Zapfino

Since I used Zapfino in my Campaign project, it reminded me of a poem I wrote a few years ago in my UB Publication and Performance class. I'd love to hear your poems--what, don't tell me I'm the only one who writes erotic poems about typography. ;)

It's All About Contrast

Contrast

According to Molly Bang, author of Picture This, we notice contrast--contrast enables us to see. The below stock comp illustrates this principle. Does your eye go directly to the yellow fish? Not only is the yellow fish a contrasting color, but she is also contrasting in placement as she swims in the opposite direction of the school. Swim on, rebel fish, swim on.

Piggybacking on Tracy's Post

I feel in love with the Tom Davie's type posters that Tracy posted (thanks, Tracy!), so I decided to checkout Davie's website. He has a collection of business cards that only a designer can appreciate:

For Rich:

 

For Emily:

 

For Amy:

 

Big Burger!

When I was at Bobby Flay's Burger Palace in Maryland Casino Live a few months ago, I took a picture of the restaurant's meat cooking guide. I like both the simplicity of content and design, and the effectiveness of the chart.

Show & Tell: App

I've only owned my iPhone since August--it was love at first site. Most of my apps are either graphic or  entertainment related. I just downloaded a new app called "just wink." It is a free greeting card app and allows you to---wait for it----create your own greeting cards.




Here is an example of a card you can customize and send:

Design, Booklet, Campaign, Oh My!

I stumbled upon a brochure from OnGuard Online. Their tagline is "Stop. Think. Click." --call to action, anyone? According to the brochure, OnGuardOnline.gov "provides practical tips from the federal government...to help you guard against internet fraud, secure your computers, and protect your privacy." Um, hello, social issue campaign. And while it isn't a process with sequenced steps, it is a saddle-stiched booklet--I've hit the jackpot!

Here is one spread from the brochure. I like how it treats the entire page as one composition with one main idea, not two separate pages with two pieces of content. You'll notice the thought bubble shape provides ample margin space between its edge and the text. And it is centered! I think Amy is on to something. ;)

Doggy Photo Shoot: the forgotten photos

What happens in a doggy photo shoot...gets posted on the web! Here are a few of my favorite takes from my photo shoot with my 12-year-old border collie, Oberon (King of the Fairies from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream). No dogs were hurt during the taking of the photos; humiliated, perhaps...

I am only tolerating this because you have bacon!

Hmmm, bacon...

Bond, James Bond.

Can somebody call me a cab?

I'm too old for this crap.

Is this over yet?

Stephanie better earn an A for this.

Do I have food in my teeth?

Show & Tell: Call To Action, Take II

I saw this "call to action" parked in the Laurel Shopping Center when I was exiting LA Fitness. This interests me because not only is it an untraditional example of a "call to action" but it takes the exact opposite stance on what I plan to base my campaign--voting YES for Question 6. 

Is it this type of extremist to which I should gear my campaign? I don't know if he or she is persuadable.

Show & Tell: Call to Action, Take I

I saw a FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) commercial on ESPN the other day and it really caught me off guard--when it first started, I thought it was a sports related advertisement. Their call to action is very clear: Prepare, Plan, Be a Hero, and specifically, visit their website to find out how to accomplish these items.

I visited FEMA's website--they have action plans for every disaster you can and cannot imagine. Below is a  trifold brochure  from their website that has steps to take in the event of a general emergency:

InDesign Tips

For those of you who are not sure how to give your text boxes "breathing room" or turn off/adjust hyphenation in InDesign:

Inset Spacing (Breathing Room)

If you right-click on a text box, one of the options is Text Frame Options--select that, and then within the options, change your Inset Spacing to whatever number you want. You can also do this for shapes in which you've added text (just right-click on your shape and select text frame options).

Hyphenation

In InDesign, if you set your workspace for "Typography", once you click inside your text box, you will see a hyphenation option appear on your toolbar--simply uncheck it so that your text does not automatically hyphenate.

You can also turn off hyphenation in the Paragraph tool box using the check box.

Sometimes you want to allow hyphenation, so instead of turning it off, if you select the additional options in the Paragraph tool box and then select Hyphenation (see above image), you can alter the settings to ensure your text hyphenates properly. I think these are the default settings, so don't go by my settings. :)

Show & Tell: Favorite Words

Here are a few of my favorite words:

Happenstance
Dichotomy
Assonance
Alliteration
Coffee
Vapor
Archetype
Iconic
Portend
Pedantic
Ubiquitous
Fastidious
Ephemeral
Edifice
Penchant
Cascade
Prolific
Ethereal

Poetry

I love poetry. One of my favorite poets is Billy Collins. I saw him read several times and even have his autograph (swoon!). The first time I saw him read was at the Geraldine Dodge Poetry Festival in 2008. This biennial festival is like the Superbowl of poetry. I was supposed to attend this year's festival and booked a hotel room and purchased a weekend pass, but alas, I hadn't accounted for Saturday class at the time. So next week while I sit in class with my design peeps, my partner will be strolling around Newark listening to poets string words together like pearls.

In the spirit of poetry and design, here is a poem by Billy Collins:

Design

BY BILLY COLLINS

I pour a coating of salt on the table

and make a circle in it with my finger.

This is the cycle of life

I say to no one.

This is the wheel of fortune,

the Arctic Circle.

This is the ring of Kerry

and the white rose of Tralee

I say to the ghosts of my family,

the dead fathers,

the aunt who drowned,

my unborn brothers and sisters,

my unborn children.

This is the sun with its glittering spokes

and the bitter moon.

This is the absolute circle of geometry

I say to the crack in the wall,

to the birds who cross the window.

This is the wheel I just invented

to roll through the rest of my life

I say

touching my finger to my tongue.