DESIGNER, ARTIST & SCIENTIST
MOTION DESIGN BLOG
Revised Explainer Video : Typography
Explainer Video: Storyboards
Explainer Video: Creative Brief & Outlines
My video will explain the nuances of typography that I learned about a couple semesters ago in Joel Swanson’s Advanced Typography class. I’ll also explain the elements of typesetting, and how to classify different typefaces based on key characteristics. Lastly, I will show when different types of fonts emerged over time, and how their historical context contributed to their unique appearances. If I have time, I will go over the rules of “good” typesetting and fonts, and show some examples of typography no-no’s. Given the context of typography, I think a “Bauhaus” aesthetic may be fitting; this aesthetic would include bold shapes and lines, primary colors, minimal forms, and sans-serif fonts. I will use this aesthetic to my advantage when designing my animations -- using the lines, colors and shapes to assist in creative transitions and engaging visuals. Unlike my previous projects, I also want to use more hand-drawn animations in this video. During our previous critique, another student recommended the digital art program “Procreate,” so I think I’ll give that a try! With my previous experience as a fine artist, I think handmade animations will give my project a personal touch, and will make my visuals more interesting. It would be fun to incorporate some Bauhaus-style photos and images of old posters for educational purposes. In After Effects, I want to focus on creating natural / well polished movements for my objects using expressions and a physics plugin I just downloaded. Since my project will be focusing on typography, I’ve been watching some Youtube tutorials about text animations such as the “write-on” effect. I plan to use these tutorials to emphasize the form of some fonts I will be discussing.
Outline
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Typesetting
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Kearning
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Baselines
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X height
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leading
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Anatomy
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Ascender
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Descender
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Bracket
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Serif
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Sans serif
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Terminal
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Crossbar
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counter
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Typeface Classification
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Old style / humanist
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Transitional
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Modern
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Slab serif
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Humanist sans serif
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Geometric sans serif
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Scripts
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Blackletter Fraktur
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History of Typefaces
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What were they used for?
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Where did they originate from?
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Typography Sins
Project 3: Sound Visualization
Project 3 Creative Brief
For project 3, I plan to use f 3D cameras, audio-visualization tools and audio spectrums, and pre-recorded photo and video elements. The song I’m using, created by a friend of mine, doesn’t have lyrics, so the video will be completely image-based. My primary focus will be precise synchronization of my visuals to the song to create a building, climactic effect. My mood board is inspired by the “After-Hours” aesthetic -- this aesthetic goes well with my chosen song, and involves nightscapes, neon lights, city scenes, and gritty, high-contrast images. I plan to use the overall darkness of this aesthetic to my advantage because it will help me blend together the various tools and animation techniques into a cohesive product. I'm thinking of recording videos to use in the project, but I may opt for found footage. Overall, I think the integration of video and animated drawings / shapes will create an interesting, assemblage-like feel. Using the 3D camera, I want to produce the sensation of movement through my images. I will then edit and draw on these images via After Effects and Illustrator. Lastly, I will incorporate several masks and simulations to create the neon lights, haziness, and glow effects.
Project 3 Mood Board
Sound Visualization Exploration
Expression Sandbox : Bugs
Project 2: Motion Infographic - Food Allergies Explained
Storyboards: Motion Infographic
3D Fly Through Haiku
Motion Infographic: Creative Brief
All my life, I’ve struggled with food allergies to nuts and sesame seeds. I’ve also overcome several food sensitivities using odd diets, eliminating dairy and gluten for over 3 years. During my childhood, I was constantly bullied because I was different from the other kids, who often assumed I was making it all up. Even in my adulthood, my friends and family still make fun of me -- calling my life-threatening food allergies a “preference.” I don’t blame them for thinking this way, as gluten / dairy free dieting has become a huge craze in recent years, making the allergy-friendly lifestyle seem “trendy”. However, I feel that American society has built this false association between allergies and being “high-maintenance” because we are uneducated about the causes and effects for those who suffer them. In my infographic, I plan to break down all of the things I’ve learned, including the possible causes, the chemical effects on the body, and the increasing rate of allergies in the US as a result of unhealthy eating and genetic modification. I wish an infographic about this existed when I was a kid so that other children could have understood my experience. Using the fun, interesting medium of animation, I think kids would be able to easily learn about allergies, and would develop more empathy for those around them. As for my technical approach, I plan to use my own vectorized drawings from Illustrator, and to combine these drawings with the new skills we’ve learned (cameras, 3D objects / images, and rigging) to develop images and characters. I will to base my images and graphs primarily off of data I’ve found on the FARE (food allergy research & education) website, as well as some scientific information from the mayo clinic website. Lastly, I want to give the video a personal touch by narrating it myself.
Rotoscope: Danny From Grease
walk / dance cycle
Kinetic Typography Project: Final Product
chosen audio: "I Needed Color" [5:03-6:03]
Kinetic Typography Project: Creative Brief
For my Kinetic Typography project, I will be using a 60-second segment from the film, “I Needed Color,” a documentary about Jim Carrey's transition from his successful acting career to his infatuation with painting. The audio was very meaningful to me as an artist, as Carrey explains that when we create something or do what we love, we express our love for living, and show gratitude for the world around us. I also think the subject matter from the clip nicely communicates the values we hold in the TAM program, showing how various mediums can be used as tools for storytelling.
In my typography animation, I plan to focus on my use of color, scale, and shape to create a simple, yet psychedelic design. Given the title of my audio and its subject matter, I think color will be the most important element when emphasizing the most meaningful words. I think it would be interesting to keep most of the text in black and white, and to have the text morph into vibrant colors as Carrey’s tone becomes more and more impassioned as the clip continues. I will also place emphasis on certain words by having them grow into huge shapes, as if they are blossoming flowers. By “shapes,” I mean changing the scale of words and letters so that they are reduced to geometric lines and patterns. This idea came to me as I was thinking of Carrey’s evolution as an artist, and his philosophy of constant growth.
After taking Advanced Typography last semester, I learned how crucial a font can be when determining the tone of an artwork. For this reason, I’ve downloaded about 20 new fonts in pursuit of the perfect one. I want my text to be bold, yet minimal, allowing it to speak in many voices. I will probably also choose a secondary, more stylized font to use sparingly in areas where the narrator enunciates certain words.
Kinetic Typography Project: Storyboards
assignment 1 - personal logo / banner