andrewcollinsgraphics

[andrewcollinsgraphics]

Evaluation

The brief ‘Curiosity’ is different to any other brief that I’ve been given over the past year as the main focus is to create our own project. So this requires a wide range of things to consider such as a target audience, an initial theme that interests us whether it be a hobby we have or maybe something much more serious such as an issue within the world. Within the brief it was outlined that due to this project being lead by ourselves things such as primary and secondary research are extremely important when looking for inspiration for our initial ideas.  

Based from my previous projects I knew that I wanted to try something new but also implement certain aspects of Graphic design that I know I can perform well in, for example my last FMP I was able to produce effective football illustrations. Within ‘creative conscience’ I looked into much more serious themes and was able to communicate important pieces of information in a way that grabbed the audiences attention. Despite the success I’ve had in previous projects using photoshop consistently I realised that only one project I had focused my attention within illustrator and the was for ‘Animal Instincts’. I feel that this was one of my most successful projects as I met the criteria of the brief well but also produced an effective final outcome and was able to find a suitable application for the design that also had positive feedback from my target audience. Based from this I feel that it would make sense to use Illustrator for producing my final piece, but this doesn’t mean that I will move away from other processes such as other digital programmes or using print and hand rendered methods. 

I thought the best place to start would be my ‘curiosities’, so I decided to try and relate my project with something that plays a large role within my life outside of thing such as going to work or being at college. My interest in football or the enjoyment I get from listening to music were two themes that I knew would keep me focused on producing an outcome where I would have tested multiple processes and evaluated the effectiveness of each to narrow down my initial ideas to a final piece. Choosing themes such as these would also allow me to choose a target audience that is within my age range, doing something like this would make it easier to understand the project from an audience members point of view rather than just mine. 

Within the brief of the project it says that there is ‘no clear set theme or area of specialism to explore’ this meant that the project will purely be lead by my own research and inspirations. My main aim throughout the project was to experiment through a wide range of processes and see how much I can change a typeface but still keep it’s readability. I also needed an application to test my typeface otherwise I would’ve never known how well the design works for its intended purpose. Due to my interest within Football I decided that creating a typeface for the back of a Football kit would be a strong project. My reasoning for believing this would be a strong project is because I had a clear application for my design that requires a lot of detail and many rules to follow to ensure that it would be successful. 

My initial research was focused on the advertisement and build up for festivals throughout the year not just during summer as this is a very important part of how festivals are able to gain an interest and sell tickets. Different things such as announcing line-ups early and general promotion through using videos from previous events are usually the main forms of advertisement. In terms of artists there wasn’t any that had a direct play in these campaigns it was very much looking into different forms of advertisement used by the director of the festival, a lot of the promotions used are either videos, posters or merchandise.  

Once doing further research into festivals and different ways I could add my own changes or possibly create my own festival concept I felt that the lack of artists to help inspire me for this idea  was something that would hold me back when presenting my ideas and explaining what fuelled them.  

I knew that Football was something that I wanted to base my project around as it heavily interests me meaning that I would stay focused throughout the project. I wanted to stray away from the typical football project whether it be a poster that would be inspired by a well known brand such as Nike or Adidas or possibly create a football kit. I wanted to have a project that was a much more Graphics based theme and as I was looking to use illustrator for my final piece exploring with things such as typography definitely seemed like a strong starting point. 

In my proposal I suggested the idea of designing a typeface for a five a side tournament as this would allow me to play around with the typeface a bit more and still keep the legibility of the names on the kits. 

My initial research for this was watching a football game and taking pictures from my point of view and assessing the success of the kits for their purpose. For secondary research I looked into how different designers have played around with typefaces so that they’re completely unique but still have the legibility required for something such as a football kit. I found a group of artists where I had compared their work side by side and explored different methods and layouts to see how one differs form the other, but also how they are still able to remain successful when presented to an audience. The designers I had studied were Wieden and Kennedy, Wim Crouwel, Craig Ward, Neville Brody and Otl Aicher. I narrowed down the artists to ones that I felt were most inspiring towards my project, these artists were Craig Ward, Neville Brody and Wim Crouwel. 

My reasoning for choosing these designers was because they all had done campaigns that were focused on football so there is a direct link between the artists and the themes of my project. After doing some further research into Neville Brody I found that he had worked with Wim Crouwel in the 2014 world cup so I decided to do a case study on this as it allowed me get a better feel for the requirements when creating a typeface and the steps both designers took throughout the development stages. Something that Wim Crouwel had done in the typeface for the Netherlands in the world cup grabbed my attention as they regularly pair ‘I’ and ‘J’ within names he deiced to put them together. The curve of the ‘J’ left space for the ‘I’ to sit just above the letter whilst still keeping the legibility required for the kits which I found unique but still very effective. Doing something similar to this for my final piece was definitely something I considered but I needed to play around with different letters to see how it would be possible. 

