Belly Dancer

Date: January
Location: Deep Ellum
Subject: Some Tattoo Artist

Hellooo, this is the coolest thing ever. I think it's his last name tattooed across his stomach. Without the giant beer belly, I don't think the tat would have looked as cool. His belly seems to an additional curve to the text. The typeface is also very individualized, rather than the usual gothic print.

ok well im not sure if the picture is loaded or not. but this is a tattoo of my brothers friend phill. its on his calf and it is the initials of his father in the memory of his father who was a texas politician. he loved texas so he put a texas flag on it too. i like tattoo that have some sort of story behind them. not just a random butterfly or something.

live tattoo

Thanks to an awesome senior, she let me take a picture of her wicked tattoo. The text is very curved looking, with a thin stroke. I think over time these cursive letters wil l become less legible due to fading. I also enjoy the extended forms of the letterforms l and e..It's a simple and clean tattoo. Pretty sweet...

• BODY TYPE

Seek and find an example of type that enhances the human body.

♥sorry this is late ya'll, but this is an example of urbanized graffiti i took at muscle beach in LA while visiting my sister. i had to take two pictures because it was so large. it covers the wall of building to the right of the pier. i really like the imagery used in each of the works, the way that the artist has incorporated actual photographs within the work itself. i really enjoy this type of free form expressionism, where the direction and message of the work is not clearly conveyed at first and is open for interpretation. hope ya'll enjoy.

yo

Sorry, it's late....anywho...i really enjoy the exaggerated letterforms. they have a two-tone color and a nice outline..although...i think the color could have been pushed a bit further, more random and variety would be nice...personally if i were at a train yard i would be afraid of getting jumped, so i have respect the fact that they took so much time to do this..

wall painting!

This is a very cool painting done on a wall in Chicago! It shows parts of the city, and it is very colourful...I wonder how they painted so highh.

Sud.

What I find fascinating about graffiti is just how beautiful it really is. It's not always legible to me, but I'm not sure that's the point of it. The letterforms are so skewed and altared to make interesting shapes, and even though not everyone has the same exact style, I find it interesting that graffiti overall has a certain "look" - that is to say that though there are many styles of graffiti, it still all seems to be very similar. My example shows some very simple graffiti. Some that I've seen is very elaborate and colorful, but this one is not. Maybe it's in an early stage of development, on it's way to becoming very elaborate, and I could see how that might be the case. It really does just look like a rough sketch underneath what will be the nice crisp, clean look of the final product. Who knows. Either way, as you can see, there are a few different styles here, but they all work together. The word on the left is illegible to me, but the one one the right is very clear (at least in that it says "SUD", maybe not as to why it says that). I don't really know what else to say, so I'll just leave it at that. Maybe something else will strike me later.

Here is a shot that explores the very different types of graffiti style lettering. The many different styles still hold root to their tribal imagery, but through various color choices and letter weights you can see how each style is unique. This assignment is a great wy to expand the imagination since there are countless examples of graffiti out there.

Here is some tag found on a railroad car. I'm not sure what it says, but there are some interesting things about it. The overall shape of the word and the designs behind it make the whole piece look like it's moving. It looks fast, like it would work well as you saw it move past you on the train. Another interesting thing is the orange strokes around the letterforms, they look like they were applied after the fill of the letterforms. It seems like the outlines are usually done first, but in this case it looks like it was done the other way around. Its just interesting to think about the thought and process put into making these tags.

Art de Street

This tag was found on the side of a train car sitting on the tracks on 8th street. The letteres have a very animated and playful quaility to them. This is in part due to the rounded edges and fatness of the letters, the color scheme, the three dimensional effect, and the ornamental details (such ast the orange spots on two of the letters and the small character to the right). Tyler made a good point about the overlapping letterforms. This makes the the viewer see the entire work as a unit. I particularly like how the artist applied a heavy black stroke around the word, contrasting greatly with the warm colors inside, and creating a definite division from the art to the rest of the train car. This contains the piece and makes it "pop" extremely well.

Wind me up, cuz I'm Wired.

