#communicationdesignstudies

Week 1

A photo of our first task in our first class of Communication Design Studies.

We had to invent a font out of the items we had brought with us to class and make our name out if it. 

My initial thoughts were like “this is different!”  then I thought it’d be easy, with my long laptop charger I thought I could make my whole name! But then realised I couldn’t and the task became a little more challenging than I thought...

I started by making a scripted style letter ‘y’ with my laptop charger cable and it looked awesome with the letter flowing, but then I realised it’d be quicker to create the shortened version of my name as it would be easier, due to us only having 15 mins to create it.

After playing around with all the items I had and still not actually creating my name yet, I realised we only less than 5 mins left and somehow I created (what you see in the image) all at once without properly trialling different combinations of my items and yet it turned out pretty great (and at the least, legible).

02 March 2020_Week 01

My name is...“Mia”.

A voice sounded from my ear... "Please use everything you have to make up your name." by one of my lecturers.

I was stunned for a while, and then I reacted because I do n’t have much stuff today. It ’s the easiest stationery to make up the English alphabet but I only brought a pen...I noticed that my classmates come out with stationery, cards and other things that can make the alphabets. However, I was distressingly searching for what else was in my bag, and I found that the laptop charger might be a great choice.

After several practices, the design of "Mia" was finally completed (Photo 1 attached). Although the laptop charger has become the main core of the letter, adding the mouse seems to add a little creativity to the whole effect, and it will not be so boring. At the same time, I also used several receipts to create another type of font (Photo 2 attached). In contrast, I prefer the design of the first idea because the charger is more challenging.

GRAP2199 | Week #9 | Lecture/Relevant research

The Memphis-filled apartment of Raquel Cayre. Photo: Bobby Doherty/New York Magazine

1986

Pee-wee’s Playhouse debuts. The spirit of the Memphis style (though not necessarily the philosophy) enters the mainstream. The movie Ruthless People, drenched in Memphis-inspired décor, comes out that year, too.

October 1991

Karl Lagerfeld, who filled his Monaco home with Memphis furniture, sells his entire collection at Sotheby’s.

February 2016

Supreme releases an apparel-and-skate-deck collection designed by Alessandro Mendini, who exhibited in the first Memphis show.

03.05.18

For this workshop we looked specifically at collages and zine-making. We were given lots and lots of magazines to go through and pick out images that caught our attention. We photocopied them and had to try and find letterforms within the images. I found it somewhat difficult at first, but quickly picked up the ability to see letters in the textures and positioning of models in the images.

Putting the images against a colour background made it easier to isolate the letter and see whether it was a smart choice. My favourite one I created was the letter “H” against the green background. I felt it worked well because I was able to utilise the pose that the model was making, cutting it out to make the letter without really changing the image.

I then cut up some of the coloured paper and created a zine with the images. I liked the hands-on aspect of zines, getting up close and personal with the design. We get so caught up in making things digitally that we forget how inspiring and helpful it can be to put pencil to paper and cut and paste things.

For our first Communication Design Studies assignment we are tasked with creating our own typography. While looking for inspiration I found this clever use of toasted cheese sandwiches as typography.  

Guessing I’m the only one who didn’t have clear objectives for a particular course. I was thinking that uni is going to be a challenge for me and I’ll give it a try and see how it goes. I mean time flies... I was like, hæ?! didn’t even have time to set a goal and already sitting there tearing my bag apart looking for letterforms. I guess I do have a general objective like to explore and achieve ‘something’. One thing good about it is I can always easily surprise myself as I didn’t expect anything.

As for the course itself, it’s absolutely my favourite out of all the courses in semester one. The contagious laughter when everyone saw the Triadische Ballett is still in my mind. Other lectures also expanded my horizons in terms of some historical design movements, intriguing stories behind the matters. The workshops which were dedicated to teaching us practical design techniques and letting us explore and experiment hands-on activities. Our lectures and workshops were simply full of interesting, relaxing and enjoyable vibe, can’t imagine how much effort did Andy and Karen put in just for not making us feel stressed about the schoolwork.

The one I have to talk about is the Ask Me Anything assignment. I really think I’ve learnt a lot through this project, not only about zine making, but it also pushed me to complete an interview with my favourite creative. I’ve never thought about interviewing creatives on social media since I just felt that they wouldn’t have the time or willingness to spend on an obscure follower. The truth is, all the creatives I’ve asked were so nice and down-to-earth, some of them even had no complaints about responding in two languages and took time out of their busy schedules.

