SurfTheChannel

"While single-column grids work well for simple documents, multi-column grids provide flexible formats for publications that have a complex hierarchy or that integrate text and illustrations. The more columns you create, the more flexible your grid becomes. You can use the grid to articulate the hierarchy of the publication by creating zones for the different kinds of content. A text or image can occupy a single column or it can span several. Not all the space has to be filled." (142)

SurfTheChannel follows the same balance described in the Lupton text. The different kinds of content are placed in different sections, each occupying a different number of columns. The tabs at the top, which guide you through most of the site, occupy several small columns each. Then there's the search feature, which basically takes the entire span of all columns on the grid, but is seen as only one column. The same goes for the information bar below it. The internal links and the sole image (which is also a link) take up what appears to us to be three columns, all the same size (but larger than those used for the tabs). The external links take up what looks like five columns (larger in size than the internal links and the tabs), and are placed next to an ad because it fits and is close enough in size that can almost appear to be one of the external links.

By dividing the page into sections by content, the site becomes somewhat more balanced and allows the reader to find what he/she wants more easily. This is further aided by the grid used, which, while organized, is still flexible enough. The tiny white spaces between sections allows for less clutter, although I feel it could use more space than it does.

Slumdog Millionaire Relies on Color

Every now and then a low-budget film with unknown actors comes from behind and gives all the major movies with the big-namers - a run for their money during awards season. This season's example is "Slumdog Millionaire." It was a huge hit at the Golden Globes - and after that everyone has been talking about it and whether or not it's a "shoe-in" for Best Picture at the Oscars. Recently, it's child stars and their salaries and continued poor living conditions despite the success of the movie have even made headlines. The movie in general seems to be a topic of discussion across a range of subject areas. 

This encouraged me to look up the movie's poster and I was immediately intrigued by the use of color. This past week we've talked about the use of color and the poster used to promote the video is based heavily on the use of color. Sometimes too much color makes a poster seem "busy" and can be distracting or even tiring to look at - but in this instance it makes it interesting and pulls you in. 

The combination of colors highlights the images of the two actors. It also helps to create a sense of urgency and a race against time. The girl running if so much lighter than the other images and pops out at you. Also the colors streamed across the poster create a sense of movement by showing what seems to be a glare - perhaps through a window or something. Then you see the profile of the boy in the background with the use of color highlighting different aspects of his face. 

Also the two most prominent colors on the poster are yellow and purple, which after this weeks class seems to make sense. As we learned these two colors are opposites and thus create a sense of balance when they're used together. 

I also really like the way that everything is centered on the page, but the girl and boy are different sizes and facing different directions. The boys nose point you down the the line of color which then points you over to the girls face. The girls face then draws you down her body and toward the question that appears toward the bottom of the page. Even though there is a lot going on on the poster it is easy to understand and read. 

I've yet to see the film, but the poster has definitely made the film seem as interesting as the reviews suggest!

And the Oscar goes to...

The Oscars are the most important time of the year for anyone involved in the film industry. These awards have set the standards for any and all films that have been made over the past 81 years. The award show is more elaborate than anyone can imagine. Designer dresses pack the red carpet and anybody who's anybody is there. So naturally the advertisements, posters, and promotion material have to convey a feel of regality. The poster to the left is the for the 2009 Oscars, coming up on Sunday. The design for this poster personifies the Oscar trophy by putting him on stage, as if it was a star receiving an award. The colors of black, white and gold also help give this poster an elegant feel. Previous years' posters has given the same feel of sophistication, elegance and class. Every poster has the signature Oscar on it, but it is always done in a different way. Look at last years poster. For the 80th anniversary show, the designer used film strips to create Oscar. I think this design was very creative and really catches your eye. Going back to the 80s, you can still see consistency in the feel of each poster and the Oscar. The Oscars, and its posters along with it, are so vital to American culture that they are sold online at various websites.

Oh look! Another post on typography!

What is there to say about typography that hasn't already been said?  It's one of the most overlooked yet profound methods of advertising and expression in the history of media, and as such, it seems only fair to devote at least a few blogs' worth of time and effort to this noble art.  The lectures, combined with the Lupton reading, have made it all too clear how much of an effect typefaces and type orientation and type color and type size have played in our decision-making as consumers.  It's a job that rarely receives its due credit, choosing fonts that will catch our eye and convey meaning and manage to not overwhelm us with too much visual stimuli.

