Happy Halloween!

In the spirit of Halloween, I decided to post this spooky expressive type. This is a screen cap of the tv sitcom "The Munsters" starring Frankenstein and his clan. For some reason this show reminds me of a much older version of "The Adams Family" If colour were added to the type it would still be able to reflect its meaning. The dripping liquid is very gruesome and it a perfect font style for Halloween.

I have also included other examples of expressive type.

"The Newport Beach Film Festival" and "Disappear"

expressive type

In my opinion, expressive type has a lot to do with how the type is presented. Last year I was introduced to the work of Stefan Sagmeister, and from what I've seen expressive type is one of the things he does best. Never have I seen any plain, boring type in his work. The text in his work are always dynamic and interesting and has a significant role to play in how the work is interpreted.

GreyGreen - Typographic Expression

These three used of space, movement and position reflect a great sense of design in each artist and a certain amount of thought.  The use of negative space in the first example is quite wonderfully done and is still legible, thankfully, while putting across a different point entirely about, perhaps, criticisms and similarly "negative" thoughts. 

In The Life of a Font

http://debruehe.deviantart.com/art/Suicide-Letter-83194080
http://humanskin.deviantart.com/art/Mug-Shot-Posters-61108558

Something that I have always enjoyed most about typography is one's ability to manipulate typeface in order to create a magnificent piece of work. I had happened to stumble upon these two specific pieces (and many other wonderful works) a while back (although how long ago it was, I'm not quite so sure anymore), and very recently (this past Tuesday, to be exact) I found them again. Like many others before me, I was amused, but astonishment soon followed.

What I particularly enjoyed most in the first piece, Suicide Letter, is how the artist created--and I use this word loosely--an object by utilizing words. For example, take a look at the second image where the letter "n" is jumping off a building. The building isn't really a building, but words that create this image in our minds.

In the second piece, Mug Shot Posters, the artist uses three different typefaces and creates figures out of them. Upon first glance, one might not notice the type right away, but once you do you might find yourself amazed, fascinated and what not. I thought this particular one to be endearing and incredibly creative.

expressive font: what is graphic design?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CvAPBQL_0Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXgtQKBVvLw
I think this is a very interesting video in explaining what graphic design is. It also uses typography to explain it, which is why I chose to post this under the blog of expressive fonts. I think it is very amazing in how they used the fonts and just rotated, made them into different sizes and colors resulting in such an interesting video. I also think that this displays and expresses graphic design really well because layouts and typography is a big part of it. Using this focus really brings out the essence of graphic design and expresses it through words!

Explosion of emotion

The typeface itself is pretty everyday serif but its location and the fact that it is flipped around creates the effect of a tornado. I love it because it is so dynamic and it is a perfect example of how an artist can take something (like type) from every day life and make art out of it. There is a distinct focal point in this piece and to me it looks like an epicentre of an explosion. I like how the artist used red color because it works well with the dynamic nature of the image, however, I do question it's placement in the picture.

After exploring Ping Chen's (the artist) website (http://www.pingchendesign.com/btm.html) further I got inspired because his art is very different. It looks like he is not afraid to experiment. To me that is the best way to go about art and it leads to the greatest results. Spontaneous and emotional art will win over technical art in my eyes any day.

Polina.

It is highly likely that images were being created before words formally were, that the image of a buffalo portrayed by human hand was being accepted before the word for it was, for example. And so, continuing from that, its safe to say that the image has had far more time to be developed and recognized by human beings than the look, sound and nature of any given languages word for the subject itself. This is why I believe the typography commonly involved in such things as advertisements and graphics is such an interesting and likeable venture, as it tries to overcome the historical bias stacked against the written word, but necessary by those who wish to make certain words known to people for various reasons. Typography has transformed over time, to in certain respects, become the art of turning words into actual recognizable images. An example that I can provide are these:

All three of those images were maps of countries, one being of Haiti, and the other two being of the United States of America in totality. These images are composed of type, based on major locations in the respective countries and placed in the area of which they represent in respect to the geographic location. The Haitian map is crafted by the names of the country's major cities, the black type map of the US is composed of the names of all 50 states with the type even mimicking the shape of the state it represents, and the final map is a composite of all the native american names of American cities translated into english. These maps utilize less than recognizable images, and couple them with the more well known words that are related to the same subject, and through creativity describes the unity of a country in various ways.

