Refined Accordion Book

   I chose the french door form for my refined model. I changed the form ofthe book so that it would be thinner lengthwise and more compact, or condensed. I also added a cardboard back and cover to echo the choice of keeping our letters cardboard. The first fold you open shows the definition of the word condense and the book condenses down onto our group picture behind our natural installation.

Photo Essay Reflection

   The most rewarding part of this project was the photo essay. After creating our large letter forms it was extremely rewarding to see them on campus and watch each class evaluate them.
   The actual creation of the letter forms seemed daunting at first, but was not as difficult as I expected. Even though it was not very difficult, we did underestimate the amount of time it would take to create the letters.
   After thinking of several locations, we decided on one natural location and one urban location: outside the design building and in the library. Deciding not to paint our letters helped them blend in more naturally between the trees at our first and primary location. We wanted the word condense to look as if it had been there for some time and evoke the idea of a fence or a bike twisted and overgrown into a tree. To create this idea we placed it between two trees and added leaves underneath and on top of the letters.  The only problem with this location was that we had to wait for the shadow of Budig to retreat. Otherwise, I think it was our most effective location.
   In the library we did three other installations: an elevator and two different placements between the bookshelves. The elevator generally is a generally uncomfortable place and people are condensed into it. To evoke this feeling we set our letters all the way against the wall and tried to make the light
treatment intimidating and eerie. Our other two installations at the library were between the stacks, where knowledge is condensed into books and books are condensed into rows. We spread our letters out across two rows of shelves for one and spaced out the C, O, and N and condensed the D,  E, N, S, and E for the other to reflect this.

Installation Selects

Photo Essay Reaction

   After reading Chapter 2 “Documents” I have a better appreciation for photography as well as a better understanding of its origin and how it evolved into what it is today. I was
most surprised to hear that it was not considered an art form at first. The quote from Lady Elizabeth Estlake saying photography is “beneath the doing of real artists” was especially surprising to me. I also learned the different uses for photography over the years such as helping document important events, the documentation and exploration of the human form, the documentation of
technology moving forward, and the study of social class.
    I found the “Photo Ops” reading more helpful in relation to this project. The sections on different ways of showing ideas through photographs helped me to decide what kind of location to place our letter forms in. The section on framing was especially helpful in choosing our natural location. The trees framed the word, drawing attention to it and giving it context without
overpowering it.
    The part of this reading that resounded most strongly with me was the idea at the beginning of the reading which said that photography has “altered creativity.” Photography has changed the way the world perceives information. A photograph can add texture, color, shape, shadow, and add context to the subject. Photography adds an extra dimension to any works they are included in.

Project Reflection

    From this project I learned that words have power in design. Each word has
connotations and denotations that can effect how the reader reacts to the overall design. By exploring and magnifying those concepts visually a stronger reaction can be achieved. If an individual did
not know the meaning of a word and saw it visually represented at one of the installation sites they would most likely understand its meaning through the way the letters were formed and where
the group chose to installation site. If this level of comprehension was achieved by a person who did not know the meaning of the word through our visual representations, I would call it a successful representation of a word.
   I also learned more about typography through the “Parts of A Letter” reflection. This helped me understand the vocabulary of typography as well as the differences between each font, which aided in the selection of a font for the large letters. I also learned more about photo essays through the photo essay reflection. After reading it I felt I had a better grasp on how to create a successful photo book.
     The part of the project I found most difficult was finding a simple but unique way to visually represent the word during the preliminary activities. At first I could only think of obvious ways to represent the word condense. After class critiques and seeing everyonelse's work I realized that the concept did not have to be loud and obvious, as long as it was effective. This helped me to later create more effective representations in the refined compositions.
   I also found the creation of the accordion book to be a challenge. I struggled to decide on a complicated way to represent condense, but after I decided that it was more simple word, deserving of a more simple concept, I found it easier, although the physical creation of it was also a challenge. I think mapping it out more on paper before trying to print it or put it together would have helped with this problem.
   Even though I struggled with these aspects of the project, the creation and installation of the word was my favorite thing I have done in Think & Make. I enjoyed learning how to construct the
letters as well as deciding how to place them in each location.

Parts of a Letter Reflection

    Learning the vocabulary and origin of typography is essential to design. Knowing the letterform component parts can make it easier to identify and correctly use specific typefaces. Serif fonts illustrate the largest range of these terms. The three different types of serifs are traditional, modern, and slab. To identify a font as a serif font notice the short strokes that finish off the major strokes of the letterform and identify the brackets, or curving joints between the serif and the stroke.

   Each font has a base line, which each letter sits on, and a cap height, the measurement of the upper case letters, taken from the base line to the top of the character. Fonts are also measured by X height. The X height is the height of the lowercase X starting from the base line. Letters that rise above the measurement of the X height are called ascenders and letters that fall below it are called descenders.

   The different parts of each letter also have a specific vocabulary. The horizontal bar in capital letters like A and H is called a crossbar and the middle, top of capital letters that come to a point like A and W is called the apex. Capitol letters such as C have what is called a barb at the top end of the letterform. The final, the front and beginning stroke of a letter, and the terminal the bottom and end stroke of a letter, characterizes lower case letters. In lowercase letters like p and c the lower curve of the letter is called the counter and the upper curve is called the bowl.

   After reading Parts of the Letter I have a better understanding of letterforms and the vocabulary they entail. This will help me identify fonts and discuss the specific parts of them that I like or dislike and explain my views with intelligent reasoning.