Project D - Typographic Narrative & the Environment

PROJECT D

TYPOGRAPHIC NARRATIVE BRITTANY LINARES � TYPOGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION � TYPE NARRATIVE & THE ENVIRONMENT

PROJECT D

INTRODUCTION PROJECT OVERVIEW

To create a composition that utilizes a three-dimensional space within the environment. This three-dimensional element, type created form the environment, but also represent a purposeful narrative.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Initial Design Proposal ... pg. 3-6 Visual Research ... pg. 7-9 Rough Composition Inspiration ... pg. 11-14 Rough Compositions ... pg. 15-17 Written Assessment ... pg. 18 Final Image Choice ... pg. 20 Final In-Progress ... pg. 21 Final Image Photography ... pg. 22-24 Annotated Bibliography ... pg. 25 Digital Image Annotated Bibliography ... pg. 26-28

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PROJECT D, PART 1

INITIAL DESIGN PROPOSAL

PROJECT D, PART 1:

INITIAL DESIGN PROPOSAL SUMMARY Objective

The object for Project D is to create a three dimensional form that communicates a narrative in an environmental setting. The goal of this project if to free typography from the printed medium and create the typography by hand in a setting within out environment. The overall setting and typographic arrangement are meant to tell a story to the audience which is being engaged via a public or private setting. The typography must emphasize the entire narrative through the use of a single world or phrase.

Phrase of Choice

Choice 1: “Cannot see the forest for the trees� -

meaning that you can not see the importance of concepts because you are too focused on the details. - http://idioms.

thefreedictionary.com/wood

Choice 2: Frustration

Intended communication goals

Choice 1: I want the audience to read this message and

at first without an analytics overtone so that they take it for what it is. I then want them to take in the background, which will lead them to the overall meaning to which they focus too much on the details and to see the whole picture, or focus to much on the tree to see the entire forest. This is a literal representation for a metamorphic phrase.

Choice 2: Frustration would be communicated through

having letters with items attached that represent items of frustration that we face each and every day. Such aspect of frustration are work, school, etc. I would attach a broken pencils, bulbs, crumbed paper, and much more.

What type of reaction do you want to incur from your audience? What emotions do you want to evoke?

Choice 1: I want the audience to take the message and

look at it in a new light. If I portrayed this message on a tree, zoomed out, but the tree became the main focus that where they would first focus on the overall concept/image. After reading the phrase, the rest of the image would seem less blurred and they would take in the entire forest, per say, and no longer focus on the minor details of the message but rather the overall concept. I would want people to interact with this in the sense that it broadens their minds.

Choice 2: I want the audience to see the small frustration

we encounter in life and how they drive us crazy at times.

Audience would see signs of stress, anger, aggression, time constraints, and much more. This may only have school like materials, but will hold a universal message/emotion.

Who will interact with the message? How does it relate to your passive vs active audience?

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PROJECT D, PART 1:

INITIAL DESIGN PROPOSAL SUMMARY Choice 1: Individuals walking a nature trail or outdoorsy

individuals who may be going camping and would stumble upon the piece and absorb the deeper meaning. The active audience would be the type of individuals who travel the world to hike in places like the Appalachian trail.

Choice 2: Anyone who has been in school or fast pace

work environments would relate to such a message. People who have been in frustrating situations themselves would come to see the overall power behind the message. I picture people coming that live a fast paced lifestyle, such as fellow designers, production workers, and much more.

What characteristics are associated with the materials you are considering?

Do they include form, color, etc.? All of this will add to the way the message is perceived by the audience.

Choice 1: The material I would be using to build this

would be vines, limbs, and anything organic found in nature.

No additional items would be purchased unless I could not find the appropriate vines to tie the limbs together. Earth colors of greens and browns would be included with trees/ forest in the background.

other such items that are involved with our frustration.

These would be attached to foam letters and the foam of the letters would not be visible do to the compilation of the objects.

How is the environment going to complement the message, or is it going to present conflict?

Choice 1: The environment would be the woods and the

vines and limbs would be intertwined in such a way that seeing through them to the background of trees is much harder. This would force the message to the viewer then make them step back and re-evaluate its deeper overall meaning of looking into the details too much and miss out on the forest, or the bigger picture.

