Design a Series of Souvenirs for The 1939 New York World's Fair

Salvador Dali's pavilion titled Dream of Venus

PROJECT BRIEF:
You will design a series/set of 4 (Two-dimensional/Flat) souvenirs for The 1939 New York World's Fair using Illustrator. Each of the pieces in your set needs to take stylistic cues from one another. This can be achieved through a limited color palette and a consistent visual language. YOU NEED TO TAKE YOUR TIME AND DEVELOP A DESIGN STRATEGY FOR YOURSELF. CREATING THUMBNAIL SKETCHES OF YOUR 4 SOUVENIRS CAN BE VERY BENEFICIAL.

RESEARCH:
-First you will research the 1939 World's Fair and determine what subject matter you will focus on.

-You can focus on: the architecture, elements of a particular exhibit or pavilion, etc. it is up to you.  
-You need to write a description of what subject matter you plan on focusing on for your design and post it to your blog. 
-You also need to post images you found that inspired your designs.
-Any preliminary sketches of your souvenirs you make should also be posted to your blog.

PROJECT CONSTRAINTS (the rules):
-Although you will take stylistic cues and inspiration from the time period and from images and graphic design material from the World's Fair itself you should NOT COPY anything.

-There must be some sort of TEXT on each of your 4 souvenirs in the series (that can be one word, one letter, or one sentence).  

-YOU CAN NOT USE THE "IMAGE TRACE" FUNCTION IN ILLUSTRATOR!

-You should consider the back of your souvenirs as well.  Is it the same as the front or different?

-The size of your layout/composition is up to you.  If it is necessary to lay them out on more than 1 document that is fine.  Consider the composition of the layout itself.  Does it have a title?

SUGGESTIONS:
You could create a Souvenir series/set of 4:
posters
postcards
flat-pack models of architecture or models of elements from a pavilion or exhibit
paper dolls or figurines  
drink coasters
trading cards 
tarot cards
playing cards
fans
These are ONLY suggestions.  PLEASE feel free to think of something else.

I have included a link to a PDF from the book "Graphic Design Time Line" by Steven Heller and Elinor Pettit from the page on 1939.  It gives you some information about what was going on in design in 1939.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XhBmaRY34S1GJUQUQieUu4Kx7uAUddMZsfapinvGRiE/edit

DUE DATES:
THIS PROJECT SHOULD BE POSTED TO YOUR BLOG BY THE BEGINNING OF CLASS ON THURSDAY APRIL 25TH READY FOR A FINAL FORMAL PRESENTATION.

FINAL FORMAL PRESENTATION:
FOR THE FINAL PRESENTATION YOU WILL STAND AT THE LECTERN AND PRESENT YOUR PROJECT TO THE CLASS.  YOU SHOULD DESCRIBE HOW YOU DEVELOPED THE CONCEPT FOR YOUR PROJECT BY ACCESSING YOUR BLOG POST FOR THIS PROJECT.  YOU SHOULD ALSO DISCUSS THE STRATEGIES YOU USED TO ENSURE THAT YOUR SET OF 4 ITEMS VISUALLY RELATES TO ONE ANOTHER (COMPOSITION, COLOR PALETTE  TYPFACE, ETC.) YOU NEED TO PREPARE FOR THIS PRESENTATION AND IT CAN NOT GO OVER 5 MINUTES.

FINAL CLASS REQUIREMENTS:
ALL OF YOUR COMPLETED CLASS PROJECTS AND REVISIONS SHOULD BE POSTED TO YOUR BLOG BY MIDNIGHT FRIDAY MAY 3RD.  ADDITIONALLY YOU MUST ALSO HAVE ALL OF YOUR ILLUSTRATOR (.AI) AND .PNG FILES UPLOADED TO YOUR SHARED GOOGLE DRIVE FOLDER YOU CREATED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SEMESTER FOR ME TO ACCESS.

WE WILL NOT HAVE CLASS DURING EXAM WEEK APRIL 29TH-MAY 3RD BUT YOU WILL HAVE ACCESS TO THE LAB DURING OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED CLASS TIME AND THE POSTED LAB HOURS.

