chapter_2_prompt_4_next_project
For this weeks prompt, I chose to reanalyze my final project yet again. This will obviously add to the process of my final project and further my ideas (hopefully).
Looking back on what I said I wanted to achieve for this project, I hope I have come closer. I’ve not only changed the name of my restaurant from Father and Son to Topsham and Company, but also a large part of the design. I’ll compile another list and see if I still have the same wants for the project, and decide if I’ve gotten closer to achieving my previous desires:
Wants for the project:
- Professional clean look
- An identity for a restaurant that would appeal to me
- Something that could be seen professionally (or convincingly so) in the real world
- Simple design
- Clean and functional
While I don’t think this design is necessarily “simpler” than the previous design, I still think its simple. The design is now monochromatic, and it has more text implemented. Which I think is obviously good because the whole emphasis on this is on the type.
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Chapter_2_prompt_4_next_project
To help me move along for the next project, I decided to do a prompt involving the project we’re working on now:
Ways in which my typography addresses the reader:-simple type
-simple colors
-addressing my peers, people interested in good food
-involves food (sense of taste)Needs of the project:
-to get a good grade
-to achieve all that has been asked of me
-to create something with type
-to to only use type and line or shape but nothing that emulates a real object
Wants (what I want to achieve) for the project:-to create something that would be used in the real world
-to develop aesthetically pleasing type blocks
-to make good design choices
-to create something I would like to see in the real world
-to create a logo, or identity of a restaurant I would want to eat at myself
-to create the best design I can personally doConnections:
I obviously would like to create something that a hypothetical client would enjoy being used for their company. If this were achieved, I would also likely gain a good grade on the project. I think these two are closely related and by achieving both, there must be trial and error and an extensive design process. I mentioned that most of the designs I have so far are fairly simple. I think this is important, as the name of the restaurant is simple also. It should focus on taste, and the experience the client has with the food and the brand.
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For this weeks prompt, I chose to discuss the effectiveness in the use of color for product packaging. When you take the packaging of Prevacid heart burn medication, the most obvious element to me is the bold colors. The hues are opposite of one another in the color spectrum and are high in contrast. Because of this, my eyes are lead into the design more easily, as opposed to two hues which have low contrast from one another and absorb the text and design and have nothing to offer to the observer. Upon being drawn in from the colors alone, my eyes settle onto the name of the product, and then acknowledge the stylized text which adorns most of the package front.
When analyzing the same package but without color, the text becomes more noticeable. I don’t think the text is necessarily less important in the colorful design, but rather a secondary layer which is brought to attention thanks to the use of color. I think this is especially important due to the large amount of products in stores which are competing for a hopeful gaze by onlookers. -
prompt_3_select_a_series
With this weeks prompt, I decided to analyze a series of beer cans and bottles. As with these products and many others, “several types of information need ordering so that readers are able not only to access the content, but also to understand the relationship between the levels” (Crisp, 146). And with the layout of the beer labels, there are divisions of hierarchy. Some elements are intended to be focused on before others, and this is done with the use of grids, linespacing, text size and several other choices that are made by the designer. These decisions are important, and depending on the product, can be achieved successfully or ultimately unsuccessfully. With a can of Rolling Rock, the main component is the name of the product itself. The reasons for this are fairly obvious; narrowing the customers line of sight on specifically what the name of the product is. The second piece of information that is relayed to me is the logo or icon of the product: a vectorised horse head. From here, my eyes move towards information leading to the type of beer inside the can, and in this case it is an extra pale. For the most part this was the general flow of information that I absorbed as I studied the products. There is a sense of cohesiveness felt with each product, and this is largely achieved through the use of similar or recurring colors, and typeface.
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gd_327_promp_2_cultural_systems_in_particular
I chose to analyze the design, clientele, and typography elements of Stumptown Coffee roasters in Portland, Oregon. I’ve been to this cafe a few times, and I’ve really enjoyed their atmosphere and of course their coffee. There are quite a few elements that really characterize this coffee shop for who they really are.
I think the most recognizable formal element to this company is their logo. The logo is simple, reduced, and free of anything other than text. I think the deliberate action of keeping the companies identity to a minimum says so much about their coffee and ideology. The logo lacks color, and is a sans serif. The idea to keep it sans serif allows the logo to be read in a number of font sizes and deletes any unneeded design.
The baristas in the coffee shop have a certain choice of attire that also matches the ideologies and beliefs spoken of so far. There seems to be no dress code at the coffee shop that I visited in Portland. This idea keeps a casual feel, and a simple and reduced appearance yet again.
In sum, I believe the company wants people to focus more on their coffee than their culture. Stumptown sells a product that is know for being uncharacteristically good. Even their website says so much; there’s a lack of color, and large photos of quality coffee beans and their roasting techniques. The packaging matches all of this also. A simple paper bag, with the text logo, and the name of roast. There isn’t much more other than their certified organic seal and the company address. The simplicity is effective and nice; just like their coffee.
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gd 327_prompt_1_contexts
http://www.designweekportland.com/#main
I chose a typographically rich website sponsoring the multi day event of Design Week Portland. The event is created by designers, and is essentially for designers; a collaboration of creative minds who can come and see others work, find inspiration, learn something new in the design world, and show off their own goods (from what I’ve gathered).Right off the bat, you can see how intuitive the layout is. The colors are bold, the font is simple and consistent, and there’s an intentional rhythm of interaction. It’s impossible to get lost in such a website, as you are required to scroll down and witness the events as they are listed.
The initiators of the website are designers and the event is for designers, so it only makes sense that designers created the event page. To promote an event for designers, the website better look good and its obvious this site is well designed, and created with thought. Simplicity seems to be something important to the initiators, as there are simple clean lines dividing content, a straightforward interaction, and easy navigation. Nothing is difficult to read, and yet again, the font is simple and necessary.
The decision to promote the event via internet seems logical, and is commonplace in our world today. Regardless of this, it makes sense for this event also. Everybody has access to internet, whether they have it at their home or not, there are cafes, libraries, and mobile phones with ties to such a format. To promote an event with a webpage, simply seems natural.
As a whole, the website is very well designed. I enjoy the bold simplicity of colors, navigation, type, layout, and information. I think most designers would appreciate it, and thats the most critical of all viewers. I think its safe to say designers were in mind when this website was created. -
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My first three are for the text/vector category. I wanted to portray the dialogue between two people (illustrated in the first and second cover). This is because there were two perspectives in the story, one being from the narrators point of view, and the second from one of the other main characters. And then for the third photo, I chose to use a raffle ticket because the story began with one of the main characters winning a raffle.
For my photo covers (fourth and fifth) I want to portray the powerful symbol of death in the short story I chose, “The Weatherby.” The idea behind is to look like a cut out, such as one that would be found on a new package, with the dashed “cut here” line and the scissor symbol. So in a sense, its like cutting someone’s grave.
The sixth and seventh book cover were made from rubber block, which I carved to look like a wood stump. The story takes place in Maine and I think the theme of nature was also prevalent in the story. Additionally, the notion of time is a subject that comes into play within the story, so the rings of the tree are a symbol of time.
And for my final two covers (the eighth and ninth), I have two illustrations which are supposed to represent a characters face and then smoke coming from a gun, with text in the smoke.