I tried to keep my experimentations as wide as possible by using a wide range of techniques that I have learnt or developed over the past two years. Doing this shows that I’m able to experiment through a range of processes meaning that my final piece will be narrowed down to the most successful outcome rather than the first thing that I created. This is imprint as I’m not only able to showcase the skills that I have learnt over the past two years but I’m also able to develop skills further by refreshing my memory within particular processes. Within my production file it was also important to be able to clearly present how I have been able to get from my initial ideas to my final project using my thought processes and my practical work. 

Initially I started by experimenting with grid paper and restricting myself to a small area for each letter, I had done this to see how much I can limit myself but still be able to make the letters identifiable and work together. After doing this I then scanned in the typeface and cleaned it up in illustrator and printed it off to test the success of the type, I found that this was helpful in understanding which letters needed some adjusting and which ones worked for their purpose. 

I decided to experiment with a Fude brush used for Chinese calligraphy as it would give me a hand rendered type to potentially use. I found that using this brush initially was quite difficult as I was unsure of how to use it effectively so I continually created the same letters and numbers until I had one design of each letter and number to create a typeface. I found this method effective as it gave me good practice on how to use the brush in a similar way that it is intended for, initially I kept it quite structured but realised the aim of the brush is to create designs that flow freely. Once I had recognised this the type had a much more free flowing look to it which made the type look much more natural, this is what I was looking for by using a hand rendered process. As I was looking to see how far I could play around with a type and keep its readability I was happy with the qualities that the typeface I created had. 

After creating the type using a brush I was impressed with the way it turned out so I took the scans into illustrator to then clean up and vectorise, this meant I could play around with the type much more freely as it was scalable without losing any quality to the design. As I was now able to change the size of the type I decided to mask a screen so that I could create screen prints using the type, the prints were effective and served their purpose as I printed them in the size that would be required for a football kit. I help them up against a wall from a distance and the type was readable which is important for something like this. I further developed this design by printing onto an old t-shirt to see how the type works with an application, I placed the name and numbers where they would typically sit and it met the criteria that a football kit needed. The design was readable from a distance and I checked online for things such as size dimensions for each letter then the numbers to really test how well my typeface worked. I was happy with the outcome and I knew this typeface was something I wanted to use in my final piece, the main issue I found with this was that I wasn’t sure how to present my typeface. Having an application for it was good but I needed to make sure I could present the whole type so that it was clear how every letter and number appeared not just the ones I used on the kit. Based from my previous research into Neville Brody I had seen a type specimen sheet that he and Wim Crouwel created to present the typefaces for each team in the 2014 world cup. I took inspiration from this and used a similar method to see how my typeface would look when presented clearly with an application next to the type so that the audience could clearly see its intended use. After playing around with things such as spacing out each piece of the type I was happy with the design and decided to move onto creating another type to then present in a similar way.   

Whilst I was in the print room I tried experimenting with letterpress just to see how I can play around with where letters can be placed side by side, doing this also gave me physical pieces of work that I could cut out and play around with. I didn’t push these prints any further as I felt that they were quite weak compared to the other types I had created. 

Overall I thought the first type I created using the grids served its purpose but there wasn’t anything special about it that would grab an audience members attention. So I took it into illustrator and used show grid and the pen tool to follow around the initial type I scanned in, after this I followed the same method for presenting the type and it worked well so I left it the way it was. I wanted to develop this type specimen sheet further by making it look similar to one of Wim Crouwel’s pieces of work, I placed a grid on the left side of the design but made it quite faint so that it didn’t overpower the typeface and I felt that they worked well together. I then played around with the colours and only used the colours Wim Crouwel used in a piece of work and I found that this gave it a clear connection between the two pieces of work. 

One thing I noticed on the specimen sheet is that the numbers ‘1’ and ‘2’ linked together In the sense that where the bottom right corner of the ‘1’ moved downwards the ‘2’ moved towards meaning that the numbers could be put together and almost look like one piece rather than two separate numbers. This was exactly what I was looking for when I mentioned the way that Wim Crouwel joined ‘I’ and ‘J’ together to create what almost looked like a single letter.  To develop this further I followed the same method that the ‘1’ and ‘2’ had in the sense that the left side of the letter or number would point upwards and the right side would point downwards so that when either the letters or numbers are placed together they can be touching and still keep their recognisable forms.  

Initially I was torn between whether I wanted to present two typefaces then have an application to go with it, so in this project it would be a football shirt that I have printed onto. Through some research and experimentation I felt that the best way to present my work would be to have all three of the typefaces that I produced up for presentation, the layout would be two a3 sheets with my black and white typefaces then have an a1 print of the type that followed a similar layout to one fo Wim Crouwel’s pieces of work. The plan was to then present the shirt within my production file and blog but also use either primary images of someone wearing the kit or use images online and place my type onto a kit to show how it would work. 

Overall I am happy with each of my typefaces as they all have a different look to one another. For example my hand rendered typeface has a very loose log to it, as the aim of using something such as a Fude paintbrush is to let the paintbrush do a lot of the work you can see where there are natural curves within each character. Especially within the numbers you can see that not everything has to be symmetrical for it to still be readable and thats what I feel separates this typeface from many others. This typeface is by far my favourite one as I feel that it not only has me the criteria of my project but it also doesn’t follow many rules within typography, despite this it still works as a typeface for the back of a kit. 