Student Project:

By: Jace Heard

By: Jolie Sebatian

Movie Posters in the style of designer Saul Bass

Using Illustrator design TWO 11x17 movie (or TV show, play or video game) posters in the style of designer Saul Bass.
You should first analyze Saul Bass's work and determine what are the major design characteristics and stylistic elements in his work.  Think about his use of typography and where he places it in his compositions.
We are NOT simply copying a Saul Bass movie poster and putting a different movie title on it.
IF YOU CHOOSE A MOVIE ABOUT A SUPERHERO YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO CREATE A POSTER WITH JUST THE EMBLEM, LOGO, OR SYMBOL OF THAT INDIVIDUAL (OR INDIVIDUALS) ON IT!
YOU CAN NOT USE THE "IMAGE TRACE" FUNCTION IN ILLUSTRATOR.
I have included some examples of his work to look at but you can do your own online research.  Keep in mind if you do a Google image search it is difficult to legitimize that what you are looking at is actually the work of Saul Bass namely because there are other students in different Graphic Design programs that have done this same project.  There is a website I found that has several images of Saul Bass's work.  This website shows Saul Bass's original work on the left and then an example on the right of how film studios have chosen to re-brand the work for the contemporary DVD market.  You should only be concentrating on the Saul Bass originals that are on the left.


DUE: YOU HAVE TWO IN-CLASS WORK DAYS TO COMPLETE THIS ASSIGNMENT. IT SHOULD BE POSTED TO YOUR BLOG BY THURSDAY APRIL 11TH.


http://annyas.com/saul-bass-movie-posters-then-now/




Saul Bass Posters:

Vintage Travel Poster - Redesign

Using only Illustrator make an 11x17 vintage travel poster inspired by an original poster.  

Find an authentic vintage travel poster (or posters) online to use as a launching off point for your new design.  Post the poster(s) you find to your blog.  Here is a link to a gallery which specializes in early travel/destination posters. I have provided this link because if you do a Google image search for "Vintage Travel Poster" the majority of your results will be contemporary (new) designs. It is important to me that you find an authentic antique travel poster to pull inspiration from.

http://www.charlesmichaelgallery.com/product-category/travel-and-transportation/   

Analyze the original poster's design characteristics and consider how you will REINTERPRET them into the redesign of your poster.  You should also think about what qualities of the design make it look vintage and incorporate those stylistic qualities in your redesign as well.

Additionally, I want you to find another photo (DO NOT USE AN EXISTING ILLUSTRATION, DRAWING, OR CARTOON! USE ONLY PHOTOS) that you will use as the basis for an illustration to incorporate into your travel poster.  Just as in other projects where we have translated photos into illustrations you should find a way to make it your own.  You do not need to follow the photo exactly.  You can exaggerate or simplify aspects of the photo to give your illustration unique characteristics.  It is also important that it has the same "vintage" quality as the rest of your poster.  If you would like to "freehand" an ORIGINAL illustration from your own imagination without using a photograph that is even better.

Think about the typeface you will use, the placement of the title and how the overall composition will be laid out. YOUR TEXT CAN NOT HAVE A STROKE ON IT! 

It is not necessary that you keep the original travel destination of your found travel poster.  If your poster was originally Italy you could change it to Kentucky or even a fictional location.

You should start experimenting with these tools:

-pen (with all tools found underneath the pen tool as well)
-direct select
-pencil
-paintbrush (with brush library)
-pathfinder
-blob brush
-gradient
-live paint bucket
-clipping mask 

THE ONLY TOOLS YOU CAN NOT USE ARE IMAGE TRACE, AND THE SYMBOL LIBRARY

YOU HAVE 2 CLASS PERIODS TO WORK ON THIS POSTER. THE POSTER SHOULD BE POSTED TO YOUR BLOG IN .PNG FORMAT BY THE BEGINNING OF CLASS TUES. April 2nd.  

