Fantastic First runs?

Above is the first run at a character set for a critique on monday. There are a few characters that are embarrassingly unfinished, but there is still a lot of time, so no need to be a perfectionist just yet. The "r" to "s" relationship is quite sloppy at this point and the "e" is just eating up a lot of space. The "g" is a little wide and silly. The "t", looking at it now needs to be revisited yet again.

I am really loving how the "a" is moving along...and I think the "w" is nearly balanced which is sometimes a tough thing to work out. Overall there is a nice flow developing...it's just a matter of working out proportions and details which will obviously keep me busy for a while.

Nothing assuages the wounds of a rough week like fiddling with letterforms. Also, feel free to contribute ideas for font...be it names, adjustments, things you would like to see, etc.

Thanks.

-P

Some things: Godspeed You Black Emperor!, midlake, junior boys, Feist, The National, wine and cold hands.

In honor of new directions...

This is simply a little image making to try see how my typeface works in a application. I originally started this whole project with the hope of designing something that could exist in a world akin to Wes Anderson's. As most people know the typeface he is quite fond of is futura...so I began looking at what I liked and didn't like about that venerable german font (Paul Renner 1927).

This then lead me forward through a mess of sketches and ganders at typefaces like akzidenz grotesk, helvetica, gill sans, akkurat and other san serifs. Below is a comparison of said faces to mine (at bottom; click to get a closer look):


















Obviously there is some proportion issues and the "e" is still causing issues. Im liking the openess of the "c" probably worth expanding on that in oother characters. The "v,y,x,s" and various punctiuation are taking form so that will be up here soonish.

So this is where I am at now adding yet more color (now literally) to an increasingly exciting project.

Final "The Cardinal Nothing" Poster

So this poster is the product of a 2-week exploration period. We were asked to choose our material for content. I chose the idea of Nothing as a valuable aspect of our life. The 4 responses take a different stance on the idea, ranging from George's Bataille call against strictly searching for satisfaction...and worrying about end results, Joan Didion's poignant closing lines of "Play it as it lays", and The National basically stating that regardless of what the "end result" is...just make it up as you go. The 4th response is the poster itself (Very Art School you guys).

The title of the poster is then placed next to Genesis 13:9 which basically states that "we are from dust, and we return to dust". Regardless of spiritual views people hold, I think this an important statement that supports the responses.

The title "The Cardinal Nothing" borrows from the language of the religious text (Cardinals are high ranking papal officials usually wearing red) and from language itself as the word means "of prime importance". I chose this title because regardless of what comes after everything...be it eternal life or simply nothing...you should live this life without expectation of something afterward. If this life on earth is simply "nothing", well I'm going to live it how I see fit regardless, burrowing moral values from across the board, and not committing to one man-made view of this massive universe. I'm not interested in"figuring it out" as much as I am the very human journey that we all go through.

This poster was for an "expressive" typographic assignment...which due to my personal aversion to understood "expressive typography" I really wanted to push my formal qualities to express the content as fully as possible apart from cheap typographic "illustration".

It is 18x24 on Acetate...once again emphasizing the idea of nothing.

Cool guys. thanks.

Anna Karina and Kenose (?)

So here is "Kenose" as it were on March 1, 2010. The rest of the lower case set will be developing this week in preparation for a big critique next monday. The "t" is literally a joke right now...but will be refined soon. The "a" is developing into the core character of the face...as it has the most personality.

As mentioned before "Kenose" has taken a friendlier vibe in recent weeks. So much so, that I think I will be abandoning the heavy handed religious polemics that I set out with. Instead I will be looking to treat this face as a companion to my current interests in film. I think the work of both Jean-Luc Godard and Wes Anderson are good places to place a typeface that combines the aspects of disparate type design styles. The "i" and "j" already borrow from the high dot placement (aligned to the Cap Height) inherent in Godard's title screens and the overall "feel" of the face feels like it could fit into the usually All Caps Futura Bold world of Wes Anderson.

