OUGD504 BLOGGING FOR LEVEL 5 STUDY TASK

This study task has been created to help us blog in a more analytical manner, to write in the third person rather than the first, and to help us see our work in a more objective way. The task was to re-write an existing blog post that was written in the first person, and reproduce it in the third person.

Original blog post:

Taking my initial sketches into Illustrator and Photoshop I started off by finding actual typefaces which I could use for my logotype, to create a more clean cut appearance.

The inspiration for my typeface choice was Alexa Chung's IT book, the cursive font used for her name shown here. I like the simplicity of the cursive typeface, how all the letterforms are joined together, creating a flowing appearance. The simple constant stroke weight throughout also creates a minimalist appearance, that appears simple and calm on the page. I experimented with lots of different typefaces that I found on both Adobe Typekit and through other free online sources, trying to keep to the same script, hand written feel. A lot of the typefaces I found were quite elaborate, and I wanted something more simple, without all the intricate flairs. On the far bottom right corner is an italic serif typeface, Bodoni, which is different to all the other typefaces I used, however because of it's italic appearance, it still manages to look flowing, delicate and romantic. 

I experimented with more serif typefaces, and a few other script typefaces as well, to see which looked classier, and more relevant to the appearance I think the book will be produced in, and the style I imagine the logo in. I feel as though the serif typefaces look a bit too formal and forced, they don't look relaxed and carefree, as I imagine Charlotte Shane to be. The gadzook's on of the typefaces I chose made it really unique and interesting, as although it was a relatively standard serif typeface, these added details made it appear more thought about and considered. It also gave it a much more elegant appearance, which some of the other serif typefaces don't achieve, because they look too formal and planned, not as carefree.
I wanted to show more of the sex industry side of Charlotte's work and books, but in a subtle way, so I experimented with creating an LED appearance with some of the typefaces, which I found out how to do using a youtube tutorial. I first tried it on the italic Bodoni, however due to the varying weights, this didn't look very clear or resemble LED lighting, but more like a pink fuzzy effect I applied instead. I then tried it with more of the cursive, hand written style typefaces, more of the simpler ones, to see how this would work, and these look a lot more like actual LED lighting, with the even weighting and the more rounded, loopy appearance. I experimented with half LED style and half normal typeface, to represent the two sides of her working life, as a writer and a sex worker. I applied the more cursive typefaces in the LED style, and Bodoni italic in just it's regular style. I like the message I am trying to portray, as I feel this reflects Charlotte very effectively, however I am not sure how it works aesthetically, as I feel it may look a bit too lumped together and mis matched.

Not wanting to abandon my hand written experiments, I uploaded onto onto Photoshop and removed all of the background, then uploaded it to Illustrator and image traced it using the black and white logo option. It has came out a lot messier than the initial sketches, due to Illustrator simplifying the illustration, and missing out some of the detail. I then tried using the pen tool to trace the lettering, to see if this would produce a cleaner effect, however this just created a lack of depth to the writing, all being the same weight, so it didn't really reflect hand writing effectively. I also experimented with tracing the outline of the letterform "P" using first the pen tool and then the pencil tool, to see if it would look better vectorised, however this makes it look worse somehow, much more forced.

After this experimentation I am unsure which direction I will pursue, although hopefully the interim critiques will help me to get my peers opinions on which they think works best and why, to give me some guidance.

Re-written blog post:

The initial sketches were taken into Illustrator and Photoshop, and actual typefaces were found which would be appropriate for the logotype, that would create a more clean cut appearance.

Alexa Chung's "IT" book was inspiration for these typefaces choices, especially the cursive typeface used for her name. The simplicity of the cursive typeface, how all the letterforms are linked, creates a flowing appearance, which is something Prostitute Laundry's logo work well with. The simple constant stroke weight throughout also creates a minimalist appearance, that appears simple and clean on the page. Experimentation was undertook using several typefaces found on Adobe Typekit and other free online sources, keeping to the scripted, hand written appearance, as this is what the design is aiming to achieve. Several of the typefaces found were quite elaborate, however something more simple would be more appropriate, without all the intricate flairs, so it doesn't appear too feminine. On the far bottom right corner is Bodoni italic in lowercase, which is different too all the other typefaces, due to it being a serif and not a script typefaces, however because of it's italic appearance and the use of serif's, it still appears flowing, delicate and romantic, but with a bit more grounding to it due to it's even x-height.

