project 01 :: critique #1 reflection

We had the opportunity to have an in-class critique with designer Thomas Knauer on Wednesday. His passion for design was contagious. I greatly appreciated the insight he gave into how to go about solving design problems, and specifically for our current project how to "show the love" of the typefaces we are promoting. I jotted down some of his words of wisdom:

"Things MEAN. . ."

"If you have a solid idea of what you want to communicate, design takes 8 seconds! If you don't, you could be throwing spaghetti at a wall for hours and nothing's going to stick."

"Telling us is a placeholder for actually designing it. Show us, don't tell us." 

"The most beautiful design in the universe can become painful if there's one thing that takes up too much of the viewer's mental space."

"Designers have a responsibility to explain WHY you're having the response you're having and why you're doing what you're doing."

When Thomas Knauer gave his critiques on my poster, he helped me visualize the overlapping, layered street map of a South American city. He encouraged me to move forward with my more diagonal design, as it best portrays the dynamic, almost chaotic qualities of the urban areas from which the typeface Montserrat is inspired. He asked me to "give a picture of what the typeface sounds like." I can imagine that sound in my own mind. Now, bringing it to life is the next step.

Moving forward, I will work on the grid of my poster, allowing the lines to converge and overlap, intersecting and converging unapologetically but intentionally. I will work with layering more elements, allowing them to exist as part of each other, like a city that has evolved without a strict plan. I will choose glyphs and characters that best showcase the typeface and help with the "sound" of the poster. As Thomas Knauer reminded me, "Glyphs have onomatopoeic elements."

To be continued!