Jo Blaker

Jo Baker is an artist and illustrator who has a wide range of experimental sketchbook work. The work explores colour and form in a relaxed and open style. They often show fast progression and are a documentation of a passion for life. She now works in galleries and teaches children about creativity. Some of her advice:

• Don't define your practice by a label.
• Can use past work to come together in a current composition. 
• Shouldn't overthink ideas without working them through, visually exploring can create far more varied work. 
• If stuck trying it with a new material can really help, its all about playing with the work.
• Nature writing is one of her biggest inspirations, especially books like Wildwood by Rodger Durkin which show a human connection with nature.
• Don't need to have a narrative and a pace in a sketchbook they are purely to generate ideas.

I need to make sure in future I can be free with my sketchbook work, and explore things thoroughly. I may even experiment with doing a sketch a day.

I liked these pieces of work as they show whimsy and honesty, some of them capture moments almost like a story would. 

Personal Evaluation

Personal Evaluation:

From doing these studio tasks I have learnt how much of an impact and influence typography has had on design. I have studied terminology, the characteristics of type and how there are common styles of type for different brands and genres.

I have particularly worked on my skills in kerning. Kerning can indicate the class, budget and trustworthiness of a company- which I will consider when branding in the future. I have realised that every arrangement of letters for a word is individual and it is important that they fit together in order to flow. My INEX design worked well because I experimented with the kerning between the E and the X and was able to understand how they were related to each other.

I have also formulated some skills in letterpress; after our tutorial I experimented with the Italic Caslon typeface. It was interesting to learn new letter type terminology and printing techniques in this process. It also means that in the future I can introduce vintage letter print into my work. I have also improved my skills in Indesign and to an extent, blogger. These skills will help me to present my work to the best possible outcome. Additionally, the tutorials in illustrator have lead me to learn new components and shortcuts I was unaware of- inspiring new ideas and aiding my future design.

From both of my overcomplicated design outcomes I have realised I need to appreciate the merit in having a simple and minimalist final piece. After the second project I realised that my specimen wasn’t tailored enough to the type I was presenting. I added many layers of the type, altering angles, stroke width, size and opacity; overall creating a lot of extra detail for a type that was already complicated enough on its own. Similarly, with my logotype I pushed forward a bold design with an unnecessary circular backdrop which detracted emphasis from the main design. I hope that in future I will be better at creating work with a lot of consideration, not necessarily a lot of content.

Crits have really helped me engage with the class and gain a full, unbiased perspective of my work. I have found that by looking at other people's designs I have broadened my mind to new ideas and possibilities. Being in a room filled with young designers I have found it inspiring and motivating. From discussion I have also picked up new terminology, become aware of important designers and even noticed current design trends. Feedback has also really helped shape my work and I value it well. Additionally, I have become better at articulating how I feel about other people's designs and my justification for it.

Overall, this project has given me a better awareness of type design and how it can be used in future work to compliment and define a piece.

Final Crit for Clandestine and Evaluation

Successes:

• Only using the outline of Caslon made it more legible, classic and sophisticated.
• It works far better as a display font.
• It's not too creepy or forced, unlike fonts like Chiller.
• Caslon was a good choice as it adds a vintage elegant feeling to the pictorial type. 
• Design is quirky and not tacky.

Improvements:

• The type specimen is too cluttered.
• Could have gone further with the human elements, too subtle?
• Designs with veins feel out of place, there should have been more experimentation and development here.
• Doesn't work small scale, has to be fairly large for the detail to be noticeable.                                    

Evaluation:

There are some elements of my typeface which needed more development, like the letterforms involving veins. These feel out of place within the typeface and should have been developed further. I did consider that perhaps all the letterforms should have involved fingers within their form, however I think this would have ruined the subtlety of the type. The simpler letters balance the more complicated ones, so the complicated ones can stand out. I had feedback that said the type wasn’t too over the top and was creepy to a good level, unlike other horror fonts like Chiller.

