As the final crit is looming, I am trying to get closer to a final outcome, but I don’t feel like I am making much progress or at lest making anything I am content with so I will do some more experimenting by merging all the things I have done before in an attempt to make something sufficient.
Above are the latest mock ups I made, they still don’t really express the content very well. I need to focus on space some more and use it within my layouts… more tests, more experiments.
Doodling some more, and come up with a few variations of how meaning of text can be represented through experimenting with type and layout. Drawing words, or rather trying to express their meaning is really hard when it isn’t obvious or blatant.
I thought using illustrator might be the easiest application to use when trying to manipulate type as you can make the letters into paths (Create Outlines). I think I started off quite well with the first recipe, then it got a bit sloppy towards the end. The best bit to illustrate through type is the process, the method of cooking. The ingredients list is a bit boring.
I also tried removing all of the other bits of type that had not been altered. It makes quite a nice pattern. Also the white space makes it all a lot more easier to read and understand. Will definitely try to use this more flexible approach to type within my developments.
After looking at some great pieces of typography I started sketching out some ideas of how I could illustrate the meaning of the words through the layout of the letters and words. I think focusing on the adjectives first is the simplest place to start, such words like Boil, Simmer, Hard boil, Stir etc. From here I will look at just the positioning of complete words and steps. I’m not sure how it will look as a whole but it will be interesting to experiment with how the words link to their visual appearance.
I also went through the recipes to identify that words could and should be visualised, this was a similar process to drawing the recipe, the same parts always stand out such as the adjectives and the timed steps.
Moving on from what I produced yesterday I thought it would be a good idea to start using the actual content and playing around with the layout. First of all I decided to look at what others had produced with typography. Below are two pieces of expressive typography that I found interesting as they both use the content to influence the arrangement of the text.
Work by Bezette Stad, can’t seem to find anything in english about him and his work.
“La cantatrice chauve” is a french play written in 1950 by Eugène Ionesco. ”La cantatrice chauve” designed by Massin used typography to express the content of the writing. Massin attempts to allow the reader to feel like they are experiencing the play.
Currently continuing experiments, decided to get the paints out to get quick colour rather than keep using just fine lines to suggest there is colour. However I still need to push my layout further as they feel a bit to similar and rigid .
On the upside, I think I have found the typeface that I want to use for all 3. I think from the previous suggestion of using three typeface is a bit much, so I will stick to the one and try to express the process through typographic elements.
The typeface I have chosen is called Quicksand, it was a free font, I wanted to use another quick similar however it was around £100 per weight, which is a bit drastic for my project. I chose this typeface as it feels like the right balance between the clarity of a standard sans serif used for information design, but also seems nicely rounded, more human and warm than something totally geometric. I wanted a hybrid as this is information design but I recipes are written by people for other people, so personality should be present.
After I printed out all of the various types I considered using I thought it would be best to make use of what I had and try various layouts with the pieces of text. However it was a bit restricting because the line length was full width.
Circles have no beginning or end. They represent the eternal whole and in every culture are an archetypical form representing the sun, the earth, the moon, the universe, and other celestial objects between. Circles are used to suggest familiar objects such as wheels, balls, many kinds of fruit. They suggested well-roundedness and completeness.
Circles have free movement. They can roll. Shading and lines can enhance this sense of movement in circles. Circles are graceful and their curves are seen as feminine. They are warm, comforting and give a sense of sensuality and love. Their movement suggests energy and power. Their completeness suggests the infinite, unity, and harmony.
Circles protect, they endure, they restrict. They confine what’s within and keep things out. They offer safety and connection. Circles suggests community, integrity, and perfection.
Because they are less common in design they work well to attract attention, provide emphasis, and set things apart.
Squares and rectangles are stable. They’re familiar and trusted shapes and suggest honesty. They have right angles and represent order, mathematics, rationality, and formality. They are seen as earthbound. Rectangles are the most common geometric shape encountered. The majority of text we read is set in rectangles or squares.
Squares and rectangles suggest conformity, peacefulness, solidity, security, and equality. Their familiarity and stability, along with their commonness can seem boring. They are generally not attention getters, but can be tilted to add an unexpected twist. Think of web pages that tilts framed images to help them stand out.
Every element on a web page is defined by a rectangle according to the css box model. Web pages are rectangles made up of smaller rectangles and squares.
In Buddhist symbolism a square (earthbound) inside a circle (eternal whole) represents the relationship between the human and the divine.
Triangles can be stable when sitting on their base or unstable when not. They represent dynamic tension, action, and aggression. Triangles have energy and power and their stable/unstable dynamic can suggest either conflict or steady strength. They are balanced and can be a symbol for law, science, and religion.
Triangles can direct movement based which way they point. They can be used to suggest familiar themes like pyramids, arrows and, pennants. Spiritually they represent the religious trinity. They can suggest self-discovery and revelation.
The strength of triangles suggests masculinity. Their dynamic nature make them better suited to a growing high tech company than a stable financial institution when designing a logo. Triangles can be used to convey progression, direction, and purpose.
Spirals are expressions of creativity. They are often found in the natural growth pattern of many organisms and suggest the process of growth and evolution. Spirals convey ideas of fertility, birth, death, expansion, and transformation. They are cycles of time, life, and the seasons and are a common shape in religious and mystical symbolism.