I’ve been inspired by several new creatives I found during this semester, and I did interviews with some of them for myself, the results were very inspiring and encouraging. I’ve done something I wouldn’t try on my own if there was no this course. Have to say it’s my pleasure to be part of this course. Thank you so much Andy and Karen!

I really think that keeping this short is much harder than keeping it like an essay in length...

Assessment 3: "Ask me anything!" Final design.

JPEG - All the pages (frontal, separated); GIF1 - Front view; GIF2 - Back view.

The general concept is to use transparency and overlapping composition to arrange the bilingual responses from my chosen creative @heikala . I’m happy with my outcome (generally...), but anyway it didn’t turn out the ideal way as I thought. It seems like there are still many crucial aspects to be improved. 

There are definitely many better methods of binding those sheets, Rivet binding makes a quite uncomfortable reading experience for my design as it has contents at the back of the pages... I had no choice though due to those tricky, slippery acetate sheets, and the thin bezels on some of the pages. Spiral or comb binding would be better in this case.

Another thing is that the staff from the printing store were too busy to trim the printouts from the original A3 sheets so I had to do it myself. The acetate sheets and the 300gsm glossy sheets were quite tricky so that I think all the pages I trimmed are slightly different in size, which leads to the transparent parts can’t match the following solid papers.

Have to remember don’t ever leave anything until the last minute cuz things always go wrong, somehow... should’ve done some printing and binding trials before.

GRAP2199 | Week #8 | Lecture/Relevant research

Continued to explore the legacy of the Bauhaus.

SWISS DESIGN

Often referred to as the International Typographic Style or the International Style, the style of design that originated in Switzerland in the 1940s and 50s was the basis of much of the development of graphic design during the mid 20th century. Led by designers Josef Müller-Brockmann at the Zurich School of Arts and Krafts and Armin Hofmann at the Basel School of Design, the style favored simplicity, legibility and objectivity. Of the many contributions to develop from the two schools were the use of, sans-serif typography, grids and asymmetrical layouts. Also stressed was the combination of typography and photography as a means of visual communication. The primary influential works were developed as posters, which were seen to be the most effective means of communication. 

EMIL RUDER

Emil Ruder was a typographer and graphic designer who helped Armin Hofmann form the Basel School of Design and establish the style of design known as Swiss Design. He taught that, above all, typography's purpose was to communicate ideas through writing. He placed a heavy importance on sans-serif typefaces and his work is both clear and concise, especially his typography.Like most designers classified as part of the Swiss Design movement he favored asymmetrical compositions, placing a high importance on the counters of characters and the negative space of compositions. A friend and associate of Hofmann, Frutiger and Müller Brockmann, Ruder played a key role in the development of graphic design in the 1940s and 50s. His style has been emulated by many designers, and his use of grids in design has influenced the development of web design on many levels.

JOSEPH MÜLLER-BROCKMANN

As with most graphic designers that can be classified as part of the Swiss International Style, Joseph Müller-Brockmann was influenced by the ideas of several different design and art movements including Constructivism, De Stijl, Suprematism and the Bauhaus. He is perhaps the most well-known Swiss designer and his name is probably the most easily recognized when talking about the period. He was born and raised in Switzerland and by the age of 43 he became a teacher at the Zurich school of arts and crafts.

Perhaps his most decisive work was done for the Zurich Town Hall as poster advertisements for its theater productions. He published several books, including The Graphic Artist and His Problems and Grid Systems in Graphic Design. These books provide an in-depth analysis of his work practices and philosophies, and provide an excellent foundation for young graphic designers wishing to learn more about the profession. He spent most of his life working and teaching, even into the early 1990s when he toured the US and Canada speaking about his work. He died in Zurich in 1996.

Images:

1. Josep Müller-Brockmann, Auto Club of Switzerland Poster, 1955;

2. Cover of Typographie by Emil Ruder;

3 & 4. Page from Typographie by Emil Ruder;

5 & 6. Biography Eye Magazine Josef Müller Brockmann by Kerry William Purcell.

Designishistory.com. EMIL RUDER. Retrieved from http://www.designishistory.com/1940/emil-ruder/

Designishistory.com. JOSEPH MÜLLER-BROCKMANN. Retrieved from http://www.designishistory.com/1940/joseph-mueller-brockmann/