Type 2 Journal Entry

Outline of Laws of Simplicity:

• When in doubt, just remove.
• Organization makes a system of many appear fewer.
• Savings in time feel like simplicity.
• Knowledge makes everything simpler
  
• Simplicity and complexity need each other.
• Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious, and adding the meaningful.
  

While reading the Laws of Simplicity it reminded me of the Gestalt principles, especially closure.
I found the statement about simplicity and complexity needing each other to be very true. We wouldn't know what was simple without have complex and chaotic things. Just like seeing how big something is depends on how small the object next to it is.

John Maeda is a graphic designer who really believes in simplicity. He established the Design by Numbers project. He was considered one of the 21 most important people for the twenty-first century by Esquire magazine. He is not only a designer but an author of at least four books.

Type Videos

1. Who's On First - I found this video very funny and entertaining. The speed of the words appearing on the screen flows very well with the dialogue. Using two different typefaces is also effective to describe the two people talking.
2. Ocean's Eleven - In this video I like how they use effects to emphasize what they are talking about. For example: rearranging the words when talking about cracking a code or showing the movement of the elevator by moving down the word elevator.
3. Transformers - The thing that stood out to me most in this video was the difference between the two situations. The one voice is from a guy in a the center of a war zone and the speed, type, and sound effects all reflect that. Then when it switches to the person on the other end of the phone it is quiet, no feeling of urgency, and the type is small.
4. Dane Cook
5. Apologize
6. Serena Williams HP Commercial

After Effects Speech Questions

Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have A Dream Speech

• Who is speaking and why was the speech important?
  
• Martin Luther King Jr. is speaking about his dream and hope that one day blacks and whites can live as equals. His speech was one of the defining moments during the American Civil Rights movement.

• Why do you find it interesting?
  
• I found this speech interesting because of how passionate King is about the topic and how powerfully he delivers the message. Martin Luther King is a great speaker. He creates a picture that the audience can imagine while giving his message. He gives his audience hope for the future.

• What is the emotion, mode, tone, feeling and personality of the speech?
  
• The speaker seems to be very passionate about the topic. He is very prepared and has chosen his words wisely, as well as, bring in his own family and experience into his speech. The emotions and thoughts throughout the speech are hope, want, imagination, and history. It is very serious and you can tell in King’s voice that he is a leader and someone people look up to.

• What is loud, stressed, soft, paused, emphasized?
  
• Each word is clearly pronounced. He pauses in random places but when he does it makes since and makes the speech more powerful. Words that are stressed are ones that deal with when he wants something to happen, like “now” or “will”. “I have a dream” is always spoken loudly and is the most important or emphasized saying spoken. Certain words are also stressed by being dragged out. The words “rise up” is emphasized as well as when he says “one day”. When he talks about each situation that one day will happen he speaks louder.

• How does it make you feel? the audience feel?
  
• The speech makes me feel inspired and proud of how far we’ve come now that what he hoped for has occured to some extent. It makes me feel as though I can do something and make a change, that there is hope for change.The audience seems very interested in what the speaker has to say. They clap and whistle several times and you can also hear them agreeing with comments that King makes.

• About Martin Luther King Jr.
• Martin Luther King is most known for being a key leader in the African American Civil Rights Movement. He was a Baptist minister who became very involved in the civil rights movement during his career. He led the Montgomery Bus Boycott as well as the March on Washington where he delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Piece Prize in 1964. King was assassinated on April 4th, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee.

Type 2 Journal Entry

One of the videos I watched at Good.is was the Mr. Trash Can video I liked how the video reflected the person telling the story. The video was simple, playful, and childlike which is why it had a child telling the audience the message about trash. I also watched the Alcohol Olympics video. I thought the way the information was displayed worked really well with the topic and images used. For the beer statistic it fit well to have the statistic written in sharpie marker on the person's arm because it went along with the reputation of what happens at a party. The music also worked with the speed of everything. I thought it was interesting in the How Much for A Word.com video how they used scrabble pieces to show information. The video relied completely on the characters on the tiles to get the message rather than having someone say the facts or write them out.

Stop Stealing Sheep and find out how type works

Chapter 1: Type is everywhere.
Type is all around us in many different forms: on signs, posters, walls, books, etc. Type is used to communicate different things and when you really look at it people rely on type to find their way around more than you may realize. Because type is such a large part of our lives it is important that it is designed properly. There is a reason we have so many different typefaces; some work better for wine labels while others work better for street signs.

Chapter 2: What is type?
Over the years the actual forms of type have changed but they always have a foundation that was created back when it was first invented. The way type is created has also changed over the years from hammer and chisel, to brush, pen, typewriters, and computers.

Chapter 3: Looking at type.
Typefaces have different appearances and styles to them for a reason and people understand which typeface works better with something. The way letters are formed have a personality to them and create a message the viewer understands.

Chapter 4: Type with a purpose
Certain typefaces work better to get a message across than others. For example, business text should look serious and organized.

Chapter 5: Type builds character
A designer should understand and know the little details about their project or text. By knowing their work thoroughly they will be able to choose the appropriate typeface.

Chapter 6: Types of type
Being able to see the characteristics of a typeface and understand the distinctions from one to the other can make a designer's job easier when it comes to choosing one for their project.

Chapter 7: How it works
Adjusting the leading and kerning of in a body of text can only do so much. Some typefaces are meant for smaller sections of text while others are meant for a longer body of text.

Chapter 8: Putting it to work
Designing an effective layout can result in following the rules of placement. Placing text in an organized yet dynamic way can keep the viewer engaged in the work as well as get the message across.

Chapter 9: There is no bad type
Type changes over time in order to stay "in" and not out-dated it relies on the trends in society. What is acceptable today may not have been 20 years ago but just because it is different, more expressive, or "ugly" to some does not mean it isn't effective.

Type 2 Journal Entry

Animated typography is putting characters and letterforms into motion.
After watching the type in motion examples I realized the difference between videos with sound versus ones without. The examples, when watched without sound, held less meaning and importance. Some, like the Ursonate example did not make any sense without sound, but when watched with sound it made a little more sense. The timing in the Hitler video seemed very fast without sound but when watched with sound I didn't notice it as much because I wasn't focused on trying to read everything. Also, when watching the Hitler speech with sound, it became more real. The Allegory of the Cave worked pretty well without sound because of the words used, but when watched with sound it worked even better. The transitions and sayings fit the music well, and the music really set the tone of the message being displayed.
The most common similarity with examples on Youtube is that they all seem to be animating movie quotes, and they are basically animating it by displaying one word at a time, as the actor says it. The only thing they really differ is the speed and angle the word appears. All of the videos seem to be at a similar pace and rhythm as well. I did find one video that was put to music. I found that type put to music rather than just the speech have more meaning and cause you to think and imagine more. Ones that are just movie quotes, they've already been done and it is just another way of showing the clip without seeing the people act it out. Sure they may be funny and the speed the words come on match the actor's voice but there is not as much depth to them.

sources:
Who's on First Typyography
Wedding Crashers
Dane Cook Driveway intruder
Animated with Music
Saul Bass Interview

Graphics: Animation

Final Animation

Graphics Reading and Poster

Metaphor: The act of putting your arm around someone is a metaphor for kindness
Exaggeration: The viewer would never see penguins putting their "arms" around each other in real life.
Personification: Using animals to represent people and to show that kindness can go a long way and can be carried out by anyone or anything.
Synecdoche: Putting your arm around someone is just one way of showing kindness, there are many other ways.