Annotated Bibliography

Annotated Bibliography

Carter, Harry. A View of Early Typography: Up to About 1600. Oxford: Clarendon, 1969. Print.

> I chose this book because it helped me with project one. It really helped me understand the early stages of typography. It was very useful and I definitely used some of the information provided.

Dodd, Robin. From Gutenberg to Opentype: An Illustrated History of Type from the Earliest Letterforms to the Latest Digital Fonts. Vancouver: Hartley & Marks, 2006. Print.

> I chose this book because it helped me learn about Gutenberg and the history of the earliest letterforms. It showed past fonts leading up to today’s modern digital fonts. It was really interesting and I enjoyed reading it.

Füssel, Stephan. Gutenberg and the Impact of Printing. Trans. Douglas Martin. Aldershot, Hampshire: Ashgate Pub., 2005. Print.

> I chose this book because it also informed me about Gutenberg and the impact of printing in history. It showed me how printing has evolved and influenced the way we use print now. I never really put too much thought into it, because I would always just go to Kinko’s. I’m glad I had this as my topic.

Hlavsa, Oldřich. A Book of Type and Design. London: Peter Nevill, 1960. Print.

> I chose this book because it had a lot of information about type and design. It was great to see how things have evolved and shape the way we view typography. It wasn’t as fun as Ellen Lupton’s book, but it was very informative.

Hoffman, Barry. The Fine Art of Advertising. New York: Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2003. Print.

> I chose this book because I am an advertising major. I enjoyed looking at the different types of advertisements and the influence of advertising. It related to typography, because ads would not be ads without type or images. I enjoyed reading this book in general.

Lehmann-Haupt, Hellmut. Peter Schoeffer of Gernsheim of Mainz. Rochester: Printing House of Leo Hart, 1950. Print.

> I chose this book because Peter Schoeffer was part of our project one. It was really meant for Catalina because she focused on him, but I did take a look at Mainz. One of my topics was Mainz Psalter, so it did have some information on that.

Lowry, Martin. Nicholas Jenson: And the Rise of Venetian Publishing in Renaissance Europe. Oxford: B. Blackwell, 1991. Print.

> I chose this book because Nicholas Jenson was also part of our project one. It was interesting to read his background and learn about his influence in Europe. I’m amazed sometimes how a person can be so influential in many different ways. This book was useful for Catalina as well.

Scholderer, Victor. Johann Gutenberg, The Inventor of Printing. London: Trustees of the British Museum, 1963. Print.

> I chose this book because Gutenberg was one of my topics. It was also useful for me to find books about him because it would include the invention of printing and the Gutenberg Bible as well as Blackletter font, etc. I enjoyed reading about him overall, he was a very important man in type and print history.

Smith, Margaret M. The Title-page: Its Early Development 1460-1510. London: British Library, 2000. Print.

> I chose this book because it helped with our project. I learned a lot about the history of typography and the social influence. It did not include many pictures, but I learned a lot about the background of typography.

Solomon, Martin. The Art of Typography: An Introduction to Typo-icon-ography. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 1986. Print.

> I chose this book because it was very useful. It educated me about typography and the introduction of “typo-icon-ography.” I liked the pictures they included in the book. It’s always nice to visually see things. Overall, a great and useful book!

Cursive Signature

My last typography post. I chose this one because of many reasons. I like the white space in the background, the message this delivers, and the style of the typeface. I'm not sure about the color, but I would like to think it's purple. I also like the period in this. Some messages don't need punctuation, but I like the fact that this has an ending. It's very straight forward.
I had a lot of fun posting these type images. It taught me how to look at things differently and carefully. It also helped me as a creator, and how I can better improve my typography skills. I will probably keep re-posting things I like, perhaps not on this blog but my tumblr instead. I actually have followers there ;)

Art Design

Alright, I think we all know why I chose this. I used to love listening to this song when it first came out, but then they overplayed it on the radio and Pandora so I gave it up. I really do like this image though. I'm not sure if this is a real typeface, but it looks hand-drawn. I like the art drawn in in the white space. It seems very "hipster." I think it was great for them not to fill in the white space in "KICKS" because that would not have looked too great. I wonder what this was used for, or if it was just a doodle. I wonder if any typeface has been derived from doodling. There are so many typefaces out there, I'm excited for there to be more creative and decorative ones like this!

