project 03 :: project statement

Since publications were extremely popular among the works produced by Futurists, I will create the "Destruction of Syntax–Imagination without Strings–Words-in-Freedom" manifesto by Marinetti into a publication featuring the classic Futurist look of words-in-freedom.

However, to bring the ideals of Futurism into a contemporary context, I will make this a digital, interactive publication. From my research I gathered that the Futurists champion speed, movement, and technology. But the technology they were so excited about included the telegraph and the newspaper – now we have e-books, smart phones, and the Internet! They would get so excited! Back then they wanted to defy the norms of printing and traditional layouts – that's how they got "words-in-freedom" – but they were constrained by the printing technologies of the day. Now, I can take their ideas even further by not even using a traditional paper book.

Using InDesign to create an animated, interactive words-in-freedom publication that will be distributed on the Internet, I will highlight the Futurist ideals of speed, movement, technology and expressive type in a contemporary context. 

project 03 :: further research

Some more helpful websites about publications from Italian Futurism :: 

http://guity-novin.blogspot.com/2011/08/chapter-44-italian-futurist-visual.html

http://www.designhistory.org/Avant_Garde_pages/Futurism.html

http://www.theartstory.org/movement-futurism.htm

More images of Italian Futurism publications ::

Interesting snippet from this page that has inspired my current ideas ::

If Futurism was about rejecting the "traditional past of book design" while championing technology, speed, and motion, how can I continue that idea by using the technology available to me now?

My idea: an e-book. I'm going to look into presenting the manifesto in an interactive e-book complete with some animations, sounds, and words-in-freedom.

How-to websites ::

http://blogs.adobe.com/captivate/2013/08/a-step-by-step-guide-to-create-an-interactive-ebook.html

http://www.blogtyrant.com/make-ebook/

project 03 :: futurism research

Some iconic pieces of futurist artwork ::

Umberto Boccioni, Unique Forms of Community in Space, 1913

Umberto Boccioni, Elasticity (Eliasticitá), 1912, oil on canvas, 100x100cm 

Giacomo Balla, Dinamisno di un Cane al Guinzaglio (Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash), 1912

Umberto Boccioni, sketch of The City Rises, 1910

Giacomo Balla, Abstract Speed + Sound, 1913-1914

Examples of Futurist typography/words-in-freedom ::

Examples of contemporary interpretations of words-in-freedom ::

Screenshot from Google search that exemplifies "movement" of the movement ::

Fonts used at the time of Futurism :: 

https://www.behance.net/gallery/8711009/-Fonts-used-at-the-time-of-Futurism

• Futura 

• Kabel

• Thunderbird

• Bauhaus

• Bank Gothic

• Goudy

• Didot

• Bernhard

• Hobo

• Souvenir

• Rodchenko

• Eagle

• Trade

• Franklin Gothic

• Perpetua

• City

Other concepts to keep in mind ::

• speed
• technology
• nationalism
• all kinds of mediums
• "the perceived world is in constant movement"
• colors :: red, yellow, green, blue
• "artistic work without an aggressive element cannot be considered art"
• language without syntax to convey emotion; expressive typography 

Helpful links ::

About/Background Info

https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/text/brief-guide-futurism

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futurism

Words-In-Freedom 

http://exhibitions.guggenheim.org/futurism/words_in_freedom/#0

http://www.mhpbooks.com/words-in-freedom/

Interesting reads 

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/how-futurist-art-inspired-the-design-of-a-bmw-160900416/?no-ist

project 03 :: manifestos galore

To choose an "ism" as the basis for my project, I looked over the manifestos.

Dada is fascinating to me, and in reading the first few sentences of the manifesto, I thought it would be quite a fun challenge to work with that text. However, due to the sheer length of the manifesto and absolute absurdity of the words (intentionally so, of course) I decided to take a look at other options.

While reading "Destruction of Syntax–Imagination without strings–Words-in-Freedom" by F.T. Marinetti from The Futurist Sensibility, I was captivated by how so many of the ideas Marinetti expresses are applicable in contemporary society:

"The earth has shrunk by speed..."
I think this is even more so the case today.