Choice 2: It will be installed in a public setting to which

people would pass on a daily basis. Installing it in a calm setting would portray its true meaning and in turn frustrate people trying to enjoy a leisure time or due to the fact that the chaos of the piece brings conflict to a serene environment. This would relay the emotion of frustration to the audience viewing it so they can feel what is being expressed through the type arrangement/compilation.

Choice 2: Yes, they would be small, everyday objects that

lead to frustration in people. Ex: broken phones, broken pencils, crumbled paper, empty tape roles, post its, and

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PROJECT D, PART 1:

INITIAL DESIGN PROPOSAL SUMMARY What are the environmental challenges that you will need to take into consideration?

a park bench or near a calm lake setting. The public setting may pose some issues in getting permission to take the photograph in a specific location, having the ability to install the piece, etc.

Choice 1: I will need to be able to find the right type of

vine to be able to tie together the sticks in order to create an organic appearance where it looks like the sticks grew that way through the attachment of the vines over time. I will have to find an ideal backdrop where there are lots of trees to give the idea of the blurry tree background and making it hard to see through the sticks to perceive the entire forest. I will need to find the ideal spacing between trees in order to hang my arrangement to make it appear like a natural fixture in the woods so people would notice it but take a double look to notice its not what they typically see in the environment. Finally, I will need to make it fairly eye level so you can see the background through it, much like Sagmeister’s typographic environment works that I have pictured in the visual research section of this initial proposal.

Choice 2: Proper placement, lighting, ability to install,

and would need to be somewhere that it wouldn’t get wet.

However, if placed in an areas where it would rain, it could portray the frustration of a piece getting ruined by water and add to the overall drama. Installation by hanging would be the most difficult in a public setting but would be most ideal in a more private setting where there may be less audience bu the piece would be the most visible/viewable. If it is to be a standing piece, I would want to sit on something like

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PROJECT D, PART 1:

VISUAL RESEARCH

This is the Stefan Sagmeister typography created by foam letters with 1,000’s of pencils stuck inside the spray painted for the Adobe 24 hour creative experience. Created by the staff of Sagmeister & Walsh. This is what I want to use the inspiration for the piece on

Words to Ponder

Here I was brainstorming words and/or phrases that I could use for the typographic composition.

• Imagine • Create • Obsession • Frustration • Dream • Fragile • “Cannot see the wood for the trees, and cannot see the forest for the trees” - Prov. Cannot perceive the overview of important things because of concentrating too much on details. The information presented

opponents claimed that she couldn’t see the forest for the trees, because she spends so much time trying to solve minor problems.” Farlex - http://idioms. thefreedictionary.com/wood - phrase cited from the free dictionary website.

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PROJECT D, PART 1:

VISUAL RESEARCH This is a typographic arrangement in a typical environment that people would interact with in order to relay a message. The typography is foremost in the image, but Sagmeister wants to us to also focus on the background so that we will draw a correlation from the word Trying to what looks like trailers, or working area, in the background.

This is an indoor typographic arrangement using the wall, TV, and stacked VHS tapes to create an environment. This is a work created by Pierre Delort.

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PROJECT D, PART 1:

VISUAL RESEARCH A typographic arrangement that uses coffee to create a word. I like the idea of taking a food-like object and creating a word to represent the item’s origin.

The type here is created with natural objects, such as tree limbs and sticks, in order to generate letter forms.

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PROJECT D, PART 2

ROUGHS & WRITTEN ASSESSMENT

PROJECT D, PART 2:

ROUGH COMPOSITION INSPIRATION Visual Research for Composition Styles/Formats

The following images are visual research samples which are concepts that represent possible style outcomes for my rough compositions. Includes all the methods I explored for composition concepts.

Possible layout for type arrangement in the woods. (literal interpretation)

Type is displayed in the foreground in front of a forest setting. (literal interpretation)

Possible way I would represent the typography using limbs. (literal interpretation)

A way to show the typography intermingled into the environment/woods. (literal interpretation)

Idea of placing the type in the foreground and focusing on the background. The type would still be readable but you must take more effort to focus on it because I would want you to notice the forest and see the bigger picture before focusing on the details of the typography.