This is an old pic I took before they tore this particular site down in Deep Ellum. I found it this morning rummaging through several pics I took in Dallas. Anways I really like graffiti with exaggerated letterforms and extended strokes that are usually shared with the next letter like in this piece. It's a good example of "manually editing text," so don't try to read it rather gaze at its beauty. This piece is very illegible but the writers name is tagged in the top left corner as "Enji" so decipher what you will. Also the color used for the lettering is great because of the gradated purple to a dark blue. I don't care for 3-D block lettering but I do love when writers use brighter colors for the back outline. This writer chose a golden yellow and a magenta paint blob look. This effect makes the piece stand out because of its bright colors as opposed to the dark "bombs" around it.
BOOM!

crazy train.....

here is some graffiti i found on a train car. the block letters and the shaddow give the letters presence and depth. i found in my research that most cool graffiti has no kerning or just overlapping letters. it is a cool effect. this piece is more legible that most other examples i found. enjoy.

Train Graffiti

Well I found out that visitors aren't really welcome at the train yard over off vickery but hey I still got the picture. I'm not exactly sure what it says or means but the artist used only primary colors with varaitions in hues and saturation. It is a simple piece but still catches the eye's attention with the bright colors against a dull background.

Grafitti

Found this in Deep Ellum. The spectrum of color used in this piece is soft and calming, contrasting with the deep and vibrant orange in the background. I'm not sure what the text says, but it's very cool. The eye flows through the entire piece in one swift motion, following the organic outline.

san frangraffiti

I went to San Francisco thinking I would maybe find some graffiti, but I soon discovered I would have no problems at all...ITS EVERYWHERE!!! Here are some of the best that I found, some are typographic others are just images. Enjoy. And I'm sorry if this is all screwed up on the screen, i have no idea how to fix it.

Gothic Beer

So, for ya'll who don't already know this, blogger hates me and somehow my password was reset and I finally got it all figured out today, so yay. 2 posts from me. This post is the label design used on the "flying dog" beer, one of my personal favorites. I was first attracted to this beer purely because of the packaging, it is unlike any I have ever seen before. The use of type on this label is a direct reflection of the imagery. The font has been designed to mimic the monster "gothic" feel portrayed. Also, the use of plain text amongst the more animated text allows the beer company to distinguish between important information, such as contact information and their catchy slogan and the more decorative text of their name. Also, the copy does not follow a uniform pattern and is aligned in several different ways across the label, which gives the copy the feel of "flying"....possibly intoxicated flying. Either way, great incorporation of using a more decorative text in order to create a unified feel between copy and imagery.

7-11 anyone?

For those of you who frequent Joe-T's or has ever driven up and down that road and into the stockyards...ya'll know there are a lot of really bad billboards, but this one, I just couldn't let go. This is obviously a direct knock off of 7-11's advertising, which...pretty much defines this store. A cheap, ghetto, get yourself shot, wanna be 7-11. If this sign was created to be a direct reflection of the ghetto-fied 7-11, then it works, but if it's supposed to trick people into thinking it's actually 7-11...well, I think you get my point. The copy used in this sign is horrible, just a standard, no character font. There is obviously no alterations to the kerning and leading. There is an awkward space between A.M and MARKET and the point size change there, it just doesn't work at all. I didn't see an obvious drive-thru in the direction the arrow was pointing, but there could be one hiding around the back, I didn't care to find out. But that arrow, is so over used and the copy inside could be better positioned. There is a relationship created between the back of the arrow and the D that is slightly distracting. Also, there could be less tension to the edges. I also had to comment on how there is a white bar covering one of the "no longer available" items. The copy used on the left side of the ad, again, boring. And there is somehow a weird relationship created between the "ETTES" in cigarettes, I would have liked to have seen that space opened up a little bit. And the spacing around the "-" is AWful. Finally, the arrangement of the words creates a distraction along the right alignment. Maybe MILK-ICE could have been pushed more to the right. Or moving the longer word cigarettes to the bottom. I don't know, I just would have liked to have seen something else happening there. There's probably a lot more I could say, but I can't look at it anymore. So feel free.

• URBAN GRAFFITI

Seek and find an example of type in urban graffiti.

