Typo: Weather Billboards and Bus

Ze first image I vill draw your attention to is a photo montage of my Dusk Billboard idea in the environment. The four rectangle images are my four illustrator billboard designs with Rain Wind Dusk and Shadow as the main compositions in the background. I really struggled to fine a good layout for the text. I have a bit of a hierarchy problem, but I feel like I've resolved it quite nicely since my first and even second tries (the first few tries are show above. Notice the red logo doesn't pop, and on the bottom of the two, all of the text float around as disconnected elements). I wanted to keep the bus simplistic. Most of my compositions were predominantly black and I feel they flow together nicely. The red draws the eye to the information that is oh-so-important. 


 

My composition are predominately black, reflecting on the weather phenomenon themselves. The black would clash against any bright blue sky or blend in with the gloom of an oncoming storm. In the later, the red would help draw the eye still, leaving the viewer to consume the information the billboards offer.    I already mentioned my issues with hierarchy above, however, I believe that my final output  allows the viewer to focus on the individual weather phenomenon without the information getting lost or forgotten. Big open spaces for the billboards help the two elements (information and image) to work together and yet remain separate so it's not too much for the viewer and doesn't lead them to a sensory overload while they drive or walk past. 

VISCOM FINAL ICONS

Sorry that the images are all messed up but this blog program kind of sucks with the use of images.

It all started with a book...

The color images of the playing cards is the direction I decided to go with CARDS for the sake of legibility when the pile of cards (seen in the top right corner of the photo with 4 different card drawings) didn't pan out. I laid out the cards, sketched them in different ways, entered the image into the matrix in an attempt to find a unified system, and wound up working on a white-shape-black-background-semi-detailed system. The glove started in a similar fashion. I found an image, drew from it, and wound up with the icon seen below.   

The final icons can be seen above (The set below was completed before making the small minor tweaks that needed to be made to the tigers mouth, hat, etc.). I may still need to make a few "digital craft" tweaks and I still don't know if the shapes of the black background are working yet or not. I'll keep working on them. Any feedback would be greatly a ppreciated in regards to the backgrounds. 

TYPO Project 2: Wind and Rain

WIND is one of my typo weather phenomenon. The three images seen are the progression of my crazed mind. The first had no direction. It hinted at movement but kind of clashed with itself, the second was semi boring, the third is much cleaner and holds a nice movement and rhythm. 

Another in the series is RAIN. From left to right is another progression. The last attempts to do what the first to failed in doing. With Michael's help, we tried to create depth with the small PELTINGs. I believe it will look much better cropped down, on say, the bus mock up. 

VISCOM Project two: Digital Icons take 2

Sooo.... I've been working hard on my magic icons. The two larger rabbit heads are two iterations of the same icon. One with nose, one without. Everyone in critique kept commenting that they needed to see a nose. Personally, I hate the nose :) I don't think I'll keep it. It seems to me to be an unneeded detail that distracts the viewer from the simplicity of the silhouette. The image of smaller icons on the left is a screenshot of the 5 icons I have almost completely done. I think the cards will need a thicker stroke around the outline of the individual cards in order to be consistent with the rest, and I still plan on playing with them in the negative in their respective backgrounds. Making the icons in their negative will bring back the idea of the White Glove and the White Rabbit, however, it may not end up panning out considering the Top Hat should, in reality, be black. Oh well, something to look into none the less.  In looking at the rest of the icons, I reflected the rabbit head in order to play off of the top left to bottom right slant that is happening with the rest of the system. This is the progress I've made thus far. More to come :) 

TYPO Project 2: Weather

I have chosen Dusk, Shadow, Wind, and Rain as my four weather phenomenon. The first two images are layered through photoshop. I created the warped text by cutting out the words and dragging while blowing on the paper, while scanning. The SHADOW image is layered on the scanner, tracing paper, cut word on paper, black mat board. The rain image is a combination of type in a baggie full of water, and type in a bottle full of water. The dusk image was created using my almost empty ink cartridge, cellophane, and cut type. I didn't get the memo soon enough to realize we needed more than one word per composition. I will have to work on that before next class. 

VISCOM Project two: First Digital Icons

These are the first three digital translations of icons for the Magic Icon System. I'm sure they still need a bit of refinement but here is here for now. 

