Annotated Bibliography

1) Berger, Warren. Advertising Today. London: Phaidon, 2004. Print.

This source was used during project one, I was assigned to study the history of advertising, starting in the early Late 19^th Century to the early 20^th Century. This book helped me recognize the founders of certain advertising styles, however it focused more on modern technologies, so I could not use it that much.

2) Burke, Christopher. Paul Renner: the Art of Typography. New York: Princeton Architectural, 1998. Print.

This source was used heavily when learning about Futura in project two. It helped me find out who Paul Renner was as a designer and how is background influenced his designs.

3) Chappell, Warren, and Robert Bringhurst. A Short History of the Printed Word. Point Roberts, WA: Hartley & Marks, 1999. Print.

This book helped me understand the beginnings of the printed word, starting from the Gutenberg Press. I was focused more on the technological advances in the 19^th Century that helped advertising flourish.

4) "CMYK Online Portfolio Members." CMYK Magazine. 2006. Web. <http://www.cmykmag.com/site.cfm?page_id=62&sect_id=7&CFID=823310&CFTOKEN=46251682>.

I used this magazine’s online portfolio database when I was creating my type specimen for project two. By looking at work from other students, I was also to draw some inspiration and follow my own aesthetic.

5) Greenhalgh, Paul. Art Nouveau, 1890-1914. New York: Harry N. Abrams Incorporated, 2000. Print.

For project one, I had to research the art styles of the 19^th Century. Art Nouveau was a central style in Europe, this book helped me understand how art nouveau influenced advertising.

6) Hardy, William. A Guide To Art Nouveau. Secaucus, NJ: Quintet Publishing Limited, 1986. Print.

In this source I learned how Art Nouveau came to be, the central artists, and the social scene. I learned how art nouveau influenced all other art forms and became a way of life for the artists.

7) Jury, David. What Is Typography? Mies: RotoVision, 2006. Print.

I got this book very early in the semester from the library, because I was not too sure what typography was. I learned that typography is can create meaning and is so much more than just letters and spaces.

8) Romano, Frank. "Back to the Futura." Analyzing Publishing Technologies 3.8 (2003): 3-5. Print.

This article was kind of deceiving in the title, I though it to be strictly about the typeface Futura. However, this article focused more on how the digital world effected how books, magazines, newspapers, etc. were published. I was interesting helped me understand why Futura is so appealing because of its geometric shapes.

9) Schultze, Jurgen. Art of the 19th Century. New York: Abrams, 1970. Print.

This book gave a great understanding of all the art styles in the 18^th and 19^th Century. What it means for art to be modern, and how one art movement always was a reaction to the movement before it. How art is very indicative of what is happening socially and politically.

10) Tungate, Mark. Adland: a Global History of Advertising. London: Kogan Page, 2007. Print.

This book has the most I depth history of advertising and it seems to be the only book of its kind. It as the best source I could find that gave me a great understanding of the beginnings of advertising.

Serif v. Sans Serif

In typography class a couple weeks ago, we watched a movie about advertising's effects on the world in general . I couldn't help but take notice to a comment in class about how sans-serif type has become so common. Brands have all assimilated into one style of type, and how it is so plain and usual. Companies should dress up more, put some serifs on again and demand our attention. I had never thought about type in this way before, like if type had a dress code and now it is time for them to dress up. In my opinion, when dealing with brands, the type is very important for brand identity, but also it has to do with what you accompany you type with. Helvetica means too distinct things when placed in target ads and in American apparel ads. It is all relative.

