Email To Your Friends ~ Come See Our Show!

more stencils anyone?

Hairstyles Galore!

Here is a poster of all famous music hairstyles.

This is for you Katie!

food stencils

some stencils i did this weekend using my tuna icon on sushi and the javan rhino on a steak.

Notable Haircuts Poster

http://www.etsy.com/listing/70407882/a-visual-compendium-of-notable-haircuts

Waves

Bespoken Art. Art that Speaks

This is pretty cool, you say your name and the wave is made a pretty color for you and sent to your house :)
I thought of Bryan for this with the vibrations.

my typeface

hey guys, this is where i am at. if anyone sees something that needs to be changed please let me know

Drunkin' Letterforms

This is when I made a breakthrough in my letterforms. I painted the lyrics to the songs I was listening to. :) (Drink of choice: captain and coke!)

From Nate and Glenn

Shadow Sculpture: http://www.instructables.com/id/Shadow-Sculptures!/

Light Patterns: http://www.olafureliasson.net/works/multiple_shadow_house_2.html

LED Throwies: http://graffitiresearchlab.com/projects/led-throwies-ii/

Forced Perspective: http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2011/04/beast-castle-behind-the-scenes-with-walt-disney-imagineers/

David's Progress !

I know I have been scarce on the output, I ended up stumbling upon a font which was pretty much exactly what my final form was in my head. CHECK IT OUT And it is pretty awesome.

So as to not kick a dead horse with too many cartoon hairy fonts, I tried a new process (through illustrator) to cultivate new arrangement or ideas.

A few samples of the letters M, H, and B:

there are two versions of each, one being a mess, and the second a sort of controlled chaos that resembles moss or over growth.

http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/4336/mspecimen.jpghttp://img16.imageshack.us/img16/6254/hspecimen.jpg
http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/3694/bspecimen.jpg

More Later.

Want to Freeze Your Phrase?

Alphabet Ice Cube Trays

GD Comedy

http://imgur.com/a/UrgL7

Sorry for hoggin' the blog... More wayfinding

Here are a few more. At this point, I will focus a few on odd intersections, ramps and streets. Otherwise, I will make only what I need for presentation purposes.

I still need to give the images color attention to give it a more realistic appearance but placement has been set.

Let me know your thoughts and comments/concerns.

Vector vs Hand

So after reviewing the basic vector traces of my icons and the positive comments I received on line weight, I was wondering how everyone felt about the "sketchiness" of the lines and if it is necessary to rework them to a smoother vector line. I worked on reworking the polar bear and wasn't as pleased with the results as I thought it would be. I think that the warbler (bird), the goldstreifiger (bug), and the polar bear need to be traced smoother and scanned in again, but I kinda liked the originals (minus the afore mentioned three) and the slight hand-drawn feel you get from them, accenting the apparent human hand. However, I didn't know if it looked too unprofessional to have a "sketchy," not-entirely-smooth, line.

Opinions/comments please?

Local street signage

Here is another example for local streets signage indicating where to go for I-43 access.

Another sign...

Here is another sign that is located on eastbound I-94 in Brookfield. The original indicated exits for points of interest for suburbanites, Public Museum, PAC, and MSOE. I kept those as well as added more that would be of interest for said suburban dwelling soccer moms and corporate dads.

You may need to drag off to view at the original image size.

More changes based on last class

Here is another based on recommendations.

Please post comments or suggestions.

Changes based on you, the fellow students

I changes the sides to yellow, that is about it at the moment. I may change the roundels to a larger size to fill the in some of the white space.

Let me know what you think and any comments or suggestions.

Ping Pong shots

It took me long enough to figure out my video editing program, but I got it to work. I cut out all of the similar shots and wasted time frames so you get the main idea. Although clipped, I did look at all of the shots from the original to see the angles and curves that they were making. Following the shapes that the ball made through space, I drew and painted them to get an idea of what the solid shape of its movement was. Big thanks to Sam, who let me step into her project for a bit to bust out some calligraphy. It really helped me form the brushed shapes that I used to render my type in Illustrator.

Moving Text - Experiments

By testing the window panes for our group project on moving text we discovered what changes needed to be made before diving into our main project.

problem areas:
-non-frosted windows need some sort of covering to better capture the light and to hide the projectors light from blinding viwers. (will try to solve with tracing paper and semi-transparent plastic).
-window panes too high up are not as visible due to obstacles (stick to 5 lower panes)
-colors will not appear as they would on a white wall (we were projecting yellow and it came up green through the glass).
-need to further divide squares up to get "higher resolution".
-and, of course, mirroring of text/image so it appears correctly to the viewers.