Child's Play

I chose this image because it reminds me of those fun days as a kid where you'd write with chalk on the ground. I'm not sure if a child or teenager wrote this, but the handwriting is not bad. Everything is in lowercase letters (besides the D), and there is no punctuation. The drawing is pretty decent as well, which makes me believe an older child wrote this. The same letters throughout the message are the same which is impressive because when I write, my a's or e's turn out to be different from the others, it's kind of odd. I also like this image because of the overall message with the image. It's a little inspiring and cute to look at. Good job to whoever created this!

Sleep

pe

I really like this image because it's adorable. I think the font and color really work well with the pillow. You wouldn't have bold black letters saying "wake up" it would be too dramatic and strong. This is very subtle and peaceful, it would be nice to wake up to. I guess I also really like it because you don't really find type on pillow cases or bedspreads. Nowadays images are placed onto pillow cases, but hardly any writing. I also think the cursive is very sensual and works well with the idea of waking up to it. The lowercase throughout the type is appropriate, and the size of the words are good. I wonder if placing them lower would make it look more like it belonged. I also wonder if they made other pillow cases that said "goodnight"

Book Type

I chose this image because I thought it looked visually appealing. I usually don't see numbers or letters taking over pages in a book unless it's a graphic design or typography book. I don't pay that much attention to the copy portion because it doesn't really catch my attention. The hierarchy is evident based on the size of an image, in this case the numbers. I like the line in between the two numbers, it gives it a connection and isn't too over powering. I really think this is a great typographic page spread.

Material Type

I really like this photo. It has a lot of different type going on. There is hand-drawn type, materials, and already made type. The first two letters are hand written, and I like that they are both different. A pen is used to make an "L" as well as a rubber band. At first I saw three L's, but then realized the rubber band is for a full "L." I like that the "O" has Bart Simpson hanging onto it. The "T" is similar to the "L" by having pens used to make the shape. I like the scissors as a "Y" it's really interesting. The "P" on the iPhone is pretty cool, and I like the "O" button and the message. A message within a message is always fun to find. I think using material and objects as letters are not created as much, because it does take away the purpose of type fonts. I do enjoy seeing them every now and then. I wonder if I should spell something made out of a certain material...

T-Shirts

I chose this image because the Giants won the world series, and I was looking for a t-shirt to buy. I wasn't sure what kind or what color, so I browsed around. I really like the font they chose for their team logo. The colors are great. I think they sometimes switch the colors as well and have the orange as the font color, and black as the outline. If I saw a word spelled with this font and the colors they chose I would automatically think about the Giants. It's amazing how the brain can identify and associate things by fonts/colors. I didn't end up finding a shirt, but I am happy that I posted this image because they did win the world series!

Nike

I knew that I wanted to post a typography image with Nike. They usually have really great advertisements. I found this somewhere online. I don't think the "brain" really looks like a brain, but it looks pretty close to it. Even an outline would work, and so the type could be cluttered instead of arranged so coordinated. I like the message they deliver, I just don't think the image is as good as it could be. I guess because I'm such a perfectionist I would want the image of the brain to look like an actual brain. The type they chose for it as well is not the best. It seems too thick and the shades of gray don't work well with the background. It's funny how I find myself looking at things so critically. I do however, like the font they chose for their message. It is very clean and I like that they are all in caps. I love Nike products overall. They just need to clean this ad up.

Future

I like this overall image and the message it delivers. The dirty hands definitely makes it more powerful. The message would not be as strong without the other elements. I think the type is appropriate - easy to read, and in all caps. I like the fact that it isn't black, but a lighter gray. I wonder where this would be placed and if it was taken professionally or personally. Either way, I'm glad it has been shared. It's very inspirational and visually appealing. The letter spacing works for me, and I think it is a very successful image of typography.

