Typographic Hierarchy Examples.

Here are a few examples of book covers that appeal to me. I already have a pretty clear idea of a typographic hierarchy for my text composition. I want to provide a static set of words as the focus among a chaotic composition. These examples illustrate one set of words or letters as the focus against a complex background. The focus is provided by a drastic change in size from the background to the foreground text or a firm grouping of words among scattered background text.

 

These book covers differ slightly in typographic hierarchy, yet offer great examples for providing a focus that stems from directional lines of text. These lines of text lead the viewer’s eye to the focus of the composition by the directional paths that they create in various angles.

 

book covers from New York Times book cover review

Stymie.

Cropped Letterform.

I began with my letterform involving “a” and “s” in a Garamond typeface. I wanted to invite the viewer into the image by capturing the most characteristic traits of the letters. I focused the crop on the points of connection between the two letters, placed slightly off center. The movement between the connection points of the letters allows the viewer’s eye to travel through the piece, and even out of the cropped composition. The characteristic trait of the “a”, the bowl, is highlighted by this cropping. I also emphasized the spine of the “s” to inform the viewer of a characteristic of that letter. Even though the composition is cropping out parts of each letterform, the letters are still recognizable. The composition on the left is one in which I simply added emphasis to the forms by creating a complimentary relationship between the background and the letterform.

Letterform.

I began my process of creating a unique combined letterform by choosing my favorite typeface, Adobe Garamond. Garamond holds a likeness to the quality of good hand writing. When creating compositions, I started by choosing letterforms that share a common element or form. As you can see from my composition below, the “a” and the “s” almost mirror in form, yet the letters differ just enough to add interest to the composition. I then toyed with a few ways in which to combine the forms. I set the two letters just close enough for the back of the “a” to touch the front of the “s”. I then decided to merge the tail of the “a” with the tail of the “s”, ridding the letters of their lower serifs and creating a smooth curve between the two forms. The letters now complimented the typeface as I imagined the viewer writing out the form in one solid, curving stroke (following down the form of the “s”, tracing up the “a”, and back down to complete the bowl of the “a”). The form was almost complete. I slightly adjusted the bowl of the “a” so that it mirrored the teardrop shape of the enclosed form of the “s”. The letters now work cohesively together, yet reinforce the unique qualities of each letterform.

24.Hour.Observation.

 

 

Project 1: Environmental Lettering

I chose to incorporate the word “lust” into a private environment, the corner of my kitchen stacked tall with various cardboard and paper boxes. I chose to limit my audience to those who visit my house being family or friends. Its purpose is to bring about the emotional and unrealistic ties of “lust”.  I wanted to tie in the sexual ties of the word “lust” by putting it in a private place. The word, “lust”, means the strong physical desire to have sex with somebody, usually without associated feelings of love or affection. To avoid the obvious, I took this definition to a new level. Regarding these desires in which we disconnect from our conscious, I incorporated a pile of trash in which the word “lust” is buried behind. The actual word is somewhat lost in the jumble of boxes and trash. The viewer looks past the trash and focuses on “lust”, trying to focus out of the messy foreground. “Lust” draws the viewer’s eye to the lefthand corner focusing on the contrast of the black text from the light wall. The pile of trash represents reality, yet the viewer becomes focused on the word “lust” completely dismissing what is piled in front of them. We often use and throw away these boxes without concern as we do not see the reality before us.

Closure.

     Closure exists as a fundamental principle of design, basing its function on the viewer’s interpretation. Closure is the tendency for a viewer to connect single recognizable parts to a larger whole. The designer must create a balance of found parts versus missing parts. Using closure, a designer can create a visual connection by removing some of its parts. As an object moves further away from its original state, the viewer must visually connect the image through the missing pieces. This concept allows the viewer to respond and interpret the image, creating an engaging experience. Closure, if used effectively provides an interactive approach to design. By removing the complex parts, we allow the reader to engage in our subject. Sometimes, transitional elements can help the viewer connect the ideas. These relating elements help the viewer understand or interpret the subject. Common examples of this are comic books or graphic novels. The images in relation to each other allow the viewer to interpret the transition of the narrative. Each image provides the viewer with a link to the next action of the scene without filling in every piece of information. Another way to provide closure and engage your reader is to separate parts of words. The viewer will automatically recognize the word even if it is split. Therefore, designers have more choices on the composition of the text without limiting themselves to the exact text. Even non-commercial art can imply closure and invite the viewer to interpret the image.