Nicole Specht WIPs

Bryan Short-Thesis

Project Running with Visuals began as a way to create a visual learning system that could be understood with little more then a glance. However, as the project progressed it became apparent that more and more text would need to be involved. Merging the idea of simple and clear visuals along with text has turned the project from being less about strictly visual learning and more about learning with strong visual counterparts.

While still important to my design, the visuals now function more as a reminder to those who have already completed studying the posters entirely. If these posters were then hung in a gym, or a fitness center of some sort, the patrons could view the posters from afar and the imagery would tell them/remind them of correct procedures that they had read about from studying the posters earlier. However if one had not read the posters yet they would connect the imagery with their own actions and know that the poster was designed for them in mind and be compelled to view them.

Where I stand now is finding the correct size of imagery as well as colors to be used on the overall design. I have experimented with many line widths to make the images understandable from a distance, am working with a font hierarchy so the correct information is apparent first, and am altering the colors of the posters so they lead the eye to the poster.

One of Google's April Fools Jokes

This was #4 on the list of Google's April fools jokes.


4. Search for Helvetica or Comic Sans using Google, and you'll have a little surprise. Google plans to use Comic Sans as the default font across all Google products, but you can use the Comic Sans for Everyone extension to browse the entire World Wide Web using Comic Sans. It's fun, fun, fun.

T Wins

RvsT

Process Angela Valera

Communication is key. “Personal communication has undergone a revolution.”(Sheifer) Instead of writing a note, one can just send a text message or send an email. Technology has made it possible for us to communicate with each other more efficiently with the minimum amount of effort. Software corrects our mistakes (spelling and grammar), so we don’t have to worry about silly things like that any more. Not only how we communicate has changed, but also the way we speak/type/write back and forth to each other. We use slang and abbreviations to shortening the time we spend texting some one back. Why waste time writing out each letter for each word when you can say a simple phrase with only 3 or 4 letters, such as, ttyl, omg, brb, lol, lmfao, nbd, etc. This way of connecting with each other has definitely effected the way we orally communicate with one another. If you don’t believe this to be true, ask yourself when the last time you had a casual conversation without using any slang or “lazy” speech.

When starting research I looked at different ways I personally communicate with my friends and family. I text, e-mail facebook, twitter, and way back when I didn’t have a cell phone, my friends and I would send handwritten notes back and forth in and between classes. I found some of these old notes that my friends have given me, and the letters and content I found in the notes was very interesting. Abbreviations were used in these notes just like how they are used now in texting and chatting online.

Creating this typeface I wanted to draw attention to similarities and differences between the digital and handwritten communication. I started placing my own handwriting over typefaces that were made for the web (Arial, sans serif and Georgia, serif). To get a variety of forms, I started to trace over letters I found in my friends notes and layered each individual friends’ handwriting over the two web-safe typefaces I chose to work with. I ended up with five sets of handwritten letters and two sets of web-safe. Each layered letter made a very interest overlaps. Transparency was used to better see the intersection between each letter form. After accomplishing this I decided to take a clipping mask over each of these elaborate letters. The clipping mask was the web-safe typeface, Arial. The idea was to see the intersections happening within the sans-serif typeface.

Thomas Jung-Famous Hair Process

I started this project with the idea of fame and I began to look at how celebrities are often turned into these objects of almost godly status. I also began to look at major celebrity icons and how they influence people in many ways whether it is in clothing, actions, style or hair. Celebrities are often the start of major trends in the fashion and style world because people want to emulate them. One of these trends that I thought would be interesting are the hairstyles that the celebrities have made popular; even if they are short-lived.

While doing research for famous hairstyles I found everything from the good, to the not so much. I started to compile these images of hair and I tried to get a wide variety of styles. I then decided that I wanted to reduce these celebrities to their luscious locks. I wanted to literally turn the icons into icons. I compiled a list of 26 “celebrities,” one for each letter of the alphabet to create some sort of symbol set. Once the list was compiled I put the images into illustrator and started tracing them, but these were not looking very good, they had no style to them. So I went pre-digital and got out the pencils and paper. I started by tracing the hair and then I eventually sketched each hairstyle.

Now I am in the process of going back to the digital. I am working on scanning in the sketches and turning them into vector files. I am also working on choosing a different typeface for each typeface to fit the personality of the celebrity. Once the fonts are chosen I am going to place the hair on the letters and create a set of hairstyle caps that can be used for initial caps. The detail and variety of hair would make this a very impractical body type.

