Joanna Louise Bird

Independent Practice

Developing Skills

At the beginning of the semester and after the summer I had begun to feel very limited by my current skill set.

I therefore set about developing my existing skills and begun to take my independent work into more digital territory.

This self directed tutition stemmed from articles found in magazines and online tutorials and has resulted in a wider knowledge of processes which can be applied to different projects.

Practice Makes Perfect

During my independent practice I also wanted to tackle processes that I had found frustrating and near impossible in the past. One such process was creating typography using Bezier Curves.

Through looking at the work of practitioners such as Steven Bonner I became determined to learn this process and add another string to my bow.

Through relentless practice and many failed attempts I managed to cure my ignorance.

“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”

-Winston Churchill

Infographic Of My Practice

At the beginning of the semester we were asked to create a short presentation that introduced ourselves as designers.

Originally my presentation was a selection of my previous work and what I thought had been the most successful. However, after feeling unsatisfied after my presentation I decided to expand on this by creating a more detailed information graphic about my practice and aspects of my personality.

I AM THE

5,266,164,230thPERSON TO EXIST

60%

20%

10%

10%

I WAS BORN ON THE

23/JAN/1990AND SO WERE 370,368 OTHER CHILDREN

IT’S LIKELY THAT I WILL LIVE TO BE

81.7 YEARS OLD

PERSONALITY TRAITS

PERFECTIONISTOBSESSIVESTUBBORNOPINIONATED

LIKES

GEOMETRYTYPOGRAPHYSCRIPT LETTERINGFOUND OBJECTSEDITORIAL DESIGN

DISLIKES

RESTRICTIONSHALIFAX ADVERTS

MESS

FACEBOOKTWITTER

SOCIAL NETWORKS

BEHANCETUMBLRTWITTER

WORDPRESS

1,788 TWEETS

WORK ETHIC

DIGITAL

HANDMADE

TYPOGRAPHYILLUSTRATION

EDITORIAL

Dogme 95

This was a particularly challenging brief both in the sense of content and technicality.

The restrictions imposed by the rules of Dogme meant that the way in which the film was shot was very specific.

This brief encouraged me to look closely at my practice to help me pick out what to convey in the film.

It was also an interesting exercise in how filmic language can be manipulated and how to visually convey a message. The full video can be viewed at http://vimeo.com/30848661

Active Research

Influences and Research

I considered this project to be an important oppotunity to gather resources and to reflect upon what influences me in my design work. I found that looking more closely at my influences and the things that I am taking in on a daily basis have helped me form a clearer idea of where I belong in the design industry.

For me, inspiration and ideas can come from a very wide range of things, from found objects and vintage typography, to fiction and body art.

Artists such as Craig Ward and Steven Bonner often influence my typographic pieces as they utilise typography in an illustrative fashion.

Editorial pieces and layout by design groups such as Pentagram are often what I look to when I am stuck for ideas. I am drawn to design work that is clean, beyond the ordinary and anything that makes me think and question.

Active Research

At the beginning of the Active Research project I found myself moving in several different directions at once and I found that it was necessary to create more of a clear plan of where I wanted to head. I managed to narrow my possibilities to a few key areas and subjects that I would want to investigate and that would possibly hold enough potential for a final major project.

active

rese

arch

typog

raphytheme

natur

egeo

logy

spac

eillu

strati

on

edito

rial

digital

display

handmade

Visually Representing Crystals

Once I had indentified the areas that i was interested in I began to experiment with them and look at different processes.

Beginning with geology, I began to look at crystals, illustrating their structure as they are objects that I find visually interesting.

However, although I was happy with these illustrations I was not confident enough with my skills or felt that this idea had enough potential to see me through a final major project.

Display Typefaces

I wanted to be sure that the choice for my final major project would be something that I could really get my teeth into and would build upon the skills I already have.

Creating typefaces is something that I seem to always return to and is something that I always enjoy doing. Only recently I have begun to move my work away from hand drawn and into digital territory so it struck me that I should begin to improve my skills creating typefaces in a digital format.

I feel like this work is getting closer to what I would want to create for a final major project.

Experimenting With Type

Typography is too big an area to look at without deciding upon a subject to look at within it. I decided to look at typography associated with space. Particularly typography found on space posters with a retro aesthetic, such as examples from the space race or old educational posters.

Looking at these sources prompted me to create more typographical experiments based around this theme.

Typography Inspired by Space

I began to experiment with ideas around space, particularly to do with light and shadow in relation to the planets.

I discovered that there were three different kinds of shadow:

UmbraPenumbraAntumbra

I began to think about how I could represent these different kinds of shadow through letterforms. For example a very dense shadow such as the Umbra could be represented through a very heavy sanserif typeface.

The idea of the Umbra (the darkest part of the shadow) led me to begin to create a heavyweight typeface. The modular shapes of the letterforms were inspired by the early forms of digital typefaces shown on posters and in early sci-fi films.

Modular Typography

I began to think about other modular typefaces and how they could be used to represent different types of shadow whilst retaining their retro digital aesthetic.

As well as shape length and weight, the typography could be manipulated by playing with different transparencies. This technique could then be used to illustrate the three different kinds of shadow in one piece of typography.

Shadows With Gradients and Faux Digital

As well as manipulating the transparencies of typography to represent shadow, I also experimented with using gradients to give the typography a more three dimensional appearance.

