Expressive Type and Design

I started the project Expressive Type and Design by going through each font installed on my computer, analyzing each font in order to find a typeface that was expressive in supporting the meaning of each word. For the word Stodgy I choose the most boring font I could find, this boring font was Arial; I also used lowercase to help support the stodgy expression. I then put path of zs in a wave to represent sleeping. This typeface is so dull and uninteresting that the text is falling asleep. For the word Crush I used the font Westwood LET Plain: 1.0, I chose this typeface because I felt the outline of the text made the typeface look animated as if small pieces of the text were falling off. I then took this typeface into Adobe Illustrator and manipulated it to look as if the text were being squeezed in a vise. For the word Ornate I used the font Rosewood Std, I used uppercase to help support the showy heavily ornamented expression of the text. I also put a boarder of diamonds and gems around this text to make it stand out and showier. For the word Sludge I choose the font Poplar Std Black, I choose this font because it is heavy and thick just like sludge. I used uppercase to help emphasize the heavy thick expression. I took this typeface put it in Adobe Illustrator and manipulate it. I made the bottom of the typeface thicker to make it similar to mud or ooze. I then made the typeface slightly wavy to look like a slimy oozing deposit. I think the typeface used for the text Sludge does the best job of supporting the meaning of the word. The typeface just looks like heavy slimy ooze coming out of a pipe, this is actually what inspired me to create project 2a. After seeing the typeface I had created for the text sludge I thought to myself this looks like ooze coming out of a pipe of faucet, this would make a great design composition for project 2a.



I started project 2a by looking for a pipe on the internet for my type to flow out of. My initial thought was a screen shot of Super Mario Brothers, a screen shot that included the pipe that Mario uses to transport himself from level to level. After acquiring a few of these screen shots and manipulating the pipe in Adobe Photoshop I knew that this was not exactly what I was looking for. I then started searching clip art databases and came across the faucet illustration that was used in the final project. I then took each letter individually and manipulated the typeface. The bottom of each letter gets wider as the text travels from the faucet just as a thick drop of sludge would in real life. The typeface of each letter is manipulated to look like an individual thick heavy drop of ooze, yet retain its readability. This oozing single drop typeface functions as a design element in the final composition by a interesting visual element that functions as shape and texture, this type is extremely relevant to the composition. The typeface effectively enhances the text, engaging the audience to create visual appeal while communicating the intended message in a clear and compelling manner.