Part of my rationale for this typeface was to be used for classic vintage horrors, the feedback was that the use of thin outline created a sophisticated and classic feeling perfect for this. However because of the type’s detail it wouldn’t work well at a small scale. In fact people reiterated that it would be better on simple backgrounds because of its detail; within my type specimen it was too cluttered to stand out.

Putting the design into context

I put the type into context on a cover for Dracula and by just using the simple white line on a black background, it has showcased the type far better than my specimen. It appears far more sinister and elegant without such hectic embellishment. The typeface is so pictorial I have also included it as the main design of the cover which has added to the mysterious style and helps present the typeface further.

Type Specimen for the Typeface Clandestine

To present my 'Clandestine' typeface I used a combination of black, white and deep purple tones. I added many overlapping layers of the type, altering angles, stroke width, size and opacity. This overall created quite a complicated effect, communicating a sense of mystery and concealment. However it was perhaps a mistake to add such a lot of extra detail, as the type is already complex on its own. They would have stood out more on a simpler background, similar to the Maja type specimen I looked at.
I experimented with different folds in order to find one that communicated the type. I thought having one that involved a fold like a letter would work well for the clandestine feeling. 

From viewing other people’s type specimens in the class crit I realised that the most successful were the ones that used minimalist designs. With my own I tried to fill an A3 page, whereas if other people had plenty of alterations they wanted to present – they created a book to reveal the type gradually. In future I hope to think more originally about how I can present my work and which ways will best compliment the design. With consideration perhaps I could have made my type specimen more like a letter, being held within an elegant envelope.
 

Type Specimen from Fontsmith

To present my typeface I looked at type specimens, like this one by Fontsmith called Maja. It's been presented in a unfolded poster format and uses a simple style. They often use overlaid font like this, in a variety of sizes, colour and format. I particularity like the use of shape in this one, the arrow gives it direction and the colons and Xs add detail but don't over complicate it. The three colours are bright and complimentary, for my own type specimen I hope to use a maximum of three colours as well. The main purpose of a type is to be understandable and functional, the viewer doesn't want to be bombarded by the type, but instead allowed to make up their own opinion about it.

Image References

I used these images in reference to my typeface. I wanted to play attention to the finer details of the hand and not just recreate the obvious elements. For example, I looked at the skin between fingers and the form of knuckle.

Clandestine Typeface Developed

Here are some sketched ideas for my limb focused typeface, I began by experimenting with several different elements of the body- ears, fingers, additional arms. However, I found the sketches involving fingers were the most effective in portraying a creepy quality, yet still maintaining a classic edge to them. I worked from images of hands, looking for finer details which I could include in the typeface (e.g. knuckles, nails.) I wanted each letter to be subtle and unique, with only reference to hands. Some designs were more vague than others, for instance the W and the A I have tried to represent the veins, yet this feels a little inconsistent.

I decided to only use the outline in order to capture more detail, this has worked to give it some elegance too. Also the O, Q and I all have elements of the Victorian type I looked at, to maintain a vintage feeling with a strongly rooted foundation.

Maitresse Alphabet by Amandine Alessandra

 

For this design Alessandra took photographs of hands in leather gloves to make alphabet symbols. Sometimes they're crude signs- Alessandra claimed these gave the letters a ‘dirty’ feeling. I've taken inspiration from this for my own work as I think they work well in representing letter forms organically. Even subtle details like finger nails and creases work to make the finials far more interesting. I hope to incorporate subtle details like this in my Caslon typeface. As i'm working for it to also have a sinister, disconcerting feeling. 

Pinterest Inspiration

Because I want my type to work for classic horror films and books I have made some examples to take inspiration from. Often the designs are simplistic and use minimal colour, with the typeface being a focal point. For my design any pictorial elements accompanied with it will have to be simplistic to offset the detailed typeface. Usually they're in uppercase, perhaps to seem alarming or to grab attention. I will also be using uppercase to achieve this and because it will be easier to implement human form to the sharper angles. Finally, some of the designs have used a thick stoke to emphasise the title, for my own type I will change the thickness depending on its context.

