February 12, 2014
Typography Resources and Inspiration
The following links are simply examples of typography-dominant designs, intended to help put you in a mindset where pictures don't rule your work.
For your assignment, you may use EITHER PHOTOSHOP OR ILLUSTRATOR to create a stylized quotation. It must meet the following specifications:
- A stylized background of some sort, including but not limited to:
- Subtle Gradient Background
- A pattern
- A texture
- Use of brushes and/or shapes for accent - Remember the brush libraries in the Brushes Panel (Photoshop), or the Symbols panel (illustrator)
- Use of line to separate elements of the quote
- Type of different size to emphasize different elements of the text
- Contrast in your type to emphasize different elements of text
- Consider using other elements, such as 'grunging' your text.
- To do this in Photoshop, simply add a layer mask to your text layer and paint black on the layer mask over the text with a crack/grunge brush
- To do this in Illustrator, Consider some of the following tutorials
- http://vectips.com/tutorials/quickly-add-grunge-to-text/
- http://www.rdesignonline.com/design/creating-easy-distressed-text-in-illustrator/
- http://design.tutsplus.com/tutorials/quick-tip-make-grunge-type-with-live-trace-and-the-pathfinder--vector-3871
February 11, 2014
Typography Tips and Tricks
This link is a great resource for how to successfully use multiple fonts on the same design. Keep it in mind throughout the rest of your time in this class, and, well, life.
This link explains how to use Em and En dashes instead of just hyphens in your design, as well as how to access them through keyboard combinations.
Using the Web, look up the following concepts:
- Roman Hanging Punctuation
- Em Dash
- En Dash
- Hyphen
To actually create Em and En dashes in your work, use these keyboard shortcuts.
After doing so, you will ALSO need to figure out how to create these marks in illustrator. Create a small design (8.5 x 11 inches) that not only lists the rules for using and creating them, but provides concrete examples of their use.
February 4-7, 2014
Everybody has a Type.
Below is your work for the rest of the week. When I return, barring any absences, you should have no reason for being anywhere short of well into your work on the third assignment. Should I return and find your first two not complete for all but the most convincing of reasons, you'll simply take a zero on them. Should you not be started on your third one, you'll also start at a 50 on that one. The first two assignments should take no more than a class period each, and many of you will finish them both in a single class.
ASSIGNMENT #1: Here is your link for your first typography assignment. Many of you in 7th period finished this Monday.
ASSIGNMENT #2: Typography History - as the form says, there is a video on my USB drives. If you do it at home, you can instead watch the video via the Youtube link found within the form.
ASSIGNMENT #3: Font Anatomy Design. See the following bullets:
- Using the guide found at fonts.com, you will choose a serif typeface and create a diagram similar to the ones you find.
- Your diagram doesn't have to define ALL of the elements, nor do you have to actually write out any definitions; it need only visually define (illustrate) the following parts of a character:
- Arm/Leg
- Ascender
- Bar
- Bowl
- Counter
- Descender
- Ear
- Serif
- Shoulder
- Spine
- Stem
- Terminal
- X Height
- At the bottom of this page, you will find a downloadable .ai file that shows you how to easily highlight part of a letter with different colors.
- Utilize an analogous color scheme. If you do not, you will lose 25 points on your finished grade. Don't know what an analogous color scheme is? Turn to your neighbor, or turn to the Web. Better yet, try using Adobe Kuler. HINT: When using Kuler, the white triangle indicates the specific color your choices/results are based on.
- Make it pretty. I like pretty colors, and I like pretty backgrounds where you search google and find high-resolution (set your 'size' under 'search tools' to Greater Than 4 megapixels) textures and use blending modes to merge them with a solid background color. Man, these sure are purdy. Notice how it would still be easy to read text on top of them. Again, remember to PLACE them into your document above a solid-color background, then use a different blending mode on the transparency panel to mix them with the shape below. Choose a lighter, muted background color, though; it should be quite light, and your text/characters dark in contrast. If you don't know what this means, using the color picker you would only select something found in the top left 1/4 of the color picker square. U
ASSIGNMENT #4: Do your second current event. You're done with everything else, and you're awesome.