COMD1127 Type and Media, FA2018

A foundation course in typography with emphasis on using type for a multiple of industry related applications

Opening spread (pages 2&3): 11"x17"
Opening spread (pages 2&3): print on 11"x17"

Magazine Project Due – Final Instructions

December 17, 2018 / / 0 Comments

The last day of class is Thursday, Dec 20th. This is the day the magazine spread project is due. To offer a bit of clarity, here is and example of what you should plan to submit

  • The magazine project is a total of five (5) InDesign pages all together: 1 magazine cover + 4 page magazine story.
  • The 4 magazine pages should be printed as 2 spreads.
  • A spread is 2 facing pages of a magazine.
  • The InDesign pages are 8.5″x11″. When they together as a spread they will be 11″x17″.
  • Save your final file as PDF spreads. Name your file properly COMD1127_BrownM_magazine and add it to the Google Drive folder that will be set up. DO NOT use cropmarks in your PDF file.
  • You will print out your magazine project in COLOR. The cover will be 1 single page of 8.5″x11; the 2 spreads will print on 11″x17″ pages.
  • You will submit both the PDF and printed versions.
  • See the examples below.
Magazine Cover: 8.5"x11"

Magazine Cover: 8.5″x11″

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Opening spread (pages 2&3): 11"x17"

Opening spread (pages 2&3): print on 11″x17″

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Second spread of remaining story (pages 4&5): print on 11"x17"

Second spread of remaining story (pages 4&5): print on 11″x17″

 

 

 

 

 

You will submit these 3 pages to me on Thursday, Dec 20th. During Tuesday’s class we will review each other’s layouts to make sure everyone is correct. It will be your time to get valuable feedback to help you improve your grade. Your project will be judged on your use of:

  • kerning and/or tracking of all type
  • leading
  • grid
  • headers
  • subheads
  • dropcaps
  • indents
  • columns
  • page numbers,
  • mages
  • captions
  • margins
  • gutters
  • everything that we have covered in this class should show in your final project

We will review this one last time on Tuesday.

If you have any other projects that you have not handed in, Thursday, Dec 20th is your last time to submit. I will not be on campus after that day.

If you have been absent the last few weeks and I haven’t seen your project, you might consider coming to class on Tuesday for the last opportunity for valuable feedback to help improve your grade.

Project #3 – Magazine Spread

November 15, 2018 / / 0 Comments

The last major project of the semester is the magazine spread. During the last class, we learned about the anatomy of a magazine layout. Please download the handout if you didn’t get one in class.

Here is the assignment:

  • Design a magazine article: 4 pages, 2 spreads; design the magazine cover
  • The trim size is 8.5″x11
  • Topic
    Choice A: snowboarding – the text and photos have been provided for you.
    Choice B: a culinary topic. It can be an article about food(s), recipes or anything dealing with food or cooking. Get approval from instructor first. You will be responsible for providing the text and photos for the assignment.
    Choice C: a topic of your own, but it must be approved by the instructor first. You will be responsible for providing the text and photos for the assignment.
  •  Requirements include use of grid, headers, subheads, dropcaps, indents, columns, page numbers, images, captions, margins, gutters.

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Project #2 – Design a Poster

October 31, 2018 / / 0 Comments

We are now working on our second project. This project should be fun and give you an opportunity to incorporate all that you’ve learned so far about typography and basic graphic design. This project will be graded on those points. If you didn’t get the poster design assignment in class, download it here.

On Thursday, Nov 1, 2018, be prepared to present your initial sketch ideas. We will do this first thing when class begins, so don’t come to class and begin to do your sketches for the first time. Not having computer access will not hinder your ability to do the sketches. You should have a full page of thumbnail sketches, and then we will do another page that has 3-4 sketches of your best ideas. From those 3-4 sketches we will be able to determine which will make a better design layout for your project.

One of the main emphasis of this project will be use of the grid system and hierarchy. Here is a video what may give you more insight into developing hierarchy in your poster design.

 

In case you’re still a bit unsure about doing thumbnail sketches, here is a video that previous students have found to be helpful. Please note, the tutorial is done on a computer for the sake of recording, but you will be using pencil or pen and paper.

 

typebook

The Type Book: Assembly Instructions

October 24, 2018 / / 0 Comments

If you didn’t get the handouts with the instructions for the type books, here they are again. Every type book exercise is to be included. All of the exercises are listed below and should appear in your book in this order. The titles are based on the assignment sheets. Some of those handouts included more than one exercise. Hopefully this list is clear. If you have questions, please ask for clarification. Use the handouts as a guide for the number of pages included for each exercise.

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Classes 9 & 10 – Tracking, Kerning and Type on a Path

October 12, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Tracking and Type Alignment

We took a look at how to digitally control tracking and the different type alignment options.  We were able to see what happens when tracking is too tight or too loose. We also took a closer look at what happens when we use justified text alignment. I discovered that one of the advantages of using justified text is that it can save space when a lot of text is used. We also saw a disadvantage that is awkward or bad word spacing that creates too much white space in paragraphs. Sometimes we see streams of this white space, which we call rivers (rivers of white space).

justified text

This is an example of what can happen when text is justified. The paragraph can end up with rivers–indicated by the red lines.

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Class 8 – How Text and Paragraphs are Affected by Different Alignments

October 12, 2018 / / 0 Comments

This class was dedicated to the variations in type styles that are available. We discussed the differences in type — width, weight, posture, stress, serifs, and contrast.

width – condensed or extended

weight – light or bold

posture – italic or oblique (fake italic)

stress – vertical or diagonal

contrast – extreme or medium or low/none

serif – bracketed or unbracketed

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Class 6 and 7 — Multiple Pages in InDesign and a Review of the 5 Families of Type

October 12, 2018 / / 0 Comments

We have discussed the five families of type since the early days of the semester.  Sometimes these are referred to as type  categories. Make sure you learn to identify the differences.

Here is quick review:

Old Style: Garamond
(15th-17th century)

  • designed in France in 1615 by Jean Jannon (Claude Garamond was
  • given credit originally)
  • designed in a time when inks and paper were coarse and type
  • technology was still rather rough
  • relatively thick strokes and heavily bracketed or curved serifs
  • emulated classical calligraphy

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typebook

Class 5 — Introduction to the Grid, Templates and the Type Book Project

September 19, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Here’s a brief recap from last Thursday’s class. We had a quick introduction to the grid system and templates as they will be used with InDesign.

A grid is a non-printing system of horizontal and vertical lines which help the designer align the elements of the layout. This system of alignment helps to create a more organized layout. In multiple page documents, the grid assists in the consistent placement of design elements. Think of the grid as the skeleton of the layout—similar to the frame that you see on the construction site when a building or house is being built. We will go more in depth with grids a little later.

In InDesign we learned how to use a template, and how to name files before submission. We did this as we were introduced to the Type Book project.

We also covered using the line tool to create rules, strokes, and arrows in InDesign.

 

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