Expressive type images

When I think expressive type, I think of letters that form something, do something, make me feel something and or look like something. Recently I like typography that form a picture of the word and this is a good example of what I mean. The man and woman words are especially done well. Each of the letters represent a different body part, along with the size and structure of the letter, combined they make a strong composition.

Expressive Type for Albums

The "image" of a album (not specifically referring to only the picture) is very important when it comes to communicating a bands specific style and the way they want to be seen by the public. It is extremely crucial that nothing sets off the vibe or distracts the viewer from feeling that connection between the band when listening to their songs, reading their lyrics, or viewing their artwork on an album cover. That goes especially for type! This little factor seems to go unnoticed at times though, either providing the bridge for pure expression to shine through well communicated lettering, or burning the bridge that would otherwise help to deliver a stronger more powerful impact to the viewer. Here are a few examples of band albums that have just dabbled into the phenomenon that is type, now I ask YOU to decide if their choice of typeface was effective, and has helped to express their passion that is, music.

* It is also important to note that some may try to take expressive font TOO FAR to the point where it can off balance the album considerably or becomes too cluttered and messy (especially when the font is almost unreadable..."Im looking at you Design the Skyline!" *

※ These Fonts Make the Girls Sweat Even More ※

EXPRESSIVE FONT:

When I heard that we had to do expressive font I thought "okay sure, this will be cool". Then I looked at some typography on the internet and I realized that I really wanted to post another music video. Sure, the font on the Google images results page was impressive in parts, but it did not stimulate the mind or the eye the way a video could. With audio and visual input, font can be presented much better. Then I thought "okay, there is no video exclusively with font, I am just going to have to stretch the boundaries again and argue the relevance". But then I realized that there is no need for that as I remembered the music video of one of my favorite electronic artists: JUSTICE. They are amazing and more relevantly, they have at least one video that is almost exclusively font based.

DVNO:

If this is not expressive font, than font cannot express. Using the font of famous logos there is a recognizable shape (ya, I am gonna relate this to elements and principles cause I am a keener) which we make connotations with the words written. This way the video allows us to analyze and think about almost every single lyric. It presents us with the song line expressed in font which is similar but not the same as that that we must relate it to. We are making relations, understanding the song, and because these connections are easy to make, it is just the right amount of mental stimulation for such a simple and fun dance track. (Simple as in: it's not about something deep)

??? expressive typography

???
Never heard of expressive typography so I had to google it.
CLICK:
http://issuu.com/bryangelo/docs/expressive_typography
This is what I found.

In conclusion, through all the examples found in the book online, I can say that expressive typography is typography that is used creativity and cleverly by playing around with type in order to create second thoughts. It creates an image overall, while expressively using type.

I think for type to be expressive, sometimes the most important element is what the type is trying to express rather than the way it is presented. Take for example the picture above.  Though the type on the lighter looks like it was carved on amateurishly and done with little care, the few words written convey why it may have been done so.  The owner fought in the war that inflicted the most psychological damage to U.S soldiers. Soldiers suffered great amounts of psychological damage and stress because they never knew where their next enemy was coming from. The Vietcong often used women and children to throw bombs and shoot at American G.I.’s, thus any man, woman or child was considered a threat. The words express his defiance of death, of his fearlessness in spite of all the threats that surround him and it is conveyed through the lack of care put into the carving of his type. The owner could care less for his enemies, just as he cares less for the way he carves his words.  Just the letters “VIET-NAM” on the lighter will have expressed to any viewer that the owner was a tough and “evil”  “son of a bitch” for surviving one of the most horrid and psychologically harmful wars fought by man.

maeda studio

"Hide and seek"

John Maeda posts some of his works online. And his intricate type works are just beautiful.
But I just have to share Fontpark Water and Fontpark Tree.
I don't know much kanji but seeing his works, they suddenly came to life!
He gave type a new dimension!
I think he made those for pure aesthetic pleasure. Although the colour he used were limited, he really experimented with typefaces, sizes and animation.
He also did a series of interactive calendars for Shiseido with orbiting numbers and exploding typography fireworks. Check out more of his works by exploring the site.

Batman

As for expressive type, I generally focus more on the literal matter rather than form and what not. Here, Sohjunhao has created Batman with text. However, instead of using just pretty letters that create good use of form and counterform, he has chosen to use the passage that Batman spoke near the end of the movie, the Dark Knight. While I don't believe this is the best of works, I can say that it is different. This would obviously be seen as better or more fitting if it was on a dark rainy background, and Batman had intense shading, but in this image it seems as if it's simple writing on a piece of paper. It's not fitting, but I think it's pretty cool...

