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Class# 11 April 14, 2005

Assignment: “Stationery"

This is a set of your business stationery. There should be
three items in it:
1. Letterhead (US Letter: 8.5 x 11.0 in);
2. Envelope (US Commercial No. 10: 4.125 x 9.5 in.); and
3. Business card (US standard size: 3.5 x 2.0 in.).

Paper stock: white.
Colours: two (black and one chromatic colour).

Pictorial elements:
1. Name symbol; and
2. Word logo–playing up your forename (not your surname).

Text elements:
1. Mailing address;
2. Telephone number;
3. Fax number;
4. E-mail address;
5. Web site URL.

We’ve discussed the finer details of those elements
presentation in class. You’ll have to use the standard
US style in punctuation, abbreviations, etc. Please note
that the contact information on those three elements
should vary (that is, you only need to have your mailing
address on your envelope, etc.).

Some useful tips on addressing mail are offered by the
United States Postal Service at
Street Suffixes
Abbreviations and Acronyms
State Abbreviations

As to the notation for national and international telephone numbers,
there are also many good reference sources, including
the International Telecommunication Union.

As discussed, in designing the envelope and the letterhead
think over their actual use. Make necessary provisions for
the address you are going to write/type on the envelope, the
postage stamp or indicia. The same applies to the letterhead:
it is actually a form that should be filled out. So please
present the envelope and the letterhead in two versions:
blank and filled out (just type a simple letter; think of
the font you would use in writing your correspondence).

Optimise your name symbol and word logo designs to their
size: remember optical scaling? If the name symbol and the
word logo are illegible in a small size–too bad: their
design should be revised and simplified. Logos and emblems
are not illustrations: design them more like type glyphs,
(letters, dingbats–cf. Zapf Dingbats, Wingdings, and such).

Class# 10 April 7, 2005

Assignment: “Signature Style”

1. Create a personal logo that consists of two things:
a. an icon (a non-verbal, pictorial symbol)
b. a word logo (your first name only)
Logos are often made up of two parts (icon and word logo), and each one may be used independently, but MUST also work together. See images below for example, or look at this page for Smithsonian.



Related aside: Yale typeface.

2. Signature typography.
Choose a typeface that you will use for all future communications (letterhead, business card, etc.)

3. Color palette.
It should consist of Black, White and another single color of your choice.

Presentation format:
For next class please create a Letter size document (portrait layout) with the following three elements on the page (top to bottom):
1. Just the icon by itself
2. The icon and word logo grouping
3. The icon and word logo grouping plus your address
Please create TWO versions of this layout; one in Black and White, and one in color. Note that color can be used as a background element.

Please email this 2 page document in PDF form by Wednesday 06h:00.

Class# 9 March 31, 2005

Assignment
Part 1.
Please revise and update your books. For next session please email us the completed books in the proper layout; one that you can print-out double-sided and can assemble into a booklet. If you have questions or problems doing this please get in touch with us, we will do our best to assist you. Also please print and assemble your document into books, and bring those to class on Thursday. Please don’t wait until class to print them, as you will most likely catch something that you might have missed on screen!

Part 2.
Please create a new layout variation, (only a single spread form the book) using a different approach; off-centre, asymmetrical, sans-serif (remember the example Maxim showed in class).

This design should be submitted as PDF, by Wednesday morning 06h00, along with the finished book layout.

Class# 8 March 10, 2005

Assignment

Part 1: Crystal Goblet
Please revise your solutions from last class, taking into consideration comments made in class. Please also design the opening page spread of your book (title, inital cap, etc).
Start thinking about the way your book will flow; check to see how many pages it will take up. Remember that the number of pages should be divisible by four (ie. 4, 8, 16 pages). Here’s a handy guide that illustrates imposition.

Part 2: Type and Emotion
Please choose a typeface that best conveys the essence of the following word pairs:
Love   Hate
Generosity   Greed
Joy   Sorrow
Wisdom   Naïveté
Wealth   Poverty
Think about the connotations that these words have, whether they are personal or universal. Try to pick the typeface that you think conveys them best.

Specifications:
Sheet size: Letter (portrait)
2 words per page (each word pair should appear on same page, one above the other)
Spec the type (size, name, scale, tracking, etc)
Size of type and case (upper, lower, mixed) is up to you.

You can use the fonts you have on your machines or you can create images from type setting tools online. I compiled a list of type foundries and font distributors that have font testing tools. Here is the link to that list: Foundry Links.

Online discussion of Fear and type, on typophile.com

Class# 7 March 3, 2005

Assignment

Please find below the text for your home assignment.
(It is available in both compressed and uncompressed formats.)

Specifications:
Sheet size: ‘US Letter’ (8.5 x 11 in.).
Page size: (5.5 x 8.5 in.).
Orientation: Landscape.
2-column grid for spread (1 column per page)
Your layout will fit 2 facing pages on an unfolded Letter size piece of paper.

Remember, in all display elements the line division is up to you, as is the omission of all superfluous punctuation. Once again, you are expected to subdivide the original text into meaningful sections, and to provide subheadings to those sections. I would also appreciate your briefly commenting on the topics of your choice, and putting your comments as footnotes at the bottom of the type pages.

The deadline for submitting your designs, in PDFs is 06h00 a.m. on Wednesday, March the 9th. I expect your sending me the layouts of two facing text pages (odd and even). Those should include: text paragraphs; subheadings; footnotes; running heads; and folios.
Good luck with your work.

Text to be used
Warde text (compressed zip format)
Warde text (uncompressed txt format)
To save, control+mouse click on the link and
select Download Link to Disk

Class# 6 February 24, 2005

Assignment
Please use the text provided below to create a poster.
Here are the specifications;
Paper size: ‘US Letter’ (8.5 x 11 in.).
Paper color: White.
Paper grade: Regular, photocopy/laser/inkjet.
Orientation: Portrait.
Colors: Black and white (no tints or other colors).
Margins, type area: The choice is yours.
Typeface: The choice is yours.
Type size: Only one.
Type style: Only one.
Tracking, word and line spacing: The choice is yours.
Alignment: The choice is yours.
Line breaks: By sense.
Punctuation: Eliminate unnecessary marks as you see fit.

The objective of this design exercise is to express the
content and the meaning of the text by dividing it into
meaningful lines/groups of words, positioning and spacing
them–without changing either the scale or the texture of the
letters. You must use all the text provided. You also have to
accommodate the name of the author (Beatrice Warde) somewhere.

The text to be typeset:
This is a Printing Office, crossroads of civilisation, refuge of all the arts against the ravages of time, armoury of fearless truth against whispering rumour, incessant trumpet of trade. From this place words may fly abroad, not to perish on waves of sound, not to vary with the writer’s hand, but fixed in time, having been verified in proof. Friend, you stand on sacred ground. This is a Printing Office.

Source:
Beatrice Warde. This Is a Printing Office.
Broadsheet. London & Salfords, Surrey: Monotype Corp., 1932.
Nota bene: Original text in all capitals; original line
breaks removed; capitalisation and punctuation added. mZh

Submiting:
Please create a PDF file of your design and email it to Maxim (zhukov AT verizon.net) and to Sasha (sasha AT chalkfarming.com) by Wednesday, March 2.

Good Luck!

1:05 pm | February 27, 2005  |  filed in: TYPO2