My first digital type that I had created was much more structured, as I used the pen tool and grids within illustrate it meant that each character was going to be the exact same size which does mean that when creating the type specimen sheets it was much easier to move around, where as my hand rendered type were all different sizes so I had to change each one so that the design looked much more structured and like a typeface. This type was much closer to what you would consider as a typical type for a football kit in the sense that each letter is the same size and can be read from afar quite comfortably, so despite being successful when considering these aspects fo the design I feel that its too similar to a regular typeface which is why my hand rendered type is the one I feel is most suited to the brief I created. As much as I like this typeface from a professional point of view I feel that this wouldn’t be something that can be used for multiple applications as it is a type that is only really suited for my design brief, as not every letter is the exact same size it wouldn’t be used for creating full sentences but when used for a football kit you can clearly see that it does work well. 

The second digital typeface that I created was very much a development from my first one, I used the same letter but added almost a base layer for each letter so that they would all connect to make the word look as one symbol rather than a group of words. I haven’t seen a type similar to this before which is something that shows through experimentation and research I have been able to take inspiration from other designs and create my own typeface. This typeface is much more designed for closer distance reading as the use of each letter connecting it does make it harder to read but once scaled up to regular size for a football kit it is still readable especially if it’s used for five a side football.  

In conclusion to my final piece I feel that all of my designs are successful as they are readable when used for the desired application and each of them have their own style, I have outlined how they differ from each other within my evaluation and blog posts. 

Within my proposal I outlined that my target audience would be younger people that take part within five a side tournaments, so this would be anywhere between the age of 12-18, the typeface that I feel works best for this age range was the type I created using the paintbrush, this is because the flick of the paintbrush at the end of some characters gives a flair to the characters and that what five a side football is about. The type has some areas of the characters missing but they still hold their legibility, which is extremely important when creating a type for football kits. Thats what I like the most about this typeface as I’ve been able to see how far I can push typography but still hold the legibility, especially considering that it can still be used for the back of a shirt which I feel is something that is quite difficult to do and this is why companies such as UEFA have strict guidelines when typefaces are created for football kits. 

All of my typefaces work for their intended purpose which is the important part of the project because without legibility and readability there isn’t a successful typeface but I’ve also been able to make typefaces that appeal to my target audience. Rather than having a simple design that is simply there to read I feel that I’ve added something to the typefaces that makes them part of the kits. My typefaces have been created so that when you look at a football kit it’s not just the front of the kit that you would judge which is typically what would happen, I wanted the back of the kit to be just as important as this is the identity of the player. 

With more time I definitely would’ve been able to explore further into typefaces and different ways I can manipulate something that would typically have a clear guideline. I could’ve looked to play around with different colours as well but I felt for the sake of this project and making my typefaces stand out the most white on a black background worked best as it makes the typeface pop out from the specimen sheet. This project was about seeing how far I can push typography but still keep all the necessary requirements for a successful typeface. I think that I have done this well but also added my own take on typefaces and made them much more suited for my target audience in terms of grabbing their attention and making it more exciting to look at.  

Within this project I have learnt how use a much wider range of processes to help fuel my initial ideas when experimenting for my final design. Through playing around within illustrator I’ve also learnt that sometimes using simple methods for things such as creating a typeface can work out better than using complex methods. For example when I drew the typeface by hand then scanned it in and used it as a template for illustrator I found this was simple but effective as it lead to two different typefaces in a much shorter amount of time to if I had looked to create a typeface in illustrator from scratch.  

Over the past two years I feel that understanding that I need to use more than just one or two processes within a project to help me narrow down a better design for my final piece. Now that I am able to identify when to use illustrator and when too sue photoshop has been extremely useful especially within this project, as usually I would look to use photoshop to try and create a typeface but its clear in my final typefaces that illustrator was the much better programme to use. Not only because visually the typefaces worked well but also due to the amount of time that I saved when being able to follow a simple grid to produce a typeface, but then also add slight adjustments to the basic layout to make it stand out, which is exactly what I done when creating my second digital typeface. 

Moving on from this project I would definitely like to explore typography and have a new focus on this aspect of graphic design as it was usually something I would push away. Now that I  can see there’s more to typefaces than just the way they look I’ve definitely found a new interest within graphics. In this project my illustrator skills have also developed much further and I will look house the programme much more especially now that I’m able to identify when it is best to use either Illustrator or photoshop. Issues such as time management are still a thing that I need to work on but I have been creating checklists to help this and I have found a slight improvement but there is still a lot of work to be done on my time management. 

