Anatomy of a Typeface

The Project

If you aren't in e9 Graphic Design, then you're probably wondering why there are random words targeting specific letters of my name. Well, to rid your confusion, I'll explain the meaning behind these random words and the reasoning as to why they are placed in specific areas. But, before I do, let me explain this project. A few days ago, Mr. Olson taught us that typeface has anatomy. To further guide us, we were assigned this project where we would write out either our first or full name and point out the forms of any letter we desire within our name.

What I Learned

I was pretty appalled when I learned that there were actual words within the English language that would describe the composition of a letter. For example, s is the only letter in the alphabet that has what is known as a spine, aka the squiggly part. And the curvy part of an a? That's a bowl. Letters are just like us in the way that, if combined together, helps us communicate our thoughts, emotions, and has distinct parts that work together to form a whole "body".

How It Went

Shockingly enough, this project went insanely well for me. Of course there were mistakes I made here and there, but nothing that couldn't be easily fixed. It took a decent amount of time to make, and the outcome doesn't look to shabby. Though, if Mr. Olson didn't post the video about this project and how to go through with it, I don't think I would've been able to take the W. Also, I'm getting more accustomed to Adobe Illustrator; our relationship has been promoted from enemies to frenemies. So all in all, I give this project a strong 8.7/10.

Sidewalk Chalk

Last Wednesday, all of the kids in second hour e9 were numbered from 1-14 and put into a group that went with their designated number. You know what that means? If you said "There is a very likely chance that you won't be with people you know/ you won't be with your friends/ That you would be shoved into a group full of people that seem foreign to you.", then you are correct. I was placed in group 2, aka a group filled with decently laid back and quiet dudes. I mean, I didn't mind. But I also wasn't appealed to the idea. When I say they were quiet; I mean, they were quiet. I was as well, but that's because no one spoke until the day we had to put our design on concrete. Which, by the way, was hectic. Before we had to transfer our ideas into the "real world", we got 30 minutes to finalize our thoughts and symbols and neaten everything up. It was fond of the teachers to do so, but instead of finalizing our big symbol mashup, my group took this time to actually talk about what the heck was about to go down. We used these blissful 30 minutes to create the ultimate mashup of a snake, a lion, a sun and moon yin yang, and a shield. Once our half hour was up, we rolled on down to the courtyard and found a nice slab of concrete that was shaded from the sun by a part of our school. Although we had our design planned out, we didn't start immediately; Minor complications were in the way. Minor things as in "Where are we gonna put the snake?" and "Should we color the shield? If so, then what color?" Really figuring everything out and getting situated took us 7-10 minutes of work time. But once we started agreeing and working together, we were on fire! Everyone was doing what they were assigned to do, and in no time we finished our masterpiece. Er, I'm using the term "finished" lightly. Due to some miscommunication, one of the members started to color in the shield even though we agreed not to. We did have the time to complete it, but we quickly ran out of the chalk we were using. I went on a hunt to find that specific color once more, but no one seemed to bear such a color. Though this misfortunate event happened, we trooped on and acted as if it was meant to be like that. My reasoning was that it was a representation of life. I quote, "It shows how, even when you have a shield, you are in your most vulnerable form." Anyways, that's all for now!

A Colorful Wheel

                This, my friends, is a color wheel. Feast your eyes on the beauty and essence that radiates off this masterpiece. Why did I make this color wheel? Well, this week in e9 graphic design, we learned about colors and the psychological effects they have on us. To start off this learning experience, each student in the graphic design department created their very own color wheel in Adobe Illustrator.

               Before we dove into this project, I already had prior knowledge as to what the color wheel is and why certain colors are in specific spots. However, I had no idea how complex the color wheel actually is. Of course, there are the primary colors, which then can be mixed and broken down into secondary colors. This then leads into the creation of tertiary colors, which I never knew the name of until this project. I also found out that you always call tertiary colors by their primary color first i.e Red-Purple, Yellow-Green, so on and so forth. Not only did I learn about the wonders of this wheel, but I also learned how to operate Adobe Illustrator and how to use keys to my advantage. I learned that the control and command keys are pretty much your best friend when you're working in this software. Especially if you want to make symmetrical shapes and text sizes.

              My color wheel went, what you could you say, the roughest version of smoothly? Of course, I completed it and it doesn't look too shabby, but it definitely didn't have to take as long as it did and it was totally possible for it to be more even and less asymmetrical. I tried to go out of my comfort zone and ask help from my fellow peers, which was a nice boost. Did I acquire the help I needed? Well, sometimes. If I really was in a pickle though, I'd ask my teacher and boom! I got great assistance and learned how to do better in the long run. Next time, I would like to think that I could easily do this and find the tools needed to do this project. Other than that, I'm pretty content with my results.