There have been books written and published showcasing the most beautiful graphic representations of data. This is another one that is stunningly beautiful – the author’s goal was to illustrate randomness through displays of varying type. By keeping all the colors complimentary, even though the shapes and methods used are very different in each, it becomes something beautiful in and of itself.
To check out the rest of the images, you can go to the Random Walk site.
I have been a junkie, a collector, a snob about fonts for some time. I cringe at Comic Sans and I get swept way by new fonts when I see them and don’t recognize them. However, the technical aspects of typography are still new to me. I have been more of an instinctual, gestalt type of typesetter. I know what feels right. I know what feels wrong. But I don’t know how to articulate it. So, here’s to learning more about typography.
For more interesting typography, check out:
Found myself in a terrible little bookstore today (more magazines and versions of Marly & Me and Twilight than true books) staring at a bunch of journal cover designs. I noticed a theme that I wanted to see if I could emulate. The theme were lithograph style (almost woodcut-ish) prints of the same exact stamp, in several different colors, distributed fairly randomly. But the overall effect was interesting. I have a tendency to want everything to line up in my designs. Maybe I can learn something here. Repetition does not imply order.
floral design
embelleshed skulls
I have a confession to make.
I’m not a professional graphic designer.
I’m not a typography geek, nor a photoshop ninja.
But, I know what I see. And I have an eye for what’s different, what’s the same, what recalls a classic design and what breaks new ground. And I like to talk about what I see – even if only the cyberspace crickets are listening.
But there’s a lot of design out there – in everything we read, touch, see, use.
And I’m curious about it all.
Thanks for joining me on this exploration of creative design.
Keep your eyes open.
If there is one new “look” or “feel” that arose sometime in 2008, it is what I would call the lumnious light line – the streaky, glowing decoration used to illuminate, beautifully, a dark scene – as if the photograph were being tampered with by people running through a long exposure with glow sticks.
It is amazing how quickly a swipe of a light can become inspired design.
Just like certain fonts and colors are associated with the seventies, sixties or other decades in our culture, I know that I will be seeing this in my future children’s art history books when style of the 2000′s is mentioned.
We seem, too, to be obsessed with doing things on dark backgrounds. I wonder if this reflects our outlook on life, or the fact that we’re spending more time than ever in front of the computer screen…
Like twitter, sometimes the most creative solutions to a design problem come when the design is the most limited.
Two color wedding invitations, for example.
Something modern. (David's Bridal)
Wedding invitation designed by Eva Paul
I think about how hard it is to think about design when there are so many options to chose from. Maybe being reigned in makes us think more clearly about choices and use of space and type.
I read a post recently that said twitter improves your writing by forcing you to make better word choices, exercising your vocabulary and knowing how and when to be concise.
I just read a post recently that said twitter improves your writing by forcing you to make better word choices, exercising your vocabulary and knowing how and when to be concise.
I just read that twitter improves your writing by forcing better word choices, exercising your vocabulary and knowing when to be concise.
I think they’re onto something.