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PROJECT D, PART 2:

ROUGH COMPOSITION INSPIRATION

Carving typography. Would carve the type into the tree and therefore the typography used would be hand lettered and unique. (literal interpretation)

Possible way of hanging type between trees in a similar format. (literal interpretation)

This is an interesting portrayal of the overall concept behind can’t see the forest for the trees with a simple typographic composition where the type is overlaid and harder to read making you pay attention to the details and then receiving the message. This shows that we do take too much time to see the details and lack the meaning of the overall picture. (metaphor)

The type, depressed, is created with sticks, limbs, and other such materials to create letter forms that relay a message through different letter arrangements and styles which mimics the differential sizes and variations of trees within a forest setting.

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PROJECT D, PART 2:

ROUGH COMPOSITION INSPIRATION

Example that represents typography style of using vines to create type or letter forms to portray the given message.

Showing type in the environment that is transparent and seems to be naturally part of its environment not man-made and placed there.

The above images are representations of different types of wood carving that could be used on the tress. The only difference is I would not be working with a bark-less tree log.

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PROJECT D, PART 2:

ROUGH COMPOSITION INSPIRATION

A beautiful evening Mrs. Grey is an arrangement where you are focused more on the type and less on the environment. (metaphoric representation)

Variation where again type is lost in the overall detail because here the background is the detail that is distracting the viewer and making it harder to focus on the type. (metaphoric representation)

Placing type in a very busy environment where detail is chaotic and the overall room is lost to all the details included within. This is a way to represent the phrase where we don’t look at the bigger picture but all the little things. (metaphoric representation)

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PROJECT D, PART 2:

ROUGH COMPOSITIONS Objective

To create a mood and/or experience with a series of rough compositions to explore the various methods of how the narrative choice would communicate to an audience. The idea is a consider a variety of different mediums, medias, materials, etc. in your exploration as to not limit yourself to one variation.

Broken Stick Font

Broken Stick Typeface: Sample space holding typeface. This typeface used in the following rough compositions was a free downloaded font that I used to resemble what the branches may look like when in place, but they do not represent the actual texture of the sticks, just the aspect that they have similar rough, uneven edges.

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PROJECT D, PART 2:

ROUGH COMPOSITIONS t Can’see the

n’t Cseeathe

forest

forest

for the

trees

for the

trees

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Rough concept where the words will either hang from the limbs above or sit on top of each other as they stack back and forth between the trees to represent the inability to see the trees in the background through the dense letter compilation which represents paying close attention to detail and not seeing everything in the environment.

Here I want the type to sit between the limbs and block your ability to see the blurred background. That way, you focus on this one tree and the limbs that are taking up the space. It takes more effort here to focus on the whole picture and stray from the detail, which is the initial purpose of the form in relation to the metaphor.

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PROJECT D, PART 2:

ROUGH COMPOSITIONS Can’t see the

fo

re

st

for

s e e tr

n’t Casee

the

forest

ftor

he

trees

the

Rough concept where the words, which will be made out of sticks, sit on various aspects of this broken tree and the fungus that is growing on it.

Here is a draft where the type is stacked in some aspects and sitting on the limbs as if its part of the tree. The contrasting movement from word to word and the arrangement of the tree limbs leads you down then back up to the top to the word “can’t”. This makes it hard to break away from the word to see the background or forest. Therefore, the forest is again being overlooked because the audience is focusing on the initial text.

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PROJECT D, PART 2:

WRITTEN ASSESSMENT Objective

The phrase, “Can’t see the forest for the trees” is a way of saying that one can’t see the overall picture without viewing the details. This is very true today, because people are too interested in the tiny details and they lose sight of the overall message of the concept. Each concept, whether literally portrayed in a woodland area or metaphorically portrayed in a very opposite setup, the message is meant to make the audience focus on an areas then once they see the overall picture they begin to portray a different meaning or connect the two aspects to understand that the small details are part of a larger idea.

MEDIUMS/MATERIALS & TONE There are various ways that I can attempt to portray the phrase “Can’t see the forest for the trees” and each variation would include different materials and overall tones.

Woods: Creating the phrase using vines, sticks, and limbs would require very few purchased items, but would require a vast searching of the physical environment to acquire the ideal materials from nature.

the background, or see the forest through all the detail.