Theamed Type

Type can do amazing things; from evoking emotions or feelings to forming images and is a crucial part of a project, it is like the cherry on top that brings together and unifies a spread. So i went out and found some genres of expressive type i like to show what i mean.


by: metal-archives

Deathcore type: is a lot more than just letters forming a band's name. It conveys the theme of terror and darkness through the long thin strokes that look like they were nervously scratched into a wall by a psychopath.


by: roberlan

Vintage Type: expresses class and nostalgia and is very calming. It says that the product or poster you are using it on is tried and true and has experience, i find it a very 'secure font' genre.

All in all, type doesn't have to form a image with it's positive and negative space or flow all around the page. Just by using a specific font and decoration style it conveys and expresses a message just the same.

-Alex G

Three Ads using Expressive Type

This poster advertizing a James Brown appearance really spoke to me because the different wavy strips of 2d type on the page really give off a 3d effect, as well as actually capturing James Brown's strange face. The arrangement of the words form a picture that really looks like him, and that amazed me. The creases in Brown's face are formed by the negative space between the lines of type and his eyebrows, hair, and all else are all formed by the same one effect. I like looking at this, because it kind of creeps me out. Also, the pervading colour is blue but there are dashes of other colours in his "aura" that are subtle and compliment the blue nicely as well as give a subtle effect of warmth and light. His teeth really stand out against the blue and the black and this focuses your eye on his face, as well as the information which is done in a complimentary yellow. Look at his tongue in particular and his top lip- so much 3d depth in the way the letters are sloped and positioned. The colour of the blue letters darkens slightly towards the top/back of his face to accentuate the 3d feel, and also the words tighten/get smaller to show distance. This is a very complex image! And some hilarious "white space" acting as his hair.

This next ad for CocaCola Light Lemon is so ingenious and simple. I just love it so much. I'm always interested in what the big huge companies do for their adertizing because I imagine them to have a huge unlimited budget and like, how fun is that. So seeing how ad creators choose to use their freedom is quite interesting. In this case we see a simple, concise and literal sign, all the while remaining understated, chic, timeless and very classy (even though it is coke. I admit it: I don't even care because I love coke.) Anyway, here we can see the perfect execution of natural items (though here it looks a bit digitally enhanced and manipulated) to make a perfect replica of the classic coke logo "C", and to have a logo be instantly recognizble by only one element is a beautiful achievement in itself. This ad demonstrates everything it wishes to say in a simple way: Coke, Lemon, light. That's all this ad contains, and I am in love with it. The information at the bottom consists of an image of the product very tiny. Amazing. If I were to imagine one step further I would say that the top swoosh of the letter C is pointing towards the light, alluding to a sense of the divine. That's a pretty confident ad. I heard once that the McDonalds big "M" logo was inspired by the gates of heaven, and it's seen as one of the most successful logos of all time.

Finally, this Penguin ad uses a slab serif font that still retains a modern and embellished feel but still shys away from the ultramodern feel of sans serif fonts. I feel that this font is trying to allude to typewriters and what those letters looked like on the page. Paris is rich in history (especially literary) so I feel like this is a very appropriate font choice. The big "A" is obviously illustrating the Eiffel Tower right at the heart of "Paris" so the idea is simple, and once again elegant. Furthermore, the background is a very beautiful, textured and simple page of a book with creases suggesting a love of reading, because new books are exciting, but unexplored until you crease them up a bit by reading them. As Paris the city has history, bookpages with creases have their own history: It shows they were read once. The paper is white, but it also seems to look a little big blue, and the letters P, R, I and S seem to be a very dark blue instead of straight black, which might have detracted from the 'flow' of the image by standing out against the background and the "A" too much.

-Lauren

Expressive Typography

Expressive Type can be quite hard to pull off without being too literal. Expressive Type is a type of typography. Letters are not just abstract notions or carriers of meaning. They are also real, physical shapes. In typography, the form, size, and font of the letter are used as visual elements and there is not really a single style associated with this type.Most typography tends to create form with meaning based on the word itself. However I feel that creating form with the associated word with different form, size, and font successfully creates Expressive Type without being literal as long as it isn't too direct.

our dreams drench us in senses...

