Week 01: Research Icons

Assignment: This week please look for and collect five examples of Icons. Add the image or photos of these icons to your blog and please add some notes about what you like, or don't like about the icons. How are they effective or not. etc.

1. Nigel Holmes

"When Apple wanted to increase designers' awareness of the Colorsync system, CKS asked me to work on a diagram explaining it. These simple drawings of the hardware that makes use of Colorsync were part of that."-Nigel Holmes 

• I like this first set of icons because of their simplicity. Although they are just simple drawings in only two colors (black and white) they are able to effectively communicate an idea. Also they look like they belong to a set which increases their effectiveness and appeal.    

http://www.nigelholmes.com/work/icons1.htm

2. Nigel Holmes

"Icons for the Journal of the American Medical Association. They were developed to identify different columns in the Journal, and were part of a redesign by Will Hopkins and Mary K. Baumann. -Nigel Holmes

•  I liked this second set of icons because although the main symbols are all different they are look like they belong to the same system because of their style and color along with the same stethoscope showing that the main topics are different but all belong to the same overall idea. 

http://www.nigelholmes.com/work/icons2.htm

3. Nigel Holmes

"Qtopics is a new online polling company. Here are some of the idea that preceded their final logo, which is the larger one at the right." - Nigel Holmes

• I liked these icons because they show how similar icons can be used to create a larger scale idea such as a logo. And how they can be manipulated in different ways but still convey the same idea.  

http://www.nigelholmes.com/work/icons3.htm

4. Post Typography

• Title: If You Liked This...
• Client: Time Magazine
• Year: 2010

"For an article on web recommendation engines, we created this ridiculous flowchart showing how Netflix movie suggestion algorithm might work to recommend Rocky IV to fans of The Sound of Music." -Post Typography 

• I choose this project because I liked how Post Type turned these different movies and ideas into icons and although the subjects are very different they all look like they belong to each other and are able to convey specific ideas. 

http://www.posttypography.com/site/index.php?action=portfolio&tid=10&iid=832

Week 01-05 Forensic Self Portrait Final

Assignment: Collect 21 items; objects that you feel tell a story about you, your life, and your personality. Consider the kind of stories that you associate with each object. Your collection of 21 items should provide a rich narrative that tells us something about you. Create an information map of all the items, transforming each item into a graphic symbol (a pictograph) and pairing each item with text. Using the stories and the pictographs design an information map that maps out these objects and text to provide a forensic description of you.

Week 1 Emotional Typography

Assignment: 

• Compose or select a phrase for example it may be a short phrase "They call me Ishmael..." or it may be a bit longer "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us..." Either way you should choose a word or phrase in English or any other language and consider the tone and meaning of the phrase. 
• Now choose an adjective that you will use to inform your design. For example, what does type look like when it is shy? Or political, sexy, angry, hungry, radical, quiet, formal, conservative, liberal, charming, afraid, creepy, etc.
• Using this adjective to inform your decisions, no select one typeface to work with to design your typographic composition 
• My Adjective- Creepy

Week 01-05 Forensic Self Portrait Part 1-2

Assignment:

• Part 1- Collect 21 items; objects that you feel tell a story about you, your life, and your personality. Consider the kind of stories that you associate with each object. Your collection of 21 items should provide a rich narrative that tell us something about you.
• My 21 Objects 

1. “The complete Adventures of the Borrowers” 
2. Bun-bun 
3. The Oogie Boogie Man 
4. Babushka Dolls 
5. Worry Dolls 
6. Guinness Factory Pin 
7. Fleur-de-lis 
8. Claddagh Ring 
9. Stuffed M
10. Stuffed B
11. Stuffed B
12. "Chelsea Chelsa, Bang Bang"
13. True Blood Season One DVD’s 
14. Chair Bottle Opener 
15. Chanel Chance 
16. Chanel Nail Polish 
17. Pin from the 2008 World Series 
18. Chanel Pin 
19. Villanova ID 
20. Mets vs. Phillies Game & U.S. Open Tickets 
21. Champagne Cork 

• Part 2- Create and Information map of all of the items, transforming each item into a graphic symbol (a pictograph) and pairing each item with text. 

• Write a story about each object.
• Photograph each object
• Draw each object in pencil, pen, or other media, in several different ways. Scan the Artwork into the computer. 
• Open the scanned art work in Adobe Illustrator and using the pen tool, live trace, or other techniques create black and white symbole in Adobe Illustrator based on the photos and drawn images. Note use a grid to organize your symbols. Your goal is to create a common visual language for your pictograms that will be recognizable across all of your objects.