For my final output I am not exactly sure how I want to present this. One idea is to create an alphabet book with “A is for Aniston” and maybe a little information about each person. I am not set on this idea and I am trying to think of something better. I’m not sure if I should try to make it look like glitzy Hollywood or do something plain and total opposite.

Process and Thesis - Katie Belanger

For the past several weeks I have been developing an icon system to represent the endangered wildlife that is being threatened and pushed to extinction due to our human expansion and wasteful consumer habits. I am trying to make people aware that their daily actions do have an impact on our world, not just the giant corporations and manufacturing plants; to make people realize that we are all responsible and held accountable. I have been interested in the decrease of biodiversity and the present "mass extinctions" that have been occurring at an alarming rate since I heard over Thanksgiving break that the tiger may become extinct by the year 2012. I found this to be truly distressing news.

I wanted my icon series to be a simplified, stylized version of their real-life counterparts, using the WWF logo as a goal. My process for drawing these icons began first with images of the animal and an initial, detailed trace. I then took this tracing and, with another color, started breaking down the natural forms into more geometric shapes to be refined. Once I began work on my first design, the Blackburnian Warbler, I started to look at the illustrator Charley Harper's work and was very inspired by his simplified animal prints. After I had completed my first icon, I used it as a basis for the rest, using the same visual language and shapes, attempting to create a unified, cohesive icon system that works apart and as a group.

For my final form I plan on creating stencils of my icons and printing them, guerrilla art style, on various objects that relate to the destruction of the animal and places of industry that stand out as sites of human consumer and commercialism. For example, sea turtles have been hunted for an oil that they produce ("turtle oil") which is then used in various cosmetics. I would then print a stencil of the turtle icon on a compact of blush, so that every time one uses the product they are brushing away and erasing that animal. I will use photo-documentation to display this work, perhaps in a re purposed book.

Process and Thesis - Wayfinding in the Union

My project deals with the legibility and usability of the way finding system in the UWM Union.  The way finding system currently implemented in the Union is very disorganized, inaccurate, and attempts to “band aid” the past inaccuracies of the system.  However, these band aids are never taken off, so the wounds are just becoming infected, and the system is becoming worse and worse because of the inconsistencies.

My process originally started with way finding in malls, specifically looking at mall maps.  I shifted to something that would be more easily accessible for me, and something I use daily.  I started by looking at the directories, signage, maps, and floor names.  I instantly saw inconsistencies, such as the same floor being called the ‘lower level’ and the ‘basement’.  I also noticed restroom signs that had no symbol along with them.  What if someone can’t read? I believe we need to be more aware of catering to those with disabilities rather than just the majority.

In order to more accurately identify what is important to the students that use the union, I met with Scott Gore, the Union Director.  In the 2008 and 2009 Union Annual Survey, students were asked the question “If the UWM Union was to expand/renovate, what additional programs, services, or amenities should the Union Offer? (Check up to 3)”  In 2008 the top response, with 654 responses was to add additional seating.  In 2009, this was also the top response, with 548 responses.  Others that were deemed important are quiet/private areas, TV lounge, and additional meeting room space.

With these results, I’ve established what is most important to the students, and what should be more obviously identified on signage.  To identify some of the main “attractions” on each floor, I’ve decided to use the Noun Project as my symbol set.  However, I have found that this project does not include everything I want to use.  To solve that, I have started to create some of my own symbols that match the Noun Project, in which I may be able to submit to them in the future.

 

I’ve also looked at renaming the floors because of the “dual names” some of them have and the confusion that they cause.  To do so, I want to completely avoid the names currently in use.  I settled on Z, A, B, C, and D.

I want my final output to be in the form of a poster that will show samples of the directories and signage, but will also incorporate images of the Union with the signs being implemented.

Samantha Korthof - Process Writing

My typeface has developed through an ebb and flow kind of process. Each exploration I have done has lead me to my final piece, however it could not have happened without a bit of backtracking, random tangents and changes in plans. For example, I found that in order to bring my typographic travels to China, I had to first visit France.

I chose my topic of Chinese writing systems because I am currently taking a Chinese Art History class, which I immensely enjoy. I knew that the information I’m learning in that class could easily apply to my typeface, and make my experience better in both classes. I was so set on that idea that I didn’t consider how much of a challenge it would be to try to channel a culture which is not my own.

My research explored ancient Chinese writing as well as modern. I learned about how the characters are composed today, and how they became that way. I looked at calendars, charts, poetry, paintings… and still, even with all this knowledge, I couldn’t quite figure out how to make a good typeface with a Chinese influence. (The term “good” is important because I could easily make a terrible typeface constructed out of a couple copied brush-strokes. This was not my goal.)