Expressive type is actually quite rare - often we see typefaces that are easily legible and simple to demonstrate the data being related.  A site that I find extraordinarily interesting is handmadefont.com where there are numerous fonts created by every-day objects (fabrics, foods, liquids, etc.).  But what I really want to share is this short advertizing film for the Typophile Film Festival 5:

Typophile Film Festival 5 Opening Titles from Brent Barson on Vimeo.

I love the way the text flows from one phrase to the next, as the text form changes and relates to each sentence.  I think this use of type is really innovative - using simple objects to create letter forms, instead of simply using already formed text.  The use of texture, colours, space, movement, are all focused on the distinction of each typeface element - what the words are made from and why. 

- Joelle

michel keck

Michel Keck has created many collages of dogs using vibrant colours, texture as well as features of the actual dog(such as eyes and nose). The background is generally on lined paper, but always a different colour or texture. The patterns are unique and the colour choices are vibrant. They make a good collection!

For all the dogs...check out the link below!

http://www.moderndogart.com/

Fragility

Link to original: http://atmosblue.deviantart.com/art/spill-65327249

I was looking up collages on deviantART for inspiration and this caught my eye (as well as Angela's as she requested that I put this up on the blog). At first glance, the contrast in colors is eye catching and attention grabbing, but after looking at the image, and reading the artist description, you find that there's a lot more to this particular piece of work.

The bird (I'm not sure what type of bird it is, though if anybody can tell me then that would be awesome) was found with a broken neck. With our daily routines we often forget how fragile life is, how precious it is, how precious time is. What strikes me the most about this piece is how it reminds you of fragile life is--small, big, animal, and human.

"Still-life"
Tom Wesselman

This is a mixed media piece I saw once in the Albright Knox gallery in Buffalo, and that has come to be the face of mixed-media art in my mind. The piece's title hints that it may be a painting or photograph, however upon immediate close inspection it becomes inherently obvious that this is, in fact, a collage. The primary colour balance and overall composition of the piece is what immediately takes the interest of the viewer, however it's strange and slightly unnatural status is what makes them decide to stay. As collages typically incorporate already crafted images and compositions in their own composition, their true power as an art form is in their ability to create another idea entirely from the ones used to create it. A perfect example of this is the way this piece incorporates one of the paintings of Piet Mondrian, but instead of showcasing it, the piece assimilates it into it's form, as it does with the pentagram and the food on the table, all of which are something entirely separate when individually segregated, but together formulate the unified body that is this piece; a formula that I find makes collages successful.

Mushroom cloud

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

This collage is by an artist named Felipe Guga. At first when I looked at it i thought it was a tree, but when I looked again I realized its a mushroom cloud. I love the execution of all the different images. The use of colour is really nice instead of just regular mushroom cloud colours.    

http://www.flickr.com/photos/felipeguga/ Check out Felipe's other collages.  

-dawnice

The Art of Magazine Collage!

Pavel Shangin has only been designing magazine collages for just under 7 years, but in that time has acquired a remarkable level of design capability. His choice of objects, placement of elements, and strong sense of colour all communicate together to form a beautifully rendered and unified composition of many different ideas that can be interpreted in so many ways by the viewer. These are 3 of my preferred collages that he has done in the past...

wedding cakes

Although a wedding cake may not be noticeable as a collage at first, but if you look closely, you will be able why i have chosen to talk about them as a collage. Wedding cakes are usually very elegant and have a lot of decoration and little patterns on them. They also have a lot of floral elements and are usually a few stories high. Because of this, I have decided that if you break down the wedding cake into its components, everything will only be as a single piece of art. When you put them all together, it becomes a bigger piece of art, making them falling into the category of collages. The unique ingredients each have their own taste such as the fruits and the cream that is a part of the cake. When you eat them together, it creates a even better taste, making it a wonderful collision of both visual and culinary art.

Objects Collages.

The second photo is done by another collage artist called Zac Freeman. So what he does is basically take objects that we daily use and put them together to make a portrait (buttons, remote control buttons, small wires...etc). I am not sure how big the actual piece is, but it is not that big since he used buttons in it. There are zoomed pictures. I love how much patience he has to make this, this is not something that would be done in an hour, it needs focus and you have to keep stepping back from the piece to make sure everything is in place and then go back to the piece, then step back again to review.... So it took a long time and a lot of effort. I think it's unique because I really haven't seen many of those before. I think it is an amazing piece.

COLLAGES.

"untitled" by Samm.

