Photography: Continuum

I understood continuum as a concept where there is a continuous sequence where each frame (still) is not perceptibly different but the extreme change is distinct. In essence it ends up being a narrative displaying gradual build up of small changes in a way that the set of images as a whole connect seamlessly, however there would be a visual juxtaposition between the initial photograph and the last.

As a result, I intended to explore the motion of unravelling a ball of yarn, being that the constant is the ball of yarn and the location (positioning,) however the slight change would be exposing new layers of the yarn by unwinding the string in small amounts between each photograph taken. Between each photograph I would unravel the yarn 5 times, so as the ball of yarn slowly decreased in size, the pile of loose yarn adjacent would slowly increase. Therefore, through the series of images I had taken I noticed a negative correlation (relationship) between the two changing components in the composition. Extraordinarily what was initially dominant, which was the bundle of yarn, progressively became more faded as it was the growth of loose yarn that became potent. Due to this the roles had been reversed as to what had become the focal point.

IOTW: I've Lost ...Tell Someone

I've lost 5lbs!!

ReDesign Cheezy Magazine

IOTW- Extreme Packaging

Tee For One anyone?

Individually packaged tees, accentuating the satisfaction when receiving something that is just for you, making it personalised and valued.

It is also visually exploring satirical wordplay by manipulating the words found on tea boxes.

Drawing the similarity with the imagery used, in branding there is a focus on the quality of the ingredients sourced during the process of making in tea and tea shirts, whether that may be the blend of tea leaf or the blend of cotton.

The Best of Sponge Day

Snapping photos around markets of London, capturing typeface relating to thematic words given.

Analytical

Pictorial

American

Attention-grabbing

Fashionable

Infantile

Uncommercial

European

Baskerville

Baskerville is a serif typeface, which is 'transitional', a refinement of the 'old style' by John Baskerville and cut by John Handy. Tapered serifs mean that the axis is shifted and the letters seem more upright. John Baskerville was a wealthy industrialist and wanted to offer a high-quality method of printing books as in the 1700s books were made of poor quality.

Corresponding to the typeface three kinds of  posters were produced.

One variation (type size and thickness) :

a) 

For poster a), using one font of the typeface Baskerville, it was challenging trying to choose a font that will give sufficient boldness whilst still fitting the larger words on the page. I wanted a simplistic traditional aesthetic combined with a manipulation with the way I have arranged letters, subverting conventional layouts to make it more playful.

Alternate lines contain indents so that the rows of texts sit comfortably, also the indents create irregular spacing that alludes to the layout of text produced from a typewriter. Considering that Baskerville demanded for books to be printed in high quality, a semantic field of books within the posters would be relevant.

By altering the way the date can be read, positioning in a right angle, this not only frames the block of text but encourages viewers to read at a different angle.

Some may say the leading and spacing needs to be made more consistent so it is neater and easier to read but I wanted to explore a liberated and fluid approach as well as the conventional.

b)

Two variations:

c)

d)

 

Poster d), applying two sizes/thicknesses to create a sense of juxtaposition and striking impact.

Taking the plunge by dissecting a large word in half and combining the two parts of the word to create an abstract hybrid. After noticing that the ‘e’ from the first part ‘Basker’ can be matched with the ‘e’ from ‘ville.’ Although after doing this I have realised that the leading should have been kept the same throughout, by piecing the ‘e’ together closer than the rest of the letters makes the composition more random and messy than intended.

To counteract the hectic focal point, I left and right aligned my text accordingly with the larger characters of the hybrid to balance the weight.

e)

In poster e) I thought of another way fragmented lettering can be arranged on a page and it is the solution for words that are too large for a thick font. Treating the letters like puzzle pieces, glyphs/characters that should sit nicely or have a comfortable relationship between them.  Through my arrangement the form that the letters dictated reminded me of smoke coming out of a chimney, correlating to the fact that Baskerville was a successful industrialist and creator. Left aligning the rest of the text strengthens the base of the illustrative form above, providing the layout with stability. I found that by using ‘em’ spaces to separate to groups of text makes it easier for people to read and is also decorative to the page.

f) 

Three variations:

g) 

Poster g) demonstrates another way of positioning fragmented text to display movement and draws attention to important information that is situated in the centre.

Using three different thicknesses enabled me to do multiple ways of the hierarchy of text, especially integrated within blocks of text. ‘Em’ dashes here have been used for their function, which is using them as a bullet point, however the one I used was very thick and heavy so I balanced this by attaching an ‘em’ dash of a different thickness and size to close the block of information and balance the distribution of typeface weight.

