FINAL ANIMATION

Her is the final animation
http://vimeo.com/11500369

Journal #13

Larry Lessig is really interesting and brings up a lot of good points in his speech. He addresses the issue of plagiarism. He talks about if he internet can bring a lot of good and bad things.
He talks about how everything is available with the internet, and people are bound to make copies of thins. This means taking other peoples images, or ideas, and recreating into a new idea. Anybody with access to a computer can use this as a tool to say anything. This is a big issue in my generation in aspect to my graphic design work, but also with everything such as music, movies, software, etc.

Final Motion Video

Still waiting on Vimeo to upload my movie, so I will blog it here as soon as I get the email!

Journal #11

Debbie Millman is the president of the design division at Sterling Brands in New York. She has done a lot of very well known work, such as the redesign of Pepsi, Proctor & Gamble, Campbell's. Colgate, Hershey's, and Hasbro. She is the president of AIGA and a contributing editor at Print Magazine. Debbie is a contributor to Design Matters, which is a weekly radio talk show about Design on the Internet.

I listened the The Stefan Sagmeister speech. He is interesting to listen to because of his emphasis on happiness. He discusses his year long sabbaticals he has been taking every seven years, in order to maintain happiness as a designer. He also talks about the documentary he is making about happiness that he describes as being very graphically designed.  He Considers himself a designer, not an artist. talks about sabaitacals being neccessary when you are in a 'funk'."design has to work, art does not" Debbie does not agree- she thinks the need to serve a purpose, but rather or not they work is irrelevant, because one thing might make sense to one person and not to another person.

End of Semester Reflection

Wow, I cannot believe the semester is over. I have done so much this year, worked harder than I have ever worked before, and therefore cannot choose just one thing that inspires me the most. I think I learned the most in the last type project with the speeches. I have to admit, I hated that project, but as I was making my last process books for Type and Graphics, I realized I was approaching the design of the books differently, in order to make them flow better.

If I had to choose just one thing, I think I would say I learned the most from the biodiesel project. I had a really tough time with the project, disliked it for a long time, but can see now that I learned a lot from it. I had to struggle to learned how to approach my projects in a better way next time.

This goes for printing and constructing project. Every single time a project was due, I was running around frantically even though I thought I had plenty of time. I learned what works when constructing projects, and what doesn't, and I feel that this was something I had to struggle with to learn to do right.

I think I have learned to think more as a designer outside of class. Even though my blogs probably don't reflect I do enjoy going on design websites and just researching, finding new things that inspire me. I'm really excited for the summer, to have time to look up everything and anything online that I didn't have time to do during the year.

Typography Inspiration

Some sweet images I found...

http://www.beautifullife.info/graphic-design/typography-inspiration-photo-based/

Type in Motion Round 1

Here is what I have so far... About to change a lot and fix the sound, though, so you might not want to turn the sound on. Also, it runs way too fast and needs to be slowed down.
Click here to see my animation

Journal #10

This was a fun website to visit, and the videos are very informative. All of these videos kept my interest, (even the boring topics) because they were so easy to understand. I learned from these videos that keeping everything simple and clear would be a good way to start our project, because try to be too complex sometimes, and I always end up finding that it doesn't work. I didn't find a ton of videos with good typography, but I got the idea across from all of the videos that a successful video is a clear video.
Also, I felt that the background music was very important in holding my interest to these videos. Of course, the videos still are interesting and informative without music, (otherwise they would not be successful) but I think the perfect music or sound effects choice sets the mood for the animation, and helps to keep the viewers attention.
I really like the hidden cost of war video. The typography is interesting to watch, and is more than just words... they provide imagery and text guidance. Some of the text in this video is complex, or is on screen very quickly, but I noticed that when this happens, the text is repeated quickly, so the viewer is able to understand what the words say from the repetition of the words. I noticed that color of the text broke up what would otherwise be a confusing mess of words.

Package Design

Here are just a few images of package design I really like...

