Symbolism

I had a really hard time starting this paper. I couldn't find any books, I couldn't find any online sources, then all of a sudden I came across 4 pages in the middle of a random book with no cover. It was the most beautifully disturbing design I've seen in a long while. The image was burning butterflies falling from the sky. I chose the butterfly for my poster to mirror the initial image that shaped my topic, and because of its symbolism; Change, grace, honor, resurrection and celebration.

On Today's Students

We are the future of Graphic Design. We are the designers, we are the artists and we are the communicators. We don’t just make things “look pretty” and we don’t just know how to use a program. We know who and what we are designing for. We design for them and for impact.

We don’t sell products. We sell ideas. The world will always want things and there will always be somebody on the other end selling those things. But, as hungry as we are for things, we are equally as hungry for ideas.

We are not here to sell, and we are not here to sell out. We will design for a purpose and not a paycheck. We will design for people and not products, and we will design for ourselves to learn and to grow.

We are here to think as individuals, to inspire and to be inspired. We are here to do what we think is right, and to do what we care about. We will not be underestimated, we will not be underappreciated and we will make a difference.

The Designers Essentials

The London Underground Map

In 1931, Henery Beck designed the innovative, unique London Underground Map (also known as the Tube Map). It was innovative in the way that it was not a generic map, but rather a diagram using purely geometric forms, such as lines representing railway lines and tunnels. He designed the map so that everything went strait; horizontal, vertical or at a 45 degree angle, and the bends were minimal curves.

The typeface used in the London Underground Map was designed by Edward Johnston. It was created so it could be read in a busy atmosphere, and could transfer into small resolutions while still being readable. Johnston created this type in 1916 of the 20th century when Frank Pick commissioned him to created a typeface for the transport system. It wasn't until the 1930's that the typeface was chosen to be used in Beck's Map Design.

Edward Johnston's typeface revolutionized sans serif type, especially after Eric Gill was inspired to create his Gill Sans directly after Johnston's type. Both of these typefaces are still widely used today, and have influenced the creation of many other sans serifs.

The concept behind this map was to create a design that was simple, readable at a glance and to inspire a new way to interpret space. Often designs like maps and representations of surroundings were very literal, and Beck stepped out of the box to create something that was representative of the transport system, while bringing in the concept of space and time through modernism. It essentially cleared the path for designers to use simplification to enhance and get a message across in the most efficient and understandable way.

I enjoy this design as it is extremely simple to understand and follow. I could probably find my way through the undergrounds of London even though I've never been there! The use of colour separates different sections of the underground transport, and the fact that a very similar version of the map is still used today, I would say that the readability and understandability of the map is still pretty damn good for todays standards, making the original design ahead of its time.

Serious Coffee?

After "re-designing" the Serious Coffee logo, closely following the styles and the type of Jan Toorop's poster, Delftsche Slaolie, I realized that it looks very similar. This made me wonder, was the logo based off an Art Nouveau style to begin with? The flat style of the image was similar to many images during the Art Nouveau period, and the particular piece I chose to mimic had an almost identical typeface (however the Delftsche Slaolie poster's type was hand rendered and not a particular font). The E in the original logo has the same steep serifs that angle toward each other, the I has the flared serifs at the top and bottom, and overall the typeface is long and narrow as it is in the Nouveau example. Even the way the steam came out of the cup was similar to the style of hair an artist would give a woman.

On The dresses of the women in the Delftsche Slaolie poster the pattern has a faint line outlining the solid shapes within it. I tried to do the same with my beans. As for the steam coming out of the cup, I tried to enhance it to closer mimic hair. I believe both designs, Delftsche Slaolie and Serious Coffee have a diverse audience. I think the style plays more so off artistic taste rather than a particular age group. Modern, sophisticated and classical are some words that come to mind when I think of an audience.

If you like the Pickles, Prithee, try the Sauce

I found this Victorian advertisement in Consuming Angels by Lori Anne Loeb in a book from the Library. This particular advertisement is for BATTY'S NABOB PICKLES. I was drawn to this advertisement because unlike MANY of the other Victorian ads I saw, this one was simplistic, minimalistic and to the point. As far as Victorian advertisements go, it has the often seen "catch phrase" at the top describing the product and a whimsical illustration dominating the ad. However, it seems to be missing an elaborate typeface, which was common in Victorian advertisements. While I was looking through Victorian ads, I noticed that most of the illustrations and "conversation" within the illustrations were likely meant to amuse, rather than to just inform. I definitely get that impression with this particular ad as it seems like they are mocking a child reaching into a cookie jar by replacing it with a man reaching into a pickle jar. The song-like text under the illustration is also playful and amusing.

This is a double page spread inspired by Horae in Laudem Beautissim ce Virginis Mariae Hours of Our Excellent Virgin Mary) by Geoffroy Troy, 1541. In the Renaissance when layouts and borders like this were popular, they were often found in books and manuscripts with a typeface that reflected the elegance of the border. The function of this type of layout would be to portray Biblical or academic writings.

The style of the F is typical of the Renaissance due to its embellished borders and grid-like square constraints. It also has the thicks and thins of the Renaissance style, as well as similar serifs.

I'm not sure if these days there would be a time, a place or an audience for a style like this, but if there were it would likely be for something earthy, to do with nature, or something biblical where a type of side story or related note could be portrayed in the border as it did in the Renaissance.