Sunday, January 18, 2015

Post #18

Semester Reflection: What did you learn? What were your favorite and least favorite projects? Any suggestions for improvement?

I learned how to use photoshop a lot better

Least favorite project might be the book cover
Favorite project is the Fantasy creature

The use of the blogs might need more organization in the sense that we need to know when we should be doing each new blog post. The posts should also be less tedious as they're way too time consuming rather than being educational or helpful for us.

Post #17

Identify 5 colleges that offer graphic design (or related) majors. For each, list the school name, location, graphic majors and requirements for admission.

Pratt Insitute
New York
Communications Design, Illustration
Complete online application, sent in SAT OR ACT test scores, submit portfolios online

Otis College of Art and Design
California
Costume design, product design, animation, graphic design
Online application, submit essay and portfolio, send transcripts and test scores

UCLA
California
Design, Media Arts
Online application, submit essay, send transcripts and test scores

Boston University
Massachusetts
Graphic Design
Online application, Fulfill curriculum requirements, Portfolio including

  • At least one portrait drawing (a self-portrait or portrait from life)
  • At least one still-life drawing (from actual objects)
  • At least one composition of recognizable objects (a drawing or painting)
Academy of Art University
California
Advertising, Graphic Design, Industrial design, Interior Design, Web Design
Graduate High School, send application, send transcripts (portfolio not required but recommended)

What is a Portfolio?

A collection of materials that reflect your work, including strengths and weaknesses

What is the importance of a portfolio?
Portfolios allow the admissions department to see how well structured a student is in terms of direction, organization, and skill level.

Friday, January 16, 2015

Post #16

How many points are in an inch? How many points are in a pica?
72 points in an inch
12 points in a pica

Of the seven classifications, which classification(s) would best work as body type? Why? Identify the the lowercase letters that have Ascenders? Descenders?
Slab serif or sans serif work best as body type because they are very generic typefaces which are easy to look at for large bodies of text.
Ascenders:
b, d, i, t
Descenders:
g, j, q, y
Classify the following typefaces and briefly explain why you believe it should be classified that way
This typeface would be Blackletter, because it is styled more elegantly/archaic and appears more suited for Germanic languages or written works.
This typeface is Script, because it appears to mimic calligraphy and mimics the aspects of typical handwriting.
This is typical Serif as it contains generic serifs on the strokes.
This is slab serif, because the serifs on the strokes are blunt, angular, and rounded, rather than using the generic serif shapes.

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Post #15

Define typography?
The style and appearance of printed matter

What is the difference between font and a typeface?

A font describes the subset of blocks in every typeface
  
What is the waist line and what does it indicate? What is a base line and what does it indicate?
A line which indicates the top height of lowercase letters.
A line which indicates the bottom height of all letters.

What is counter?
The negative space within the character that is either partially or fully closed
 
What is cap height?
The height of a capital letter
 
What is x height?
The height of a lower case letter
 
What is an ascender?
A segment of a character which exceeds the cap height
  
What is a descender?

A segment of a character which exceeds the base line

Describe a serif?
A stroke added to the beginning and end of the main strokes of a character

What is leading?
Spacing between lines

What is tracking? 
Letter spacing

What is kerning
A type setting technique that overlaps the edges of two type characters to provide the illusion of even spacing

What is a point? How many points are in an inch? 
The smallest unit of measure
72 points are in an inch
 
What is a pica and how many are in an inch?

The pica is a larger unit of measure
6 picas in an inch

How many points are in a pica?

12 points in a pica

When was Blackletter invented and how was it used?
Invented in 1150 and used for the German language

Describe the characteristics of a Blackletter typeface?
It uses letter spacing for emphasis
Never uses Italics

When was Old Style invented and what was is based on?
1501
Based off of calligraphy

Describe the characteristics of an Old Style typeface?
Greater contrast between thick and thin strokes
Wedge shaped serifs on the ascenders

When were formal scripts developed?
17th and 18th century

When were casual scripts developed?
Early 20th century
 

Describe the characteristics of a Script typeface?
They mimic historical or modern handwriting styles to appear more handwritten
 

When was Modern typefaces developed and why?
1784
Wanted to bring contrast to further extremes
 

Describe the characteristics of a Modern typeface?
Accentuated contrast
flattened serifs

How early can Sans Serif typefaces be found? What happened? 