Handwriting

I really wish I didn't have messy handwriting, because I would love for my handwriting to be a typeface, but I'm afraid no one would understand it. It really irks me when people make those presentations in class and insist on using way too much of their favorite decorative font. One saying applies to almost everything in life, and especially in typography, "less is more". When using a decorative typeface, it is ok use sparingly, but when you over decorate a design can get very cheesy, very fast. So when I think I want to use a typeface for titles with a little for fluidity, I always try to look for type that has a quality that seems, handmade. Here is a link to some very elegant typefaces, based on real people's handwriting.

http://www.addictivefonts.com/script/handwritten/free-handwritten-fonts/

I applaud you

They say language shapes our world, typography is a way that language is expressed. This takes that idea literally and shapes our world, or a huge mansion to me exact. Swedish artist Thomas Broome, is brilliant in his use of layout, type size, and content of the text. He uses type to send a message, I believe he is trying to get at how society puts too much value on material goods. A sofa is a sofa, whether is cost $10,000 or $50, it will not make you happy. I know that this must have taken so much time and effort to create, a big applause for Broome.

So If you are trying to procrastinate or are genuinely interested in what I would consider "typographic architecture", then please click on the link and enjoy.

http://www.thomasbroome.se/mm_1.htm

IF ONLY...

ALL WEDDING INVITATIONS WERE THIS ROMANTIC. Take a second to read the very detailed wedding invitation picture here that explains how the couple fell in love along with the not so glamorous fights in between that real couples have to deal with. This invitation uses a great variety of typefaces, styles within the typeface, and point sizes. Hierarchy and levels of type really guide you along the journey of their relationship. It is easy to follow along and gives the reader a great sense of what kind of couple they are, I would assume goofy who can laugh at themselves. If only we all could express ourselves with typography design.

Stretch out

With the digital world, type has become accessible to almost everybody in the world. However, they also have become so static, so concrete and mechanical. For the people that want their letters to jump out of the computer screen and into the organic shapes: I present to you this, letters created by the curved lines of our limbs and body shape. Let your body create the letter forms that you type into a computer screen everyday, take a stretch, take control.

Logo Design

This semester I am also taking an Illustrator class and one of our assignments was to design a logo. Type should join together with an image and create meaning for the brand and the company involved. As I designed my logo, we learned how to manipulate the points of the letterforms, which I know the designer would be extremely mad about, but the manipulation of letterforms can really emphasize a certain point you are trying to get across. Here a few examples of great and simple typographic logo designs:

Recognizable

One single typeface can symbolize a thousand words. Online social networks have become so popular that by a single glance at their logo will trigger a thousand thoughts in our minds. A very important element of logos are the typeface, and yes most are simple are not that creative, but I am sure almost everybody can recognize Facebook's typeface. While I was on Facebook the other day, I took notice to how they changed the point size of the type. I do not realize it but, their typeface is how I communicate to people of facebook and when changed I do take huge notice. This photo displays all the typefaces that we do not realize we know so well.

Downtown

In my opinion, downtown is the best place in the city to see how type interacts with its surroundings and with one another. After seeing all the presentations of the history of the western alphabet, I can really see how type has evolved from wall carvings to computer typing. As I walked past union square, of course the only thing I can see are typefaces. In this picture, you can see Barneys in the background, Crate & Barrel in the middle ground, and FIDM in the foreground.

Barneys is in the typeface, Augustus, which draws inspiration from classical and roman styles.

Crate and Barrel is in the ever so popular sans serif, Helvetica.

I could not find the typeface for FIDM, but I get the feeling this type was created in the era of computer innovations. The "D" lacks natural curves, so I assume it might have been a pixel based font.

Although I can't get into the technicalities, I would like to think these typefaces represent the past, present, and future.

Bell Jarring

As I embarrassingly dozed off in my literature class, one thing starred right back at me and caught my attention at once. There it was, "THE BELL JAR", in a beautiful and decorative typeface. After searching the web, I found out that the typeface is called, DAVIDA BOLD. It was created by Louis Minott in 1965. There was not too much information on the this typeface or the designer, but I can tell that the style is very indicative of the time. It was created in the sixties, which was an era of political and social upraising, this book took place right before this era, where people were meant to conform (especially women who were domesticated). The main character (Esther) in the Bell Jar, was a girl in her late teens, who refused to be confined by societies expectations. After thinking about the plot and the era in which this typeface was created, I can see why this was chosen for the cover design. Esther's thoughts foreshadow a revolt against conformity and Davida Bold represents the revolution and darkness that would come later in her life.

