My partner and I are organizing our haiku marks by man-made or natural tools, the objects that were used to make the marks, the method in which the tool was used (rolled, stamped, etc.), and then the similarity of the shape and appearance of the marks themselves.

Examples:

Natural: Ginkgo leaf: rolled into a tube: stamped: page of stamped ginkgo leaves organized by similarity

Man-made: bandana: wrinkled: stamped: page of stamped bandana marks

We are thinking about keeping the book small and using either wire-o binding or saddle stitch. (It will depend on how thick our book ends up being. If it’s thicker, we’ll go for the wire-o.)

We are also talking about possibly using a square format for our book to emphasize the meditative qualities of our haiku.

  Filed under: KCAI, VisCom1
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Trees like obstacles

Obscure my view of the sky

Will I make it there?

Haiku by Demy Maher

I was Googling images of clouds (as I needed to find a good cloud to draw from) and I came across this image, which reminded me a lot of what I’m doing in my VisCom class. We’re using imagery and symbols to convey the meaning of our haiku poems.

That’s a very uncertain cloud, if you ask me.

  Filed under: KCAI, VisCom1
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Since yesterday, I fixed the issue with my neon photograph not extending to the edge of the page. I’ve also added some functionality so you can toggle between having the grid showing or not. The toggle function is thanks to the handy-dandy style-switcher technique used elsewhere on this site. (Hooray!)

Here’s the latest version.

Update: I replaced the tiny little neon monogram with an SVG file so it will be crisp and sexy when it’s viewed and/or printed at larger sizes. Vectors, FTW!

  Filed under: KCAI, Typography1
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I made my best layout from last time even better. I added some padding around the whole thing (and a bit of extra space at the bottom) to give it all some breathing room. I also set my properties section in a smaller size.

Really, that’s about it. But it made a big difference. See for yourself:

Before vs. After

I think it looks a lot more resolved now. The scale shift between the paragraphs and the properties really makes them each become their own separate entities. Yet since they’re both working with the underlying grid in the same way, they still have a strong relationship to each other and the rest of the composition.

I’m feeling pretty good about this.

  Filed under: KCAI, Typography1
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Given the choice between body text in an image and body text as actual text in a web page, I will always choose the web page. I am not shy around HTML and CSS (See this website? All me.), so I went for it. I used CSS to set the typeface (Verdana), size, and leading (known simply as “line-height” in CSS) and I used plain ol’ HTML tables for the grid layout. (Check the source code if you wanna see it. I know tables aren’t the greatest method for layouts, but it’s at least reliable.)

Here’s what I’ve done:

Stylesheet (Yeah, it’s a separate file. That’s how I roll.)

Version 1

Version 2

Version 3

Version 4

Version 5

  Filed under: KCAI, Typography1
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Yeah. It’s supposed to say “flicks” but it looks like… something else.

It’s what Ironic Sans calls keming.

So be careful with your kerning, kids. You could end up forming words you didn’t intend to make.

  Filed under: Find&Share, KCAI, Random, Typography1
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Paula Scher is on a mission, much like I am. She is trying to convey the spirit of New York City in a similar way that I am trying to reflect Kansas City in my line studies. She emulates New York’s loud, eclectic atmosphere by creating large-scale work with bold forms and contrasting color. These works stand out in the urban metropolis by being larger than life and more eye-catching than their surroundings. On a much smaller scale, I emulate Kansas City’s diverse collection of neighborhoods by using different kinds of lines that resemble the feel of those areas.

Unlike Scher, I am not advertising anything. I am merely stating what each neighborhood is and how it feels to me. I’m much more personal with my work. I want the viewer to understand how I feel about my city. I want it to be a more intimate experience than Scher’s work. Her intentions are more public, with a much larger audience, and with a more “shout it from the rooftops” feel. My work is a quiet chat over tea compared to hers.

  Filed under: Find&Share, KCAI, VisCom1
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Photo/Line Pairs:

Analog Compositions:

Refinement:

Exploration:

Posters:

  Filed under: KCAI, VisCom1
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This is how my lines have progressed. And appropriately enough, my lines here are all about progression. They are evolving and adapting to their environment.

They start out thin and become thick.

Then they go diagonal, from small dots to larger squares.

Then they become curvy and radiate out from a center point.

Then they become tilted and closer to their viewer.

Then they meet with a tree grate in Westport and live happily ever after.

When I first did the simple version of progression, I thought it was a bit obvious and literal. The lines steadily get thicker and closer together, and that’s about it. I grew to appreciate the directness of it, and it ended up working with this project the entire time. I also think it’s nice that the curved lines paired well with Westport, as it is one of the more progressive parts of town. Overall, I’m very happy with this evolution of lines.

  Filed under: KCAI, VisCom1
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In the spirit of my shiny new WordPress blog, I thought I’d share some website/online grids with you, my lovely reader.

The appropriately named thegridsystem.org is a website that is completely dedicated to the grid structure in design. Their homepage is very minimal, focusing only on the basic elements of design to support their message of loyalty to simple, clean design. They don’t do anything flashy or trendy. Just a clear, beautiful grid. Their carefully sparse use color further emphasizes the importance of the grid (rather than color relationships or imagery). Their website even has a toggle switch where you can turn the underlying grid on or off to see the framework of their website.

TheGridSystem.org acts as a hub for information on using grids in digital design. Everything about this site is based on grids. The design, the name, the content. Even the websites that TheGridSystem links to are grid-based! They don’t mess around. That’s proof that grids aren’t confined to physical, tangible print media. Websites can look good with grids, too. In fact, I might take some cues from TheGridSystem and make my own site more grid-friendly. (At the moment, it’s very boxy but not based on any kind of grid or ratio.)

You might have to access a cached version of their site, as it went down as I was writing this post. *sigh* But when it’s back up, I suggest taking a spin for yourself. It’s a nice web experience.

  Filed under: Find&Share, KCAI, Typography1
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