 

 

The Art & Craft of Sign-writing by William Sutherland

This is a book involving type from the Victorian times and contains 26 plates of type which I've taken inspiration from.
One of which was Plate XII which was made in the 13th century. This type intrigues me as it has a fair balance of curved and straight line. I especially like the decorative swash on the U and what I assume is a D. This makes me think I could incorporate external elements to the Caslon typeface to create swashes that resemble fingers. I also like the arc coming from the X, as it seems playful and odd but works within  the typeface.

I also found Plate X quite useful. It's a Gothic type made in the 14th century. I like the way the arms and the swashes extend eccentrically in order to meet each other. I also think that the way the O and the Q have bowls that point outwardly is clever. I will probably include this in my own type as I think they could resemble knuckles.

Finally, the last line of type on Plate II was another I found interesting. The idea of creating a break in the middle of a stoke seems unique. It's including an extra detail which is intricate but does not detract from the type itself. I also hope to include something like this in my typeface, perhaps to represent a finger crease.

House Industries Ken Barber

House Industries was formed in 1993 and is a graphic design company and type foundry. Ken Barber is a letterer specialist and taught himself the craft, sometimes seeking experts who could offer help. He suggests that drawing is a lot like designing type; you have to deal with spacial relationships, balance and contrast and the way elements relate to each other. These are things I must consider when doing illustrative type especially. Another thing he recommends, is that its important to know type history. This context and rich awareness can sometimes shine through in certain designs, so to further my project I will be looking more at the history of type and sign-writing.

 

https://vimeo.com/33166829 > Interview with Ken Barber

Silhouette Design Crit Feedback

For this we were asked to display the work we'd done so far on the wall. It felt useful to see everything laid out, so there could be discussion over the various ideas.
People were uncertain about my designs involving arms, as they're quite obvious and very disconnected from Caslon. It was suggested I get some images of arms to work from, ensuring that the shapes can be crisper and less vague. By working from silhouettes, too much of the clarity was lost. I think the issue has been that for the word clandestine I have been working to make the type indistinct, however I think type has to be distinct in some form to be successful. Someone suggested just using the outline of the letters to allow for more detail which I think could work. In fact I think I will try experimenting with more body parts. Hands might be easier to incorporate into type than arms have been so far.

Typeface Using Arm Silhouettes

For the next designs I decided to focus on silhouettes for the content. I find that the shape of an arm is perfect to relate to lettering as it has both sharp, angular line but also the potential to be curved.

                                                                                        
I began by drawing the lines and overlaying them to resemble certain letters. This helped to show me how I could use them in relation to the Caslon typeface.

Then I developed a style of creating the shape purely from the limbs and then placing the counter of that shape in place of the Caslon counter. Some were more successful that others, I particularly like the O because I think it manages to resemble arms but also maintain the grace and history that Caslon has. However, others like the P still feel too rough and subjective for a typeface, unless all the letters had a similar uneven construction.

Initial Limb Experiment

For this I tried to subtly manipulate the shapes of extended Caslon to make some reference to an arm outline. I found this to be too inconsistent and irrelevant, the curves appear like lumps on the already clean line. Especially in the condensed and extended type, it appears as if the type is disjointed and forced. The final experiment with hands for serifs was more successful, however they are so small it is difficult to interpret and is too subtle. For future designs I will use photographs for reference and make the limbs separate from the fundamental design of Caslon- hopefully making the two harmonious. 

Letterpress Experiment

To test my chosen typeface I experimented with Italic Caslon using the letterpress. This seems to have been a fairly successful preliminary print, despite the fact the ink coverage is uneven. It has a clandestine feel to it already, being elegant and slimline. The fact the type is so thin could cause an issue when adding finer detail, but this is a good compromise for such an "old world" type.