Speech

1. In this speech, Reverend Jesse Jackson is speaking at the 1984 Democratic National Convention
2. This speech was given in 1984 at the Democratic National Convention, and at this time, Jesse Jackson is running for president. Jesse Jackson started the National Rainbow coalition, and references it in his speech. 
3. I have always liked Jesse Jackson, and am interested in the reasoning for his speech. Most civil rights history that I have learned too place in the 60's. I am really interested in the 60's and actually first listened to this speech, thinking that it took place in the 60's. When I found it wasn't my first initial impression was that I wanted to choose another speech. I did a little research on this speech, and found a lot of interesting information. I am learning information that was never taught to me in history classes, and that is what drew me to stick with this speech.
4. The mood of this speech is optimistic, inspirational, and hopeful. He is apologetic, and trying to make a difference
5. He is emphasizing the positive outcomes that have been the product of his campaign. He emphasizes the strong qualities that a leader needs to have, and is gaining support of the crowd with pauses after he says something important. He emphasizes the importance of a strong leader, and talks softly while describing s story about Hubert Humphrey.
6. I think he emphasizes the right parts of the speech but could have emphasized more the positive outcomes of his campaign , but I think the negative part of the speech is not necessary, since he is supposed to serve as inspiration. The negative parts are where he is apologizing to anyone he may have offended, but I don't think he would have offended anyone in his audience there, but maybe those watching on TV.
7. Yes, there is a call for action. He is calling for his audience to regroup, and unite as one group. He calls for everyone to forgive one another, and to stand up as a stronger, unified party. 
8. It makes me feel powerful, and inspired. It makes me feel that leadership and change are hard to accomplish, but with hard work and inspiration, a difference and change can be made. 
9. I think the audience felt happy and inspired. The audience is fueling off of his speech, and are a part of this movement he is describing. 
10. The speech is actually really long, and this is only a short clip. I think the speech could have a completely new message if the whole speech was taken into consideration. This is mostly an introduction to his long speech he gave at the convention. 
11. Jesse Jackson is an American Civil Rights activist and a minister. At the time of his speech, he is running for presidential candidate for the 1984 election. In 1984, Jesse Jackson organized the Rainbow Coalition which pursued social justice, civil rights, and political activism. Jesse Jackson was also a prominent political leader in Chicago. The Rainbow Coalition joined forces with operation PUSH (people united to save humanity) in 1996, and is now located in the south side of Chicago. 

Saul Bass and Type in Motion

I watched the opening sequence of Vertigo, Anatomy of a Murder, the Human Factor, and North by Northwest. I watched a few type in motion videos, and was surprised to find videos of anything from Dexter, Family Guy, and of course, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. I listened to the videos first without sound and then with sound. Saul Bass's videos seemed kind of dull and very slow without the music. The music definitely makes his sequences interesting. His clips all have that retro eery mystery feel. The type in motion examples were all purely typographic, and set the tone of the video with color palettes and type choices. 

screen shot from Dexter type in motion

Graphic Design the New Basics Reading

The first section talks about Rhythm in relation to balance, time, and pacing. Balance is a fundamental human condition and allows us to go about our daily lives. In design, balance acts as a catalyst for form. Rhythm is a strong, regular, repeated pattern. There are many ways of achieving balance. Symmetry is not the only way, as asymmetrical design is typically better. In asymmetrical design, balance is achieved by placing contrasting elements in counterpoint to each other. In relation to time, rhythm can be shown by a repetition of elements. Rhythm and pacing should work together in design to keep the viewers interest, and add elements of surprise, and involve variation.

The importance of scale in design is discussed in the next section. Scale objectively is literal dimensions of a physical object or literal correlation between a representation and the real thing it depicts. Scale subjectively is one's impression of an objects size. Size and scale is very important in design, because it can make or break it. An design on the computer may look great until it is printed out because of scale. A design whose elements all have similar  looks dull and lacks contrast in scale.