[andrewcollinsgraphics]

Producing final piece - inspired by Wim Crouwel

For my final piece I decided that I want to showcase all three of my typefaces and just leave the t shirt that I printed as an example of experimentation. As I have there typefaces presenting it in a way to look symmetrical would be difficult without making one typeface sheet larger than the other two. I wanted one of the typefaces to stand out from the other so I started playing around with different colours and what effect they gave, from my initial research on Wim Crouwel there was one of his pieces of work that interested me. The way how he used such a simple typeface and added the guidelines that he used for creating the type I thought was different to any other front cover I've seen. 

Here you can see where the grid lines have been left on the page, you can see where the type lines up with the design and I feel that this helps the audience see that the design has been thought through and everything has been placed a certain way for a reason. The idea of using an extremely basic typeface also grabbed my attention as despite how simple it look its still readable and despite being place sideways I could still comfortably read the type.  

Im looking to produce a type specimen sheet using similar methods that I have outlined, for example leaving grid marks on the design and using a simple type that still serves it’s purpose.  

I used this typeface for the design that i developed, the reasoning for this was that its the simplest type that I had created... 

I felt that this was good starting point as I already have the layout for the sheet and the type is also legible which is important when creating something such as a type specimen sheet. 

I placed Wim Crouwel’s next to this sheet and used the eye dropper tool to get the exact same colours as what he had used, I did this as I wanted to make the design stand out and I felt that adding brighter colours would be the best way to do it. To add the grid on the design I simply used the pen tool and created a singular horizontal and vertical line, I then copy and pasted and the left the illustrator on snap to grid as this meant each row would be spaced evenly and would match up with my typeface. Overall I didn't have to make a lot of adjustments to my design but it completely changed how the design looked and what effect it gave, here is the design...

From the screenshot the grid lines that I created are quite faint but in person the design is much clearer, I feel that this design now looks much better as it uses more colours to grab the audiences attention. Using this type I feel was the best decision as each letter is evenly sized unlike my other two typefaces, I followed the same method as Wim Crouwel by using a simple typeface that serves its purpose well, using this type also meant that from a distance the typeface could still be easily read by an audience member.  

This is how I ended up laying out my typefaces for the my final piece... 

Im happy with the way it looks as everything is symmetrical and printing off my sheet inspired by Wim Crouwel definitely helps grab the audiences attention with the use of colours. From this photo my typefaces still serve their purpose as they are completely readable from this distance, when used for a football kit the characters would also be enlarged so being able to read the type at this size is important as I will defiantly be able to read it if they were enlarged for printing. 

[andrewcollinsgraphics]

Screen printing with my typeface

I decided that I want to screen print using my Fude brush typeface, to do this I needed to set up a screen first which consisted of cleaning a screen using a pressure washer, this is the area where I cleaned the screen... 

Once this had been done I had to leave the screen top dry, after this the next task was to run drawing fluid up the screen, this is needed so that the templates can be pressed into the screen using a large machine that looks like this...

After the screen had been set up I then had to put it in a frame that would hold the design whilst I screen print, initially I began by printing onto paper to test out the design but to also get used to screen printing so that when I printed onto a shirt it worked first time. Here are some of the results from my first few screen prints, you will be able to see that the more prints I done the cleaner they became... 

As you can see luckily I didn't have any problems with printing the letters but the numbers were an issue at first, you can see that as I printed more designs the ink began to set on the page much better, this may have been used by not flooding the screen properly. Overall I'm happy with the prints especially with how strong they look having the white on black.  

I then decided to print onto an old t shirt so that I would be able to see how the typeface works on an object. I went online and searched what the guidelines are for typefaces on the bak of football shirts, so this meant ensuring that the correct space between the umbers and letters was left and that the characters were all within the correct size guides.  

To make sure I knew where to print the designs I cut out two pieces of paper that were the same size as the letter and the numbers then placed them onto the back of the kit to make sure that I could line up the prints properly. Doing this was important as I didn't want to end up with anything being out of place. 

This is how the t shirt looked once it had been printed onto and I'm happy with the outcome as it not only displays the type well but from a distance the type is still readable which is important when creating a kit. 

I feel that out of all of my typefaces this is the most successful one as it sticks keeps its readability from a longer distance but it also connects to the intended application the best due to the looseness in the typeface. Aspects like these of the typeface will also make it appeal to the target audience which is young football players between the ages of 12-18.

[andrewcollinsgraphics]

Adjusting digital typeface

When I had created the second type specimen sheet I liked the way that the 1 and 2 almost linked together and I feel that this is something that works really well, so looking to create a full typeface that follows this method would lead to a new and interesting typeface.  

At the bottom middle of the 1 and the 2 is where you can see they connect together quite well... 

I went back to my initial digital typeface and laid out each character in a similar way to 1 you a see above so that each letter would link together, this was the result of doing so...

Having the typeface laid out in this way doesn't give you a good idea of how the letters work together so I created another type specimen sheet following the same layout as the others and this what the final design...