Spirals move in either direction and represent returning to the same point on life’s journey with new levels of understanding. They represent trust during change, the release of energy and maintaining flexibility through transformation.
Clockwise spirals represent projection of an intention and counterclockwise spirals the fulfillment of an intention. Double spirals can be used to symbolize opposing forces.
Crosses symbolize spirituality and healing. They are seen as the meeting place of divine energies. The 4 points of a cross represent self, nature, wisdom, and higher power or being. Crosses suggest transition, balance, faith, unity, temperance, hope, and life.
They represent relationships and synthesis and a need for connection to something, whether that something is group, individual, self, or project related..
As with lines vertical shapes are seen as strong and horizontal shapes are seen as peaceful. Most everything said about vertical and horizontal lines can be said about vertical and horizontal shapes.
Curved shapes offer rhythm and movement, happiness, pleasure and generosity. They are seen as more feminine than sharp shapes which offer energy, violence and, anger. Sharp shapes are lively and youthful and are seen as more masculine.
From – http://www.vanseodesign.com/web-design/visual-grammar-shapes/
Orange
Orange combines the energy of red and the happiness of yellow. It is associated with joy, sunshine, and the tropics. Orange represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement, and stimulation.
To the human eye, orange is a very hot colour, so it gives the sensation of heat. Nevertheless, orange is not as aggressive as red. Orange increases oxygen supply to the brain, produces an invigorating effect, and stimulates mental activity. It is highly accepted among young people. As a citrus color, orange is associated with healthy food and stimulates appetite. Orange is the color of fall and harvest. In heraldry, orange is symbolic of strength and endurance. Orange has very high visibility, so you can use it to catch attention and highlight the most important elements of your design. Orange is very effective for promoting food products and toys.
Yellow
Yellow produces a warming effect, arouses cheerfulness, stimulates mental activity, and generates muscle energy. Yellow is often associated with food. Bright, pure yellow is an attention getter, which is the reason taxicabs are painted this color. When overused, yellow may have a disturbing effect; it is known that babies cry more in yellow rooms. Yellow is seen before other colors when placed against black; this combination is often used to issue a warning. In heraldry, yellow indicates honor and loyalty. Later the meaning of yellow was connected with cowardice.
Use yellow to evoke pleasant, cheerful feelings. You can choose yellow to promote children’s products and items related to leisure. Yellow is very effective for attracting attention, so use it to highlight the most important elements of your design. Men usually perceive yellow as a very lighthearted, ‘childish’ colour, so it is not recommended to use yellow when selling prestigious, expensive products to men – nobody will buy a yellow business suit or a yellow Mercedes. Yellow is an unstable and spontaneous colour, so avoid using yellow if you want to suggest stability and safety. Light yellow tends to disappear into white, so it usually needs a dark color to highlight it. Shades of yellow are visually unappealing because they loose cheerfulness and become dingy.
Grey
Grey is timeless, practical, and solid. A longstanding favorite suit color, gray can mix well with any color. Although well like and often worn, people rarely name grey as a favourite colour possibly because Grey also is associated with loss or depression.
Colour meanings found – http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-meaning.html and – http://www.squidoo.com/colorexpert
I feel like Grey would be the best colour to represent time as from the meanings I have found, it is a timeless colour, it is pretty much neuter, it is serious and something that sits in the background not really wishing to be noticed. The idea of time is a bit like this, it is constantly there but you don’t always notice it. You only notice time when you are consciously aware of it, for example when you are cooking and you need to make sure something boils for only 5 minutes. This is when time comes into the foreground of our minds, I plan to experiment with this idea of grey being bolder or more noticeable in my design when time is an important factor.
I will also experimenting using the colours orange and yellow as I feel like the wording describes the process of making jam, yes its a bit hectic, but I think that is the unknowing part. Also it is creative, cooking involves adding ingredients together which means there can be a variety of outcomes. I think it will be interesting to see the use of colour used against grey as one is quite understated and the others are bold and brash so it should be a contrast.
Attempting to quicken the pace of my project I thought I would begin to look at the icons I sketched earlier in the week.
Heat: Simmer, Boil, Hard Boil & Take off heat.
Fruit: Strawberry, Raspberry and Blackberry.
Time: 5mins, 10mins, 1 day – overnight
After creating this I feel that I am now questioning whether I even need icons, or am I adding this for visual effect? Am I over complicating the process rather than making it easier for people?
For example, my icons do not seems like the easiest visuals to depict. I have tried to use the basic practice of semiotics, but even still it is quite difficult.
After discussing with others about what my project is about as well as the icons created they were curious to why I had icons, if I had the text of the recipe as well. Which has obviously lead me to question myself, if I answer honestly, its probably because I am worried that I do not have a lot of information to design.
If I try to strip back everything about this project and what I think about it. I think that time is the biggest point as well as issue within cooking. Time is what makes things go right or wrong. Over cooking is when the thing has spent to much time cooking, and the same for under cooking, and time can be useful when cooking. Knowing the preparation time, cooking time etc. You can see that time is an important thing when cooking as there has been an influx in books that focus on time : Jamie’s 15 minutes meals, jamie’s 30 minute meals etc.
So now I am thinking about revisiting the time icons and forgetting and moving on from the others.
Lizhamburger 