OUGD504 - Typography workshop 2 & Task 1

Interesting points from session

Kerning just one word in a sentence can sometimes not be a major issue.
Kerning a word when it is a sand alone word such as it is important.
Never kern a whole sentence.
Kerning should be done to the biggest gap between the letters in a word.
There is a box between the letters closest point. 
Never take or add space to the biggest space. 
It is instinctive also, if it does not look right, leave it and play with the kerning later. 

http://designshack.net/articles/typography/8-simple-and-useful-tips-for-kerning-type/

Another point which was raised towards the end of the session is that the ey is drawn to one piece of information but reads and understands another based on the position on the page. By Kerning upside down there is an opportunity to see things in a different light also. It is possible that by having a stare contest with a word whilst kerning, the designer can loose sight of what they are trying to achieve. By flipping the word upside down, new areas of white space become apparent. 
RAILWAY

The only kerning that is correct here is the space between the L and the W. This is due to the  lack of overlap between the top of the W and the bottom of the L. Never do any additive or negative kerning. 

Top is the untouched type, below is the altered name which has been kerned by using the 

Beginning of the type journal 

A physical journal into type and playing with type.

Task 1

Find 6 brand logos with type, find 3 words that are in line with the logo, (as we did in class) and then see and analyse if the brand fits the typeface. 

Words

www.bureaubruneau.com/pro_maaemo.html

Words

Restaurant Maaemo

"Maaemo is an ecological gourmet restaurant in Oslo, Norway. The restaurant has a Norwegian owner, Danish cook and a Finnish sommelier, so it is truly a Scandinavian collaboration. The cuisine of Maaemo is Nordic, and the name and colour scheme derive from Finnish, meaning “Mother Earth”. The brown soil is nurtured by the clear, ice blue water, creating life and growth."

 www.uniform.no/prosjekt/a-wilhelmsen/

Words

 www.uniform.no/prosjekt/a-wilhelmsen/

Task 2

Find a Proverb. Fool the reader into reading the information in the correct order, but break up the proverbs individual words. Play with its hierarchy, different fonts, sizes, weights etc.

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder"

OUGD504 - Web Design Workshop 1

The three key questions to ask before designing a layout

1. What is the purpose of the website?
2. Who is the target audience?
3. What does the target audience need from the website?

In order to be noticed, we must bend the rules of web design.

In order to understand what the target audience needs or wants. we must ask the audience, through focus groups, surveys etc. 

Navigation, Type and Image are the fundamental aspects of any working website. 

Limitations for designing for the internet. 

Size in a physical form.
The resolution and screen size change with everyones computer monitor. There are also mobiles, tabs, kindles etc. To get around this, we design for the smallest size, however this is 800x600 which can be too small for the majority screens or projectors. The best thing to do is design for the next one up from the base. 

Resolution
Screens are normally considered as 72dpi, however even though the original internet was born into a 72dpi and every website was designed at 72dpi, PC's were released at 96dpi. So all websites since 1992 the have been designed at 96ppi. We must consider the retina display options for new computers which are 220 dpi, almost as high as print.

Fonts
Times is the default font for every website in the world, fonts are a problem due to the licensing issues. When creating a website, they do not embed the fonts on the website, we must specify what font a website uses and give alternatives. With custom fonts, we can save as an image however, the SEO is not going to work, the Search Engine Optimiser searches the internet for words in the paragraph of every site in the world. A webkit allows us to install and embed a font into the website, there can be issues of licensing here as when you release it on your website, you are technically distributing the font. The typographer then can ask for royalties as people have access to the font for free instead of buying it from them as the source. 

Colour
In different parts of the world, RGB screen colour mode differs, so we must use a web-safe colour which is indicated in the colour picker in Photoshop or Illustrator etc. Select "Only web colours" and specify the hexadecimal code. eg . cc3333


Coding / Script Languages

HTML - Hyper Text Markup Language
CSS - Cascading Style Sheet

These are the two main scripting languages which are used when designing for web.
We can see the code for any website by viewing the source.

With coding, what you see is what you get (WYSIWYG) 

URL - Uniform Resource Locator based on the uniform way scientists originally located bits of information when developing the web. In order to transfer a web design into the live internet we must not only buy the URL, we must buy space.

FTP - File Transfer Protocol

CMS - Content Management system, this is something such as a Blogger and Facebook. This can be used for clients to log into their own website and edit it themselves. 


We must get a sign off on the design, if the client changes their mind about a scamp design, they must pay if its signed. 

Dimensions: 1024 x 768

Font Family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif

Alignment: Centre

Background Colour: White

Navigation: TopNavigation

Alignment: Centre

Width of Navigation: 720 (152 gap either side)

Navigation Buttons: 180 wide x 100 high

Grid: 3x3Grid: 341 341 342 wide

Pages: 4

OUGD504 - "Scamp" workshop & Crit

Purpose of a website

Promoting ourselves as creatives

Informing potential clients and agencies

Contact, clients must be able to get in touch with us easily and quickly

Entertainment. Some websites will provide entertainment only, however there is often an underlying aim to sell a product or service. 

Audience

The target audience for any website should never be everyone, even if it is a broad range of people.

Defining factors of a website

user-ability - does it work well?

aesthetics - does it look good?

functionality - does it work?

