Month: February 2022

Speculative Typography: Relief printing

DemelzaB Leave a comment

Produce your own speculative or ‘a-semic’ writing system –
consisting of 10-20 pieces – using the skills that you have
developed so far. You must then produce a series of prints using
your writing system, which you are asked to cut out of found
manufactured items such as cardboard packaging, instruction
pamphlets, small and large manufactured objects found on
campus or around the studio or at home. Think about how
manufactured objects effectively lend partly ‘semic’ information
that you can appropriate for your writing system.

Abstract compositions:

https://www.instagram.com/heyporterposter/
Karel Martens

Where the prints overlap, the colour is darker and this gives the image some solidity.

Week 4

In today’s lecture, we were working with the prints from the previous ‘Speculative typography’ workshop. I printed the scans of these prints onto art paper. I had the option of printing these designs in different colours than the originals, by using the colour settings on the printer.

For example, in the below image I printed the design in its original colour (blue). I then replaced the paper into the paper tray, rotating it around. I placed the original print into the scanning bed and selected the 2 colour option, then selected yellow and black. This came out on the paper as a shade of green. I also resized the print by changing the percentage, and photocopied this onto the previous print.

I selected blue and yellow for these prints as I liked the way these colours merged when overlapping:

I creating this image from 2 photocopies. (green and magenta). I like the fine lines created by the edge of the paper.

The main part of this workshop, was the relief printing technique.

I was not happy with most of the prints from this half of the workshop. I think this is because the method was new to me, I didn’t have the chance to practice and plan the pieces because of time restrictions. I found that my classmates took to the process and got on well with it, whereas I struggled. (This was also the case when I first screen-printed, at the beginning of semester 1. But with time and practice, I got more confident.)

I maybe rushed the process and didn’t anticipate what the outcome would be when I chose certain colours and placements. I could have slowed down and really thought about what would compliment the composition.

Step 1- Was to soak the paper in water, for about 5 minutes. This made the paper softer, more pliant so that it bends to the shapes of the materials used for printing on top. After soaking the paper, it needed to be sandwiched between blotting paper. This removes the excess water.

Step 2- was to ink up the materials used for printing. We used mainly carboard packaging for this purpose. The ink were rolled onto the worktop and I used a roller to transfer the ink onto the cardboard.

Step 3- I then carried the damp paper and inked up pieces over to the printing press. I arranged the pieces onto the paper, after placing these pieces, I did not have the option of removing and replacing the pieces. When I was satisfied, I laid a few sheets of paper over the top, followed by a couple of blankets.

Step 4- It was important that the blanket wouldn’t crease or fold. Therefore, we worked in pairs for the printing process. One person, held onto the blanket, pulling it straight and the other person turned the wheel. A swift action is best for this.

Step 5- After removing the blanket and paper, we could start removing the shapes from the print to see our results. Sometimes it was enough for the work to be pulled under the press once. It was at this point that I saw the paper had ripped in some parts. This is because the paper was too wet.

my work, right
my first print was unsuccessful because there was no harmony or balance.

I tried to use the striped cardboard markings to unify the composition with blue ink. However, I felt the print still looked too busy:

I liked this print because the peach colour was very different in tone and temperature to the mossy green. The circle in the cardboard worked well with the circles in the underlying print. I allowed white space.

Sustainable campaigns & animated GIF

DemelzaB Leave a comment

Sustainable campaigns- group presentations

Watching the class’ group presentations, gave me new ideas for how a sustainable campaign can be presented.

Notes:

  • Greenpeace- Detox (guerilla marketing) The use of props gets across the message instantly.
  • Mental health awareness week- get outdoors
  • WWF focuses on 4 animals. I noticed the importance of focusing onto specific aspects of an issue. If these posters tried to cover every animal affected, it would be less punchy.
  • Ocean agency- coral
  • Reimagine by Landrover- electric cars
  • ‘Tomorrow starts tonight’ IKEA – Mother London Creative group (healthy lifestyle)
  • Use of metaphor. Transform by swapping context:
  • ‘steps’ IKEA also Mother London
  • Use of icons- Kiehl’s- formulating a better future- use of colour (green for sustainability)
  • HS2 Rebellion – use of photos from the construction site! This sends a powerful message because we are seeing the actual site of the destruction with our eyes. In terms of the Tesco/Greenpeace campaign we could use this strategy to demonstrate the effect Tesco are having on rainforests.
  • They also use cartoon illustrations to represent the destruction taking place and its potential effect on communities.
  • Texture in the font. Illustration and handmade signs. Different designs for different audiences. Designed for the location or for online.
  • Wild East UK- bold letters:
  • Not looking at the whole problem- by zooming into specific animals
  • Find your way- mindgrowing.org
  • Use of sketches- play on words , colours blue and green relate to Earth. (taking into account the implications behind colour choices.)
  • Quirky/ chunky font=relaxed. Focusing on 1 word instead of the whole title.
  • Design company the lovers
  • Attacking the viewer- questioning their humanity ‘are you a robot?’ targeted at the digital era. (Greenpeace)
  • Nature is speaking- using a different voice for each aspect of nature e.g. ocean, ice, mountains.
  • Extinction Rebellion- photo of house submerged. House designed and built by them to suggest rising sea levels. Strategic placement.
  • Greenpeace and Extinction Rebellion both use shock factor.

Animated GIF workshop

Working in PNG is best for animated GIFs.

We would use Illustrator to create the slides and PhotoShop to animate the separate slides, exporting them into a GIF.

  1. Export for screens
  2. Window > timeline > create frame animation
  3. Clicking the plus adds new frames.
  4. Allow enough time to read the text. e.g. 2 seconds.
  5. Press play to see the animation.
  6. Mp4 file plays on Instagram- can’t upload a GIF on Instagram.
  7. GIF file> export > save for web
  8. Opening the GIF in a new tab, allowed me to view the GIF full page.
The timeline appears at the bottom of the photoshop screen. By clicking the small arrows, I can change the time each slide appears on the screen.
The layers can be viewed in this right-hand window. We needed to click on/off the eyes to hide the layers we didn’t need.
The play button allows me to see a preview of the animation.
The save for web window.
Opening the GIF in a new tab of the browser.

Project 3 – short animation- group work

  • The task for next week is to create a short animation. We are in the same groups as for the expressive type exercise. The aim of the project is to make the GIF extracting key points from the article on deforestation.
  • We must first define the problem (intro), highlight the causes and then conclude the issue. (The CTA of the article).
  • The type must be easy to read and understand, since the purpose is for it to be on social media.
  • We should refer to the demo to get an idea of what helps an animation to flow and be legible.
  • The animation could be longer than 11 frames e.g. 20 secs in total.
  • Don’t overcomplicate it! Stick to just 1 font. Use a font with high legibility- could be from google fonts. Typography style- use the type manipulation that we used in Project 2.
  • Simple, punchy is best.
  • Need to communicate the idea of deforestation. This can be done with the graphics as well as the actual words.
  • Stick to short phrases. Extract some data from the article. Could make the numbers bigger. Some slides could show just one word. Using colours to stress the message. 1080px x 1080px. (size of insta post)
  • present on 28 Feb
  • 1 GIF for the group.
  • Just typography- no images.

Ideas from group discussion:

  1. Ben- forming the script from the text
  2. Demelza- putting these into individual slides with Illustrator
  3. Holly- animating the slides

We considered the use of:

  • Bold to thinner type
  • Bright colours to dull
  • Last phrase blurs into blank page
  • Could disintegrate at the end
  • look at google fonts, send them the options
  • Barlow condensed
  • Could use 3 colours- bright green- to muddy green- to black
  • Keep it simple, use just 1 effect.
On Illustrator, I made a few examples of how we could animate the effect of disappearing or loss. I then consulted the group, to see which effect everyone liked the most. We all agreed on using the pucker tool (top line)

Ben sent his script for the animation.

I transformed the words into slides, on illustrator. (below) I liked the rhyme and rhythm he has used.

From reading the brief, I saw that the GIF needed to include the causes, effects and solution for deforestation.

I therefore, needed to script the rest of the GIF myself, because of time restrictions. (left)

I sent the PNG files of the slides to Holly and the illustrator file to the rest of the group. I invited the group members to change anything they didn’t like before the animation stage.