"Today he is aware of the whole world..."
We can know what is happening around the world with the click of a button... and we can "be" somewhere via technologies like Skype, FaceTime, live streaming video, or Google Maps. And Marinetti was talking about newspapers, locomotives, and the telegraph! What would he think if he were alive today, in the era of the Internet and smartphones?!

"He little needs to know what his ancestors did, but he must assiduously discover what his contemporaries are doing all over the world..." 
How much more today have we forsaken tradition and history to be consumed with ourselves and the present?
_ _ _ _ _

Apart from these ideas about speed and technology, I was struck by these principles:
– letting typography SHOW what you MEAN
– "I oppose the decorative, precious aesthetic of Mallarmé and his search for the rare word, that one indispensable, elegant, suggestive, exquisite adjective. I do not want to suggest an idea or a sensation with passéist airs and graces. Instead I want to grasp them brutally and hurl them in the reader's face."
– words in freedom

_ _ _ _ _

As I move forward with my research of futurism, I'll be thinking about how I can incorporate speed, movement, technology, and words-in-freedom in my design to show the intrinsic nature of futurism and how it has influenced typography and graphic design.

project 03 :: reading response

The selection from Pioneers of Modern Typography by Herbert Spencer was a fascinating read that walked through the Futurism, Suprematism, Dadaism, De Stijl, and Bauhaus movements and acknowledged their roots in Cubism. I appreciated how the author pointed out the culture of printing in the years before these movements emerged. In the 1870s until the 1910s, printing was primarily for artistic and elite purposes with elaborate ornamentation. With these new movements, printing was reclaimed as a means of conveying ideas and information that was less removed from the realities of contemporary society.

I also found it interesting to see how much of our modern graphic design principles and tendencies, such as asymmetry, contrast, color as a design element, and sans-serif typefaces, were developed in the period of time when these movements emerged.

It was cool to be able to see how the movements inspired and spurred one another on, whether because the principles were adopted or because they were changed to match a different agenda. There are lots of formal and conceptual similarities and differences. For example, Dadaist and Futurist work looks very similar, but the Dada movement came out of disillusionment with war and a revolt "against the establishment," so to speak. The Futurists also wanted to break with the past, but they were much more nationalistic. While Dadaists saw war and all the ideas that led to it absurd, Futurists championed speed and technology and saw war as cleansing. I find these two movements most fascinating; I'll probably choose between the two as I move forward in my research.

Project 02a :: Final book layout proposal & synopsis

It is exciting to be working on a project that so many people are collaborating on. 

As one of the designers, the conceptual development of the page layout I created began with listening to the vision of our client (The Comparison Project and Drake Community Press) and looking at the content they provided. We learned that our client wants to see text and image integrated and treated with equal importance, rather than photos slapped in to illustrate the text. We also knew that they wanted a large format book. So, I used the height and width of the images to find the ratio I used to define my page format, which turned out to be 9"x11.25". I spent a lot of time working on the grid system – figuring out columns, margins, leading, and such. I wanted the text and images to have breathing room, but I also didn't want to have a whole lot of white space. I ended up keeping the text in 2 columns with ample leading, and allowed the images to push through the boundaries of the grid. 

As we begin to develop the book as a whole, I think incorporating color into the headings or other design elements would be a good way to keep each of the 15 sections unique while unifying the book overall. We could pull one color from the photographs from each of the 15 sections for the unique distinguishing aspect, but apply the color to the same places/text/design elements in each section for more cohesion. The 15 colors should also work well together as a palette – be "of the same mind" in terms of tint/shade/vibrancy.

project 02a :: section layout for critique

Page format :: 9 x 11.25"

2-column grid

Margins :: top & inside 0.75in, bottom 1.5in, outside 1.25in

Gutter :: 0.5in

Fonts :: Univers LT Std & Adobe Caslon Pro

project 02a :: grid possibilities

Here are some mock-ups of the initial grids possibilities I sketched out while thinking about how to best lay out the content of this book.