VISCOM Project two: Matrix 1

Sorry for the semi-crappy imagery, it is difficult to successfully scan tracing paper images. 

The image with the rabbit heads and the cards: the random pile of cards was how I was originally going to portray PLAYING CARDS in my icon system. We decided in critique to try to say cards without using spades or numbers and things. This brought about the fan of cards seen on the third image. The bottom left set on that same page, black cards with white outlines, is the direction I'm planning on going in with all of my icons. The rabbit head on the first image, we have decided, is too cartoony and playful amongst the other more serious images. Jon suggested using just the rabbit head in the second image on the bottom right to portray a rabbit in a more serious manner. I plan on adding white lines and using a matrix to try different things with that image to make it better fit with the cuffs and the cards.  

I'm back to square one with my BLADE images. Close but no cigar. I'm going to take the circular saw blade and use a matrix to see what I can do with it but I am also leaning more towards the sword for BLADE because it would work well along side the magic WAND and with ROPE in that it would be a singular, skinny image that has quite a bit of negative space. 

I will add the newer matrix(s) as I complete them this weekend. 

VISCOM Project two: OLYMPIC LECTURE

In regards to the Olympic lecture from class, I have gathered:

Isotypes represent specific facts about an object, they can require specific learned knowledge for understanding and they can depend on their surroundings for clarification. The olympic signs tried to be universally understandable because it is a multi-cultural event.

The 1984 Tokyo set of icons were abstract black shapes with thin white lines. I believe this is the direction my own work will take on.

Aicher has to be one of the most well known designers (I know he is not but in reality, everyone should know his name because everyone can point to a bathroom sign and know it's based off of his work.) Aicher almost has the most unique of any idea. He had like the smiley face of olympic icons. I'd love to work to this level of clarity and understanding through my icons. 

VISCOM Semester 2- Project one- Post B: Finished pages

1. How does image selection, overall layout design & binding materials impact the viewers interpretation (connotations)?
2. What has the process of gathering visual evidence taught you about these object(s)?

So- The last page that you will see above is for the object CARDS. I had to incorporate cards, we are talking about a magic act after all! This has to be my favorite layout of all. There is a great incorporation of flat photos as well as the actual object. Since cards are flat to begin with, they offer a great texture on a two dimensional surface while still holding true to their own scale and actual coloration. My idea of an overlapped collage works very well on this particular page, I think, because cards are rarely seen as one object by itself on any field. They are always overlapped one way or another, either in your hand on in a pile on the table. Playing cards are such a versatile object, the were a lot of fun to take pictures of. 

The third page you will see is for ROPE. Rope is used in most magic acts by the magician to either bind himself or his assistant. I regret not having any actual rope, or money to buy some, in order to include it into my layout but I believe my images are decent enough to draw from and to reference. I enjoy the colors in this layout, they work nice together in my opinion. Had I had a length of rope, I may have been able to capture several more photos as well, but I think it's good seeing a detailed image, as well as a loose strip and a set of bound wrists. 

Lastly, the second image above, is a page I set for TIGER. Tigers of course add drama and the potential for danger to any act. I included a scrap of faux fur to this layout for both textural and aesthetic appeal. I maimed a stuffed cat toy (picture included) to get the fabric, no real tiger or cat was harmed in the making of this book. 

OVERALL- I ended up finding this gorgeous old photo album that was already in the shape of my pages, so that was PERFECT for my cover, it looks like it would be a magic book anyway :). The album is set as a 3 hole punch binder. I figured this was good because it would allow me to add pages later (Pages of either more images of current spreads, articles about magic I may stumble upon, etc.), AND as another concept, magic acts never fall in the same order twice. This allows a bit of interaction on the readers part. You can take the tiger and make it follow the card trick, or put the hat with the rabbit, whatever your heart desires. 

typo Semester 2, project 1, post D: A few from Stage 2

These are a few images with the typography integrated. Took these among others to class today to work on group narratives. It is interesting to me that my mini narrative had a theme of family and our group has continued that theme. It is still dysfunctional, has no happy ending, almost has no ending at all, rather like a "To be continued" moment. Story board for the group project will come soon.