I think that typographically this is my strongest typeface as it shows a clear focus on adapting the type to be completely different to any other but I've been able to keep the legibility of each character and having the application on the right hand side allows you to see the readability of the typeface as well. As happy as I am with this typeface there is one clear issue that from a distance you do start to lose the readability which for a football type is something that you need to be able to keep when reading from a distance. This type can be used in other appellations and be much more effective whether it follows a similar method of Wim Crouwel’s work and it speaks for itself on the over of a book or simply is used as a word mark logo. I feel that this type definitely shows that I have been able to push typography again and see how much it can be changed before it loses it’s success when presented to an audience.  

Moving on from this experimentation the main thing I now need to consider is what I will use for my final piece and once that is decided how will I present the design. 

[andrewcollinsgraphics]

Creating type specimen sheets

Based off initial research and inspiration from Wim Crouwel and Neville Brody I'm going to create type specimen sheet using a similar method. In their 2014 world cup success Wim and Neville produced type sheets that not only showcased the typefaces for each individual team but they also gave an application with it which I felt was a very effective way to present a typeface. Here is what their designs looked like...

As you can see the typeface has been presented in a way that make sit easy for the audience to read and they've also placed an application for the type to the right of the design which I feel showcases their type really well. This specimen sheet is simple but it gives the audience all the information about the typeface that they need, the use of colours to help draw the audience to the key parts of the design is also important as in this case the title isn't something that’s seen as important. 

For my specimen sheet I knew that I wanted to have a black background alongside a white typeface as this will make the typeface stand out a lot more which is important when trying to exhibit the design. 

To create the design I started by grouping the letters into the correct rows that were spread out evenly as this will make the typeface look much more structured and easier on the eye. Once I had done this I then moved onto the numbers and I decided to play them under the type in one row as I felt this made it easier to read the numbers as a full set rather than having a similar layout to the letter in the same way Wim and Neville had done. 

After doing this I then decided to keep with the theme of my design looking hand rendered so to create the same effect I painted out a range of different lines and chose the one that I felt worked best... 

Once I had done this all I needed to do was set up how the application would look, this is how my first type specimen sheet looked... 

Overall I'm happy with the way it looks but after spending time assessing the effectiveness of each aspect of the design I began to spot a lot of flaws that needed to be changed. To start with I've made the title bigger than the typeface but this means that the title is overpowering the type and draws the audience to the wrong area of the design. I feel that the spacing between the numbers and the application is far too small there’s no clear separation between the typeface and the application and the aim of the specimen sheet was to present everything clearly for all audience members to understand. Initially I wanted to see how the numbers would layout whilst being in the same position as what Neville Brody had done but I feel that there is too much happening in the middle of the design so moving the number beneath the type would leave some space for separating the application.  

To counter these issues I'm going to make the title smaller than the type to ensure that it won't overpower the typeface, the numbers will be moved below the type to leave more space in the middle of the page which will also fix the issue of the sheet looking squeezed together without utilising the space on the page. 

After making the adjustments this is how the type specimen sheet now looks...

This version of the specimen sheet looks much more professional. I have been able to create a clear separation between the application and the typeface, having the numbers on a single column works much better as they look much more natural rather than being shoved in the middle of the page where they looked out of place. Having the title smaller than the typeface also allows the audience to focus on the main aspects of the design much quicker and easier. Now that I have been able to distinguish where I need to position certain aspects of the specimen sheet I will now create a type specimen sheet for the first typeface that I created so that I'm able to compare each typeface effectively.  

Here is what my second type specimen sheet looked like... 

I think that this specimen sheet is also successful as I've been able to follow the same rules as my initial design, comparing each of the designs they are two very different typefaces and feel that for my project brief the Fude paintbrush typeface is the most effective as using the paintbrush has allowed me to add different curves and flicks to the characters and I feel that it captures the idea of five a side football having an element of skill. The typeface also suits younger children as it looks more appealing due too the looseness of the design, unlike the digital typeface where its very structured and doesn't give the same impression, it looks more suited for a graphics poster rather than the back if a football kit. 

[andrewcollinsgraphics]

Fude brush - Ink experimentation

To help me with creating a typeface I decided to try out a specific style of paintbrush that is regularly used within Chinese calligraphy, these paintbrushes allow you to create much more free flowing designs that do not have to be perfect to be successful. 

All I needed for this experimentation was the Fude brush and a small container of ink to paint with, using this brush is very different to using a regular paintbrush as you need to look to almost flick the brush when you finish each design to add the hand rendered effect that you aren't able to get from digital programmes. Been able to urge the brush in the right direction was also quite difficult initially as I found that you need to let the brush flow in the direction that works best for it, you won't be able to get an effective piece of work from this process if you are too controlling with it. I felt that I had most success when didn't overthink the design and I simply painted then moved on and continued in that way, it lead to my designs being much more natural. 

To ensure that I was consistently getting characters that I wanted to use I decided to keep painting the same character until I made one I was happy with then I moved onto the next character, this did take some time but it lead to an outcome that I was happy with... 

This is how my typeface looks after scanning in each letter, once I had created this typeface I then took it into illustrator and vectorised the design so that I could scale up the typeface and not lose any quality. This is how the design looked after being vectorised.... 