EXAMPLES:

ORIGINAL             REDESIGN

   

SOURCE IMAGE

__________________________________________________________________________

ORIGINAL              REDESIGN

ORIGINAL              REDESIGN

SHAPE, PATTERN AND COLOR HARMONIES

Create 3 different patterns each 10" x 10" made up of REPEATING compound shapes that each employ the use of a different color harmony.  Here is a link to an Illustrator file that shows you different color harmonies:  Color Harmony Illustrator File  You can use the eyedropper tool to sample the colors to insert into your patterns.  Think about where your patterns begin and end within your art board.   You may want to use the PATHFINDER and ALIGN tools to assist you when creating your patterns.   

Attendance will not be required on Thursday March 7th. You will have access to the computer lab during our regularly scheduled class time. You will have 2 in-class periods to work on this assignment. Name each of your documents by what color harmony you are using.

Make sure and post the .png version of your projects to your blog by the beginning class on Tuesday March 19th.

ANALAGOUS

TETRAD

TRIAD

TRANSPARENCY... COLOR, DEPTH, & VIBRATION

Exercise 1: The Illusion of Transparency by Color Manipulation

Explore the illusion of transparency (we are not using the transparency tool) . Starting with a horizontal bar of one color, you will place 3 vertical bars (made up of 3 rectangles each) of another color so that they overlap the horizontal bar.  Where these vertical bars overlap the horizontal bar, the illusion of transparency should be created. In the first overlapping area, it should appear as if the vertical bar is spatially above the horizontal bar. In the last overlapping area, it should appear as if the horizontal bar is spatially above the vertical bar. And in the middle overlapping area, it should be ambiguous as to which bar is on top. You should use a format similar to the one shown here in the example.

Exercise 2-4: Transparency-Depth-Vibration

Using only rectangles of different sizes, create 3 separate designs. They can be 10"x10" or 8.5"x11. One design should use color to create an illusion of transparency. One design should use color to create a strong illusion of depth, and one design should use color to create the effect of visual vibration (it should almost hurt to look at it). Be creative with your designs and consider the overall design quality in addition to your use of color. Think long-term about using this project in your final portfolio.


You have 1 in-class period to work on these assignments.  Make sure the .png versions of your projects are posted to your blog by the beginning of the next class. 11am Tuesday March 5th.


Examples:

TRANSPARENCY

DEPTH

VIBRATION

SIMULTANEOUS CONTRAST - HUE, SATURATION & BRIGHTNESS

Simultaneous contrast refers to apparent changes in hue, value, and saturation that are created by adjacent colors.

EXERCISE 1:

In this exercise, your task is to make a single color appear as two different colors. Begin by placing two small rectangles of the same size and color on two backgrounds of different colors. Then, adjust the background colors to produce the most dramatic change possible between the two smaller rectangles. You should use a format like the examples shown here. There should not be a stroke (outline) on any of your rectangles. You will create 2 variations of this exercise.

EXAMPLE:

EXERCISE 2:

In this exercise, your task is to make two different colors appear to be one and the same color. Begin by placing two small rectangles of differing colors on two backgrounds of different colors. Then, adjust the background colors until the smaller middle rectangles both look like the same color. You should use a format similar to the examples shown here and make 2 variations of this exercise.

EXAMPLE:

EXERCISES 3-5 Hue, Saturation, Brightness:

Using only a single shape of various sizes and colors, you will create three separate ABSTRACT (nonrepresentational) 8.5 x 11 designs. One design should utilize gradations in hue (your hue color palette is provided for you in the "HSB WORKSHEET"). One design should utilize gradations in saturation, while retaining a fixed hue. And one design should utilize gradations in brightness, while retaining a fixed hue. YOU NEED TO CHANGE YOUR COLOR PANEL SETTING TO "HSB". Be intentional with your designs and consider the overall composition and design quality in addition to your use of color.  Bellow you will find a link to an Illustrator file that will serve as a worksheet to develop the different gradations that you will choose to work with.
HSB_WORKSHEET

DUE:  YOU HAVE 1 IN-CLASS PERIOD TO WORK ON THIS ASSIGNMENT.  IT SHOULD BE POSTED TO YOUR BLOG BY THE BEGINNING OF CLASS ON Thurs. Feb. 28th.

EXAMPLE "HUE":

EXAMPLE "SATURATION":

EXAMPLE "BRIGHTNESS":

Movie Poster Made Completely of Type

Using Illustrator capture the essence or emotive qualities of a film through a poster design made completely out of type.  You will choose the movie but do NOT use any animated films.