Due to the success of the Bodoni italic typeface from the previous photograph, more experimentations with serif typefaces were undertaken, as well as a few more script typefaces, to see which looked classier, and more relevant to the style Prostitute Laundry is aiming to be produced in, and the style the logo is aiming to achieve as well. The serif typefaces appear  slightly too formal and forced, rather than relaxed and carefree, which is what Charlotte Shane appears to be like. The gadzook's on one of the typefaces makes it very interesting and unique, as although it is quite a regular serif, these added details make it appear more thought about and considered. These gadzook's also create an elegant appearance, which some of the other serif typefaces don't achieve, because of them being too formal.
The design should reflect more of Charlotte Shane's work in the sex industry, both in her job and through her writing, but in a subtle way, which resulted in experimentations with LED tubing styles, following a YouTube tutorial. Bodoni italic was the first typeface to be adapted in the LED tubing style, however due to Bodoni's varying weight, it didn't look clear or resemble LED lighting, but more of a fuzzy effect. The cursive typefaces worked much better in this LED style, especially the simple ones with a constant even weighting, as they look much more like LED tubing lights due to these characteristics, and their rounded, loopy appearance being similar to LED tube lighting initially. Experimentation was undertook into half LED tube lighting style and half regular typeface, to represent the two sides of Charlotte Shane's working life, as a writer and as a sex worker. The cursive typefaces were produced in the LED effect for the first half and Bodoni italic in it's regular style, to emphasise the contrast of Shane's work in the contrasting typefaces. The message this portrays reflects Charlotte Shane effectively and clearly, however aesthetically the design may not work as well, as it could appear mis matched.

Experimentations were also undertook into the hand written designs from the initial sketches stage. These designs were uploaded onto Photoshop and their backgrounds were removed, then uploaded onto Illustrator and image traced using the black and white logo option. The result was a lot messier than predicted compared to the initial sketches, due to Illustrator simplifying the design, and missing some of the detail. The pencil tool was then used to trace over the lettering to try and create a cleaner effect, however this resulted in a lack of depth to the design, with it all being the same weight, and therefore not reflecting hand writing effectively. The pen tool was the next stage, which was used to trace the first letterform, the "P", to see if it worked more aesthetically in a vector, however this looks much more forced than before.

This experimentation has resulted in an unclear direction to pursue, however the interim critiques should inform the designs direction on what other students prefer in these experimentations, what works and what doesn't.

The next task was to summarise and evaluate the design decision and changes from a series of images using descriptive, analytical, evaluative, contextual, theoretical, and narrative language where appropriate. The above blog post will be used as the base for this study task.

Experimenting with different scripted typefaces initially shed light on how the logo should appear, more cursive rather than scripted, not as detailed but understated and contemporary rather than have lots of additional details. It also allowed the design to develop in a more urban, visual way, such as the experiments with LED tube lighting effect, which are very appropriate to the kind of work Charlotte Shane does. Experimenting with the hand drawn designs also showed that much more care and development are needed if pursuing with this direction, as it will take more to bring these hand drawn designs to the same standard as the typeface designs.

The final task was to rewrite the last blog post taking all of these new techniques into consideration, and applying these to that blog post.

Original blog post:

Following on from my feedback and the following research I have undertaken, I produced a wide range of developed logo designs, experimenting with colour, background colour, underlining and positioning. I also experimented more with my hand written logos, as Tracey Emin showed me that LED type doesn't have to be a perfect typeface, but can be scrawled as well, and still look effective.

I experimented more with producing the logotype in two half colours, to show the two sides of Charlotte Shane's career. In the feedback session it was raised that with the normal typeface half being a serif, the two parts looked like two very separate parts, they didn't go together at all, so I tried different methods of making them flow a little bit better together. I experimented with using the same typeface for the whole logotype, only changing the effect on half. I think this definitely creates a much more seamless appearance, and makes the transition between the styles much more effortless. I experimented with a serif typeface and three cursive typefaces, to see which works the best. I don't think the LED effect works very well on the serif typeface, as due to the varying weight of it, it doesn't create a clean tubing shape, which LED lighting is. This makes it look a bit fuzzy and not very clean and poppy. I also experimented with the underlining, trying it with two commas in the middle, a circle, and having half in LED style with a circle, and half in normal style with a circle as well. I prefer the commas underlinings, as it has more relevance to the product itself, I could perhaps try this in the same style as the two dots with half LED and half regular, however I think it looks a little imbalances with the two dots next to one another and the LED one being quite a bit larger.

In my feedback session it was also raised that I should try my logo in black and white, to see how it will look printed in black and white. I think it looks quite effective with a black background, as the white lettering really pops out from the background. However the white background isn't that clear, as with the centre part of the lettering also having to be white because that's the nature of LED tube lighting, there are a lot of similarities in the colouring. I'm not sure how I can make this stand out more on a white background, except if I try having a black centre acting as a board similar to some of my research.