• Variation 2: This variation involves creating the

type letter by letter then piecing it together where it intertwines like vines wrapping around a tree. The letters would create a semi-thick cluster where you would have gaps in-between letters and given spaces that would allow you to view the background, or see the forest through all the detail.

Open Air: This variation would have the type portrayed

with various natural materials from nature, being vines, limbs, etc. where there is a lot of empty space behind it but still a landscaped object or scenery in the far background. I would want the text to feel overlooked in this sense so that the person takes in the scenery before the message. This would portray the message in the backwards sense. Such a message could be hanging from rafters or a tree with string with a city backdrop, or along a fence with a factory like background, and so on.

• Variation 1: This would include taking a sharp item,

such as a knife, and carving the typography into the actual tree. I would have to have this set in a space where the meaning would be portrayed ideally. It would have to have many other trees in the background to emphasize the entire forest. I would want to create letters and given spaces that would allow you to view

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PROJECT D, PART 3

FINAL TYPOGRAPHY NARRATIVE

PROJECT D, PART 3:

FINAL IMAGE CHOICE Objective

To create a composition that effectively uses a three-dimensional space and through the arrangement of typographic forms represents a purposeful narrative not only through the use of the typographic word or phrase, but also through the way it interacts with the environment and how it utilizes the space in relation to what the type is representing.

FINAL IMAGE CHOICE

t Can’see the

forest

for the

trees

This is the layout I choose to pursue because it not only allows me to represent the sticks in their natural environment, but it also makes the letters look like they have formed naturally there. I choose to go with natural elements so that the type will intentionally blend making the viewer have to not only be present but also interact with the environmental typography.

DESIGN BRIEF / FINAL WRITTEN ASSESSMENT

This project required many steps to not only build the letters but gather the materials. The wreath was purchased but provided the ideal style of vine-like sticks that were easy to manipulate into letters. Next my overall intention was to create letter forms that would blend into the environment and appear to be part of nature itself. This makes the type harder to see from a distance, but at the same time the type is intentionally meant to be observed in person. The letters were put together with hot wood glue and string, then hung with vines and fishing line. I choose for the text to be in the foreground because it is meant to provide a distraction from the forest, or background. This represents the metaphor which is interpreted as paying too much attention to the detail, or the phrase, and loosing site of the larger picture, in this case the trees in the background. This forces the viewer to re-visualize typography and how it can represent more than just what is found on printed materials. Overall, when viewer in person, this arrangement is meant for the viewer to get up close and interact to see how this has become a part of nature and upon stepping back they will begin to develop a perception of the world they had not previously seen.

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PROJECT D, PART 3:

FINAL IN-PROGRESS

These are photographs of the materials used and in-progress creation of the letter forms. Each letter was later glued in order to remove the tape as well as tied with sewing thread. Above you can also see the materials to which were used in the creation of each letter form. Materials used consisted of: hot glue gun - high temperature, wood glue sticks, pruning tool, wreath/limbs, grape vines, brown sewing thread, fishing line, and a ruler.

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PROJECT D, PART 3:

FINAL IMAGE PHOTOGRAPHY

This is the original and natural look of the image. Upon viewing the photographs you notice it is harder to read because of the busy forest background and the very neutral appearance of the constructed type. This is very intentional because I want viewers to walk by it and at first perceive it as part of the tree, then upon realizing its words, they will move closer to the type read it, then step back and ponder its metaphoric representation. They will feel that the type is as natural as the forest itself.

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PROJECT D, PART 3:

FINAL IMAGE PHOTOGRAPHY

Here are some closeup images of the words and the overall phrase in the environment.

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PROJECT D, PART 3:

FINAL IMAGE PHOTOGRAPHY

In these images, I used spray paint, not as an intention to enhance the meaning of my typography but in order to show, through the camera’s eyes, how you would preceive it in person. In person the text is easily readable and the spray pain ideally mimics this. The blue spray paint was an experiment which I used photoshop to turn white to create the image on the left. This also helps you see the overall layout of the words in the environment much quicker through the digital capture of the dslr camera.