The more sizes and thicknesses used makes it easier to arrange text as I became less restricted, rather than being committed to one font. Using one font type requires consideration so it is compatible with the typeface.and that with type hierarchy certain words can be read as bold without having to use different thicknesses/sizes. Diversely using one font focuses on display and the accuracy within the alignment that allows a crisp portrayal. However when using so many fonts combined there needs to be a thickness and size balance so that the weight and negative space is evenly distributed on the page. Moreover when using multiple sizes it is recommended to use two or more complete different ones so that the drastic change means a clearer and more confident juxtaposition, fonts too similar can make the aesthetic look accidental otherwise. Most people found that using two font sizes was the best but I found that three works even better. I can understand that three or more can overcrowd the page, making it inaccessible and convoluted but using an intermediate font that can blend with the two contrasting fonts creates a smoother line of read.

Type

It is not easy drawing out letters and copying typefaces because extra observation and analysis is required to document the weight distribution, angle, form and proportion of the letter. Most of the outline slopes and curves, making it difficult to ensure straight lines as a ruler could not be used, the best solution was one swift arm movement with the pen/pencil. This typeface in particular seems to be energetic in the way that the letter form leans on the right hand side as the left hand side is heavier in thickness, which makes the right hand side look like a branch from a tree. Also the letter contains prominent serifs, contributing to the portrayal of its dynamism. The letterform is generally light in weight, defining the form as delicate, ornamental and feminine. Intriguingly when the letterform is turned upside down it looks like a wishbone.

This image presents letters as geometric motifs arranged in three rows. The exercise visually treats letterforms as shapes, when positioning them on a page the negative space needs to be considered as well as the letterforms themselves. In terms of layout and accessible visual language, the aim is making any text as easily readable as possible. In order to do this there needs to be a balance with the weight of the tracking and kerning spaces, importantly the space left depends on the relationship between the shapes that are next to each other. Consequently letterforms can be treated like puzzle pieces or blocks or glyphs or symbols when aligning them on a page layout/poster.

EAT

Most of my ideas relating to 'eat' were generated by the most common food struggles.

1) Imagine retrieving a whole heap of bubblegum without having to spend a single penny! Simply by turning the doorknob or pulling on the door handle will eject hundreds of bubblegum in many different colours that will essentially pop out of the door handle. Where did they all come from? It could be magic, or maybe there is a lifetime supply stacked within the door. I feel like the rotations when turning a door handle is similar to the gumballs travelling down the spiral of a gumball machine after the money has been inserted.

2) Spare ribs are another very messy food where the hands and the face are guaranteed to get smothered in BBQ sauce. There should be a device where this activity of eating spare ribs can be made hands-free. Two hand stands built to hold a spare rib, one hand pinching one end and one end of the baby finger from the other hand touching the other end of the spare rib. By simply pressing on the nails of the hands you can adjust the speed of the rotation of the rib, enabling you to reach all areas of the rib. The hand stands (not the somersault) would be designed to lock the rib in place with minimal contact with the fingers, demonstrating the gesture of how people hold spare ribs- using the fingertips. The hand holding the rib with the end of the baby finger would be positioned in this way so that the palm of the hand is exposed and the palm would contain a built-in compartment for lemon scented wipes so that when the rib eating is complete the mouth can be wiped.

3) Don't you find it terribly frustrating how jam doughnuts bleed with a pool of jam after one bite and the jam goes everywhere? Conversely there could be a ridiculously small blob of jam where you keep biting and biting and waiting for more jam to ooze out but it just doesn't. Jam is always so unevenly distributed in jam doughnuts, it's either going to be too intense or way too little and so nobody is ever satisfied. To solve this within the dough there should be small droplets of jam dotted inside like how chocolate chips or blueberries are positioned in muffins. No mess. And the jam is gently and consistently incorporated.

4) Muffins have issues too! After biting the top off the base of the muffin gets so crumbly to the point where you are having to bury your face in the muffin case. After pressing the base of the muffin case, from underneath, the base should elevate to your mouth like a little plate so that it is easier to consume all that muffin debris.

5) I find that I am constantly eating random spoonsful of Nutella on its own. What if Nutella was packed in a lip-gloss style jar but instead of having the lip applicator there would be a little tiny spoon at the end.  Hence whenever you are craving a bit of Nutella you could apply some to your tongue and let it melt away, this could also be your 'emergency Nutella'. The aesthetics of the lip-gloss bottle would be identical to the original Nutella jar; the white corrugated screw top, the transparent glass revealing the hazelnut goodness and the classic label.

6) Nut allergy sufferers must be so cautious when eating out because the contamination of food means that there could be traces of nuts in anything, especially with foods in foreign countries or unknown food labels sometimes it is difficult to trust certain foods. A nut detector would be so helpful. A bit like the system of a metal detector however the detector would be a pistachio nut where the shell would open if the food contains nuts and would remain closed if the food was nut-free.