Time and motion are very big parts of design. Any word or image that moves functions both spatially and temporarily. The big idea here is CHANGE. We need to imagine how to make an image move across a page or screen, and how to show this change. Think about elements over time. The reading talks about the persistence of vision, which is how the brain retains images for a split second longer than the images are actually before us resulting in the illusion of movement. When animating type, legibility is very important. It is crucial to keep the text on the screen long enough to read but not too long to drag on. Context of the text is also important

Journal #8

I read for this journal entry, Type Means Never Having to Say Your Sorry and Designing Under the Influence. Both were very interesting to read. I recently used Futura in one of my projects and actually really like it, I felt that it worked best with my book covers. I look at Futura and really like it for titles and captions, but I guess I should get used to other typefaces. It was interesting to read the comments after the article and see that so many students are never told not to use Futura, and I am glad that we are. It was important read how other considerations should be taken into account when deciding on a typeface to use besides just liking it.
 “To fail to address the degree to which design history plays a fundamental role in any typographic course of study is nothing short of tragic"

Designing Under the Influence was interesting, because it our lives our so saturated by information because of the internet. Therefore, it could be possible to be influenced to much by an idea, something that I often worry about and try not to do!

To replace Futura... I think the closest font to switch out with Futura would be Gothem. I was also looking at Frutiger and Interstate. I think the regular weight of Interstate could replace some heavier weights of Futura.

Journal #7, TYPE IN NY!

I was in NYC over spring break and took many pictures of everything I saw. NYC has typography EVERYWHERE you look, so here are a few of my favorites:

Journal #6: thirty conversations on design

I listened to Sean Adams, Edwin Chan, Paula Schere, Chip Kidd, Massimo Vignelli, Kiko Farkas, Paul Sahre, and Eddie Nunns. It was really interesting to hear the different answers from each designer. Some had similar thoughts, and found the most inspiring design something personal or something they really identify with such as the album cover Kiko Farkas describes, or Paul Sahre's Old Spice bottle from his grandfather. Others such as Paula Schere and Massimo Vignelli could not find one single piece that inspires them the most, rather they are inspire by everything around them, or what ever they happen to be working on at the time. I really like how Sean Adams describes his most inspirational piece to be the Declaration of Independence. I never though of it as a designed object, be he made a really good point how our government is designed and shaped by that document. It shows that everything around us is designed, and I think it is rather or not we realize it that makes this concept interesting.

I do not think I can think of one single piece that inspires me the most, because I think I am often inspired. So much around us is beautiful that I can not pick just one thing.

The second answer from most of these designers seemed to have a similar trend. Most of the designers said that we need to concentrate on minimizing waste. Our job as designers produces a lot of waste. Paul Sahre stated that we, as designers, are a big part of the problem; we do solve many problems, but we also produce problems because of our drive to constantly design better objects. Many of the designers also discussed how we need to design things people need rather than what people want. If we design only what people need, there will be a reduction in waste. This would make design more responsible. Unfortunately, designers are paid a lot of money to design things people want, and money is a big drive for designers (so they can buy expensive alcohol, as Chipp Kidd describes.) All in all, design needs to improve people's lives.

I believe too, that the next goal of design needs to be to produce things while wasting less. We could perhaps design things that do not need to be thrown away, that can be used for a very long time. I don't see this as a reality though, because producing less means less money. I think all design needs to be more environmentally conscious. I do think the whole green movement, as Edwin Chan states, is a giant fad, but I think it is a really good fad. Americans, and other societies are so wasteful, but this trend in environmental awareness will better our culture and better us as designers.

Timeline final and Process Work

time line project

sam fine

spring 2010

wertzberger

Project Brief//

This assignment involves organizing information with a appealing typographic solution. The goal of this assignment is to make things easy to read, navigate, and understand. The foundation of this assignment starts with creating a strong typographic heirarchy.

