The Word List (viscom & type)

I chose ten words for my final list.  I wanted to be able to drop any of the given words in case any were not working out with the dot compositions.  Two of the words are a little iffy with me in their compositions so I need to decided if I'll have to drop one or rework them.  Without further ado here is my list (I'm still working on a title):

gravity
magnetism
buoyancy
waves
elasticity
tension
friction
momentum
acceleration
rotation

The two words I'm sketchy on are tension and friction.

perfect letter (type)

This is my perfect letter c which is part of the word bracket for our groups word. It is in the clarendon font. The hardest part of the letter was getting the bottom curve's slant right ( which looks like it is still off a little)      and getting the terminal the right shape.  The terminal is an oblong shape and getting the curves correct on each "side" was a difficult task and had only been done by several iterations of the terminal.

quality vs quantity response (viscom)

Last year during the spring semester, I signed up for the calligraphy workshop with Carl Kurtz.  In the workshop we wrote a lot as one would expect.  Carl firmly believed that the overall quality of everyones work could only improve if we were certain to focus on a good quantity of letters.  Basically practice makes perfect and this could have never been more clear than in a calligraphy class (in my opinion).  Every hand drawn letter had its own nuances and its own details.  Slowly as the workshop progressed my ability to perceive and draw as I directly saw increased.
Today I still notice this trend.  In Typography, repeating the letters we were working with naturally created a greater quality in each form.  Each time I rendered a letter I would notice something new in its form that I hadn't noticed earlier.  In viscom the repetition of drawing dot thumbnails made it easier for me to draw circles.  Even in simple thumbnails an overall better quality can be seen.  Repetition is key to perfection and fluidity.  Repetition commits your actions to your subconscious.  Drawing a letter or circle no longer takes thought or absolute focus and precision, it just happens for you in a way.

Book Thumbnails on Physics (viscom)

I have a list of twelve words and then a few words that are on reserve.  There were a few words I couldn't get five different and good thumbnails for, so I did a few extra words and thumbnails to have just in case.  My first choice words are

gravity

buoyancy

magnetism

waves

friction

heat

acceleration

elasticity

tension

momentum

molecular

rotation

And my back up words are nuclear, mechanics, conserve, energy, and density.
These words were a bit harder to come up with different (molecular and nuclear thumbnails were similar) and good (only one good one for enery and density) thumbnails.  All twelve of my primary words generated five thumbnails but I'm curious about my "friction" thumbnails.  It's hard to literally represent friction through images let alone abstractly with just dots.

Logo variations (color form)

Out of the twenty variations done on my logo, these three are some of my favorites.  The first one is a reminder of how the Rolling Stones and other British Invasion bands forced themselves on everyone here in America.  British Invasion enforced with Russian constructivist aesthetics and ideals.  Sounds threatening.

The second is a pattern created by using the logo without overlapping the logo.  A nice negative space is created between the logos which complements the shape of the logo very well.  It reminds me of old floral patterns that are set on grids so the flowers hardly overlap but can be seen in a grid pattern.

The final one is my overall favorite for a few reasons.  I like working with letters to see how they can be drawn while maintaining legibility.  Also, the closed counter spaces are replaced with eyes in this rendition of the logo.  Each eye possess a graphic and cartoon aesthetic and each eye shows a different emotion.  These emotions in a way reflect many themes behind the Rolling Stones music.  The Rolling Stones were the equivalent of the Beatles, except not all their songs were generally happy and about love.  Many dealt with real world situations and addressed complex emotions and issues in the world.  I just don't know if the graphic style of the eyes expresses the realness of the Rolling Stones though.

Redo dot composition (viscom)

Growth redone and with imagery of plants.

Labeled Letterforms (typography)

Stressed heavy mark on Clarendon "a" and continued idea of bleeding through paper to make a mark on labels. Labels came out a little fuzzy.

No expression of form on Bodoni "A". Showed top half below lower half to express the distance between two lines of font.  Nothing expressive done with the labeling.

dots from (viscom)

Thumbnails and the three compositions.  The compositions are growth, structure, and chaos.

Exploring letterforms (typography)

I had the letterform "A" and studied the typeface of uppercase Bodoni and Univers.  Studied the lowercase of Garamond.
Focused on the contrast between the thick and thin lines in Bodoni and expressed by making a pattern of thick and thin lines that ran perpendicular to the stroke but within the area of the stroke of the "A".  Did this with a marker that bled through paper and created the final piece.

Stressed the near equilateral structure of the Univers "A" by creating a grid in an equilateral triangle using the shadow cast by the letter as the pattern.

Stressed the flow and curves of the font with the Garamond letter.  Used patterns and techniques to express water flow.  The paint splatters came out a little on the dynamic side and takes away from the calm and smooth flow that I was going for  

Mind Maps for the Soul

Pics of my mind maps

What's this about Graphic Design?

Why Design?

When I was in middle school and really into playing video games I used to marvel at some of the computer generated graphics I was witnessing while shooting aliens.  The cutscenes to these video games were especially intriguing.  I decided then that I wanted to do artwork on the computer for most of my life, although at the time I limited it to video game design.  I slowly developed a want to do design in general and go with a more freelance discipline as I got older.  Then one day I bought Beck's Midnite Vultures album.  I loved the album artwork, and had recently been intrigued by album artwork.  Midnite Vultures was just the deciding factor in my choice to do album artwork with design

Define Design and Stefan Sagmeister

Sagmeister is a graphic artist best known for work on a few album designs (like what ima be doin) with the Rolling Stones, Lou Reed, and a few other musicians.  His company, Sagmeister Inc. is located in New York City and he know lives in Indonesia.

The video with Stefan and the two readings only stressed this idea of design I received my first semester at this school.  During a discussion I had with Hugh Merrill, he told me a little story of a graphic artist he knew that went to New York City to help advertise a school.  Long story short, he had to figure out a way to effectively get the name of the school out to the public.  He had to explore his environment a little to find a good solution to the problem the school was having.  He was a problem solver and when I heard this story I had never felt more certain that design was the choice for me.  These readings only enforce this same idea.  Designers are innovators and problem solvers.  They must develop unique and effective ideas to portray a message.  They must establish styles that can stand the test of time and still be appealing decades later. They must always innovate and create and always keep a circulation of fresh ideas about themselves

Viscom Mind Maps

Family

Immediate                        
Extended
Friends
Multiple Parents
Learn
Group Relationships
Innovative
Multiple Views
Promiscuity
Homosexuality
Opinions
Preferences
Acceptance
Progression
Throwback
Archaic Revival
Hunters and Gatherers
Unity
Cooperation
Clockwork

Nature

Elements
Earth
Water
Wind
Fire
Combustion
Chemistry
Science
Physics
Inertia
Energy
Static
KInetic
Nikola Tesla
Perpetual
Self-corrective
Balanced
yin and yang
offset
unstable