I shared with the group, the plan for the slides. This would allow Holly to be able to work from the plan with the PNG images.

Feedback for the animated GIF

  • The transitions are a bit too fast
  • The gap in ‘are cut down’ is not immediately obvious
  • Too many effects overall e.g. the black outlines on the word ‘Earth’s’

Experimental bookbinding

DemelzaB Leave a comment

After being introduced to the extended project brief, this was fresh in my mind when approaching this bookbinding workshop.

From the brief-

Create a mini-monograph magazine anthology of concrete
poems (a minimum of x5 poems chosen from a collection
provided for you) with the accompanying 2,000 word
introductory essay consisting of at least 8 printed-pages.

If I were to decided on 16 pages for the magazine/newspaper, this would mean using 4 sheets of paper.

We were given a selection of printed pages, some double-sided and others not. The paragraphs were printed with red, blue, green and black text, in a variety of weights, pt size and placement. We were then challenged to put them together into books, using experimental techniques.

Things to consider in the workshop:

  • The middle page will show double spread as the page is printed
  • Think about how to place the pages together. How will the different colours and textures match across a spread?
  • The cover could be shorter than pages.
  • Staggered pages
  • Cut areas out
  • The thickness of the coloured paper we use for the cover may influence the method want to use for binding.
  • We could use letterpress onto a coloured paper cover for our final magazines. Most papers can be printed on digitally, but the thicker papers might be more appropriate to letter press on instead.
  • We could make pockets for 4 separate pieces.
  • Stitch or staple pieces onto the folds
  • Loose covers
  • Different sizes paper
  • Mini books inside
  • Concertina
  • Shapes and colours of the type, what textures etc to consider

I looked at this book in the workshop. The brown paper cover intrigued me because it is unusual for a book cover.

I really like the peach-coloured narrow pages within the book.

The first book I made was based around the idea of staggering the width of the pages. This is the book as seen from the front. I cut the outside page so that it is narrower all the way around the cover. It wouldn’t be readable, because half of the page is around the back of the book. I have used the grey card as a tougher cover for the book, with the very outside page functioning as a decoration rather than a page to read. The words here might function as a taster as to the theme of the book.

I have cut the edge of grey cover, on the front side, to reveal the contents of the book.

I have left the other page of grey cover at its full width. I cut the edge of the paper within the book, to create the staggered page effect.

The bolder text peeking out from the grey cover is effective, as it is in between the darker tone of the cover.

I placed the pages of red text in the second half of the book and pages of black text in the first half.

To bind this book, I chose to use a needle and tough thread. I held the sheets of paper together with bulldog clips. After punching 3 holes into the spine, I stitched the pages using the basic bookbinding stitch.

The last stage of stitching the book.

The second book I made. The colours of the book markers complement the black text on the cover.

The markers can be seen at the edge of the book.

Centre of the book. The staples can be seen here at the centre. I used 2 staples to keep it simple. 1 staple for each bookmark.
I aligned the top of the marker with the top of the paragraph on the opposite page.
This is where the marker appeared on the other side of the book.
Orange marker. I like the neatness of attaching markers in this way, as the staples are not visible here.
I aligned the orange marker with the start and end of these paragraphs.

The third book I made:

I used a pair of compasses to draw a semi-circle on the front cover. I then used scissors to cut along this line.

Trimming the last pages of text, allowed the coloured card to be visible from the front when the book is closed.

I used a scalpel and ruler to trim the edges of the paper.

However, this snagged at the paper. I thought this might have been due to the angle of me sitting down. I stood up to redo the cut, but this had the same effect. I then figured out that pressing on the scalpel harder and using a swifter motion, was enough to make a clean cut.

For the fourth book of the workshop, I made a smaller cover with blue card that acted like a belly band.

I feel that the colours work well together (red text and turquoise-blue cover)

The cover wraps around the pages and so the pages fit within the folds. (see below)

The blue text can still be read, with the band folded in.

Centre staples. The page on the right folds in from the edge of the page. I used double-sided tape to attach it.
I placed this half page within the book to allow the information to be read alone of as part of the page behind it.

I can see the potential of binding my own book. It allows more creativity and imagination, also inspiring the content as much as the content could inspire the format.