Project Overview//

Overall, I learned a great deal from this assignment. I went outside my comfort zone and chose a topic that sounded more challenging and different from anything I have designed thus far. From the beginning, I had ideas and concepts I was happy with, but had trouble developing my ideas. I also had a difficult time showing the large time gaps that take place in my timeline. When I found a great typographic solution for all of the information, I abandoned the complex DNA design I had, and found a simple solution.

Research: moodboard, inspirations, and sketches

Round one of sketches

round two

round three

FINAL POSTER

Journal #5

The first video I watched was the assigned video clip from a lecture by Stefan Sagmeister. His presentation was important because it expressed happiness in design and happiness while designing. He also described some really funny projects such as the ironic subway posters in new york. I really like the small artists projects he discussed in his presentation.

I also watched the video by Theo Jansen where he showed his really sweet mechanical creatures that move across the beach and are fueled by wind power. The last clip I watched is J.J.

Abrams speech about keeping a little bit of mystery to your work to keep interest. He is a writer of Lost, and it is very interesting to hear the way he thinks!

I browed the TED website a little, and it is a really cool site that makes available all of these lectures and talks that technology, entertainment, or design.

Journal #4

Bruc Mau is a visionary and world-leading innovative designer. He owns his own very successful design firm and produced the award-winning compendium S,M,L,XL in collaboration with Rem Koolhaas. Bruce Mau has also designed the branding of the New York Museum of Modern Art, which I am going to in a few weeks and very excited to see! I will post pictures of it when I get back! He is important to us as students because he is trying to teach us his ways of design. He founded the Institute without Boundaries which is a studio-based post graduate program designed to prepare students for the new roles of a designer.

Out of the advice listed, I choose my mantra for this week his 28th piece of advice:

Make new words, expand the lexicon. The new conditions demand a new way of thinking. The thinking demands new form of expression. The expression generates new conditions.

I really like this one because it talks about experimenting with new words or ideas in order to get your brain thinking about new things or in a different direction. I think it is very important to keep trying out and think of new ideas, and but I sometimes get so caught up in one direction in a project, that I do not think of other ideas

Final Book Jackets

Graphics identity

LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!

The main center square is the more finalized stuff, the outside yellow pages and apparel are just random things I was working with...

Journal #3

I think this reading was really important, because it reminded me of rules and ideas that I feel I push aside and choose not to think about. While I did know a lot of those rules, I think I forget about them because I feel so overwhelmed with the amount of work I have, but in reality these rules will help me feel less overwhelmed, and more in control.

I think the three most important rules listed are:

1. Have a concept

2. Treat type as an image, and as though it is just as important

3. Speak with one visual voice

I think I need more practice at speaking with one visual voice, using a 'one-2 punch' to get focus the viewers attention on one important thing first and then lead them through the rest, and finally being decisive. I think once I learn to be more decisive, it will be easier to follow these other guide lines listed.

I would like to ignore the following rules:

1. symmetry is the ultimate evil- I do not use symmetry very often, and do not plan on it, but it is not the ultimate evil! it creates order

2. ignore fashion- i like fashion so this is hard to do!

Journal #2

Notes on This Means That:

Semiotics is a major part of my job as a graphic designer. I must interpret what people are going to think when seeing a certain image. That is why this article is very important to always keep in mind and refer to. Whatever my design is or whomever I am designing for, my audience and context of the design is very important in how my design is interpreted.

Chip Kidd is a really interesting graphic designer and author. He has designed over 1,000 book covers, and has won the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award in 2007. Chip Kidd says he tries to not be too literal, which I think is a very useful tip for our book cover designs.

John Gall:

"Collage, photography, typography and art are all grist for the mill, yet no matter how varied the medium, the end result is pure Gall"

"Different groups within the publishing company will each have different answers for this question. What an editor thinks is good, Sales might not. And as designers we have a different set of criteria, which must also include everyone else’s criteria. How that gets resolved is always a bit tricky. A really great cover is going to convey the essence of the book in a unique and surprising way that maybe pushes the design envelope a bit. It might even add to and enhance the editorial content of the book. A cover that is seen and respected by other designers is a good thing too, I guess, but the mission is really to allow the book to make a great first impression."

