Design Seminar

IN PROCESS

the story of cooper

http://www.cheshiredave.com/mastication/2002/07/0037a-btt.html

Grids from Graphic Design the New Basic

A grid is a network of lines. It is a tool for generating form, arranging images, and organizing, information. The grid can work quietly in the background, or it can assert itself as an active element. The grid becomes visible as objects come into alignment with it. Some designers use grids in a strict, absolute way, while others see them as a starting point in an evolving process. In the design of printed matter, guidelines help the designer align elements in relation to each other. Consistent margins and columns create an underlying structure that unifies a document and makes the layout process more efficient . A well-made grid encourages the designer to vary the scale and placement of elements without relying wholly on arbitrary judgements. The grid offers a rationale and a starting point for each composition, converting a blank area into a structured field. Grids are part of modern urbanism and architecture. The facades of many glass high rises and other modern buildings consist of uniform ribbons of metal and glass that wrap the building’s volume in a continuous skin. The street grids used in many modern cities around the globe promote circulation among neighborhoods and the flow of traffic, in contrast with the suburban cul de sac, a dead-end road that keeps neighborhoods closed off and private. The grid imparts a similarly democratic character to the printed page. By making space into numerous equal units, the grid makes the entire page available for use; the edges become as important as the center. Grids help designers create active, assymmetrical compositons in place of static, centered ones. By breaking down space into smaller units, grids encourage designers to leave some areas open rather than filling up the whole page.

from Graphic design the New Basic, E. Lupton

Graphic Design I: (from Thinking with Type)

Grids and Alignments assignment

The objective for this in class exercise is to explore the basic architecture of typographic layouts using grids and alignments.

Take the grid specifications below and the following text from Ellen Lupton’s, Letters gather into words, words build into sentences and by manipultating the alignment of lines and column create various layouts that give different emphasis to the meaning of the text.

Use any typeface in the Baskerville or Adobe Caslon family, set it in 9pt. The leading, case and alignment is the designer’s choice. Use the grid as a guide and explore how it can be a help in your designing process.

New Doc. Size: 8 x 8 inches
Margins .25 inches
under layout > create guides > 4 columns and 4 rows with .25 in. gutters
Presentation: Place a box around the trim with a .25 stroke, print out and trim to size.

In typography, “text” is defined as an ongoing sequence of words, distinct from shorter headlines or captions. The main block is often called the “body,” comprising the principal mass of content. Also known as “running text,” it can flow from one page, column, or box to another. Text can be viewed as a thing—a sound and sturdy object—or a fluid poured into the containers of page or screen. Text can be solid or liquid, body or blood. Designers generally treat a body of text consistently, letting it appear as a coherent substance that is distributed across the spaces of a document. In digital media, long texts are typically broken into chunks that can be accessed by search engines or hypertext links. Contemporary designers and writers produce content for various contexts, from the pages of print to an array of software environments, screen conditions, and digital devices, each posing its own limits and opportunities.
The beauty and wonder of “white space” is another modernist myth that is subject to revision in the age of the user. Modern designers discovered that open space on a page can have as much physical presence as printed areas. White space is not always a mental kindness, however. Edward Tufte, a fierce advocate of visual density, argues for maximizing the amount of data conveyed on a single page or screen. In order to help readers make connections and comparisons as well as to find information quickly, a single surface packed with well-organized information is sometimes better than multiple pages with a lot of blank space. In typography as in urban life, density invites intimate exchange among people and ideas.

From: Letters gather into words, words build into sentences. by Ellen Lupton

Anatomy of Type

Here are some fantastic links

Books Zines and chapbooks

a few links showing book jacket designs
http://www.bookcoverarchive.com/
http://alvinlustig.com/
http://www.readerville.com/index.php/journal/archive/category/coveted/
http://judgeabook.blogspot.com/


Graphic Design I

Type classification: One of my favorite. Nice design and interactive too!!
http://www.counterspace.us/typography/

Thinking with type
Ellen Lupton's site is informative and a wonderful fun introduction to learning about and working with type
http://www.papress.com/thinkingwithtype/letter/anatomy.htm