Once I got to experimenting with form, I found that it was a lack of experience with a calligraphy brush and ink that was getting in my way, as well as my preconceived notions of what a “good” typeface is. As a person who is naturally attracted to rules, symmetry and simplicity, my forms just did not look Chinese enough. I let previous experiences with type influence my forms too much. So I scrapped those sketched forms and invested in a couple brushes and some sumi ink. I painted plenty of letterforms in a watercolor sketchbook, but I was still missing something. My forms were still too limited. It was enough of a challenge to paint the letterforms, let alone with a Chinese influence.

When it came time to critique my progress, the class agreed that I needed to loosen up and experiment more. It was then that I had the idea to paint large letterforms while intoxicated. So the following Friday night, with ink in one hand and a glass of rum and coke in another, I took to my large pad of newsprint. I blared music and painted the lyrics I heard. Because I was intoxicated, I let myself make mistakes. I didn’t over-think what I was creating, and because of this, my night was a success. None of the forms I made that night ended up in my final alphabet, however it was a much-needed lesson in loosening up.

After reviewing the letters I created that night, Bethany and I noticed that the forms written while listening to French music were more appealing than the others. I considered redirecting my typeface to have French influences, and I tried to write more while listening to French music. However, I was rather disappointed with myself for giving up on the Chinese approach, given all that research I had done. I gave Chinese writing one more shot, and while listening to the soundtrack to The Way of the Samurai (which ironically was set in Japan, starred an American actor and was composed by a German man—but at least had Asian instruments)…

the forms finally surfaced from the pool of my consciousness.

What I painted that day are the closest to my final typeface. I am quite pleased with how they’ve turned out, and I’m glad that I gave my original concept one last chance.

My current final form is anything but final—truth be told, I tried out what I thought would be an interesting enough design, but it feels as if it’s lacking. I will continue to modify. What it is at this moment is a snippet of translated Daoist texts. I find the words to fit my process quite well because I had to discover my personal habits (the self) with the brush before I could create the forms I wanted. It’s placed upon an image of rice paper. There are many words to this excerpt, however it only covers about 18 letters, with just one capitol. Perhaps I can still develop this into something worthwhile…

"Amelia"

Braille is something that I feel is very unnoticed in our society. The blind make up only about .3% of our population, but that’s .3% of our population that is blind. My idea for creating a font that includes Braille first started when I was volunteering at the Milwaukee Art Museum. I began to wonder how blind people experience art. Through class idea exercises and brainstorming, the idea of a Braille font emerged.

I will be naming my font, “Amelia”, after my blind friend who has helped make my font successfully “readable”. My main focus is to create a font that is both legible to those who can see (by using sight) and to those who cannot (by using touch); viewer vs feeler, so to speak. Amelia will be a bold lowercase font to accommodate for the overlap of the Braille. The placement of the Braille on the letters was a concern. After talking with Amelia, she informed me that because of its 6- grid system, Braille needs to maintain a consistent baseline or it could be interpreted as a different character. So far, that has proven to be the biggest challenge. Obviously, no letter is the same; so maintaining that consistent baseline is not easy.

My final piece will be in poster form. The letters will be laser cut. I will then put a backing on the poster, which will make the outline of the letters identifiable. I will use a french sewing knot to create the Braille marks. By using thread, I can experiment with different colors to add more visual appeal. I also want this font to teach. I will show the empty circles within the 6-grid system on each letter. This way, the “viewer” can then see which Braille character goes with what letter. Vice versa, the “feeler” will also be able to learn the outline of the physical letterform that goes with the corresponding Braille character. I am the excited to see the final result!

french knots!

Letters made out of french knots. These are the knots I plan on using to create my braille over my typeface. Thought it was fun that they created letters out of them. I'm sure my friend, Amelia, would be able to identify these letters. I love the numerous color possibilities and the texture (both visually and physically) that these knots create.

here is the website: http://inthewabe.wordpress.com/2010/05/17/embroidered-french-knot-monograms/

Statement of Process and Thesis ~ Scott Carlson

My project deals with the readability and reduction of confusion on road signage. Currently, our highway wayfinding has 16 fonts (8 fonts are being re-introduced) while almost every other country has two fonts, one medium and one regular. Our color scheme is varied depending on the state and the time of up-keep. Most directional signs are green with white, but as of 2005, some are blue with white font, or white with black font. This is very confusing because there is no real color coding, except for brown/white indicating state forests. Another issue is that multiple companies are making these and other signs for federal, state and local governments, resulting in different variations on signage pushing the already lax regulations and charging high amounts for the manufacturing. By simplifying the signage and making one universal symbol for something, travelers will know what each sign means despite their location. As a "melting pot" of the world, we do have foreigners her that vacation, work, and live in the U.S. Despite some who say that "we are American, we speak American," I fell that if we removed wording from all signage, except directional and street name signage, this would not only simplify our wayfinding, but would welcome more guests and workers, all contributing to a better society. Lastly, I will address readability on signage. If you ever visit a city or town that you have never visited before, you will know that trying to find, and get, to your exit can be impossible in heavier traffic. I want to install a system of early warning signage for exits and towns so that we can reduce panicked lane changing, continuous blinkers, and car accidents.