Book Cover

I chose this image because I really enjoy it. I love books, so I thought choosing a book cover would be a fun idea. This one in particular uses an image to help portray its title without having to actually spell it. I don't think the image of the crow adds any additional meaning, but it is visually appealing. I like the contrast between black and pink. I think that the color pink gives it a little more sincerity, because crows tend to portray something dark. If I were to re-do this, I would probably give some air the 'The' and crow. It seems kind of suffocated and lost. Overall, I like this book cover. I will definitely be paying more attention in the future, and indeed will be judging books by their cover. ;)

Combined Letters

This image/type reminded me of the exercise we did in class. I see the letters "O" and "J" in this image. I really like how the top part of the image looks like a heart. I could see images of an ornament as well as a candy cane. Perhaps I am just in the holiday spirit and am just imagining things. I really liked the exercise we did in combining letters and seeing how they relate and making them connect. In this case, the artist could have cut the "O" and inserted 3 "J"s in the open space. It is great to know that I can easily create something like this. I really admire this kind of typography.

MLK Jr.

I found this image on StumbleUpon's website. I really like it. It is similar to my 'The Joker' post with the concept of using type to create an image. I wonder how many different letters and fonts they used to create Martin Luther King Jr's face. It appears to be a cursive font, perhaps the same font DREAM is spelled with. I like the different shadows on his face, created by using light and dark colors. I wonder if DREAM was taken out, would people still identify him as MLK? I think it is overall a great image. The typography is amazing, and the black space fits well. I am excited to find more images like this!

COLOR

I love this image. The color, type, and images in the background all blend well together. I like how the font is in all capital letters, it delivers a stronger message. I think color plays an important role as well. If the font were to be in all black, it wouldn't look as appealing. I also like how SUNSHINE is colored yellow-orange like the actual sun, and how SEA is the same way. Although the text is spread across the entire page and there is a lot of color, I don't feel overwhelmed. The pastel colors and the empty space on the right/center allows room to breathe. This would be a great ad for a clothing company such as Aeropostale, American Eagle, Pac Sun, or Sun Diego. The image of a beach in the background goes well with everything as well.

The Joker

I thought it would be interesting to include a video on typography in my blog. I browsed around and found this video on 'The Joker' from The Dark Knight movie. What attracted me to this video was the outline of his face in typographic form. I have always enjoyed seeing pictures, made up of other pictures. Type is a great way to create images as well. I wasn't too fond of how they used type to portray his speech. A lot of it was delayed, and they tried to exaggerate certain words by putting them in red instead of white. It just didn't work for me. I guess it would be really difficult to create an awesome typography video without animation and distortion. I will keep my eyes open for a cool type video in the future!

Neighborhood Signs

I live in the Inner Sunset neighborhood, and I have never seen this sign before! I was walking along with some friends and showed them our neighborhood bulletin board, when I looked up and saw this. I love the message it delivers. The type also helps gives this message powerful meaning with all of it being in capital letters across the entire sign. The letters are hollowed, which gives it a nice affect. The way AMAZING is proportionally bigger, and the first part of the message is also bigger than the bottom, gives it more of an exaggeration. I like how there is also only one period after the first line, and the second doesn't have one. Typography can be emphasized or not at all with spelling. I never really payed attention before, but it does make a major difference. Look out for the next post! :)

Cement Type

I was walking down Fulton and I was stopped at a light on Stanyon when I found this. I would not have noticed it if I hadn't stopped. I thought it would be a great first post. I really enjoy finding and reading street art/type. I think this is a really cute message for anyone to find. It could definitely brighten someone's day. I wonder if the same person who wrote this message also drew the blue heart. I'd like to think someone just added on to this. I find it to be interesting adding on to somebody's work of art. The typeface reminds me of handwriting, because it is almost "child-like" and freely written. I am excited to find more type in the most random places in the future!