my learning journal

Today I had a basic introduction on how to use Indesign, this consisted of creating a bleed around the page, adding columns, placing a picture and making sure the image had to the correct ppi, adding text and packaging the product.

I placed an image in this case the Mona Lisa painting by going to file, then place which was very simple to do and to make the image fill up the page, by putting the cursor right up to the top left hand corner and double clicking, this made the image fill up the page, then to add text, just using the text icon, drawing a simple text box and then dragging the text across.

Then to package the product, I went to file, package and this will show the information i.e if there are any problems with the image, text etc and from this you can save it into a PDF form.

I had a brief given to me where I had to create a 6 word story poster based on different authors and their books that were given to me, these authors were Roald Dahl, Robert Louis Stevenson, Charles Dickens and a few more other authors, and from this, I had to create a hybrid font using Serif and Sans Serif.

So firstly, I started looking at the authors and what books they have published, and from that come up with some ideas on what to do for my ideas.

I looked at Roald Dahl and Robert Louis Stevenson, the reason I chose these two authors is because of the differing contrast of themes they have going through their books. With the limited amount of time I tarted creating some ideas for The Enormous Crocodile.

 

This is the two ideas I had, with the one I wanted to create a sense of playfulness, so I came up with idea of laying out the 6 word story as a crocodiles mouth giving it a sense of life and movement.

 

There was a basic workshop on bow to use the Illustrator, I learnt the basic fundamentals of Illustrator – How to create shapes, using anchor points, reflecting shapes, merging and grouping and how to slice and merge text.

I had to create a simple rocket shape, using the pen tool, I drew a basic rocket shape and then using an anchor point to make the edges curved and creating a reflection of the rocket shape.

Adding from that, I also had to add a piece of text and slice it up, I did this by simply typing a word using the text box icon, from that I had to go onto the tab and find object and expand the text, then using shift and the line tool, I drew that right through the middle of the text, from that using path finder, I pressed on the minus icon, which splits the two pieces in half, continuing by un grouping the image and joining that to another piece of text. This will be a very useful programme to use through my course and upcoming projects and this will also help me develop my practice further.

We were given the task to find different typefaces within the City Center, looking at retail shops, restaurants etc. As a group, we were given four different typefaces and these were Transitional, Humanist, Old Face and Script, at the beginning we did struggle finding one specific typeface which was old face because we found that it was quite similar to Old Face.

After walking around in the City Center, we did manage to find many different typefaces but in particular relating the four we were given, some of the shops we found that had these typefaces were Victoria’s Secret, Debenhams, Dior, Stradivarius etc, there was a lot linking to a specific typeface.

So when we made our way back to the University, we were then given the next task, this was to create a desktop picture using the typefaces we found in the City Center, I had to draw different letters using different types of typefaces, once they were cut out, we placed them onto a plain white wall, once we started placing them onto the wall, I kept on reflecting on how it looked as a whole and if it needed a particular colour or a different letter to tie it in together and make it flow and work as a whole piece.

So as I was saying previously, we all kept on reflecting back and criticizing what was needed to make it look more complete, we all agreed on more lettering, more variety of colour and sizing of font.

This was the final outcome, from this task I was able to identity the difference between different typefaces and also reflecting on a collaborative piece.

SERIF

Letter forms with ‘feet’ or serifs at the end of the down strokes. The shape of the feet are used to classify the style of the letter form.

HUMANIST

The capitals were inspired by Roman Carvings. Lowercase letters were inspired by the 15th century humanistic writing styles. The forms of the letters respect the gestures of the human hand when writing as they are loosely based on calligraphic forms.

TRANSITIONAL

Stronger contrast between the thick and thin strokes. The characters are usually wider than old style letter forms and have sharper serifs.

SCRIPT

Script typefaces are based upon the style of lettering making in handwriting and calligraphy. Usually split into two groups, formal and casual. Formal are based on letter forms from the 17th and 18th century and are usually generated by quill or nib of a metal pen, these create thick and thin strokes, giving variation throughout.

ROMAN

A 15th century serif typeface based on the European scribal manuscript style from the 1400’s. It’s derived from inscribing letters in stone.

ITALIC

This is where the type is slightly to the right side, this gives a sense of importance  to a particular area of text. This style is based on calligraphic styled handwriting and applies to both upper and lowercase letters.

MAJUSCULE

This is a form of large lettering (usually capitals) where all the letters are the same height. These date back as far as the 13th century.

MINUSCULE

It is a typeface for extremely small sizes, which could be used under a threshold of legibility.

GEOMETRIC

These are made up of even strokes with all the same weight and there forms are based on circular and triangular forms.

CONDENSED

In printing when the type is narrower than usual for a particular height.

LIGATURE

This where two letters are joined together as a single character.

GOTHIC

Also known as Sans Serif. Derived from Carolingian Minuscules. Used to give a scary/intimidating feel to specific words.

SLAB SERIF

These typefaces all have their strokes the exact same weight giving a sense of even flow throughout the typeface.

 CLARENDON

Extremely popular and recognizable world wide. It was heavily used for the German Empire in WW1.

TRIANGULAR SERIF

Most common forms of serif and get their name simply from their shape which is slightly more triangular.

BIFURCATED

This is when the serif on a typeface is split into two usually in a curved fashion differing hugely from simple sans serif typefaces with flat blocky ends.

TRIFURCATED

These are very similar to bifurcated only rather than the serif just being split in two, there is a small spike poking out of the two slopes of the serif. This creates a similar effect of light heartedness like with the Bifurcated but there is much more exaggerated feel which increases the atmosphere of playfulness.

VESTIGIAL

These are letter forms that have noticeable tails, flourishes, or other elements that come from earlier written forms of the letter where that feature was more dramatic.

FAT FACE

These typefaces are usually all in capitals and are extremely bold. This was introduced in the 19th century in Europe in response to the sudden increase in discovery and invention. This also altered the appearance of advertising in that era.

NESTING

Nesting is where you create a small box or shaped area, where an illuminated capital is put. That shape is specifically shaped for that letter.

SUPERIOR LETTERS

This is where the lower case letter is placed above the baseline and made smaller than ordinary script.

VERSALS LOMBARDIC

When enlarged decorated letters are placed at the beginning of each verse of a poem, they are called versals.

 

The Past

I am an individual who has studied a varied amount of different courses ranging from BTEC to a Foundation Diploma in Graphics/Illustration, and now I know the basic fundamentals of how to use different programmes and software such as Adobe (Photoshop), also learning how to advertise and branding. What I personally know about my discipline – Graphic Communication is that the spectrum of topics vary considerably ranging from branding, publishing, advertising and by using different techniques, programmes and software’s to create these ideas and to communicate that through using graphics whether it is a brand or a cultural and/or political topic.

The Present

What has interested me from this induction week is actually how varied this course really is, varying from typography to print to using different software’s to communicate and design through and also the different opportunities there are to succeed in this line of work. I have been able to engage with my peers considerably more by presenting a presentation about myself and showing what I am interested in and what my aesthetic actually is, and also showing why I would like to pursue a career in this line of work which also apples to my fellow peers in this course.

The Future

What I wish to encounter in the near future is that I want to able to push myself out of comfort zone and challenge my abilities and skills by being given the opportunities to go into the real world of being a graphic designer. I hope to be able to learn and develop my knowledge and skills further by learning and experimenting with different kinds of software’s and programmes, and from that transferring my design ideas from paper to an online platform. My perception has changed slightly but I’m excited to see where my abilities can take me.