Street and Stencil Beauty

The packaging for VANS shoes displays their logo repeatedly which uses a sans-serif font for the lettering in VANS. However, there is an additional stroke given to the right stroke of the V where a serif would usually be. This stroke extends above the rest of the letters ANS probably to give it that urban street look. Also, on the plastic bag packaging, the designer used a sprayed-on stencil look accompanied by the tagline "Off The Wall." The text is contained in a crude looking skateboard that reinforces the street look. yeeeeaaaahhhh

prime outlet!

In this ad they changed the I from the word prime and placed a 1. It made me think of Roland's logo with the lock and the one!!! A very subtle detail because the one can be easily confused with an I. Also, there is a ligature betweeen the P and the B.

I was flipping across some music after looking at the Postal Service cover. Brad Paisley's album "Mud on the Tires" is conveyed well through the type. The typeface for "mud on the tires" looks like it's gotten dirty and dusty with, big surprise-mud. All the letterforms have the same weight and stroke, just part of the image is missing, which is highly effective. Clearly, the use of computer software has helped enhance the typeface and overall image of the cover. The idea and message behind the title is better understood. Now, I"ve got to hang out with some cowboys....

this is the vespa logo i found off of university. each of the letters is individually altered to resemble a vespa with the rounded edges. i like that each of the letters is connected to one other to make it look like it has more movement. i think the color choice was good because it looks like the body paint of the vespa's.

Such Great Heights

Great music, great design. CD covers have some of the most unique, beautiful artwork that often trumps all other design. The band's name, The Postal Service, is outlined with a stroke, rather than filled. All thanks to a simple click on the computer that may have not been as successfully executed with a pen and paper. The chosen typeface is simple and an appropriate candidate for an outline.

San Antonio Rodeo

My friend got this in the mail (he's from San Antonio...hence why he got it)...anyhoo I noticed that the 'S' in 'San' resembles a cowboy hat which plays off the rodeo theme and style. It is stiill legible and does not disrupt the heirarchal scale used. And on that note...Im on break now for week...ciao

I love the devil wears prada poster! I think its great how they manipulated the "V" to illustrate a devil tail. I think it was a great decision to choose such a simple typeface for the movie title. It allows that little change on the V to be a neat little detail and not compete with the strong image of the heel on the shoe

• COMPUTER ENHANCEMENT

Seek and find an example of type in which computer technology enhances the typographic image.

computer CRAP

hahahahaha. wow. Well, ok while I was at church for confirmation class, we were handed all these pamphlets and flyers for info about Lent and I immediately looked at the back of them for ads that I thought might be horrible and the best worst ad caught my attention right on the bottom with Computer Guy. This designer obviously doesn't believe in any kind of alignment or have any respect for the tension they've created by scrunching all that text as large as they could in that little box of space. They have labeled the title with the same font as the service being listed and have not separated the title from the list in any way whether it be simple indentions or a change of pt size. Also the headline is done with Comic Sans - not a very professional typeface. Lastly, what an awesome graphic - its very niiice.

Tequila Derby

The sign really fits the business. Although it could use some (a lot of) reworking, I think it adds a certain "hole-in-the-wall" character to this Mexican Cantina. It reminds me of the bars I used to visit in Mexico during high school (I'm from El Paso, so Mexico is just across the street). I don't think many other people could feel such nostalgia about a sign like this, but it really makes me smile. The faded stenciling of the letters, the lack of decorative elements, the worn appearance. This is terrible, but I love it.

OMG! STAR EXCLUSIVE!!

Ok, so my roommate gets this magazine. I hate to admit it, but I do read these from time to time. They're nice for when you don't want to really read, but you need a mental break. Anyway, pick any place on the front cover and you can tell that it needs help. Most of the typeface used in this cover are in all caps, or sans serif. There's no variation, and the whole all caps with exclamation points seems way over done on the cover as well as within the magazine. Personally, it just looks trashy (no reference to who's on the cover of course), but the colors are all over the place and too bold. I find them visually overwhelming and full of 'noise'....p.s. ya'll here that they're finally going to burry Anna?

Pond St. Grill

I went to get an early dinner here last night because I have no real money but I do have a lot of Play Money (aka Send Home) so I was walking out and I noticed the Pond St. logo...Why is the street lamp so tall? I understand that it symbolizes the "t" but the designer should have shortened the height. Also the placement of the text really conflicts with the base of the sign which has an accidental look to it.