Landing page 

A general rule of industry is that only top notch designers or agencies, design firms etc. can achieve a successful landing page.

The main points raised by the whole group : why is it there? what is the point? if you can't justify it then it is always best to leave it off the website.

contact page

Email and telephone are essential

Address is necessary for business purposes but also gives confidence to possible clients that you exist and are trackable.

Social networking - twitter, Facebook, Behance (Could this be on the Home Page?)

Shop - etsy, big cartel etc

All of the contact info could be a footer on the Home page if the website has many pages already.

Biography

Same as the landing page, do people care where you studied or what you like to do in your spare time?

Work placements can attract clients but should really be placed on a CV, there is an argument that Bios can add a quirky edge to the website but this is only if you want to work with specific clients all the time

CV

selected work

clients - major companies can add professionalism

exhibitions

previous experience

education

timescale

if you're freelance a cv is maybe not necessary

can be creative to further promote your work, doesn't have to be the standard forma

Portfolio

Examples of work should be separated into different areas if you do a lot of work and it can be clearley categorised. 

Shopping

Etsy and other store systems can be great if you are in the crafts market or selling prints, however it may be best to have asmall link within the About or Contact pages

Blog

Current projects can be placed here, but is it worth it if you are not going to update all the time or get much traffic?

Homepage

Difficult to judge and is a personal thing, this is the first impression. Olly Moss has a simple and plain home page however he is well known and is confident that people will explore his website. 

http://ollymoss.com/

The homepage could include what you do including branding, letterpress etc. or your job title. News/updates could be included to show that you are an active designer and working on big or eco projects. Teaser images of one image of design or several thumbnails could be included. Manifestos can be placed here also.

Fees

Easy access for a potential client but could seem like you are all about the money, money, money.

Prices vary on each project and clients so it is a rule of thumb to ask for a client to "Contact for quotes"

Navigation

Keep it simple stupid!

Scamps

My website and Crit

The crit proved to be very useful and raised a good issue about having the home page link present on the page. Most people are now aware (through using social media) that a logo is a quick link to the websites homepage. 

OUGD504 - Print lecture - 7 things & Recap

Seven things to know about print: Based on a model for lithographic printing

I have added work that I have typed up based on several books (listed below), I feel it is a good place to reference this as I have gained most of the key words and print methods from these sessions. 


Colour Models
CMYK - print/physical hard copies
RGB - screen only
Hexachrome - business, dots
Spot colour
PMS (pantone matching system)

Formats

ISO paper sizes

A and SRA sizes

imperial vs. metric

tabloid (compact), broadsheet, berliner

envelope 'C' sizes

Stock

weight (gsm)

finish - gloss, silk, matt, coated, uncoated

laid or wove

boards/carton - more 3D

lots more variations

plastics and acetates - non paper based

Typed up research work from InDesign

Artwork

Document set up

File, formats and fonts - printer may not have font, notify for own designed font

Spell check

Colour specification

Printer marks

Pre-flight check - looking through, getting others to check

Mock ups

Proof

Sign off the contract and send.

Print Processes

Lithographic

gravure

screen print

flexography

Pad

Foil blocking

Embossing/debossing

Spot varnish

Finishing

Binding - different types

Folds and creases

Die stamping/cutting (stamp = remove inside, cut = cut around outside)

Costs

Get a quote early on, before you start the job if possible

Identical specification for three print estimators to work to

Learn roughly what things cost 

Minimum quantities

Will there be any correction costs?

Delivery

Book Bibliography

Basics Design: Print and Finish // 20 Nov 2006 // ISBN-10: 2940373426 // ISBN-13: 978-2940373420

The Production Manual: A Graphic Design Handbook //  26 May 2008 | ISBN-10: 2940373639

Materials, Process, Print: Creative Solutions for Graphic Design

29 Oct 2007 | ISBN-10: 1856695107

OUGD504 - Workshop 4 - InDesign

This session covers a recap and any loose ends. 

Creating a booklet print. 

Readers spreads are displayed on the screen as it would be printed, the order of the pages is the same. 

The important thing to take note is how the pages are going to be arranged such as which pages sit next to each other. You can work this out by a mock up or by using a table. 

L hand side and a Right hand side. Page 1 is always a right hand page. 

(Image of scan)

With the master page option we can add automatic page numbering.

By using the above options, the master page allows an automatic addition of a number series which relates to the page we need it to be on...

Must print a4 on a2 because we need space for bleed and print marks etc. 

Always centre the content in the middle of the sheet of overprint. this allows for double sided.

  

Some commercial printers prefer printers spreads rather than readers spreads. 

Using the post script files, we can save as a PDF that packages all the links to type and images . This now is a printable PDF booklet. 

Acrobat Pro can access any colour and spot colour info and therefore it allows for printing of separations.

Acrobat distiller, coverts pro-script files into PDF files. 

Overprinting and trapping. 

The Production Manual, A graphic design handbook, Ambrose/Harris, 2008,AVA Academia, AVA Publishing SA, Page 126-127

Applying a stroke and use the overprint preview.

The green area is exaggerated however on a minute size, the green will be created by the two inks mixing, this is much better than having a white are of stock showing through. The overprint preview allows us to see that there will be a slight mix, but no white. It gives us a safety net for our separations