50 Motion Graphics Tips

Art of the Title Animation I did

I am currently working with Jim Stevens, a colleague who teaches at architecture at Lawrence Tech, to develop a series of 3-dimensional typefaces. The letterforms use a simple set of rules as the basis of creation. Here are the main ones:

1. The character system is arbitrary. Letters can be anything, in this case, simple geometries are combined and subtracted. This system could be entirely abstract (like dots and dashes of morse code and brail). In this case there is some resemblance to traditional latin characters for ease of learning the new system.
2. No character can look the same. Whether through form or use of color, or both, characters must maintain a unique identity. Latin alphabets where similar letters mirror each other (ie. d, p, q, b) can’t exist in 3-d space.
3. Each letter should have rotational symmetry along at least 1-axis. This allows for the character to be easily recognized from multiple vantage points.
4. Color can be used to resemble architectural elements. In this case brick and mortar.

Essentially the type is connected by ball joints which allow for the type to be set in multiple directions. We are currently in the process of rapid prototyping the pieces, following the jump is a look as some of the process and its results. (more…)

Xueni Zhang, graphic design graduate student, recently completed her MFA exhibition here at Eastern. Xueni’s work investigates personal narrative, Chinese tradition, and the material properties of paper. Just thought I would share some images of the work. Enjoy.

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Over the break I will be making some changes with the blog. More specifically I will be “cleaning house” by editing and possibly removing various authors who are contributing to the blog for the purposes of a classroom project. I will also be restructuring some of the categories and going through many uncategorized posts and finding them new homes.

If you would like to continue to have access to make posts and I accidentally deleted your username please contact me and let me know you would like to continue to contribute. If you know now you still want to contribute just let me know in the comments below.

BetaXmas (as seen above) takes you through holiday specials of yester-year.

The twelve animated days of Christmas began yesterday.

The Cartoon Brew holiday gift guide. Part 1.

The Strange Attractor gift guide. iPod cases, composition, and many more.

Drawn favorite comics of 2008. Part 1, Part 2.

Cartoon Brew 2008 favorites.

The Felton Annual report.

Roy Doty Christmas cards.

Core 77 Holiday gift guide.

Design Observer book list.

Pentagram redesign of X-mas.

The year’s best 25 design blogs.

A very bizarre game space: theRealitivity.

Guilherme Dietrich’s painted sketchbooks.

The development of the Obama logo.

3D representations of financial markets. Indizes and Fundament.

AfterEffects users can now start watching RedGiant TV.

The work of the designers of Big-Game.

Shaun Tan.

LetterPress lovely-ness.

Adventures in Broccoli.

Dia de los Muertos papercuts.

Gerd Antz icons.

A list of inspiring black and white designs.

This is Agostina.

Metallica + Zombies.

Well that is it from my end for 2008. The Monday Round-up will return in January. Have a happy holiday season. Don’t forget to put yourself in a holiday e-card and send it to someone you love.

Never Sleep is a new book created by the partners of the firm DressCode. In their own words the book is “To demystify the transition, we share the failures, successes, and surprises during our years in college and progression into the field: the creative process, monetary problems, internships, interviews, mistakes, and personal relationships. We include the work from our first design class to our most current client work, along with side stories and interviews from our mentors, teachers, and peers. This book will serve as the ultimate companion for design students, educators, and anyone breaking into a creative field.”

While I have not seen or read the book, its subject is very fitting for students who are about to graduate and have no idea what is next. The site gives a good preview with what might be in the book and has some good answers to common questions like: Big Portfolio or Little? How much should I charge? or What internships should I look for? Looks promising.

While I was in graduate school I spent a great amount of time in the Rob Roy Kelly type collection room and letterpress lab at the University of Texas at Austin. This flickr set by Nick Sherman brought back lots of memories. It is one of the greatest sets of wood type I have seen. Just thought I would share.

start an account – as graphic designers this should be right up your alley. dec. 9 – jan. 9

Your challenge is to create and manipulate text in a way that it becomes the design, rather than just being a part of it!

frost actually found me on coroflot. with a name that would make a quarterback jealous, i had to check out his work. apparently, he’s working on a poster per day (currently on day 280). i thought that was pretty inspiring – this kid has some wicked work ethic!