Landscape orientation, 3-column grid ::

Portrait orientation, 2-column grid ::

Portrait orientation, 2-column grid (with actual content) ::

project 02a :: reading response

We read an excerpt of Book Design by Andrew Haslam and the "Structure and Integration" section from Timothy Samara's Publication Design Workbook to better enhance our knowledge of publication design as we begin this photo narrative project with The Comparison Project and Drake Community Press.

The two main ideas I took away from this reading were:

•  a better understanding of format: the relationship between the length and width of the page (i.e. portrait, landscape, or square)
• an appreciation for the mathematics that go into grids: the underlying structure of a page that includes margin widths, columns, gutters, and the baseline grid for type

While reading, I was impressed by the number of ways a designer can go about designing a page. From Samara's book, I wrote down this quote: "There's a message. There's a visual concept conveying that message. And there's a way of organizing the concept around the message within a given space."

The trick is to decide how to best organize your content on the page. Should you let the page dictate how your content is viewed? Or should you let your content determine the format of the page? Should you build the grid and then fit the type in? Or should you build the grid based on the structure of the type?

Publication design can be highly mathematical, which is something I've never fully realized. But the more I learn, the more I appreciate the work and the trial and error the designers put into creating pages that fit their content well and allow the viewer to engage with the content in the way it needs to be engaged with.

I am excited to develop a grid system as a class for this publication; I realize from the readings that grids are the best way to ensure continuity in the midst of a collaborative project. However, I was challenged by this quote, also from the Samara reading, "The greatest danger in using a grid is to succumb to its regularity."

I'm looking forward to putting these theories into practice!

project 01 :: project synopsis

The conceptual process of this project was fascinating, from start to finish. 

Once I decided on the font "Monserrat", I spent days doing research. I found out about Julieta Ulanovsky, the Argentinian designer who created the font, and her heart behind creating it. This is a quote of Ulanovsky's that really drove this whole process for me: 

"The old posters and signs in this place inspired me to design a typeface that rescues the beauty of urban typography from the first half of the twentieth century. The goal is to rescue what is in Montserrat and set it free, under a free, libre and open source license, the SIL Open Font License. " – Julieta Ulanovsky

I found out that she funded the creation of this typeface via Kickstarter, and I was captured by the idea that this was a typeface intended to save what is beautiful about an urban space, funded by the people of that space.

I learned that Montserrat is the oldest neighborhood in Argentina. I looked up satellite images on Google Maps and sorted through a plethora of other images of the city and culture.

After compiling all my research, I decided how I wanted to promote this typeface. This is from my project statement:

Using vibrant colors, urban textures, geometric design, and an emphasis on the historical and cultural considerations of this typeface family, I will promote Montserrat as font for digital use inspired by the historically and culturally rich neighborhood of Montserrat in Buenos Aires.

Through a long process of sketching, designing, critiquing, revising, scrapping, and revising again, I came to my final solution of a vibrant color scheme with textures created by patterns made from the typeface's glyphs. I chose glyphs that I felt emphasize the Spanish language and culture, while the color blocking elements of my final design emphasize the surprisingly ordered grid of the city of Montserrat.

Montserrat, map view (cred: Google Maps)

Montserrat, satellite view (cred: Google Maps)

Working on the grid system and hierarchy of the booklet was simultaneously the most difficult and most rewarding part of this project. Going in, I had a very vague idea of how to create a grid based on a typeface. However, the readings from Timothy Samara and Josef Müller-Brockman were very helpful, as were my professor's instruction in class, and eventually I was able to create a grid that I felt fit my project's specific needs. The grid helped me display "Montserrat" in the best way, create a more unified design, and create a publication that made logical sense.

I loved thinking about how I can best display a typeface, tweaking the point size and kerning and leading just right so its best attributes are shown off. This project makes me excited about future publication design opportunities where I can improve my grid design and type-setting skills.

project 01 :: final production

At the suggestion of my professor, I decided to print out my booklet on an off-white paper color. I used paper from a drawing pad, and the result is a beautiful creme color underlying the color scheme of red, gold, deep blue, pink, and mint green that I chose for my design.

Paper color in contrast with white

Here are some highlights from my printed booklet:

Here are some photos of the final poster, printed on the large format printer. The colors turned out a little funky, but it is cool to see my work printed out at such a large scale.