Returning to previous experiments with isometric type I was also able to create a typeface that imitated early faux digital typefaces. The rough edges suggest that it has been displayed on a poor quality screen, therefore creating the retro digital aesthetic that I have been looking to achieve with my typefaces.

Infographics On The Moon

My previous work has been looking at the different kinds of shadows created by the moon. I decided to expand upon this by creating infographics on features of the moon itself.

As I am quite a novice at creating info graphics I was quite pleased at how these turned out.

An idea for an FMP would be to make a book on infographics based on the moon, integrating the custom typefaces I had created as a means of illustrating different facts.

CRATERS OF THE MOON

NEAR SIDE

StoflerTychoPiccolominiPetaviusHumboldt

AlphonsusDarwinGrimaldiKeplerTheophilus

Copernicus AristarchusPlatoAristoteles

Jules VerneSchrodingerCampbellTsiolkovskyGiordano Bruno

HurtzsprungVan De GraffLiebnitzAitkenGagarin

PascalApolloDopplerKorolevMichelson

CockroftTsanderMach

FAR SIDE

Lunaticus Publication

After designing my initial information graphics inspired by the craters of the moon, I decided to create a more substantial publication dedicated to more information graphics on the same subject.

As well as being a dry run for something I would be interested in creating for an FMP, this was also a valuable insight into the world of publishing and editorial design. I have found that I have learnt a lot about print design, particularly about the limitations of using certain materials such as newsprint.

This project was also a good oppotunity to try out the “Umbra” typeface that I created and to see how it would look in print.

The full publication can be viewed at

http://issuu.com/joannabird/docs/spacepublication?mode=window&viewMode=doublePage

Evaluation

This last semester has been very valuable to me because of several factors. I have found that it has been a steep learning curve in terms of progressing and adding to my current skill set. At the beginning of the semester I spent a lot of time developing digital skills using tutorials and by gaining advice from other designers and I feel that this has been invaluable. I feel that I have progressed in the way that my work has moved away from the more naive handmade design that I was producing last year and that I am creating more digital work that sits more comfortably in the professional world.

I have felt much more focused during this semester, perhaps because of the increase in freedom over the content of the work. I feel that it has been really beneficial to have free reign and to work with a higher degree of independence.

My interest in typography has grown considerably over the last semester and I have found myself looking to create more professional typefaces, not only for display but for actual use as well. I find myself getting more satisfaction out of my work because I am creating things that can actually function. I feel that I have really begun to find my feet creating digital typography and that it is a subject area I would happily take into my Final Major Project.

I have also found myself looking to put my work in more of a context, I have enjoyed looking into editorial design as an outlet for the typefaces that I have produced. Looking into print and editorial design has also resulted in me having increased knowledge of the print industry. The ‘Lunaticus’ publication was one of my first experiences with an independent printer and brought a lot of loopholes in my existing knowledge to light. I learnt a lot about the correct formats, leaving room for margins and bleeds and smaller details such as the differences between ‘Rich Black’ and ‘Process Black’. All of these factors have more importance in the print industry than I had previously given them credit for.

In terms of what I have found most difficult this semester, the Dogme film brief tops the list. I found this brief difficult technically as moving image is something I haven’t had much experience of in the past. Despite attending Premier Pro workshops I still felt rather lost and intimidated by film-making. I found it difficult to translate my practice into filmic language that would communicate to the viewer. I am still only vaguely satisfied with the result and it may be something to return to after significantly improving my moving image skills.

Overall, I have felt that this semester has been extremely useful in highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of my practice. Because of this, I have been able to focus on the strengths and build upon them to create work that is more professional and sophisticated. Interrogating and investigating my practice has led to me feeling more confident about creating a successful Final Major Project and has also increased my confidence in myself as a designer.

FMP Proposal

During this semester I have been fascinated by space and typography and I have spent my time experimenting and developing work around these subjects. I have enjoyed creating custom typography that can be used to represent different aspects of space and I feel that this has the potential to see me through a final major project. Besides being fascinating, the subject of space and the solar system provides endless information and ideas and is something that I think has very little chance of running dry.

Later on in the semester I began to work with editorial design and information design to provide context for my typography and I feel that this has resulted in some of my most successful work.

Therefore, for my Final Major Project I propose to make a publication or series of publications consisting of information graphics of the moon and solar system. I will be integrating custom typefaces to illustrate different facts and to communicate information. This project will involve in-depth research into editorial design and publishing as well as layout and legibility in typography.

Bibliography

‘Typography Sketchbooks’ - Steven Heller & Lita Talarico‘Scripts: Elegant Lettering From Design’s Golden Age’ - Steven Heller & Louise Fili‘Type and Typography’ - Phil Baines & Andrew Haslam‘Information Is Beautiful’ - David McCandless‘Universe: The Definitive Visual Guide’ - Martin Rees‘Data Flow: Visualising Information in Graphic Design’ - R. Klanten, N. Borquin, S. Ehmann‘1984’ - George Orwell

Grafik Magazine - Issue 184

www.wordsarepictures.comwww.itsnicethat.com www.dtail.comwww.newspaperclub.comhttp://designtaxi.com/news/350901/Gorgeous-Retro-Inspired-Posters-of-the-Planets/