TYPOGRAPHY 2208READING RESPONSES

GRA 2208FALL 2012

0 1DECIDE WHO YOU ARE, DECIDE WHAT YOU WANT TO DO ,AND THEN DO IT,BECAUSE IT'S SURELY POSSIBLE.

-DOYALD YOUNG

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Doyald Young

Before taking this class I had never asked myself what it was about typography that I was par-ticularly drawn to. Listening to Doyald Young speak about his love for the concrete nature of typography filled me with inspiration..Watching the detailed shots of Young carefully carving out the curves of letters reminded me of the potential that typography has to be absolutely beautiful. One thing about Doyald Young that was amazing to me was his extreme attention to detail. The miniscule changesthat he made to the Prudential logo opened my eyes to how even the smallest adjustments to text can make such a large difference. I also realized the infinite adjustments you can make to the details of the letters to make a difference.

Unfortunately in this day in age, everything is fast and gratificationis expected in an instant. Because of this I feel thatI have lost a little bit of mypatience for tiny details. Watching Young discuss how he had noticed that a page in his dictionary was missing was really amazing to me because I know that I would have personally never noticed. Initially, I thought that Young was a little too old fashioned and structured formy taste, but after showing his appreciation for other more experimental designers I found much more respect for him. As a designer, I think that you have to be informed about whatall other designers around you are doing.

LOGOTYPE DESIGNER

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The meaning is in the content of the textand not in the typeface, and that is why we loved Helvetica very much. "

"-WIM CROWELL

Helvetica cleverly investigates the real identity of the typeface that we all know so well…but hardly realize. The film traces Helvetica all the way back to its roots in a small type factory in Switzerland. We watch as Helvetica is born and sky rockets as a new typeface in the modern design era. I had always known that Helvetica was extremely popular and used in so many of our street signs, advertisements and storefronts. However, I had never actually bothered to look and spot Helvetica in action. The most interesting part of the documentary, in my opinion, was the several different interviewswith well-known designers. I was very interested in hearing their feelings towards Helvetica. Paula Scher’s complete disdain towards the typeface was to me, the strongest and most powerful reaction of the all the designers.

I respect Helvetica, and although it has been over used to the point of exhaustion, I stillthink that it contributes a lot to the design world. I am more drawnto a unique and quirky aesthetic,much more like Paula Scher’s work. I appreciate things that are differentthan the norm and tend to stray away from conformity. In this regard,Helvetica would not be my go-to choice for a typeface.

HELVETICADOCUMENTARY

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“…design isn’t about making something look better, it’s about moving someone to action. “-HILLMAN CURTIS

Some of the most inspiring design-ers to me are Paula Scher, Milton Glaser and Stefan Sagmeister. I really enjoyed listening to each designer talk about their own experiences and opionions onthe world of design. Milton Glaser commented that you are truly lucky if you still enjoy what you do in your later years. This com-ment really struck me and made me think about how my career choices are going to effect my future happiness. A piece of design that has always struck me is Sagmeitser’s poster in which he has the typog-raphy literally carved into his skin. You can clearly see the processof his work in the final piece and really hits me as someone whois completely dedicated to their work. I hope to one day become this passionate about my design.

Hillman Curtis’s videos are shortand simple but relay great messages from important designers. From James Victore to the collaborative team called Pentagram that works together from different countries. These designersserve as inspirations and role modelsto me and listening to their stories isalways eye-opening.

HILLMAN CURTISARTIST SERIES

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My aim is juxtaposition and surprise,but also, while I have an affinity for the organic form, I can’t help the way my brain works, which is logically and in a very structured manner.I’m a sort of free-flowing control freak.

-MARIAN BANTJES

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Before watching this video, I had never heard of Marian Bantjes. Her style is very decorative, diverse and overall extremelydetailed. Her work seems to me to differ greatly from thework of other well-known designers. Most of her work seems to be personal projects that she finds interest in. Bantjes worked for a design company and eventually left and spent a year away from the city to doher work. I enjoyed getting apersonal look into Bantje’s workingspace and hearing about her cre-ative process. In a lot of Bantjes work she uses very detailed patterns. Herwork can almost be called obse-ssive with great attention to detail. I have a great appreciation for people who meticulously perfecttheir design work or artwork. Ba-ntjes creates typography out ofher patterns and out of objects that are at times hard to read, but when you find this “hidden” mes-sage, you truly get a sense of wonder when thinking about herwork and her process.

