GDS-172 Spring 2018

Book Cover: Some Trick, by Helen DeWitt I ran across this image in the May 2018 edition of Vogue Magazine. It was on page 116 Under the VLIFE section. The thing that caught my attention was the bold approach of using the circles over an old looking painting of a rabbit with the placement of a predatory animal's eyes. The contrast of themes adds interest to the potential of the content. The font looks like Helvetica. The size of each circle establishes a hierarchy of the importance of the information. This book will not be published until May 28, 2018, but I want to check it out.  

Book Cover: Penguin Random House Publishing I like the random composition of this book cover. The decorative type is interesting and reminds me of arranged cut paper. The "r" of the sans-serif type looks like Helvetica, but the "o's" do not look like Helvetica. I was drawn to this design because it looks interesting and is almost hard to read, which made me want to look at it closer.

Reader's Digest , April 2018, Pgs. 34-35, by Marissa Laliberte, Photograpy by Matthey Cohen This is a sample of a series of spreads in Reader's Digest . I was drawn to this layout because it draws attention by being organized and concise. The text is sans-serif, except for the title which is in a serif font. The sentence that summarizes each paragraph is in bold, which adds to the ease of gaining information from the article. The green text helps to provide a visual cue of division between topics and repeats the color of the decorative element at the top of the page. I also noticed that the folio is presented with bars separating the page number, issue and web address on the left side and is in the reverse order on the right side.

Josef Muller-Brockmann Swiss Auto club poster 1954 This is a classic example of International Typographic Style or the International Style. This Swiss style relies heavily on the grid ant sans-serif fonts. The motorcycle violates the grid, but it deserves to stand out. Since this is about protecting children from motorized vehicles it makes sense that the text is so close to the edges creating tension.

Simply Schnucks  April 2018, Pg. 16 This is a page from a free recipe book that I got from Schnucks grocery store. I liked the layout of this page because it looks like a cool and refreshing break from the heat of summer. I like the script title of the page with the sans-serif font.

allure magazine, The Skin Guide 2018, pg. 38 This article layout caught my attention because of the grid use, particularly how the title fits into the grid. This design organizes the information by formatting the text in a logical continuity of formatting. The tracking in the heading and subheadings are very professional looking in that they are handled deliberately. The "y" in directory comes out a little past the boundary of the two lines above it and touches the illustration. It adds interest and looks purposeful. This is probably happening because the letters are wider, but it still works being in the last line. The "G," "R" and "J" together are not the same as any of the core fonts. It is a sans-serif font.

Midwest Living, March-April 2018 pg. 5 This is an ad for www.travelsouthdakota.com  that I found in Midwest Living Magazine. I liked this ad because of the mixture of a hand-drawn script-like font and the sans-serif all caps font as a title. The selling point of the advertisement is centered under the title, working nicely with the natural break of the first sentence. The majority of the font is white and there is also a white mountain effect in front of the composite photography art, which I thought was an unnecessary use of repetition.  (I really do not see any need for the special effects.) I found it interesting that they chose a slate blue for the text at the top and separated information with double slashes. The kerning between the "e" and the "a" in great looks like it could use a bit more space.

Velvet Underground Record Cover, Designed by Andy Warhol I was looking though a book of record covers for uses of negative space. I have always thought this was an interesting design for a record cover because of the white background, the prominence of the designer's name and the absence of the band name. It is so different from most other record covers. Since this is not symmetrical, I would not say that this white space is not passive, because it is almost intrusive. When I searched for the font used for the designer's name, I found this website:  https://fontsinuse.com/uses/8415/the-velvet-underground-andamp-nico   It is an interesting website about typography. The font is coronet bold.

Email advertisement from zenni.com, February 2018 This is part of an ad I received as an email from www.zenni.com. Even though this is from an email, it looks like it would make a good print ad. I like the mix and hierarchy of the three fonts, with the headline being in a classic serif font, while the other two fonts are sans-serifs. The links to the website are also contained within boxes which is a nice differentiation of information. I like the photography and how the subjects in the photo that are not the focal point of the ad are dynamically cropped. The ad is presented with the repetition of  being a delicious deal. You can get a pair of classes for less than the price of a cappuccino and a pastry.

HELLER, S; RAND, P. Paul Rand. London : Phaidon, 2000., 2000. ISBN: 0714839949, pg. 47 I found this ad designed by Paul Rand in a book about Paul Rand. I liked the interesting collage design. The drink recipes add interest to the ad. I am most fascinated by the different uses of leading in the different parts in the ad. I also like how the recipes are grouped with the same treatment of font.

Photographer's Forum, Pg. 23 by Judith Turner-Yamamoto This is an article about a famous photographer. There were a bunch of copies at Parkland and I grabbed one to read. I have never paid much attention to magazine articles until recently, but I like the layout, white space, hierarchy and unobtrusive use of three fonts. (A decorative font, Minion and Helvetica.) The color of the type is perfect, but there is a widow in the third paragraph. I like how everything is centered, but the caption for the photograph on the opposite page looks awkward in regard to the folio.  I was drawn to this article because I thought that I might want to use this style as inspiration sometime.

Krannert Spring 2018 Card, found at Parkland College This is a card announcing the spring 2018 exhibits at Krannert Art Museum in Champaign, IL. I think that the hierarchy of the page layout is good because it is easy to understand on the front and back of the card. The sans serif font looks like Franklin Gothic. There is a stroke on the typeface, which is not that great. The contrast on the front of the card is also low on the left side affection the readability and the legibility. I was attracted to this card because the green color and the image of sky and leaves on the wall reminded me of spring. I would describe it as fresh, energetic, fun and playful.

Ingredient list from boxycharm.com subscription box 1-2018 This is an ingredient list (the list is on the back) for a product from a subscription box sent out in January 2018. The contents inside were a party makeup colors for the New Yer's Day. The design is a simple and informal, used for advertising and product appeal. I like the marquee lights on the type because it has a sense of celebration about it, which is what the theme is about. The emphasis is definitely on the design theme of the month being "Rock 2018." I thought this was an interesting use of typography because it is rough looking, repeating what is going on in the background. This is not a font from the Parkland approved font list because we do not have any sans serif fonts that have letters that are "squished in," in particular the letter "o."  The number one looks like Helvetica.

Print #71 (4) Winter 2017-2018, Pg.16 This piece is an editorial article in Print Magazine about graphic designer Paula Scher. The page layout is a grid style with a text column on one side and images on the other side. The typography of the article itself is a sans-serif font, possibly Helvetica. I was attracted to this piece because it is playful and spontaneous in not strictly adhering to the grid, much like the style of Paula Scher.