6 June 2022 - 20 June 2022 / Week 11 - Week 13
Lim Wei Xian / 0342559
Typography / Bachelor's of Mass Communication (HONS) (Advertising and Brand Management) / Taylor's University
Task 3B: Type Design and Communication
LECTURESWeek 10 | Brief
Notes of Lecture 1-6 is available in "Typography Task 1: Exercise 1 & 2".
Link to Task 1: https://limweixian.blogspot.com/2022/04/typography-task-1-exercise-1-2.html
Week 10 was more or less a briefing for our Assignment Task 3B.
Task 3B
1. Visual Research (Inspiration).2. Refer to MIB for the links to the article on how to make a telegram sticker.
3. Select greeting that we want to do (In Google Sheet).
4. 5 Sketches of the chosen greeting.
5. Digitalise the greeting in Black and White (Only do colours after approval).
6. 512px x 512px for artwork.
7. NO GRADIENT.
8. Red only from the company colours of Taylors' logo.
INSTRUCTIONS
Task 3B: Type Design and Communication
Research
I've chose the greeting of the "Hungry Ghost Festival" for this assignment. Below will be some pictures of the Hungry Ghost Festival that I will refer to when sketching.
Burning incense sticks: An offering done by Chinese during the Hungry Ghost Festival to pay respect to the 'deals'.
Chinese Hopping Vampire: A Chinese legend that Is often being brought up during the festival. Legend has it that the Chinese Hopping Vampire does come out during the Hungry Ghost Festival.
Ghost: The name of the festival says it all. The dead returns during the Hungry Ghost Festival, and often the whole idea of a 'ghost' coming out is common during this period.
Figure 1.1.0 Burning of incense sticks and offerings during the Hungry Ghost Festival
Retrieved from: https://mothership.sg/2019/08/portrait-mode-why-sporeans-burn-offerings-kim-zua-over-hungry-ghost-festival-month/ [Progression] 06/06/2022
Figure 1.1.1 "Jiang Shi", or also known as the Chinese Hopping Vampire
Retrieved from: https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3107548/halloween-special-what-are-chinese-hopping-zombies-meet [Progression] 06/06/2022
Figure 1.1.2 Ghost
Retrieved from: https://www.npr.org/2017/07/06/535790526/in-a-ghost-story-a-house-is-a-home-for-all-time [Progression] 06/06/2022
Sketches
Figure 1.2.0 5 Sketches for the "Hungry Ghost Festival" [Progression] 08/06/2022
Sketch #1 - Word 'ghost' inspired by the translucent figure of a ghost.
Sketch #2 - The greeting inside silhouette of a ghost.
Sketch #3 - Failed attempt trying to make the letter "O" looking like a ghost.
Sketch #4 - Using the letter 'o' in 'ghost' and replacing it with a ghost figure. Letter 'e' from 'Festival' was also replaced by the Taylors logo.
Sketch #5 - The hat of the Chinese hopping Vampire being sticked to show the presence of it. Replacing 'o' in 'ghost' on with an offering/ praying paper.
Sketch #6 - Ghost figures coming out of the tombstone of the dead. Word 'hungry' having a shivering effect to convey a 'scared' impression.
Digitalising
Figure 1.3.0 Digitalising the chosen sketch [Progression] 10/06/2022
Given the feedback of Mr Vinod, he advised on choosing better fonts. He also suggested to work more on my lettering and explore other typefaces. In the end, I refined the sticker and gave the typeface looking a little more "lively" and "scary" in a sense. I drew out some "drips" below the letters of the word "HUNGRY", while also making the word "GHOST" looking like it's faded. This is to express the impression of the stereotypical ghost figure.
Figure 1.3.1 Refining the sticker [Progression] 15/06/2022
Looking at the word "GHOST", it gave me the idea of giving that fading effect onto the ghost figure as well. I messed a bit with the colours and emphasised the word "HUNGRY" with the colour red to show the scary essence of the festival. Below will be my progress on refining the sticker.
Figure 1.3.2 Progress of refining sticker [Progression] 15/06/2022
Last but not least, I gave the sticker a background. I've used a very subtle yellowish tint onto the background to make it look old, or rather mischievous to suit the whole "Hungry Ghost Festival"
Figure 1.3.3 Applying the background for sticker [Progression] 15/06/2022
During the progression check of Week 13, I realised I've made a huge mess out of myself. The feedback Mr. Vinod gave was right: it is not a sticker. It looks to "boxed" up and there's just too many negative space. It was my mistake and I should own up to it. Mr. Vinod told me to do a quick one before the class ends and here is what I've refined.
Figure 1.3.4 Fixing my sticker [Progression] 20/06/2022
I showed it to Mr. Vinod and he said that it looks better compared to the previous one. The serif typeface in this case might not work as there will be a lot of negative space. I went back to Adobe Illustrator to modify the fonts.
Figure 1.3.5 Thicker font [Progression] 20/06/2022
I should also position the ghost figure along the lines of the word "ghost", while also making it focus as the main motive is to give a strong type impression.
Figure 1.3.6 Updated sticker [Progression] 20/06/2022
Final Task 3A: Type Design and Communication
To fill up the awkward negative space between the letters from "ghost", I added a few more ghost figures to fill up that space, while also giving the impression of ghosts wandering around for food (resembling the "Hungry Ghost Festival").
Figure 1.4.0 Final Task 3B Type Design and Communication Black & White (PNG) 20/06/2022
Figure 1.4.1 Final Task 3B Type Design and Communication Sticker (PNG) 20/06/2022
Figure 1.4.2 Final Task 3B Type Design and Communication Sticker (PDF) 20/06/2022
Figure 1.4.3 Screenshot of sticker in Telegram 20/06/2022
FEEDBACK
Week 12
General Feedback: Choose better fonts. Work more on lettering
Week 13
Specific Feedback: Not a sticker. It shouldn't be a "box". Try and make the letters more compact, while making the ghost figure smaller within the lines of the word "ghost". Do not split the word "hungry".
REFLECTION
Experience
It was a really interesting task that explored our creativity and skills from past exercises. Researching and gaining inspiration was an eye-opener for me as the experience of going through research and sketching my sticker was great. For me, I made a huge mistake while working on my sticker and I had to own up to it. In the end, I pulled through it and it was a great sense of satisfaction.
Observations
I've observed the concept and ideas of lettering. Modifying different typefaces while creating a sticker isn't as easy as it seems, and the negative spaces I initially had for the sticker was something to refine too. Observing the negative spaces and making the sticker looking compact was a challenge for me, but it was a fun experience.
Findings
One interesting finding that I've learned was that serif fonts provides a little more negative space compared to sans-serif fonts. While making my sticker looking compact, I had to modify the typeface in order to look sans-serif so that it neglects out a lot of negative space. It was an interesting discover as I've never realised the effect serif fonts can have, and it would definitely help me learn more about the small details of typefaces.
THE TYPOGRAPHY IDEA BOOK: INSPIRATION FROM 50 MASTERS
by Steven Heller and Gail Anderson
Figure 2.1.0 Cover Page
The book covers the different aspects of typography, while also providing tips and ideas to readers. It took inspiration from 50 typographic masters to provide information about past works, while also explaining some typographic theories.
Figure 2.1.1 Re-forming (Tearing and Sampling)
It is understood that to strengthen an individual's type skill, doing re-forming can help with the experience of connections and distinctions between different typefaces or typographic styles. Tearing and sampling from random magazines, newspapers, and other print medium can inspire typographers to explore various styles and ideas. Through the "Typography Task 3B", this re-forming exercise might actually help people to produce great letterings from the composition and inspiration of different letters.
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