MARIAN BANTJESGRAPHIC ARTIST

Lately, I have had the mindsetthat in the graphic design world your own personal tastes and st-yles will probably have to be putaside for the demands of the cli-ent. Bantjes has made me realizethat this is not necessarily true. Her work fully embodies her ow-n personal style and feelings ab-out what she is working on. Herinterest in illuminated manuscripts obviously shows in her detailed pattern work. She has shown thatyour own personal tastes can beexplored throughout the world of graphic design through different mediums and forms.

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“The frightening and most difficult thing about being what somebody calls a creative person is

that you have absolutely no idea where any ofyour thoughts come from. really. And especially,

you don't have any idea about where they're going to come from tomorrow. “

-Hal RIney

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ART & COPYCreativity can solve anything

Art & Copy is a film that explores the advertising world by interviewing m-any key players as well as some unkn-own faces. Some of the big names that appear in the movie are Lee Clow, Dan Wieden, Hal Riney and George Lois. T-he film also interviews a billboard posteras a new perspective of the advertising world. At first I thought this movie w-as going to exploit the negative side of advertising, but instead, it celebra-ted the history of the advertising wo-rld and told the stories of some of the most famous ad campaigns such as Got Milk? andWhere's the Beef. It was interesting to see how the advertisers came up with these well known slogans and their process work. I especially liked seeing the developmentof the iPod advertisements, I personally loved these ads when they came outand seeing the work behind them ma-de them even more intriguing. One critique I would have of this film wo-uld be that it seemed to only conce-ntrate on past stories of these advert-isers. I wish that it gave a more conte-mporary look inside the current wor-ld of advertising and what it is like to work in the industry.

Most of the movie were older, experienced designers retelling stories of the past. Although interesting and important stories, some of theseadvertisers, namely George Lois seemed very narcissistic, which it seems youhave to be in the design/advertising world.

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Margo Chase is a graphic designer who uti l izes gothic influences in her broad spectrum of design work. She has been working in the field for over 10 years, moving through the music industr y to branding and logo design for her own des ign f i rm. Th is look into the wor k processes o f Chase ' s career was so extremely informative and ins ightful . Chase described step by step processes in specific projects, informed viewer s about calligraphic pens and even talked about her exper iences compet ing in var ious airplane flying competitions. In one section of Margo Chase: Creative Inspiration, Chase takes us on a tour of her workspace and office. I could picture myself working in an environ-ment similar to it, with colleagues sharing ideas in an open, creat ive space . My favorite aspect of the design firm was the large mural on the wal l depict ing the scene outs ide . I loved the whimsical , car toonish characters and simple black and white line drawing. Chase discusses what she looks for in a por tfolio in one section of the video. She explains that a person with a wide variety of interests and talents will stand out among other applicants. I think that Chase demonstrates this ver y well with her own life balancing her love for design with her love for flying planes. I found her passion for both of these areas truly inspiring and allowed me to realize that I shouldn't pigeon hole myself into one area of interest.

Another very insightful section of Margo Chase: Creative Inspiration video was the discussion session about packaging with the president of Chase Design. Chase and her par tner discussed the impor tance of knowing the printing processes for each packaging and knowing that what you have designed can actually be physically created. On top of these restrictions, the budget of c l ients is v ita l in creat ing a packag ing des ign . Des igner s must be able to creatively work within their client’s budget such as the three color screen pr int of the l iquor bott le that Margo Chase showed. Overall, I found Margo Chase to be an extremely inspirational contempo-rar y designer. Her work encompasses a large var iety of mediums and physical forms. Her words have inspired me to be less timid with my design and take risks even though I may be apprehensive at first.

M a r g o C h a s e :C r e at i v e I n s p i r at i o n

At Chase Design Group, we believe that questions can liberate great ideas

from the chains of assumption.

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The most important things that I have ever done, and I always do it innately, is tell stories.

-kit hinrichs" "

KIT HINRICHScreative inspirations

Kit Hinrichs is an awardwinning graphic designerwith a passion for storytelling. Starting his career in New Yorkand eventually moving to San Francisco, Hinrichs hasbeen in the business for a very long time. Hinrichs has been involved in the design group Pentagram, one of it’s oldestmembers and has his own studio called Studio Hinrichs. I think that Kit Hinrichs would be an amazing mentor in graphic design. Listening to his interview with Lynda really gave me an insight to the way he runs his studio and his business practices. For example, Hinrichs talks about the way that one of his employees or interns may have the habit ofjumping into a project without building the right concept first, which needs to be changed.

Hinrichs also talks a lot about attitude and your own mindset in design. When looking at portfolios Hinrich wants to see the technical things, but also wants to see that you have the right attitude and personality for the job. Character is very important to Hinrich andI really value that in his deisions when hiring new designers.

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