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RESEARCH

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY •

Farlex, Inc. “Wood.” The Free Dictionary. Farlex, 2013. Web. 2 Nov. 2013. <http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/wood>.For the phrase cannot see the forest for the trees and its analytical meaning.

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Heller, Steven. “Stefan Sagmeister.” AIGA. N.p., 19 Apr. 2013. Web. 02 Nov. 2013. <http://www.aiga.org/medalist-stefan-sagmeister/>.

Reference information for Sagmeister and how he designs and thinks in the sense of typography.

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RESEARCH

DIGTIAL IMAGE ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY •

Art.com Inc. “Close-up of Carving on the Trunk of a Quaking Aspen Tree in Fall.” Art.com. N.p., 2013. Web. 06 Nov. 2013. <http://www.art. com/products/p964160764-sa-i4082065/phil-schermeister-close-up-of-carvingon- the-trunk-of-a-quaking-aspen-tree-in-fall.htm>.Tree carving image sample for final inspiration.

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Bailey, Mick. Enjoy Armchair. Digital image. Behance. Adobe Systems Incorporated, 13 Sept. 2012. Web. 06 Nov. 2013. <http://www. behance.net/gallery/Enjoy-Armchair/5144281>. Type in the environment, placed in a busy location.

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Day, Sonny M. “155+ High Quality Categorized Photoshop Text Effect Tutorials.” Tripwire Magazine. Wordpress, 15 June 2013. Web. 02 Nov. 2013. <http://www.tripwiremagazine.com/2013/06/photoshop-texteffects.html>.Image research - PSD in limbs.

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Heller, Steven. “Stefan Sagmeister.” AIGA. N.p., 19 Apr. 2013. Web. 02 Nov. 2013. <http://www.aiga.org/medalist-stefan-sagmeister/>.

Reference information for Sagmeister and how he designs and thinks in the sense of typography.

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Delort, Pierre. “Graphic Designer | Art Director.” Type & Environment. N.p., 2010. Web. 02 Nov. 2013. <http://www.pierredelort.com/typeenvironment/>.Reference for image - Rewind created with VHS tape.

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Designspiration. COMPLAINING FOREST — Designspiration. Digital image. Designspiration RSS. (mt) Hosting, 2013. Web. 06 Nov. 2013. <http://designspiration.net/image/305658341718/>.Reference image for possible final composition.

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Edwin, James. “James Ewin Designs: January 2011.” Web log post. James Ewin Designs. Blogger, 30 Jan. 2011. Web. 06 Nov. 2013. <http://jamesewin.blogspot.com/2011_01_01_archive.html>. Tree typography image inspiration for final.

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Ellie. “Type on Trees.” Web log post. OK Great. N.p., 16 Dec. 2008. Web. 06 Nov. 2013. <http://www.okaygreat.com/2008/12/type-ontrees/>. Reference for type tree carving example - used for final inspiration.

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Flores, Leah. Leahfloresdesigns. Digital image. Etsy. Etsy, Inc., 2013. Web. 6 Nov. 2013. <http://www.etsy.com/listing/121936773/ wanderlust-rainier-creek-forest>.Image inspiration for how I could create limbs out of vines and sticks/limbs and hang them between trees in an opening, not this large, but of similar style. Reference image for final image possibility.

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Hamilton, Gage. Forest for the Trees. Digital image. Forest For The Trees Northwest. Band, 9 Apr. 2013. Web. 06 Nov. 2013. <http://www. forestforthetreesnw.com/2013/04/09/sample-blog-post-1/>. Idea of carving typography into the wood and creating a restricted focal point with a blurred background.

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Howard, Andrew. A Ilha De Caribou. Digital image. Studio Andrew Howard. N.p., 30 Apr. 2012. Web. 06 Nov. 2013. <http://www. studioandrewhoward.com/news-comment/page/2/>.Caribou image of type created with limbs is a concept behind how I would want to portray my handmade typography.

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RESEARCH

DIGTIAL IMAGE ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY •

IOWEYOU ADMIN. “Beautiful Food Typography.” IOWEYOU. IOWEYOU PRESS, 30 July 2013. Web. 2 Nov. 2013. <http://blog.iouproject. com/?p=2907>. Reference for image - French made in coffee.