Early name ideas include:
Mordecai, Margot, Karina, Tenenbaum, Baumer....etc

So onward and upward!

MusicMusicMusic: The National-"90-mile Water Wall", Midlake-"The Courage of Others", Local Natives in general, Thee Silver Mt. Zion-"Kollaps Tradixionales"

Kenose gets friendly.

So as I move along on my little typeface here, I am noticing that apart from the dark and theological beginning (jokes). That this face is looking a lot happier and friendly than originally intended. This is ok with me. Lord knows there aren't enough cuddly san's serifs out there. At least ones that are just telling the worst jokes out there (comic sans...).

So in short, this guy is still moving toward a synthesis of gill sans (minus being goofy) and futura (minus being agressively geometric). It's coming along, but obviously still needs a lot of work, regarding proportions and character relation. Feel free to give any tips friends.

-P

Something about Nothing

Above is a second iteration for a poster I am making about the idea of nothing.
It contains 4 responses. One being from Georges Bataille, Joan Didion, and the band The National. The 4th response is the poster itself. I'm still tweaking it and will be getting it printed tommorow.

Enjoyed: Midlake-"The Courage of Others", Local Natives-"Gorilla Manor", Working on my typeface and drinking a lot of water.

Business Card 2

This one is a bit more classic/corporate...but I do like the big P.

Business card 1

One Idea for a business card. I looking to get these printed soon so feel free to critique to hell and back friends.


Music in ears: Broadcast, Cynic, Miserere Luminis, Local Natives, ZaZa

Neue Lucifer/Publication Sketches

Above is a collection of some spreads from my upcoming publication for my main studio class. The book is basically a collection of articles, interviews and essays on people who have rebelled against the conventions of their fields. Included in the book are written pieces on Harmony Korine, Jean-Luc Godard, Deathspell Omega, Joy Division, Karl Marx, Georges Bataille, Wolfgang Weingart, and Jan Tschichold. The title, "Neue Lucifer" was chosen based on the fact that all of these individuals rebelled against the structures of their structured disciplines in seemingly destructive and agressive ways. A notion that I see as linked to the characteristics of the character of Lucifer in the Bible, who removed himself for the perfection of God to pave his own way.

I can't stress enough, that this publication is in now way interested in satanism or the silly culture that is associated with it. I am more interested in using the metaphor of the character's actions.

The use of the circle, which at this point has taken an un-desired "friendly" vibe is to reference the idea of the "morning star" or venus (Lucifer in latin). I am in the process of refining all of these ideas and breaking down my own structure that I have created in these preliminary spreads.


Musack: Miserere Luminis-S/T, Thee Silver Mt. Zion-"Kollaps Tradixionales", Beach House-"Teen Dream", The National-"Boxer", Local Natives-"Early demos".

Kenose Progressions

We have begun the digital process of our typeface for my type design class, and the above photo is where I am at right now.

The "s" is proving tricky as balancing out the curves, spine and overall flow of the character involves a lot of detailing. Right now the weight is a little awkwardly placed. The "p" is also pretty wide...but that won't be to difficult to adjust.

The goal, once again, is to create a decent bold sans serif combining elements of geometic and humanistic faces in a way avoids the pitfalls of more "expressive" faces like gill sans and the aggressive geometry of Futura.

The important thing I feel is really paying a great deal of attention to the lowercase letters, as in faces like Futura and Gill Sans, that is where I think things get a little iffy. Gill Sans has some of the most peculiar lowercase forms I have ever seen, and the beauty of Futura's capitals get lost in translation to the lowercase letters as well, creating a somewhat static and unappealing character set.

In short I want to inject the more diverse qualities of Helvetica and Akzidenz Grotesk's lowercase characters in tandem the authoritative Uppercase Futura and Gills Sans letters.

Off we go.

a'listening to: Radiohead-"Hail to the Thief", Beach House-"Teen Dream", A Perfect Circle (for some reason?!)