So the reason why I chose this picture because obviously, it is a collage, and it also has a great meaning behind it. The person who did this collage is called Samm ( I couldn't find the last name), and she did "Shave for a Cure" to support cancer patience. I think it is extremely generous of her, since hair is a huge deal for most girls and to give it up voluntarily to support something is just great. On the picture it says: "You are beautiful now, you will be beautiful bald, too", that just gives the cancer patience more hope and at least put a huge smile on their face and give them great inspiration!

3D Collage Artist - Adam Neate

I love collage because I like art that's created through having restrictions or limitations, because it's through these boundaries that sometimes new and interesting things are produced rather than having total freedom at your fingertips. Collage I feel involves some form of limitation because you can only kind of work with what's available, but something great always happens because of pushin the boundaries of your art form. I wanted to showcase a different 'dimension' of collage, and it's in 3D.

Adam Neate is a British artist who began his career as a graphic designer (in the advertizing field) and then began to experiment with cardboard, according to a website "because it was cheap and plentiful."

He gained notoriety as a street artist who would create little pieces of art/sculpture and leave them around the streets of London for anyone to play with or take home. This appeals to me because I heard once that the purest form of art is art that's free, because once money gets involved it influences the art and renders it slightly untrue. It's an interesting notion.

Anyway, here is a website that contains a lot of interesting images of Adam Neate's 3D collage-work.

http://www.twistedsifter.com/2011/01/3d-artwork-adam-neate/

The images are very colourful, and kind of creepy, medical, light-bright explosion, and cardboard piano-fingered goodness. It takes collage to another level, creating a 3D environment. It's otherworldly.

Hope you enjoy!

-Lauren

All is Vanity

col·lage
noun /kəˈläZH/  /kô-/  /kō-/ 
collages, plural

A form of art in which various materials such as photographs and pieces of paper or fabric are arranged and stuck to a backing
A composition made in this way
A combination or collection of various things

Link to original: http://mathiole.deviantart.com/art/All-is-vanity-76733492

I decided to start this post with a definition, followed by a piece of art, because I felt it was necessary to explain, while not explaining with my own words, that collages aren't necessarily always pieces of work that look like it thrown together without careful thought. I have loved mixed media art for a long time, more so when they've been executed well. I came across this particular deviantART user, mathiole, and found that every single mixed media piece they've created was wonderfully executed and the attention to detail was spectacular.

Links to some other pieces:
http://mathiole.deviantart.com/art/Blumen-Von-Nichts-64762325
http://mathiole.deviantart.com/art/My-meridian-1-74880243
http://mathiole.deviantart.com/art/Butterfly-effect-125572899

Do give their gallery a visit!

Vintage Collage

collage s63 by ~woefoep on deviantART

I kind of have a love hate relationship with collages; to me they can amazing and inspiring, but i also think they can be overwhelming and tacky at times too. I guess what i mean is i like simple collages with strong meaningful items, not those kindergarden magazine collages we all slapped together at one time. A strong theme i like is vintage or retro items, so the collage i found is perfect and i think it is amazing.

I say this because it has a pleasing composition, great texture and it tells a nostalgic story of travel. The boats are balanced off with the squares of paper in the top left, also the oranges and the blues compliment each other nicely. Another thing is if you look close you can see a nice scratchy texture on the water and a vintage grunge on the paper. Finally, i like it because it is not cluttered.

-Alex G.

pastel imagination

     Ever since I was a wee lass, I have always torn apart magazines, coloured paper, photographs, and used random mediums to build collages - any topic.  The wonder of collage is the minds ability to grasp one image, then dart to another, then to another.  Depending on the rendering and use of shapes and colours, an idea can be portrayed through a collection of wide-ranging items and images.

     I love this image and the use of old images, fabrics, printed paper, changing forms, and key focal points.  The colours give an over-all feeling of a childhood memory with a romantic style collage. 

- Joelle

whoa

I love collages. It's a time to put surrealism into effect by using images and combining it together. COLLAGE: Combining images together to create a whole new story.

I came across these photos a while ago and was very attracted to the surrealistic fun of the photos. These are just three of the photos that I found.

What do you guys think?

                                                                                ?

So why did I choose these three particular collages? I love the silence of the photo and how a simple change of object or by adding objects in a photo can create a silent story of thinking and pondernment. For example, the ladder with the tree branches growing on the top, shows a silent image as your eyes look at it and you try to create your own story to it.

Collages are very interactive and it allows you to wonder about the chosen images and the overall image that it creates.

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