My first step was to identify what our current system is. I found that we used up to 16 different color combinations and 18 fonts. I then decided to see what other industrialized countries were doing. I found that all English speaking countries used Transport font.They also used a universal symbol for a warning sign.

Step two involved choosing highway directional sign colors to identify Interstate, Highway, and local roads. I then chose to use the Transport font to keep things simple and universal

Once I chose the color schemes, I went on to design icons that would be used instead of wording to minimize the amount of text on these signs. I also began working on how to remove all wording on street and warning signs.

The fourth step involved researching. Researching, researching, researching. I studied the process of making a sign, who made them, what reflective material is used, who can be effected by certain color schemes, how are placements decided, highway sign structure, and what stuffy old person can I upset the most with these ideas.

Once I figured out that the research really has no scientific or medical data to back up the current findings, I set about setting up my own raw data. Asking people of various ages what it is they wanted to see.

I then began rough 3-D concepts for these designs. Mostly highway signage placement as well as speed limit, warning and directional.

As of right now my final form is as seen here. I do plan to place the overhead signage onto actual photos of local highways and streets to help visualize the signage. Blue backgrounds will indicate Interstates, Green will indicate state highways, and white will indicate local streets. Speed Limits will be bordered in red with colored backgrounds to help indicate what the driver is on in between signage. Black will indicate night driving, if necessary. All overhead signage will have something over each lane and the exits will have the proper color coding.

New from Abbott Miller

http://pentagram.com/en/new/2011/03/new-work-ink-collection-for-kn.php

Pentagram, Emotional Type

Emotional Spell-Check from Pentagram on Vimeo.

Chartwell, the infographics font

http://kottke.org/11/03/chartwell-the-infographics-font

Tentative Groups

After deliberating with myself this is what I have determined.

Group One 1 Near … Far Type (Scale and Narrative)

Beauchesne, Taylor - working on type design/childhood dreams

Korthof, Samantha - working on typeface design/brush script

Zimmerman, David - working on typeface design…

Group Two 2 Visual & Tactile Type (Find, Make, Feel)

Brakke, Alyssa - working on type design/braille/tactile 

Valeri, Angela - working on typeface design juxtaposing the digital and analog

Dolezar, Kyle - working on library wayfinding

Group Three 3 Interactive Type (Semiotics and Interaction)

Short, Bryan - working on icons that teach/how to run

Addie, Chadwick - working on interaction/wayfinding

Nytes, William - working on typeface design with ping-pong 

Group Four 4 Conservation of Milwaukee Through Type (Typographic City)

Belanger, Katherine - working on icon design/deployment for the environment

Gunnlaugsson, Keegan - working on typeface/3rd ward

Carlson, Scott - working on highway/interstate wayfinding

Group Five 5 Comic Type in Real Life (Amplification of Sound and Emotion) 

Hall, Brian - working on ligatures for phonetics
Jung, Thomas - working on typeface design for famous icons (hair)
Peck, Nolan - working on comic wayfinding development

Group Six 6 Making Print Dimensional (Light and Material)

Gulczynski, Christopher - working on icons/desktop analog

Specht, Nicole - working on icons that represent Wisconsin/mapping

Keller, Liza - working on re-imagining the Union wayfinding

furry process

the process for my furry letters.

right now the "A" and "B" are cut out with a razorblade, and careful not to cut through more than just the bottom, the "C" is cut with scissors. I was looking for a little feed back as to which one would be more effective.

click me!

as it stands the A and B represent fur more and is a little abstract.

the C more closely represents the original font.

both have merit, but i am leaning towards the cutting method used for the A and B.

let me know your thoughts!

click me!

Hair icons in the news!

http://m.gawker.com/5784898/can-you-guess-the-celebrity-by-the-hairstyle/gallery/

kind of like my typeface..

I saw these Nike shirts online and they kind of remind me of the 'typeface' I am creating. Its part of a series called the Nike Hair-itage MLB t-shirts.