Print Workshop, Vernon Street

Whilst at the Vernon street print workshop, I focussed lots of my attention on monopriniting. I used the same stencil throughout and am really impressed by how many variations of print you can make by using the same stencils. I really like the more stylised conceptual letterforms. 

Mono printing:

I think this letter works really well. Here i was looking at how much of the letter form you could take away for the letter still to be legible. I really like the shape and form and the light grey tones against the dark black background.

This is my favourite letter form. I really like the contrast in tones. I think the strong geometric white line adds structure and form. i also think it highlights the difference between light and dark tones.

Letter press:

As I spent a lot of time mono printing, I didn't get to spend as much time as I had wanted on letter press. However I think what i have created is successful. I like the layout and spacing of the letters. I apply enough pressure to some of the letters such as the 'A' and 'M'. The letter 'S' had imperfections on the block its self. However i think these imperfections add character and style and add a sense of man made quality.

Here i scanned the letter press in to the computer and added a layer of colour on photoshop. I like the bold bright colour. I think it resembles screen printing. Style wise it also reminds me of Werkman's work.

Illustrator Alphabet From Chosen Letter

This is my chosen letter for typeface brief. I think that it was one of the strongest letters that I created. I also thought it would be the most interesting to try and reproduce digitally. It was quite a challenge to create as I am not the strongest on Illustrator. This task has really helped to develop my skills on Illustrator.

Firstly I had to create a stamp, I made a tiny dot stamp and started to create different layers in order to create this gradient effect. This part of the process was really time consuming, and took a few attempts in order to get an equal effortless gradual gradient effect.

This is the arial typeface that i discarded in favour of the impact typeface.

Next I created the letterform. I started off the process using the typeface arial, but I decided that the characteristics of the font didn't suit the style I was trying to create. I wanted a heavy, thick typeface, in order to add juxtaposition to the light popping nature of the pattern. In the end i decided to go with the typeface 'IMPACT' i think it is loads more effective.

Next i created outlines for the letterforms, I did this step as it made the letters easier to handle. It made them easy to resize and edit the anchor points.

Next I layered the Letter on top of the pattern and selected the whole thing, making sure that the letter was the top layer.

Next I went to object > clipping mask > make. This step made the letterform out of the pattern.

This was the end result. I the repeated these steps for the remaining letters.

Final typeface

Alphabet Soup: Product Task

For this task we were asked to apply our typeface to a specific product or brand. I struggled slightly, as although my typeface is robust and mechanical it is also delicate and intricate. I looked at a number of different mechanical and computer based products such as apple and marlin. In the end i decided to go with the Maplin logo.

We then had a chance to look at other peoples work It was really interesting to see how other people had interpreted their own work. After this we all stuck our designs up on the wall.

Illustrator Workshop 2

Here i have experimented with the blend tool.

Here i have experimented with the anchor points.

Illustrator Work Shop 1

We started the workshop by learning a number of different curve making methods using the pen tool. This was the first time i had used Illustrator and was surprised by how quickly i learnt the tools. I managed the majority of the exercise with ease, except for the last section that took a few tries.

Using the previous tools we had to trace the letter 'g'. Afterwards we used the anchor points to adjust any errors and make it true to the original letterform we traced from.

Using the eclipse tool, we created the same shape 'g'. When we had the correct shape we selected it all and chose the unite selection which joined all the shapes together giving me the basic outline of the shape. I then added the circles to the inside of the letterform.

Alphabet Soup: Partner Typeface

Through getting to know Danielle from my research i found lots of interesting and different routes I could have followed in this brief. One of her greatest passions was her love of motorbikes in particular the "Chief Indian Motorcycle''. Another element i chose to look at was one of her favourite designers Si Scott. Si Scott's work is very appropriate for the brief as he works prodominantly in black and white and by hand to create his intricate and delicate letter forms.

This is one of the designs that I took to the power crit. The design is based on the works of Si Scott. The feedback was that it was a good letterform, and elements of the letter such as the large, heavy block of black juxtaposed the intricate design well. However Amber suggested that i make the work more personal to me rater than a direct response to Si scott's work. I agreed with this, as i wanted to get something out of the brief for my self. so i decided to focus on elements of the Si Scott work, incorporating Danielle's love of Motorbikes.

With this letter i have traced and outlined part of a motorbike on to the letter form. I have looked at spacing and layout. I have used a bold, fat typeface to allow me to get all the detail into each letterforms. i have also eliminated all the negative spaces in each letter, i like the weight and depth this adds to the letters.

Final Typeface:

Here i have scanned each letter in and cleaned them up on photoshop. I inverted the typography so that the letterforms were white on a black background. I think this is really effective. I like the boldness of the white letters against the black background.

Here is the name tag that i have created for danielle, for this part of the brief we were allowed to experiment with colour:

 This is the layout of the name badge, i like the way that the letters are on 2 different lines. This is typical of si scotts work. I also like the way that the patterns interact with each other.

Here i have looked at the use of colour with in the letters. I really like the way the pattern changes when colour is added. For instance the very robust and mechanical pattern looks very feminine and soft when the pink tones are added.

This is the final design that i have chosen for the badge. I think it stands out a lot more than the others. The white also makes the letters pop. I think i have included key elements of Danielle's personality and answered the brief efficiently.