I started off the module with little clue of what I was
really interested in and unsure of a topic which would synthesis practice and theory
as the module asked for. My initial idea during the summer break came from
watching several documentaries and films based around the 1980s and it was to
investigate into future ideologies based on the knowledge back in the 80s as an 80s perspective. This
was the basis of my context of practice proposal form but later realised, after
several presentations and mountains of research, that this was the wrong focus
and really my topic was all based around the fascination of the computers
introduction and its effect on design in the years to come. Sitting down with
my context tutor I then realised that this was too broad and needed narrowing
down further. So after much discussion I finally came to my topic which focussed
on how the introduction of the computer and other digital platforms affected
typography.
My written element looked at the question ‘How did the introduction of the computer and
other digital technologies influence and change typographic design?’ and I
found that researching the topic was very easy because as I found numerous
sources, books journals and online, that discussed directly the subject that I looked at. I found the
process of researching enjoyable because I was enthused by the final topic I
had chosen and whilst writing could see a practical piece that would work great
alongside and synthesise. I researched
into areas of type and visuals that I never really looked at or studied in much
depth such as letterpress, email and font file systems and found it intriguing.
This was an easy process and one of my strengths however referencing and word
count I struggled with until the very end but was eventually happy with the substantial
written piece I had achieved.
To synthesis with the written piece my practical was to design a digital typeface which had the appearance of traditional to show the trends and cycle within type design back to traditional aesthetics. As I had learnt in my writing I need to distribute the font in a suitable way and because my concept is to explore traditional and digital it made sense to create a print and screen based version of a type specimen book. The content within would explain the types concept and purpose.
Strengths during the project were web coding skills as I am pleased with the outcome and how it functions. I have kept navigation to a minimum to follow the simple folding methods of the specimen booklet which allows the user to view the visuals at ease. Again follows my concept of digital type being easier than traditional.
Deciding on my initial topic to focus on was difficult to me
as at the end of the second year I was unsure of what type of designer I really
was. By leaving this so late in the module to decide upon meant that my
research had to be re done when I should have been writing so this held me up
massively causing elements of the practical to be rushed such as the final
printed production. I am slightly disappointed with how the final print turned
out because with the lack of time I had left myself after finishing the writing
meant that I was unable to source better stock so the printing quality and
overall visual is poor. It does not match the pure white colour of the website
which I was hoping for but was suitable for folding as I desired. With the
website I am disappointed with the lack of scrolling effect as I had mentioned
when mocking up and creating my design sheets but again I would have needed
more time to develop the coding to work properly.
To tackle these weaknesses next time I would look to manage
my time much better and making decisions much faster so that the process can be
speeded up. With this poor judgement of time I also left contacting letterpress
studios for primary research too late which gave little time for them all to
reply fully. Next time I would complete this earlier in my research stage so
that I would leave adequate time for a full response. However I did learn a lot
with the little responses which I received and they played a direct part in the
content of my practical and its’ production. Time management is still a major concern for me and has affected me greatly during the whole of this module causing me to not include certain elements to my designs as not enough time to figure out how they would work. Photo skills are terrible too and have resulted in my finals looking poor on my presentation boards in the future I am going to look at investing in better lighting system or getting someone else to take them.
Overall I am relatively pleased with how the module has
turned out as a whole. During the process I have realised my love for digital typography
and the manipulation of it but also print production methods once again. I feel
that my practical synthesises well with the written element as I have visually
created a font that represents my direct findings within chapter four but I
have also had to adapt to suit digital, legibility and the audiences needs that
was discussed throughout the investigation.