-Gall on what makes a good book cover

"Just shows what an inexact science this is."

Listed above are quotes I found really meaningful or informative from the article/interview with John Gall. From his interview, I took the idea of pushing boundaries. Pushing boundaries catches attention, and that is the goal of a book jacket. I also thought it was important how he describes that different parts of the company, such as sales, are going to want different things, and that you have to either balance out other opinions or go with what you have.

Concept Map and more!

Concept Map:

Mood Board:

Font ID:

Project1: Phase One: Definitions and Book Covers

Series: A grouping of related things. The series shares a common trait and may have a sequential order.

Sequence: A

n ordered list of something

Sign: A sign is a stimulus pattern that has meaning. It is a representation of something, and is studied through semio

tics. Signs are shown through icons, indices, and symbols.

A sign can mean something other than itself. Signs are formed and shaped through the society that creates them.

Symbols, icons, and indices make up signs, and therefore a sign could be a photograph, or any image inten

ded to represent something.

Index: Is defined by a sensory feature that correlates or implies something. Intelligent beings have a greater ability to understand and point out indices. For example, the smell of smoke implies fire.

Symbol: Words that get their meaning from mental association with other symbols and correlation with environmental patterns. They are easily removable from their context, and are closely associated with a large set of other words. A symbol has no logical meaning between it and the object; they have a convention based relationship. For e

xample, an icon of a house on your computer screen brings you back to your "home page".

What makes a successful book jacket?

When first looking through blo

gs of people critiquing book jackets I was not sure what I was looking for and how I could distinguish I good book jacket about a book that I have no idea what its about. Then I realized I'm over-thinking the assignment the and that the point of a book jacket is to draw the attention of the person walking through Borders deciding between which book to read next. Today I was looking through Borders, and the books that caught my eye were simple, yet had very interesting imagery. On the other hand, after reading Chip Kidd's interview, I see that my favorite designs may not be something that sells the most. Ohhh the dilemma of a designer I guess...

Anyways, successful book covers are not overly

literal. Clever imagery that relates to the title draws

my attention as well such as this cover:

A good book cover is also effective, and memorable. It should give a sense, mood, or feel of the book.

The the books I will be redesigning are:

Killing Yourself to Live, by Chuck Klosterman

On the Road, by Jack Kerouac

Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, by Tom Wolfe

The three books are all very different, but share the common trait of self discovery while being on the road. They all explore pop-culture of their time while being on the road and moving throughout the country.

Chuck Klosterman is an American pop-culture journalist, and is also a rock critic. Killing Yourself to Live is Chuck Klosterman's personal account of road trip he took all across the country researching pop-culture, and famous dead musicians. Throughout this journey he finds out a lot about himself and why he thinks many musicians such as Kurt Cobain are more influential after they are dead. Chuck Klosterman is a rock critic and constantly refers to 60's, 70's, and 80's pop culture.

Jack Kerouac and his book On the Road started the movement of the Beat Generation. It portrays the exciting and fast paced underground culture of America in the 1950's. The story follows the main character Sal Paradise and his lifestyle as a struggling writer. Sal and his friend Dean Moriatry go all across America and into Mexico living life, experiencing new things, all with the care-free beatnik attitude that starts after Kerouac's influence.

Tom Wolfe is a journalist who studied and wrote his book, Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test about a man and fellow writer Ken Kesey who also wrote One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Ken Kesey also started a new generation and group of followers called the "Merry Pranksters". This group and generation constantly experimented with LSD, and this book documents Ken Kesey's adventures with the drug. He performed something he called acid test, and the book takes place, also on the road, while Kesey is exploring the country with others and experimenting with the drug. Jack Kerouac also happens to be in this book.