IBM logo found on Google search for “IMB logo”.

Book Cover Composition.

     I began by selecting a favorite book of mine, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” by Ken Kesey. I had written a lengthy essay over the concepts of this book in high school and therefore was well informed of its history, themes, and ideas. I wanted to focus on the character, Chief Bromden, as his troubled mind narrates the events that the reader interprets. His character held a strong hate for taking the prescribed pills that the Psychiatric Ward insisted on him taking. I decided to focus on this fear of prescriptions that control the body and mind. I drew the lips (using Micron pens and Sharpies) on the front of the book as a focus point to capture the viewer’s attention. The image of an open mouth ties to the idea of consumption and also can be interpreted in ways such as laughing, screaming, or talking. Surrounding the image of the lips, I drew the text fitting nice and tight around the space provided. The drawn text of the title and author on the front cover provides an eerie sense, somewhat distorted. Relatively, the color scheme represents the psychological state of the character and Ken Kesey himself, as he experimented in programs dealing with the effects of hallucinogens and other drugs while writing the book. I drew the images of the pills in three stripes on the back cover. I intentionally drew the pills as slightly misshapen to mirror the blurred and distorted visual effect from the medication. Once imported into Adobe Photoshop, I changed the color scheme and filled in the black spaces of the text. I used Calibri font on the back cover and spine in a simple, organized manner. On the back cover and spine, I added interest with the contrasting view of distorted images of pills next to simple, black text to enforce the idea of sanity versus insanity. With the hardcover, I added flaps featuring a coordinating photograph of the author, simple summaries, and one quote from the book. I again presented black, simple Calibri text on the inside flaps to reinforce sanity. I clearly translated the internal struggle of the narrator’s psychotic mind into the drawn images and clear text of my book cover.

 

The image of Ken Kesey came from a Google search for “Ken Kesey”. The barcode came from a Google search for “barcode”. The Signet publishing logo came from a Google search for “Signet publishing logo”.

Habitus & Authorized Language.

     Pierre Bourdieu uses “habitus” to describe the destined role in which we partake in society by our daily actions and conversations. When joining a group, he believes that our role has already been destined to us by our daily routine.  Therefore, everyone has an important purpose in the advancement of society. Each person requires his or her own skills which he/she explores daily. These skills that help guide people to their later occupation is described as “habitus”. It is generally a sense of knowledge within some field, which predestines you to that role. It cannot be reached through consciousness, but rather your daily actions and body language contribute to the formation of your “habitus”. An example of habitus is provided by the image below. Here we see a comic book, “Draw!”, which shows a young boy drawing in his room. This reflects an artistic passion which displays the boy’s true habitus.

 

     Authorized language requires an authorized speaker or writer. The use of language is not arbitrary, but instead full of reason and meaning. Someone of authority or knowledge of the field uses authorized language to inform others of the topic in which they are speaking or writing. One must be well versed in a field to obtain a role of passing on this knowledge through language to others. Therefore, knowledge of a field is passed on with authorized language. This spreads the knowledge from knower of the field to outsiders of the field, where all can profit from authorized language. The image below reflects the use of authorized language from the authorized speaker to the audience.

Top image came from Google search of “comic book”. Bottom image came from Google search for “presentation tutorial”.

Collage Composition.

     The collage corresponds well with the text composition. The diagonal lines leading your eye down the composition mirror the lines of the text in the text composition. Each image relates to the words provided by the classified ad. The composition is mostly in black and white. The only presence of color is the strong directional red lines and the purple marking in the figure with the headphones. As in the text composition, a strong downward push results from the image of the man with headphones as the red line engulfs the back of him. I left the background black because it provides a dark and empty space. This feeling relates to the image pairing of the head looking down and observing the figure below. I played with scale to bring the head in the top left hand corner abnormally larger than the bottom figure. The head holds the largest scale and detail which catches the viewer’s eye as the focus of the composition. The movement brings the viewer’s eye down as one follows the line of eye sight to the figure of the man with headphones. The scale of the figure with headphones is smaller and holds less detailing. The figure with headphones looks down as he attempts to block out what is overwhelming him. The white and red diagonal lines physically stand for this overwhelming feeling. All of the images lead the eye down the composition. This bottom heavy composition reflects the text composition.

Image of red and white lines came from a Volcom advertisement in a magazine. The figure of the head came from Enigma. The image of the man with headphones came from an art magazine.