DO NOT REUSE THE ORIGINAL DESIGN OF THE MOVIE POSTER!  THIS IS A COMPLETE REDESIGN!  I WOULD AVOID EVEN LOOKING AT THE ORIGINAL POSTER OR AD CAMPAIGN.  DO NOT USE THE SAME TYPEFACE AS THE ORIGINAL DESIGN.

Project Parameters:

-Poster must be 11x17 (Tabloid)

-You can only use black, white, and shades of grey.

-You can scale (holding the shift key), rotate, move, reflect/mirror, create outlines, and utilize the pathfinder window.
-You can not adjust the underlying paths of your type.
-You CAN utilize the transparency panel.

DUE:  You have 2 in-class periods to work on this assignment.  It must be posted to your blog by the beginning of the class TUESDAY FEB. 19th.   We will have a group critique on that day. You should always be saving both your Illustrator file (.ai) and your .png file.  Every assignment we have completed up to this point in the semester should be posted to your blog.

EXAMPLES:

EXAMPLE OF A COMPLETE REDESIGN:

PROJECT 2 - The Word is Expression

Typography and Composition 

The WORD is expression

Choose three words.

In Illustrator using letters create THREE different designs (each 8.5"x11") that visually represent the meaning/definition, the feeling, the sound, and other aspects that you can associate with each of your words.

Word choice is important in that it will influence the

perception of the design as a whole. Do NOT use proper nouns.

Possible choices/example words:

disoriented, able, skillful, absolute, unqualified, antagonistic, affable, diffident, humble, dissonant, opulent, abundant, ample, artificial, hectic, mindless, accumulate, independent, magnanimous, authoritative, miserly, cautious, petulant, firm, harmonious, esoteric, calm, crude, copious, jagged, expensive, hierarchical, pernicious, furious, furry, barren, corpulent, atonal, vapid, viscous, gelatinous, 

Create three designs, each relating the essence of the word to the essence of the design. Each of your three designs should take strategic and compositional cues from lessons learned from previous assignments.

Consider the relationship of the type to the entire composition as it relates to the meaning of the word.

Words may be repeated in the design if compositional integrity is maintained. You may use letters that do not appear in your word if they contribute to your overall concept. 

DO NOT SIMPLY DRAW A PICTURE OUT OF TYPE AND LABEL IT.  YOUR WORD SHOULD BE VISUALLY CONTRIBUTING TO THE MEANING OF YOUR WORD.

THE RULES:

-Designs should be 8.5 x 11.
-Your word must appear in your composition and be legible.

-You may only use these typefaces:
Arial
Baskerville
Bodoni 72
Century Schoolbook
Cooper Black
Didot
Futura
Garamond
Geneva
Georgia
Gill Sans
Helvetica
Impact
Lucida Blackletter
Rockwell
Times New Roman
Zapfino
-Letterforms can be white, black and shades of grey.

-You must constrain proportions when scaling up or scaling down.  So hold down that shift key.

-No effects.  Only scaling, rotating and moving.

-You may not reflect or mirror your letters.
-You can not adjust the transparency of your letters.

DUE:  You have 2 class periods to work on this assignment.  I AM GIVING YOU THIS AMOUNT TIME SO THAT YOU CAN COME UP WITH ORIGINAL CONCEPTS AND WELL-CONCEIVED COMPOSITIONS! You should have your designs posted to your blog in .png format by the beginning of class Thursday Feb.7th ready for critique.  

EXAMPLES:

PROJECT 1 - Typographic Self Portrait

Typographic Self Portrait

Project by Esen Karol, Mimar Sinan University Represented in Design for Communication, Elizabeth Resnick

Assignment Brief:

Using Illustrator create a 8.5" x 11" self-portrait using letterforms.

Use letters to illustrate your face. Consider the character of the letters and their relationship to your physical appearance represented in your photo (soft vs. hard angles, textures, etc.). Consider also the relationship between the characteristics of the letterforms and your identity, your personality, your persona.

Consider the entire composition of the page. Use scale and pattern to create value.

