Reach For The Stars

During the Letterpress workshop our group experimented with dripping white spirit onto the wood blocks before printing with them. This process created an interesting outcome as the white spirit resisted the ink and made it look like outer space (I would upload a photo but the piece is still drying), this gave me an idea of something to do using letterpress in my own time. I made a few sketches of layouts and ideas in my book, i'll update my blog as I make it.

Continuation of Typography Workshop

During our type workshop i decided to look at the counters within the lower case a, i found some similarities between different font styles and so decided to research this further. I looked at two letters from four different font families.

The counters within slab serifs are very narrow and tall, this gives the body of the letter a wider fill therefore making it big and bold. Geometric types are very open and therefore require a much bigger counter than those of a slab serif. Transitional types aren't as symetrical as geometric ones so they are taller than they are wide similar to the orientation of the characters. Script fonts are sleek and slanted so the counter of the lower case a mimics this.

The Ancient Egyptians Were Geniuses

I took a trip to The British Museum and while there i realised something, the Ancient Egyptians were Geniuses. There is a definite correlation between how they evolved their use of type and image together and how we use the same techniques today.

At first the Egyptians kept image and type completely separate from one another but in 2100 there was a shift in style. Then they started to play with using type to surround the image rather than have a solid picture and solid block of text. The layout is similar to that of newspapers now.

860 saw a completely new style being used by the Egyptians. Rather than separating the image and type; they decided to layer the text on top of the image. This is particularly interesting because of the amount of extra effort and time this would have taken compared to keeping the two separate. Doing this however does make for a much more interesting piece. Today designers use this technique often in leaflets and small print ads where space is limeted and a prominent image and a large amount of text are both required.

Next they continued the overlaying of type and image further by having the type on top of the image at the same time as having the image intersect the type. This idea of having an image intersect the type, is used in magazines today to make the page layout more interesting.

In 728 the Egyptians experimented with type and image further. Here they produced a solid block behind the text separating it from the image but still incorporating it in the composition by putting it in the centre of the piece. This is a style that is popular among website design where a banner will have the company name on top of a solid colour with an image in the background.

The Magic of Cropping

Wide Angle Horizontal

P. Gives the picture more brunt

M. The composition worked really well with multiple children in the photo

I. With just the one child in the photo he/she appears isolated and so we feel more sympathetic towards him/her

To Abstract

P. The identity of the original image is not recognisable

M. A sense of intrigue should have been created but it is an uninteresting setion so this is lost

I. We focus on the curvature of the creases in the dress rather than that of the model

Narrow Vertical

P. The viewers eye is forced to follow the page in a vertical rather than the conventional lateral way

M. It becomes more about the one boy than the entire village, changing the meaning of the image

I. This crop has managed to give the boy a much more sinister persona

To Create The Appearance of Distance

P. Really heightens the depth of field in the photo

M. The background is not the prominent thing in the image

I. By having something close in the foreground it instantly makes the background seem more distant

Emotional Impact

P. The expression on the child's face portrays a serious feeling of sorrow that instantly impacts the viewer

M. Zooming in on a person's eyes is a cliché used in the arts

I. By making the eye the focal point it seem as if the child is looking right at the viewer, making it more personal to them

Discreet

P. Any imperfections can be removed from the image (borders etc.)

M. Not the most interesting crop

I. A good technique for cleaning up an image

Depersonalize

P. Taking away his family removes the context of the image

M. The whole point of the image is that it is of a family removing this removes the point of the photo

I. Isolating the father creates a sense of intrigue, who is he? Why has he been photographed?

Crop to define

P. Gives a more powerful message to the photo

M. Is it the right message?

I. You can change the narrative of a photo in a simple way

Cropped At An Angle

P. Gives the shot a sense of drama

M. The angle may be too harsh and distort the composition too much

I. Turns a mundane image into something more interesting

Close-up

P. Quick and easy way of drawing in the audiences eye to a specific part of the image

M. Some of the narrative and back story told in the rest of the image is lost

I. There is no mistaking the tone of the photo with this close-up

Bold

P. This crop definately makes the picture more interesting

M. The context of the image is lost

I. It highlights the emotions of the cyclist even further than just a simple close-up