After doing this with the letters I then decided to use the same process to help create the numbers and this is how they turned out...  

I feel that the typeface I have created has met the criteria of the brief, I've been able to produce a typeface where I've experimented with how far I can change the type but still keeps its legibility. This is a type that I will look to use whether its for creating a type specimen sheet or whether its to use as a template for printing onto a kit. 

Moving on from this workshop I will look to take this typeface further whether its looking into how I an present this in a similar way to what Wim Crouwel and Neville Brody have done. Screen printing this design onto a kit is also something that I'm very interested in as it will help me really test how well my typeface works when used within an application. 

[andrewcollinsgraphics]

Letter press experimentation

After my previous lost and found workshop where we experimented with letter pressing I've decided that I want to use the same method again to see what different effects I can create by using different types. 

As I'm looking to create a typeface for the back of a football kit I definitely need to produce something that is structured and lines up perfectly as this is what is expected of kit designers when they're printing onto shirts.  

I had to follow the same method as the last workshop as its the same process, the only thing I had to ensure was that I had set up the characters the right way apron to ensure that when I printed they would all read correctly. Within my production file you can see that the first print I produced was completely the wrong way around where I had the letters at the bottom and the A upside down,  with my second attempt I double checked that I had structured everything correctly then I printed the design. The print does work the way I would like it to which is to be quite bold and stand out to the audience. 

I then started playing around with the amount of ink that I was using to see the different textures that I was able to get for example here I decided ti print twice using the same blocks so that the second print would become much more faded...

Here you can see the clear difference between both designs and this is where processes such as letter pressing can give you certain effects that digital programs are unable to give you.  

Within my a1 folder there is one more print that I created where I tried to use much finer letters to evaluate their effectiveness over a long distance and I feel that these are much clearer and easier top read compared to bolder letters, this is definitely something that I am going to consider when creating my typefaces. Potentially I could look into producing one or two thinner types and the same for bolder character so that I have a range of outcomes that differ. 

This experimentation has definitely helped me gain a better understating of what too look for when producing my typefaces, for example whether I would look to create strong and bold letter or whether a more subtle approach but still keeping the readability would be a better approach. considering things like this will help me come closer to creating an effective typeface for a football kit. 

[andrewcollinsgraphics]

Pixel type - Modernist typeface workshop

The aim of this workshop was to take inspiration from Wim Crouwel and look to create the most basic form of the alphabet possible using only a grid typeface. This was to help me understand that not all typefaces need to be complex to work, usually a successful typeface just needs to be legible and readable at any scale.  

The rules to follow within this workshop were very simple, I just had to create a typeface that was created using grids, despite how simple this sounds I did begin to struggle with this as being able to make each letter identifiable waste easy in such a small amount of space especially for letters such as K where there is no regular shape to it. Unlike letter such as U where its simply created by lines at two different right angles. 

Here is how my typeface turned out and overall I was happy with the way that it looked... 

I feel that I was able to capture the idea of stripping typography back down to the basic form of each letter. I tried to make it challenging for myself by only having three grid spaces horizontally to use as it meant I had to think a lot more on how you would regularly identify each individual letter. As you an see with letter such as Q I had to almost follow the opposite to how you would usually see its form in the sense that I took away the rule in the bottom left corner to help the audience understand the difference between this letter and O or a D. 

After creating this typeface I then decided to scan the design to take it into illustrator where I used the ‘show grid’ tool and the ‘pen’ tool to follow around each individual letter meaning that I ended up with a typeface that looked like this... 

I think that this typeface captures the idea of being simple but still has clear purpose, as you can see I took the corners off some of the letters as I felt this added a more unique style to the type.  

Altogether from this workshop I feel that I now understand much clearer that not all typefaces have to be complex and sometimes the simple typeface is the most successful. Ive also been able too experiment within illustrator a different way and it is definitely something that i’d like to use again. Whether it be creating another typeface or adapting the one I've already created I'm unsure but now that I understand there are different ways to create typefaces iw ill definitely be looking to experiment more. 

[andrewcollinsgraphics]

Week 5 review

Over the past week my main focus was to gather a good amount of research that will contribute possible ideas for my final design. The artists that I have found such as Wim Crouwel and Neville Brody have already given me some potential ideas and I will be looking to develop them through a wide range of experimentations whether it be using screen printing, letter press or any digital processes that I'm able to use. 

Moving on from this week I feel that I have been able to gather a good amount of evidence to help me with the development stages of my work, things such as the type specimen sheet that Crouwel and Brody have designed heavily interest me and it I will look to use a similar outcome for a type that I produce to test the effectiveness of it. 

[andrewcollinsgraphics]

Artist research - Neville Brody

Neville Brody is an English graphic designer who focuses his work into typography and being an art director. He is recently most well known for his work with Wim Crouwel in the 2014 World Cup as they continued to produce typefaces for each individual team within the tournament.

