for its potential. The zine making process is something that I want to explore further, just seeing what some people have created so far is really inspiring and really shows you how much further I can take it. 

[maddybryson]

Some pages from my finished zine,,,,, 

A big part of my chosen creatives identity is that she is Australian, and thats something thats very evident in the style of her work. To reference this I originally experimented with doing organic shapes and lines but didn’t really feel like this pushed me creatively so I decided to illustrate some Australian native plants to both reference Maddy’s background and to have a visual link between the pages. 

[maddybryson]

This weeks workshop was very hands on and I enjoyed how the focus of it was really not how to create letterforms but how to find letterforms within preexisting shapes. This led to some really creative outcomes, the upside down hair pictured for example. 

[maddybryson]

In this weeks workshop we learnt some basic foundation skills on Adobe photoshop that are a real necessity for our practice in general such as balancing out colour shifts and perfecting imperfections. This workshop was really helpful and I think it will really improve the outcomes of my projects across the course 

[maddybryson]

Making multiple prototypes through out this process has made me appreciate and enjoy simplicity in my project. Pictured above is a few of my zine covers that I have been playing around with 

[maddybryson]

The course content through out the term has led to me seeing lots of different letterforms in everyday situations. I would love to explore deeper and see what a full alphabet would look like made up of say, tram lines or even household pets

[maddybryson]

In this workshop we worked with paper cut outs to create letter forms. You can see the evolution from the original text with just the orange quarters, to the inclusion of the black squares, to finally the final text. I think this workshop was primarily asking what the impact was of having different collaborators as well as what the impact was on having a larger pool of collaborators was on the one project. In our groups case I feel the inclusion of more collaborators lead to a more interesting and a coherent letterforms. Obviously having more voices seems less conducive to that but I feel that because we experimented and decided on general rules for the project early it allowed for a really innovative outcome. 

more collaborators created a more interesting text form 

[maddybryson]

Email thread for creative Maddy Rawlings, includes final draft questions

[maddybryson]

Ask me anything interview

Maddy Rawling was the creative who I wanted to interview most but I contacted a number of similar professionals such as Eloise Jenkins, Lindsey Pruitt, Olivia Bedgyan, Amber Vittoria, and Emma Gale. 

I thought about continuing on from some of the questions that I considered for our first project, “Hello my question is”, such as as a designer have you faced any ethical dilemmas? However I don’t really believe they were particularly relevant to Maddy Rawling’s creative practice. Another continuing focus for me personally through out this unit was the impact that technology has had on design. Along that same thought a big reason why I wanted to interview the above creatives was that they all had some kind of presence on social media and seemed to be using it to advertise their businesses or themselves as creatives. 

A number of my early questions centred around how did they grow their presence, more so in the fact how did they all manage to communicate such strong personal brands?

Particularly for Rawlings I wanted to know if being Australian has had any influence on her as a creative. In psychology there is always that question of nature v nurture and I was curious to know if a professional in the industry thought if where they were from had any impact on their design practice.

[maddybryson]

Our Week 3 workshop seemed to be centred around what impact having limited resources v unlimited/unlimited resources v limited time would have on our method of communication. In the above example you can see that whilst we had unlimited resources (water) we had limited time due to the nature of the resource (evaporation). The effect this had on the letterforms was that we quickly sacrificed any unnecessary stylistic elements and reduced them to their most basic. 

[maddybryson]

Maddy Rawling

Starting out as a freelance graphic designer as demand for her work grew Maddy Rawling founded web, print and logo design studio The Binding. Following on from my research into Jasmine Dowling I think Maddy is another good example of young Australian creatives with a strong social media presence. 

[maddybryson]

Australian Creative: Jasmine Dowling 

Jasmine is a self-described hand-letterer/graphic designer/blogger from Brisbane, Australia. She has worked with clients that have included IMG Models, Nike Australia, David Jones, Max & Co & Hallmark. I wanted to research Jasmine for the Brief 2 assignment because while I find her style aesthetically pleasing I think, more importantly, she is an interesting example of how creatives are making careers for themselves in this modern era. Her social platform seems particularly crucial to her success, having grown a following on instagram of over 208,000. Is Dowling’s career a hint of what’s to come? an example of how design is evolving? If I was to interview Jasmine I would be interested to know if how dependent her career is on her following impacted her creative process in anyway? Does she still design with purely her own style in mind or is she more prone to follow any trends to appeal more broadly? Do these new opportunities to market ourselves as creatives come with any consequences? 

Original link to image: https://www.jasminedowling.com/blog/2019/4/11/march-journal

[maddybryson]

more collaborators created a more interesting text form 

[maddybryson]

This focus on what communication design looked like in our past has got me, again, thinking about its future - more specifically the role of communication designers. As technology continues to advance what will communication designers look like or even be? A cornerstone of what makes humans, human is our ability to create - to design. But what threat does automatic processes pose to this? In 50 years will we be alone in this ability? Adrian Shaughnessy in a 2018 article poses the question: “Is design about to meet its Uber moment? Is AI about to take on the role of the designer? Is the surge towards a fully automated world about to engulf design?” And he points out in many ways, how it already has. Social media, he writes, has taken over many roles previously done by designers. You can start a business with a Facebook page and many businesses even sell off Instagram exclusively, bypassing the need for a well designed website or web designer for just two examples. My burning question for design then is, “Will designers always be human?” 

Adrian Shaughnessy’s Article published on the 20 March 2018: Will designers be replaced by robots? https://www.creativebloq.com/features/will-designers-be-replaced-by-robots

[maddybryson]

Week 2′s workshop and lecture about the evolution of written communication has got me thinking about its future. Will this need for standardisation and efficiency that has characterised the changes in its past (the evolution of the letter A for example as discussed) continue to prompt its change in the future? What will the alphabet look like 500 years from now? Will our ever-increasing reliance on technology hinder its advancement or will it encourage it? As clay influenced the style of ancient written communication what will the impact of the medium of the future be? We’ve moved from pens to pressing buttons on a keyboard, what implications does that have? Some have even questioned what the influence of emoji pictograms will be, they allowing speakers to communicate without the need for language at all. Does this mean written communication will cease to be of any relevancy in the future? It would be interesting to see where the future of written communication ends up going, even in our lifetimes, especially when you take into consideration the current rate of technological advancement.

Picture: is sourced from designer Benot Bodhuin,  2016 (http://www.typographher.com/blog/benot-bodhuin-breaking-rules)