But when you think about it, and I mean really think about it, typography is one of the only things in our lives that we encounter on a regular basis.  I'm talking every single day in our nearly century-long existences.  Even

 looking around my room I am bombarded by text, be it from my Dark Knight poster or the label on the bottle of the aspirin I took last night for my headache or the label on the Obama pin on my bag or the title of my Snow Cake DVD sitting on my desk.  It's everywhere, and what's more, for some things it's universally recognized.  Take for instance a poster for one of my own personal favorite movies, Jonathan Demme's Oscar-winning picture The Silence of the Lambs, displayed above.  It's a fairly well-known image:  Jodie Foster with the death's-head moth over her lips, the title of the movie featured beneath.  We probably all recognize it right off the bat, and if you don't, you need to start watching better films.  Point is, the set-up is a pretty clear indication of the sort of picture you're about to see:  suspense-thriller, intense plot line, won't-take-your-shit characters.

Now take a look at the image I created in Photoshop.  It's the same basic idea:  Jodie Foster with the death's-head moth over her lips, the title of the movie featured beneath.  The picture is the same, the coloring is the same.  Except...oh wait, there's a small adjustment made to the words The Silence of the Lambs.  I just used a different font, but now the tone of the entire poster has gone from suspense-thriller, intense plot line, won't-take-your-shit characters to something akin to "Clarice Starling goes skipping through the meadow with Dr. Lecter in search of bunny rabbits and rainbows."  In going from a sans serif typeface to a downloaded font called Font Diner Dot Com Sparkly, the whole theme has been altered.  THAT is the power of typography.  Genius decisions can bolster sales by the millions, and mistakes have the potential to lead to marketing flops and even bankruptcy.  It is a rare form of art that can so evenly balance the incorporation of creativity with the preciseness of logical decision-making.  This is the definition of graphic design.

Type in Action

This being my first blog for Graphics 217, I was not really sure on what I was looking for as far as blog material goes, specifically type related. So being an individual with a wandering mind I found my way on to YouTube. There I took a shot in the dark and typed typography into the search bar. To my surprise I stumbled on to the wonderful world of animated typography which was tailored to some pretty popular movies.

I found bits from Anchorman, Superbad, and even a bit modeled after Kanye West's "Stronger." While watching these type movies I noticed the importance surrounding the contrast within the animation. It seems as though one character will be assigned on type font to follow their voice and another type font assigned to another character. In the Anchorman bit for example, Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) is given a novelty serif font that expresses his overblown sense of cavalier sophistication. The other gentleman (known as Brian) is given a very bold sans-serif font that illustrates his sense of meaning business. Additionally I noticed that the size of the font varied with what I can only assume the creator considered important dialogue (the larger the font the more important), which plays right into the hierarchy of type which was discussed in lecture. URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac6EM4eS07g


The Superbad bit goes on to incorporate color into its clip by again contrasting individuals' voices. The three characters each have their own distinct type color assigned to them in the piece. The orientation and position of the type in this clip even furthers the message by illustrating confusion, impatience, and anger. Even shapes and lines are thrown into this video.
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQ74ocmqMTw

The Kanye clip includes a variety of serif, sans-serif, and novelty fonts each with the distinct purpose of capturing his intended meaning behind the word. For instance the word "Now" is put into a font similar to what would be found on an alarm clock to illustrate that the time is now. Again this video incorporates scale to show the hierarchy of the message and specific orientation to match the flow of the song. URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oq8BY2utbT8


In reference to the reading from Lupton, I believe these clips accurately portray the concept that "designers are dissatisfied with clean images, instead seeking to plunge the letter into the world of physical process...the letters are now scratched, bent, bruiesed, and polluted." I'm sure that there are plenty of ways for this textual display to be used inappropriately, but I believe in using them as entertainment devices paired with audio they are very effective and very appropriate. I almost found them as entertaining as watching an actual clip from a movie or music video.
I see these clips as just another outlet for art and entertainment, and I am presuming that is what their creators intended them to be. I wonder if we will be doing any work like this in class? These clips give a new meaning to moveable type.