Word List:

carefree, exciting, adventurous, relaxed, laid-back, curious, retro, psychedelic, happy, intense, philosophical, witty, mesmerizing, thoughtful, chaotic, interesting, round, dynamic, smooth, lonely, sad, bright, distorted, organic, dirty, sad, higher, open, deep, unique, sunny, musical, crowded, distant, twisted, vivid, colorful, timeless, cultural, American, tangible, epic, larger-than-life, experimental, irresponsible, selfish, crazy, natural, ind

ulgent, intoxicating, thrilling, scary, emotional, risky, care-less, sexual.

Carefree: free from anxiety or responsibility

Adventurous: willing to take risks or to try out new methods, ideas, or experiences

Philosophical: of or relating to the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge,reality, and existence

Chaotic: in a state of complete confusion and disorder

Vivid: producing powerful feelings or strong, clear images in the mind

Relaxed: make or become less tense or anxious

Musical: very much influenced by musical culture

Cultural: of or relating to the ideas, customs, and socia

l behavior of a society

Timeless: lasting, enduring, classic,ageless, permanent, perennial, abiding, unfailing, unchanging,

Experimental: based on untested ideas or techniques and not yet established or finalized

Tone: Non-Fiction, Journal, Historical

To Suggest:

to suggest curiosity

to suggest experimentation

to suggest starting a new life style

to suggest visiting new places

to suggest driving on a long distant road

to suggest New York City

to suggest a counterculture

to suggest a 1950's bar

to suggest influential music

to suggest youth movements

to suggest sex drugs and rock and roll

"What is the feeling when you're driving away from people and they recede on the plain till you see their specks dispersing? —it's the too-huge world vaulting us, and it's good-by. But we lean forward to the next crazy venture beneath the skies." -On the Road

"Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life" -On the Road

"It was sad to see his tall figure receding in the dark as we drove away, just like the other figures in New York and New Orleans: they stand uncertainly underneath immense skies, and everything about them is drowned. Where go? What do? What for?—sl

eep. But this foolish gang was bending onward"

-On the Road

"If you label it this then it can't be that... see with your ears and hear with your eyes, put your good where it will do the most" -Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test

"Art and love are the same thing: It’s the process of seeing yourself in things that are not you."

-Killing Yourself to Live

"There are two ways to look at life. Actually, that’s not accurate; I suppose there are thousands of ways to look at life. But I tend to dwell on two of them. The first view is that nothing stays the same and that nothing is inherently connected, and that the only driving force in anyone’s life is entropy. The second is that everything pretty much stays the same (more or less) and that everything is completely connected, even if we don’t realize it." -Chuck Klosterman

"The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars"

-Jack Kerouac

"Your either on the bus or off the bus" -Ken Kesey

"I think therefore I am" -Descartes

"When you've seen beyond yourself, then you might find, peace of mind is waiting there" -George Harrison

David is a 24 year old graduate student in New York City.

He is a photography student, and enjoys other artistic hobbies. He appreciates New York for its art and music scene. David loves music and plays acoustic and electric guitar. David hates corporate American and name brands. He shops mostly at thrift shops. His clothes are trendy, and he often wears hats. He can be lazy at times and loves just sitting around smoking marijuana and listening to music. David loves learning about new things, and often looses track of time just sitting at his computer googling information he is curious about. He enjoys reading and is interested in the 1960's, 70's, and 80's, as most young people do for the music that came out of those eras. David is sarcastic and loves a good challenge. His best friend is a literature major, and often recommends books David should read that are either classics, or that would match David's expanding curiosities.

CONCEPT STATEMENTS:

1. Philosophically Vivid, or Philosophically Adventurous- this one is more literal

2. "Your either on the bus or off the bus"

3. Twistedly Free

4. "I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move." -Robert Louis Stevenson

"Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe." -Anatole France

It is human nature to have the urge to travel. Most people are curious to see sites they have never seen before. What a better way to do so in America tha

n to take a road trip? Since cars were invented, road trips have become a part of our culture in seeing the country. Through road trips and exploration, one will have many new experiences and learn more about themselves and about others they are traveling with.

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