Alignment Exercise

 

After reading The Crystal Goblet, or Printing Should Be Invisible by Beatrice Warde (1900 – 1969) I neither fully agree or disagree. I agree that when designing the first question to be asked must be 'what must this design do?' I also agree that any printed piece of work cannot be called 'art' when its purpose was to inform instead of to just be visually pleasing. However if a designer produces a piece of work which was intended to be a thing of beauty, then I agree that it could be called 'art'. I think there is a fine line however in distinguishing what has been designed to inform (but look nice and be visually pleasing) and what has been designed to be a thing of beauty.

I disagree however that English cannot be considered art until the current English language no longer informs or conveys ideas to future generations. All art in some way informs and conveys ideas whether it be from oil paintings or ceramic vases although they often don't do this with the use of text. I don't see then how printed English could not be seen as art, if intended to be a thing of beauty simply because it conveys ideas through text rather than visually.

The section of text which I chose to use for my alignment exercise above I thought was quite interesting and very true. I have both painted and designed and I too feel I am better at design as I think. Both painting and design are very expressive, there is a huge difference however and not just the medium with which both are created. Painting although being very precise while painting portraits for example, is very much based on the 'feeling' you get from looking at the piece. When creating a piece painters don’t necessarily look at the visual image but more what feelings it evokes. Also artists work can often be interpreted by the viewer in many different ways. Designers work however is often thought out, planned and analysed in order to create a piece which has specific function and which conveys or evokes something very specific. In contrast to painters designers work can often only be interpreted in only one way, which is controlled by the designer.

List Exercise

Inappropriate Typography

Generally when someone with knowledge of graphic design or typography criticises 'bad' typography it is not because a 'bad' typeface has been used, but that it has been inappropriately used.

Comic sans for example is a great typeface when used appropriately, such as in a comic strip for which it was designed.

When choosing typefaces it is important to consider all the connotations of its style and aesthetics, such as shape, colour and weight so as to convey the correct message.

I came across an example of typography which in my opinion wasn’t thought about much and which conveys the entirely wrong message.

This sign is for 'Expressway Car Company' a car dealership and workshop. I assume that the typefaces were chosen to give the idea of expense and elegance, to mirror the cars which they sell. This is understandable, although the script typeface which has been used is very inappropriate, and the italic style of the serif typeface is also inappropriate. This is because typefaces can be said to have 'gender' or at least gender associations. Generally sans serifs with heavy, bold lines are male and light, curly, serif typefaces are female.

The fancy script typeface used for 'Expressway' therefore is seen as female. Though there is nothing wrong with the typeface itself, when it is used to represent a car dealership which is stereotypically masculine, it becomes very inappropriate, as the typeface certainly doesn't convey masculinity. The serif typeface used for 'Car Company Ltd.' is an appropriate typeface, although it has been put in italics. This softens the typeface which together with the above script again conveys femininity. When I first saw the sign, without reading it I thought it was a sign or advertisement for a hairdressers salon, due to the feminine associations of the style. In fact most hairdressers salons have signs very similar to this.

If I we to change the typeface I would select a serif so to stay with the idea of sophistication but I would choose a more classical style which can be decorative but definitely masculine. I would suggest Trajan for 'Expressway' and Thryomanes or something similar for 'Car Company Ltd'.

Hierarchy Exercise - Crime Report