Designing entire typefaces is a complex process, often taking months or years to complete. Instead, your assignment is to design a single ampersand “&” character, based on a source word (chosen from this list). Your ampersand should evoke some of the style of your word, but try to avoid “illustrating” your word directly. Think about the images you gathered on your type walk, and the work the artists and designers we looked at in class. The finished ampersands will be cut from black vinyl and installed in the hallway as an exhibition.
Please also read:
- This short history of the ampersand:
https://99designs.com/designer-blog/2015/04/03/history-of-ampersands-typography/ - And this profile of the world’s most expensive typeface:
http://www.typewolf.com/blog/the-worlds-most-expensive-typeface
PROJECT REQUIREMENTS
- Ampersand should be solid black on white (no gradients or color)
- Fit within a 24” tall artboard, any width (the vinyl is $0.60 per square foot; a 24×24” piece would cost $2.40) – note that the plotter requires at least 2” margins all around
- Your ampersand should be as large as possible with the size listed above
- Please also include your source word somewhere on your artboard in 20pt Helvetica – we’ll cut and install the word as well!
- Save your file as FirstnameLastname_Ampersand.ai and upload to Canvas
FOR THURSDAY, OCT 22
For next week, your assignment is to finish your ampersand and prepare your file for cutting on the vinyl plotter.
- Use Object > Expand > Stroke… to convert stroke to outlines
- Make sure you have no lines inside shapes
Please check the project requirements above for additional details. We’ll cut your ampersands at the start of next class and install them in the hallway. Please also bring exact change for the vinyl, if possible: it costs $0.60/square foot.
FOR THURSDAY, OCT 15
For next week, you have two short assignments:
First, take a typography walk around Hoboken, gathering photographs of typography “in the wild”. Shoot a total of at least 50 images of signs, words, fragments of letterforms, or anything else related to typography. Try to get a mix of formal (ie professionally designed) and vernacular (graffiti, hand-written, etc). Take the time to frame your photographs so the type is large and centered. It’s ok to crop the type (for example, to cut off some letters in a word) to get just the part you’re excited by. Also, get off Washington Street! Try campus and lesser-traveled streets, go into stores, look down and up. When finished, print your images in a grid using Illustrator, like we did in class.
Second, using your typography walk as an inspiration, please draw at least 10 ampersand ideas. These should be on 8.5 x 11” paper or larger, one per page. Think about your word and the attention to detail evident in the videos we watched – your ampersands should show careful consideration of every line and curve, thick and thin. Use these drawings to explore ideas. We’ll have a feedback session next week, followed by a demo of the vinyl plotter and work time.
PROJECTS SHOWN
- ”The Making of Neon Signs” documentary
- Barry McGee and Margaret Kilgallen on Art 21
- ”The History of Typography: An Animated Short”
- “A Font Is Born” about designers Hoefler and Frere-Jones
- Also, if you have time, check out “Farewell etaoin shrdlu”, a documentary about the switch from hot metal to photographic typesetting at the New York Times
DUE DATE: Thursday, October 22