SUMMARY: 

There are three parts to this project: line, shape, and letterform. However, they can all be distilled into one theme, space. We explored visual hierarchy, contrast, and Gestalt principles in each section.

For part one, using only lines, we were to sketch pairs of contrasting words. While using shapes, we were given individual words to explore. In the third part, we were given a word bank and a predetermined set of typefaces to use in expressing the meaning of the word, and to do so only using the letters in said word.

GOALS: 

I enjoy the simplicity of creating in black and white and using repetition. For this assignment, I will permit myself to experiment. I have gotten to a point where staring at a blank page isn’t as overwhelming as it once was. I will try to work through any creative blocks by moving to the next sketch or reworking a previous one. I hope to improve my ability to transfer ideas onto paper and screens.

RESEARCH & IDEATION: 

In the class, we reviewed how the direction of lines impacts the meaning. I intentionally sketched each given word pair at least once, but I completed several sketches of the Heavy/Light pair. When I worked with my shape sketches, I focused on thinking about how each circle would eventually progress past the page. Letterforms were a bit more tricky; we now had to be mindful of the connotations of each word and be careful of making the intended word unreadable.

EXPLANATION: 

My strongest line composition is the word Light. I thought about bubbles and how they float upward. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to convey this lightness with rectilinear shapes. I also had an image of a diver bouncing high into the air before plunging into the water. I drew two horizontal lines encapsulating the smaller rectangles as they escaped the pair of lines to the top of the Artboard. 

The word I was able to best represent with shape was Advance. I used size and scale to make the circles recede into the background. I thought of a river fading into the horizon. Once I created the Artboard in Adobe Illustrator, I was able to see the progression come to life. I continued pushing the growing dots off the edges of the Artboard until there was a bit of a singsong feel to the way the circles moved past the viewer. By the time I was finished, I did have the Barenaked Ladies song "The History of Everything" stuck in my head. (It is the theme song from The Big Bang Theory.)

I wasn’t feeling particularly creative the day we sketched our letterforms. And, I was a bit intimidated by trying to sketch the differences between the required typefaces. After completing the peer critiques, I felt much more confident that I had several effective options to choose from. If it weren't for my time management skills, I could have worked on Illustrator all day. I took it as a challenge to work with the word Unite once Professor Nikki said it was very difficult to complete the letterform successfully without it being read as untie. The sketches allowed for unintentional skewing of the letters. On the computer, I found it was impossible to center the word and the tittle on the artboard. I spent a fair amount of time adjusting the kerning of the word and sizing the lowercase "i" and uppercase "N". Part of the solution was to imagine the ‘Unite’ as sitting on the floor of a room. This kept it grounded on the lower third of the Artboard. The "I" was very large compared to the rest of the letters and was made larger by joining with the stem of the "N". The tittle had to be scaled up to accommodate the stem of the "N".

When making the GIF, I wanted to be playful. I let each letter of the word "United" emerge at its own rate. Once all the letters had united, the tittle rose from the capline and then expanded and contracted, much like a dying star.  

KNOWLEDGE GAINED: 

I was very excited to learn how to make a GIF. I have used GIF generators before but have no experience creating one from scratch. Learning how and when to work in each Adobe program is rewarding for me. 

I struggled a little while hand-drawing the typefaces in the Letterform section. It was difficult to set a pace, which I like to do when creating multiple thumbnail sketches. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I should label the typefaces in each sketch. I was then able to work more quickly. 

This project has been a great refresher about design principles while also affording me the ability to learn about technical applications as well.

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