Typo-O-Lantern

I've got Halloween on my mind, and while browsing around looking for creative stencils for my personal jack-o-lantern, I stumbled upon a competition from the blog, Typophile. Here are the intructions:

Rules

1- Carve, cut, etch, &c., your typographic design, letterform or mark into a pumpkin or other gourd.

2- Post a photograph (600 x 400 please) of your entry in this thread. Feel free to inform us about your method, inspiration, &c. but the best entries will speak for themselves.

3- As with other type battles, this starts on a Monday and ends this Friday (which happens to be 2 days after Halloween, no points will be reduced with November entries).

Judging & Prizes
As with any street battle, there is no panel of judges and no prize — only the ability to call yourself the best on the block.

Here is photo of my favorite carving, Century Gothic. Along with the skeleton on the side that uses only shapes that can be found in the typeface. Genius.

Böcklin-ized

Art nouveau was a key concept during the late 19th century and essentially paved the way for typography to expand into more creative styles. While researching art nouveau and the typefaces that branched from it, the typeface that stands out is Arnold Böcklin. It was designed by Otto Weisert and named after a swiss painter. Its flowing lines and "whiplash" curves are very indicative of the time. After being introduced, I could help but notice how many stores and cafés in the Western addition/NOPA district of SF use this typeface. A part of town that is very hip and progressive. This is a picture of the Mojo Bicycle Café logo on Divisidero, which clearly uses Böcklin. It's only a couple blocks away from campus and has a mean Le Croque-Mojo baguette sandwich.

Wanted

For project one, I investigated the 19th century. Industrialization brought a very static and mechanic way of designing type. Purely based on legibility and readability, typography had become industrialized. As result, designers such as William Morris wanted to bring art back to Typography. With this, we finally see how type becomes a design element. A brilliant example of type as design is this 1865 wanted ad for John Wilkes Booth, after his assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. The ad also uses perfect use of hierarchy as "THE MURDERER" headline in a sans serif is obviously the most important message for the receiver. This ad has about nine levels of type, and that seems like a huge amount, which in other circumstances would be way to heavy. However, in this image all the typefaces, the sizes, the positioning, and the balance of think and thin, really brings a cohesive message for the masses.

What Type of Music is your favorite?

Before being introduced to the world of typography, I never though much about type how it can bring so much context to an object. Long before I could even use a computer, I remember admiring album covers. Those that were purely one dimensional, with a sexy picture of the latest teen sensation. Others with more abstract images that were left up to your interpretation. Whether the cover was risque or commercial, the type used is always well thought out, and if I just looked a snippet of a letter, I can most likely tell what genre of music and make other assumptions about the singer. Here are a few samples of how type has to aligned with the performer's vibe:

Type as Image

For this exercise, I used various typefaces that I felt were different but could also flow together very well.

• In the top left, I used Franklin Gothic. The letter is an uppercase "R", the image you see is a close up of where the shoulder and the leg join together, then rotated once left.
• In the bottom left, I used the typeface Photina with the italic font. What you see in the image is an uppercase "Q". You see a close up the tail and the bowl, turned upside down.
• In the top right, I put a lowercase "e" inside an uppercase "Q". The Q is in Futura and the e is in Didot. What you see in the image a round shape with even thickness all around (the bowl of the Q), inside you see another round shape which has an uneven thickness (the counter of the e).
• In the bottom right, The images comes from where the tail and the bowl join in an uppercase "Q" in a Futura typeface.
  

I used slab sans serif typefaces in the top left and bottom right, to get a feel of rigid lines. In the top right and bottom left, I used more old style serif typefaces. These two classifications have completely different feels, but when you look at the lines of the letters individually they complement one another and create a piece of art that one would not expect to have gotten from letters we use everyday.