John Meada

Law 1: Reduce

Law 2: Organize

Law 3: Time

Law 4: Learn

Law 5: Differences

Law 6: Context

Law 7: Emotions

Law 8: Trust

Law 9: Failure

Law 10: The One

These are great ways to keep your work under control, and about accepting what your possibilities are.

John Meada is a graphic designer, professor, and author. He is inspired by the works of Paul Rand and Muriel Cooper.

March 24

Stop Stealing Sheep

Ch:1

Type is important to everyone. And it is only noticed when it is bad.

Ch:2

Why type has formed the way it has, and what might happen to it in the future as our culture changes.

Ch:3

Talks about the emotions of type, and how particular typefaces are better suited for certain things.

Ch:4

Talks more about the characteristics of typefaces, which is appropriate for what occasion. What emotions are brought out in people by typefaces that look a certain way.

Ch:5

The small differences in typefaces play a role in how the printed material will look.

Ch:6

The different categories and groupings of type, and why they were created.

Ch:7

A sum up of how to correctly use typefaces, the rules to follow, and how to make good layouts.

Ch:8

When and how to use particular layouts. As well as where some type is appropriate and where is should not be put.

Ch:9

How trends affect what type is popular and okay to use. How typefaces come back and can be revived. Type is never bad, it just needs to be used in a different way.

Newest Version

Basically done, I just need to work on some of the details.

March 10

Animated typography is used to create feelings or environments that printed stagnant type would have difficulty doing.

Its funny how without sounds a lot of the videos seem really chaotic and fast, they dont communicate very well. But when your brain can process the audio along with the visual, it is easier to follow the words. The best movies have a consistent style and variation of typefaces according to what is being said and how.

March 3

The McCoy essay connected with me in the way that she brought up the reactions to minimalism and rules. I also subscribe to the idea of oder and cleanliness, though it happened somewhat naturally. It seems that most of my works just end up being simple and orderly, following the rules and not just adding elements to a page unless I think it actually has a meaning or purpose. Though, I do understand that sometimes the purpose is to be messy and create chaos; I guess I just haven't come across that situation very often. I do wish I could incorporate more free flowing style into my works. More “ugly” with a purpose.

Feb 24

Being able to communicate with text only is something that in turn will make finding visuals easier. You must be able to vocalize your thoughts and describe them to your audience. This will help your organize your thought process and follow the train of thought away from the same visuals that you keep running into in your head. Being able to communicate with an audience verbally or with text will make the visuals stronger.

Kinetic Typography

Boondock Saints

School of Rock

A Few Good Men

The Office

Dark Knight

So Bad

This is something I saw a long time ago in Snow hall, and it bothers me so much. There are about 20 things wrong with it. Is it really that hard to make a poster? The Design building is across the street, its not that hard for them to come ask for help. I mean, I don't try to do math, they shouldn't try to kern.

Design Observer Articles

I really liked the fun and creative way that Stephen Doyle played with words vs. what people see in the images. He would create the words out of real objects, then manipulate them to get whatever effect he wanted. I also found the article "13 Ways" to have some good design points. It is easier to pick a standard set of typefaces, and only work off of those, but also expanding your collection is never a bad thing. Sometimes using something that is ugly, or something that goes against the idea you are trying to represent works better in the end.

Cool Layouts

Take Field Trips

Bruce Mau is a graphic designer known for his environmental and identity creations. He makes wayfinding systems and works on product designs. He has started his own design firm, called Bruce Mau Design, and has worked with clients such as MTV, Nokia, Museums, and the Disney Company. He is also the writer of the Incomplete Manifesto.

Deco Ghost Typeface

Book Covers

Definitions

Series - 

Sequence - 

Sign - Symbol that is agreed upon to represent, indicate, or communicate with the viewer. An exit sign, or a poison symbol. Letters in the alphabet, or shapes.

Index - An index is a feature that implies something else. An image of sunlight could be used to represent warmth. When you hear "bang" you think of what causes the noise, not the noise itself.

Symbol - Connects to large groups of words or descriptions, is interchangeable. An American flag brings to mind patriotism.

John Gall

John Gall is a book cover designer who works for Vintage and Anchor books in Manhattan. His book cover designs tend to follow a style of collage. His works are visually distinctive and bring life to the story that they portray. He says that the way to grab someone's attention for a book is to surprise them and get them interested in how the cover portrays the story.

Chip Kidd

Chip Kidd is a graphic designer who works with book covers. He is a fan of comic book styles and is known for having the two dimensional boundaries of books broken by his cover designs. The characters pull away from books and pages to interact. He does work to include literal parts of the books into his cover designs, but likes to push the limits a bit. Working to surprise the viewers and give them something that belongs to a genre, but that is still unique, is important to Chip Kidd. The environment and what he sees influences his ideas often, he does not just look to one place or style for design ideas.