Following on from my LED research I tried the same previous design in a blue and green colour, as these seemed to be the most popular colour choices.  Again I experimented with different styles and combinations and underlining techniques, however the blue and green aren't as powerful as the pink, as the colours are too close to the white background, and you don;t really see dark blue and green LED lighting, they're normally bright or light colours. I did however experiment with the logo on two lines rather than one, to try and make it look more like a logo rather than just some type. I think the two style lettering works a lot better when it's not all on one line, as it doesn't look as broken up being in more of a round shape. i also tried it with the comma larger at the end of "laundry" to see how it looks, as I would like to include this in the logo, as I feel it is a good reference to the product itself, being a book. 

I also experimented with underlining styles in this new formation, to see how it looks, and I quite like it extending further to the left than the word "laundry" as it creates a much more dynamic appearance, however I am not sure it is relevant. I also tried using a comma in the same typeface as the rest of the logotype, to see if it would look as effective as the larger one, and this is a very minimal comma. I am unsure at the moment, further evaluation is needed to see if it has subtle impact or if you just don't notice it.

Rewritten blog post:

Following on from feedback and research that was undertaken, experimentation was produced into a range of logo designs for Prostitute Laundry, exploring colours, underlining and positioning. Experimentation with more hand written style logos was also explored, in response to the research into Tracey Emin, showing that LED type doesn't have to be perfect, but it can be scrawled and still look effective.

Producing the logotype in two half colours shows the two sides of Charlotte Shane's career, and was a result of the feedback received, where other students commented that the two half designs looked like two separate parts, and didn't go well together because of the contrast in typefaces, so using the same typeface in two different colours as is experimented with here aims to still reflect this contrasts of careers, however look more continuous aesthetically. This does create a much more seamless appearance, making the transition between the two colours much more effortless where the typefaces are the same throughout the logo. The Bodoni italic works so effectively as a regular typeface, however when paired with a cursive it looks very isolated and separate, perhaps this would be better as a text logo rather than a logotype, for more simple products where a logo would be inappropriate. Experimentation was also done into underlining, with two commas in the middle, a circle, and two circles, with the underlining split in half the same as the type itself, to emphasise this contrast. The commas were used to give a subtle link to the writing aspect of Shane's career, having purpose which the circle doesn't except to look aesthetically pleasing. The commas have a lot more relevance than the circles, perhaps this could be experimented with the split colours like the two circles. The split colours of the two dots have a relevant meaning, however aesthetically it doesn't work great, as the LED style half is a lot larger, especially the dot, with the pink blur of the light expanding out much further than the original dot, making it look imbalanced.

In the feedback session it was raised how the logo and LED effect would work in black and white, perhaps to create it in black and white to test it's effectiveness in cheaper reproduction. Produced with a black background, this logo works effectively, as the white lubing shines brightly from the background, however the grey blur can't really be seen as it blends into the background. However with the white background the logo isn't clear at all, with the white tubing blending into the background with no real substantial blur colour to separate the two apart. Because of the nature of LED tube lighting the white centre cannot really be changed to another colour, as white is the natural colour of light. To overcome this problem this logo could be produced with a coloured board front similar to some previous research, with the lighting shining out from behind, however this would effect the whole logo, rather than just with a white background. 

In response to the LED research that was undertaken, experimentation was carried out using different colours such as green and blue, as these seemed to be the more popular colours for LED tube lighting. Experimentation was done into different underlining techniques again, especially with the combination of regular and LED effect. It was discovered during this experimentation that the green and blue LED lighting aren't as bold as the pink, being lighter colours, so they lack readability.  With the logo on two lines rather than one, this creates much more of a logo structure, instead of just writing, and the two style lettering also fits together better, and looks less disjointed because of this layout change. The comma was also placed at the end of the word "laundry", acting as a full stop, although it really means a pause, but still having that link to the writing aspect of Shane's career. 

After experimenting with two line logotypes and finding out they work a lot better aesthetically than on one line, underlining styles were also explored, to complete the logotype. It was tried directly underneath "laundry", fitting neatly in, and also extending the line further left, so it stretches just past the "p" of Prostitute. This example where it stretches further makes the design appear much more dynamic, and more spaced out as well, whereas with the line fitting neatly underneath "laundry", it looks like it's being squished in underneath, and brings the whole logo closer together. The comma was also used in one of these designs, in the same typeface as the text, to see if it would look as effective as the larger comma experimented with earlier. Further experimentation is needed applied to different style logos to see if this smaller comma is effective, or if you just miss it.

This session has been really useful to learn about the style blogging is supposed to be undertaken in, to improve my analytical skills especially when discussing design work, both my own and others. This new, more analytical way of blogging also forces you to be more objective of your work, and produce actual, informed reasons for design decisions rather than just because they were aesthetically pleasing.