Constraints:

-The design must use only black letters (NO STROKE) on a white background. 
-Letters may be scaled up and down but MUST retain their relative proportions (use the corners of your "bounding box" and hold down the shift key). 
-You can move and rotate your letters.
-You can reflect your letters.  
-No effects.  
-You can NOT adjust transparency.
-If you plan on working on this project on a different computer you may want to "create outlines" with your type or "package" your file so it brings your fonts with you.
  
DUE: You have 2 in-class periods to work on this project so take your time and do a really good job.  Before beginning your portrait take some time and think about the layout and overall composition of your project.  We will be critiquing your portraits in the class following the 2 in-class work periods so make sure to have them posted to your blog in .png format by the start of class Tuesday Jan. 29th.  As always make sure and save both your Illustrator file as well as the .png.

EXAMPLES:

Mary Britton

Zena Pirnot

Jarett Moore

TJ Grier

Emily Duerrwaechter

Sheila McCabe

Ariana Jackson

FIGURE/GROUND Contrast and Composing Exercise 4 (A-F)

Figure/ground relationships shape visual perception.  A figure (form) is always seen in relation to what surrounds it (ground, or background)–letters to a page, a building to its site, a sculpture to the space within it and around it, the subject of a photograph to its setting and so on. A black shape on a black field is not visible; without separation and contrast, form disappears.

"People are accustomed to seeing the background as a passive and unimportant relation to a dominant subject.  Yet visual artists quickly become attuned to the spaces around and between elements, discovering their power to shape experience and become active forms in their own right." (An excerpt from Graphic Design The New Basics by Ellen Lupton and Jennifer Cole Phillips.)

Poster by: Joanna Gorska & Jerzy Skakun

FIGURE/GROUND Contrast and Composing Exercises 4 (A-F)

-  Using Illustrator you will make (6) 10-x-10-inch square non-representational (abstract) compositions.

-  Working within a 10-x-10-inch square, combine letterforms into dynamic compositions.  Focus on letterform details to illuminate the unique characteristics and stylistic features of your letters.  Use figure/ground relationships to contrast forms against each other as well as merge them together.  The black elements in your composition should have just as much visual impact as the white.  You can copy, overlap, move, rotate and scale (holding down the shift key of course) your letters.  You may not use effects or reflect (mirror) your letters. 

- Select contrasting letterforms for each of your compositions.  

- Choose letters that vary in their weight, geometry, and complexity. 

- Your letters must have a black or white fill with NO stroke (outline). 

-You can not adjust transparency.

EXERCISES 4 (A-F) ARE DUE: The beginning of the next class posted to your blog in .PNG format.  PLEASE REMEMBER TO SAVE BOTH YOUR ILLUSTRATOR (.AI) AND THE .PNG FILES.

EXAMPLES:

By: TJ Grier

This project is based on an assignment created by Jennifer Cole Phillips, a faculty member of the Graphic Design Department of Maryland Institute College of Art.

EXERCISE 2 & 3

Typography and Composition Ex.2

Illusion of Depth

Using Illustrator create a dynamic non-representational (abstract) composition that exhibits the illusion of depth.

The Rules:
1.  Design must be 8 ½ x 11.
2.  Single letterform only.
3.  Black and White only.
4.  Letterforms can go over the edge of the art-board.
5.  No effects, only scale (holding down the shift key), rotate, & move
6.  You can not adjust transparency.

EXAMPLE:

__________________________________________________

Typography and Composition Ex.3

Texture and Illusion of Depth

Using Illustrator create a dynamic non-representational (abstract) composition that exhibits texture and the illusion of depth.

The Rules:

1.  Unlimited Letterforms.

2.  Only Black, white, and a maximum of 5 shades of grey

3.  Composition is 8.5 x 11

4.  No effects, only scale (holding down the shift key), rotate, & move
5.  Letterforms can go over the edge of the art-board.
6.  You can not adjust transparency.

EXAMPLE:

EXERCISE 2 & 3 ARE DUE: The beginning of the next class posted to your blog in .PNG format.  PLEASE REMEMBER TO SAVE BOTH YOUR ILLUSTRATOR (.AI) AND THE .PNG FILES.