5th Century BC
Used for Greek inscriptions


When did they become popular?
18th century

What does "sans serif" mean?
One that does not have serifs on the typeface

Describe the characteristics of a Sans Serif typeface?
No serifs
Little size variation

When was Slab Serif developed and why?
Early 1800s for advertising
 

Describe the characteristics of a Slab Serif typeface?
Block-like serifs with angular or rounded terminals

Describe Decorative typefaces?
Typefaces made for display or advertising specifically

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Post #14

Who is Stephen Kroninger?
A writer and an editorial illustrator

What kind of art/design does he produce?
Photo collages

In what publications/media studios has his work been featured?
TIME Magazine, The New York Times, The Museum of Modern Art

Post 2 samples of his art. Answer the following questions for each piece.
Was this piece published? Where?
What principles of design were utilized within the piece? How?
What elements of design were utilized?

This piece was published in TIME Magazine. The principles of design used include Balance, and Proportion. Balance can be seen with the symmetry between the two screaming heads on each side of Barack Obama. The proportion can be seen with how the heads are significantly bigger than Obama's entire form. Elements of design included in the piece would be line, texture, and form.

This piece was not published. Principles of design include Emphasis, Movement, and Balance. The balance is asymmetrical, adding to the sense of movement which is created by the haphazard alignment of the shapes. Emphasis is brought by the irregular forms of the caricatures with singular defining features. Elements of design include texture, shape, and form.

Post #13

How can you as the designer use principles of design to help compose a page?
Moderately use several of the principles to create the desired effect of the design.

What are the principles of design?
Balance, Emphasis, Rhythm, Unity, Movement, Harmony, Motion
Or C.R.A.P.
Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, Proximity

For each of the 4 principles of C.R.A.P., find an example that utilizes the principle within the design. You should have 4 DIFFERENT sample designs. For each, discuss how the particular principle is used.


CONTRAST

The image here is showing the utility of contrast. using dark colors for the text on a lighter background on the "good" side, which is very easy to read, where similar colors of barely different shades are shown on the "bad" side, being very hard to read.

REPETITION

The design in using only hands which repeat itself in a circular form, giving the design a sense of unity.





ALIGNMENT

The design employs a simplistic, symmetrical alignment on the center of the image, effectively making use of all the space on the medium and properly making use of the opaque design underneath the text.


PROXIMITY

This image groups squares together, forming the shape of a rectangle, implying a sense of symmetry, however some of the squares are tilted and shrunken to smaller sizes, indicating a sense of falling out from the rest of the shapes.





Also answer the following questions in your own words.
How do you add a later mask to a particular layer?
Click on the masking button under the layers tab and use the brush tool to create your mask

What two colors are used to create the mask?
Black and white

Describe the process of using a layer mask?
Use the black to "mask" parts of your image, and use white to "reveal" other parts of your image

Monday, January 12, 2015

Post # 12 Video #3 Principles of Design

Define principles of design?
Guidelines for using elements of design
Balance, Emphasis, Rhythm, Unity, Movement, Harmony, Proportion

What do the principles of design affect?
How effectively the elements of design are used in a design

What is the difference between the principles of design and C.R.A.P.? How can contrast help a design?
The difference between the principles of design and C.R.A.P. is that of the principles, C.R.A.P. uses Contrast, Repetition, Alignment and Proximity.
Contrast helps create a focal point for viewers.

What is wrong with having too much or too little contrast in a design?
If there is too much or too little contrast, the viewer will have no sense of direction and not know where to look at/focus on.

What is key to working with contrast?
Making sure your pieces are easily visible

What are some common ways of creating contrast?
Using negative space

What is the principle of repetition?
Repeating things over and over again

Describe the ways that the principle of repetition helps the composition?
Ties the design together and makes it a cohesive piece

What are ways that you can incorporate repetition into your designs?
Repeat shapes and colors, though leave one in a different color to create a focal point

What should you avoid when working with repetition?
Excessive repetition

What is the principle of alignment?
Nothing should be placed on the page arbitrarily

What is the principle of proximity?
Grouping similar items

What is the principle of proportion?
Relative size and scale of the elements of design

Define symmetrical balance?
Having equal "weight" on both sides of a design

What is another name for asymmetrical balance?
Informal Balance

Define asymmetrical balance?
The placement of objects in a way that will allow objects of varying weight to balance out in the design

What is a focal point and how is it created?
The center of interest or activity
Contrast, Isolation, or Convergence

How many components of a composition can be a focal point?
Up to 3

What ways can emphasis be created in a design?
Using contrast or proportion

What is the principle of harmony and how is it different from unity?
Harmony brings together similar units, where unity is created by a harmonious whole

What is the principle of unity? What three ways can unity be obtained?
The coherence of the whole
Pattern, Consistency, Variety

What is the principle of variety?
To create a difference in the design

What three ways can a designer add variety to a design?
Change colors, alignment, or shapes