In a similar way that Wim Crouwel worked there is no continuous theme, he has looked into how many different methods he can use to explore a range of techniques that can be used in future designs. His designs will range from the focus on the cleanliness of typography and focusing on the legibility to then playing with the words and letters to see at what point does the word stop being recognisable. Within his work it is clear he is looking for something that is completely different to anyone else’s, for example these prices of work all have a different focus...

The prices of work on the left has used each letter to then produce another word, what he has done here is use a very little range of words, this may be because the human brain will process the letters and make the word itself rather than looking for the clear price of text. He has stretched each letter and has still been able to keep a lot of the main things to look for within typography, the legibility, it grabs your attention but doesn’t make you stare and ‘waste your time’ in a similar way that some audiences may complain about other designs.

The middle design has looked into using simple shape and basic colours but mixing them all together to see how easy it is to read the price of text. I feel that it works very well as these colour naturally grab your attention so there would usually be a higher chance of someone focusing on a price of work like this compared to a regular poster that uses black and white. By splitting up each letter the words have became easier to understand as the colours do not blend to one, they work individually to create a peice of work that works as one.

The final design to the right in my opinion is the smartest one out of these designs, the way in which each peice of information has been placed makes it stand out to other prices so that the audience can grab the information they need almost instantly when looking at the design. This design is my favourite piece of work produced by Neville Brody as he has been able to really explore how far you can move around pieces of text and still keep all the key information for the audience.  

Here is a type specimen sheet that Neville Brody created, Wim Crouwel has also created a similar design as they both created the typefaces for each individual football team that took part in the 2014 World Cup. Looking at this typeface layout I will definitely consider presenting my typefaces in a similar way, as I feel that this method is extremely effective. My reasoning for believing that this is a successful design is because the type has been laid out in a way that makes it easy for the audience to gain the important pieces of information. The use of colours helps draw your eyes to different parts of the design, for example the typeface is a dark blue and the rest of the design is light grey, this is because the blue overpowers the grey so that the audience will look at the type and the application rather than focusing on the title of the design which in this case is the least important part. On the right of the design the idea of laying out the type so that it’s clear how it would work when used is important as it allows not only the designer but also the audience understand the effectiveness of the design and whether it works.  

[andrewcollinsgraphics]

Artist research - Wim Crouwel

Wim Crouwel is a graphic designer that has more specifically specialised in typography and typefaces. In the earlier stages of his life he spent his time studying fine arts before moving onto learning about typography.

His work has always been identified as going back to the basics, for example in this price of work he has used squares to then develop into letters...

Following a specific process in this way means that you are able to explore how simple you can keep a particular letter or word but still keep what makes it identifiable and legible. Being a typographic designer he understood the necessities of creating typefaces that can be easily understood and can also be scaled to suit particular needs.

Wim Crouwel never kept his work the same which is what made him stand out, there was never a particular method he wanted to stick to, there was always a level of exploration into how far you can adapt words and keep they’re intended purpose. 

Here are two pieces of Crouwel’s work, as you can see he focuses on his type to grab the audiences attention within both designs. Using a method like this within his work is very effective but also important when testing his typefaces and evaluating the success of the designs by using an audience.  

Within the design to the left you can see that Crouwel hasn't changed the type or added an effect to appeal to the audience he's only changed the scale of the the and had made it bold, despite being such a simple ,method it serves its purpose which is to grab the audiences attention and give them key information straight away. 

The design on the right has similar qualities to the other design in the sense that the type is in the middle of the page and is set up to be the first thing that you can see. What Crouwel had added to the type is something that i haven't seen beige but I feel that it works extremely well as the type is still readable but it has it’s own unique style that grabs your attention and it makes you think about the type for the right reasons (it makes you want to have a look in the book and see what other designs it may contain rather than just reading the type and knowing that its about a designer). 

[andrewcollinsgraphics]

Preparation for easter - Pre easter review

Moving into Easter it is important that I catch up with any work that I should have completed at this stage in the project.

There are multiple blog posts that I have not currently started or finished so this will be my main focus over the next two weeks. Ensuring that my posts have in depth detail and comparison of each process and evaluating my outcomes from these workshops will be extremely valuable when moving into experimentation for my final designs.

Artists research certainly needs to be presented on my blog as well, this will help me when looking for inspiration not only within this project but also in the future for example if I was creating an illustration that may look into things such as the government then Shepard Fairey is certainly a name to keep in the back of my head when looking for inspiration.

Ensuring that I have also evidenced all my workshops with appropriate images within my production file is something that I will check and look to make any changes if required.

[andrewcollinsgraphics]

Week 4 review

This week the main focus was my presentation, this is an important point in the project as I’m able to receive a range of ideas from a group of people, this meant I had been given a range of ideas that differed from each other.

Making sure that I gave a reason for each of my objects was also important as it gave the audience a better understanding of what interests me and why I want to look into particular themes. Doing this allows them to suggest ideas that relate to my interests rather than recurve suggestions that wouldn’t interest me.

Moving on from this week I understand what ideas I need to develop and how I can develop them further using experimentation. It is important that I keep a clear focus on the project to ensure I create something that the target audience will respond to positively and effectively.