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Kreski, Proste. Fruits of Forest. Digital image. Proste Kreski. Cargo, 2013. Web. 6 Nov. 2013. <http://ninagregier.com/fruits-of-foresttypeface-typography>. Reference for possible final image composition.

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Lolita. Pulp Fiction. Digital image. Ok Goods. Blog at Wordpress.com, 23 Sept. 2010. Web. 06 Nov. 2013. <http://okgoods.wordpress.com/ tag/forest/>. Example of possible final resolution composition.

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Middleton, Charlotte. Type in the Environment Part 2. Digital image. Charlotte Middleton: Graphic Design & Illustration. Blogger, 26 Mar. 2010. Web. 06 Nov. 2013. <http://cvmiddleton.blogspot.com/2010/03/type-inenvironment-part-2.html>. A beautiful evening Mrs. Grey is an arrangement where you are focused more on the type and less on the environment which represents my concept in a less literal sense.

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Miele, Laura. Play Environmental Typography. Digital image. Behance. Adobe Systems Incorporated, 11 June 2013. Web. 06 Nov. 2013. <http://www.behance.net/gallery/Play-Environmental-Typography/9252073>. Image reference.

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Mother Nature. Digital image. Design You Trust. N.p., 2013. Web. 06 Nov. 2013. <http://designyoutrust.com/inspirations/closer-to-naturetree-branch-font/>.This blog also references http://www.handmadefont.com. (Hand Made Font) for reference to creating typography by hand. Possible inspiration for final typography form.

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Oliva, Kristina. Environmental Type Collage Studies. Digital image. Behance. Adobe Systems Incorporated, 1 Feb. 2013. Web. 06 Nov. 2013. <http://www.behance.net/gallery/Environmental-Type-Collage-Studies/6945023>. Image concept.

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Riley, Charlotte. “Final Major Project: Sagmeister.” Final Major Project: Sagmeister. Blogger, 2011. Web. 02 Nov. 2013. <http://criley0811fmp.blogspot.com/2011/01/sagmeister.html>. Reference for image - Sagmeister’s Typography in the Environment.

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Sagmeister & Walsh. “Adobe 24 Hours - Work - Sagmeister & Walsh.” Sagmeister & Walsh. N.p., 2012. Web. 02 Nov. 2013. <http://www. sagmeisterwalsh.com/work/project/adobe-24-hours/>. Reference to Adobe 24 Hour creation of the word MAX with pencils.

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Scholder, Maarten. Can’t See the Forest for the Trees. Digital image. Talkin.nl. N.p., 25 Mar. 2009. Web. 06 Nov. 2013. <http://talkin.nl/dailyphoto/1149/Can-t-see-the-Forest-for-its-Trees>. Idea of placing the type in the foreground and focusing on the back ground, the type is still readable but you must take more effort to focus on it because I would want you to notice the forest and see the bigger picture before focusing on the details of the typography.

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RESEARCH

DIGTIAL IMAGE ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY •

The Art Institute Chicago, Luke Stettner, Kate Werble, and Stene Projects. Can’t See the Forest for the Trees. Digital image. Stene Projects.

Research & Development, Critic Picks Art Forum - Kate Werble New York, Luke Stettner (USA), Stene Projects, 2009. Web. 6 Nov. 2013. <http://www.steneprojects.se/Luke-Stettner-USA>. Interesting portrayal of overall concept behind can’t see the forest for the trees with a simple typographic composition where the type is overlaid and harder to read making you pay attention to the details and then receive the message, which shows that we do take too much time to see the details and lack the meaning of the overall picture.

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Vassiliou, Maria. Typeverything. Digital image. OCAD U Typography. Tumblr., 29 Nov. 2011. Web. 06 Nov. 2013. <http://typographynarcotics.tumblr.com/>. Possible way to use limbs to create typography letterforms.

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Vicforprez. Gif Beauty Text Quotes Typography Words Green Nature Forest Amazing Text Gif Open Your Eyes Nature Gif Forest Gif. Digital image. Rebloggy. Tumblr, n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2013. <http://rebloggy.com/post/gifbeauty-text-quotes-typography-words-green-nature-forestamazing-text-gif-ope/37291247492>. Possible layout style for final composition. Photo reference.

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