[andrewcollinsgraphics]

Feedback from presentation

Within my presentation I feel that I was able to clearly communicate what my initial ideas are, at the moment they are to currently look into creating a five a side tournament for football where I would be able to create posters, kits and merchandise for the event. I am undecided whether I would do this or the same concept but a music festival as they are similar but will follow a different route.

My feedback from the presentation was very helpful as it has given me a better understanding of what I may need to do for my FMP. It was suggested that I focus on football kits and the potential of a new typeface that would work in the back of a kit, this idea follows a very graphic design orientated focus which is ideal for my project, this is something that I will definitely develop in experimentation. The idea of focusing more into a certain aspect of a five aside tournament especially interests me, rather than looking at the event as a whole have one particular focus for the event and make it a high standard. It was also suggested that I could look into how to make tickets for music festivals more exciting as they are what people keep to remember the even. Currently tickets are very plain black and white with text and there is nothing special that adds to the occasion so making that link between the festival the theme of it and visualising it on th ticket would be a new idea.

Based on the feedback from my work I have a much better understanding on how to develop my ideas and explore a range of processes that will help for example screen printing will allow me to print onto a shirt to design my own kit, or use letterpress to help with creating tickets.

Moving forward with this presentation I am able to make links between the feedback I was given and the skills that I already have to visualise these ideas through a design.

[andrewcollinsgraphics]

Objects within my box and what relation they have

Within my box each onbjext has a particular meaning, some of them may relate back to the same reason as to why I chose them but all of them are unique to me and I will explain my reasoning behind the choice of each object.

I chose to put headphones and a concert ticket in my box as music is something that helps me escape from certain aspects of the world, it’s something that I can use to make me feel better throughout the day. Music has a positive effect on a lot of people and it’s something that is slowly growing more and more. It had a large impact on a lot more people’s lives than it is recognised for and that’s why I felt that it was something I would like to present.

I also chose my gym card, a football keychain and an English FA pen to present, the reasoning for this is because sport has a large impact on my life whether it’s something that will keep me active on the weekend or another way to escape from the real world for a period of time, it has a similar effect to music in the sense that it can take your mind off things and really help you look forward positively. I chose the English FA pen as it is a sign of respect, I thought this would be good to use at I could potentially relate my project to particular campaigns going on in football whether it’s dealing with racism or tying to reduce violence within fans. As there are already campaigns going on for these particular issues there is a chance for some primary and secondary research.

I chose an elephant and a plant as I think that nature is a very important thing that is forgotten about, the idea of something not being recognised in the way it should be is potentially a theme I could follow for my final peice to create awareness for maybe an issue within the world that is oblivious to most.

[andrewcollinsgraphics]

Week 3 review

This week I have definitely learnt some helpful information on how to experiment with a letterpress machine effectively. Not because I was able to produce a range of outcomes but because I was able to distinguish how to play with words or letter in a way that would make the audience take in the work and think about it. Making sure than an audience does this is extremely important as it makes your work memorable.

I was able to complete my box of curiosities for my presentation as well which is helpful as it gives me more time to think about what I can say and where I could lead the project based off the objects that I considered important to me.

Yet again using multiple workshops (woodwork and letterpress machines) has been very helpful as I am beginning to widen the amount of processes I can consider using when creating my final design.

[andrewcollinsgraphics]

Creating presentation box

At the moment I am beginning to prepare for the presentation of my initial ideas, to do this I need to create a box filled with ‘curiosities’, I was asked to bring around 8–10 objects that may inspire for my final design. It doesn’t have to be for a particular theme it can be anything that I feel is necessary, so I decided to make it about things that have an impact in my life. The objects I chose were things such as a football keychain to represent football, a concert ticket as I enjoy listening to music, my gym card as fitness is something that I enjoy as a hobby and also a plant as I find that being outside is an important part of life.

To begin making my box first I had to sketch out what it may look like and possible dimensions so that I would go into the woodwork shop knowing what I would need to do. I decided to make sure the design was quite simple and was also able to hold all of my objects, this would be important as it would leave more time for decorating the box to make it unique to me. Here are the images I took of the each step I took to make the box...

As you can see it was very simple as it was a square with a small compartment and a raised step to rest something on. I liked the way how it looks as it was big enough to hold all of my designs and because of the compartment at the top some negative space was also filled.

Once the glue had set I began to customise it, I decided to use one of my letterpress prints and cut it out to fit the side of the box as I felt the words ‘big’ and ‘small’ worked quite well together for such a big box.

Here are the steps I took to make sure the print would fit into the side...

I had spent a lot of time trimming it down to the correct dimensions although it was worth it as it looked smart and it was done carefully.

I then began painting the inside, I decided to make the compartment black as I knew I would put the plant there so it would be naturally lit up with the bright colours of the plant. I then made the main section of the box blue as it is my favourite colour and I felt that it worked well with the black. Overall I am happy with how my box turned out and I also refreshed my memory of how to work in the woodwork area properly, so I couldn’t look to use it within my experiments if I wished to.