oh, hello friend give away!

http://www.ohhellofriendblog.com/2012/05/reader-appreciation-giveaway-4.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ohhellofriend+%28oh%2C+hello+friend.%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

i'm in love with ohhellofriend's giveaway week! keep your fingers crossed i'll get picked!

Nov 27-Dec 4

Made my writing center appointment for monday night. I plan to make all the suggested changes before then so that the paper will be completed after the appointment on monday. I can't wait!

Nov 14-21

Draft number two completed. Worked hard on correcting grammatical errors and getting the wording refined for this draft. Still need to conduct a second interview with handlettering artist Pat Pendry, and also visit the writing center for the final draft.

     

Nov 6-13

First draft submitted. It was rough getting it all down but now I feel great. I've started making the changes you suggested and also conducted an interview with Pat Pendry, a freelance lettering artist at AG. This interview should back up my statement that HL takes minutes compared to making a font.

final outline

Thesis Statement: Hand lettering, once thought to be a dying form of art, is regaining popularity and giving the designers’ work the personality the consumer desires.

A.   Type setting

a.    When type setting was still new, there were few who knew how to do it.  This is what separated professionals from amateurs. 

b.    Few knew how to typeset and this really put the work done in this form up on a pedestal.

c.    The novelty, rarity and cost of typeset is what really caused hand lettering to take root and become a valid alternative.

B.    Technological breakthroughs in design industry

a.    In 1959, Letraset was introduced

i.       This was the first technique that enabled one to transfer letters prior to the computer.

ii.      Although tedious, the amount of work and skill required to perform this task was far less than hand lettering.

b.    In the late 70s and early 80s, the industry was revolutionized by Phototypesetting.

i.       Through a complex process of an individual character being projected, recorded and bathed in chemicals, type could easily be set.

ii.      Shortly after its arrival, phototypesetting was rendered obsolete by the introduction of the personal computer.

c.    The personal computer in the 90s (digital age)

i.       Design was no longer constrained by the stash of rub-down letters or hours spent in the typesetting studio

ii.      Designers took the good with the bad when using the PC.  Flaws were abundant and glitches many.

d.    Other fields that also had strong technological pushes

i.       Illustration

ii.      Photography

C.   Type becomes affordable and obtainable

a.    Anyone with a personal computer and patience to learn, could set type

b.    Quantity not quality described this over saturation

c.    No longer special or novel, now the norm

D.   Personal computers in the 2000s

a.    Flaws from work done in the 90s no longer existed

b.    Print work was clean, crisp and free of flaws

c.    A step away from the computer

i.       Return to hand skills

ii.      Possibly because digital products are readily obtainable

iii.     Personal computer not totally rejected

E.     What differentiates hand lettering from typefaces?

a.    Typeface vs. Hand Lettering

i.       Creating a typeface requires a substantial amount of time and patience while hand lettering can be done in minutes comparatively

ii.      With regards to profitability, a typeface has the ability to generate revenue after completion with little or no additional work required while hand lettering charges a one time fee.

iii.     Consistency is necessary with a typeface.  Careful consideration must be taken when creating a typeface.  Every possible letter combination must be considered as well as the lines that fall above and below.

F.     A changing society

a.    People move too quickly through life.  Currently we want what we want when we want it.

i.       Netflix overtaking movie theatres

ii.      Fast food industry

iii.     Twitter/cell phones

iv.   Wal-Mart open 24 hours a day

v.    All these things are feeding the frenzy of instant gratification.

1.    Hand lettering communicates a nostalgic feeling and forms a bond with consumer. Knowing that hours were spent on miniscule details makes it that much more appealing.

2.    Time spent on detail, even if not by them, allows them to feel a deeper connection with whatever it is they are choosing to experience.

b.    People no longer want what everyone else has.  They want what they have to be one of a kind.

i.       ETSY

ii.      Local coffee shops

iii.     Non-chain restaurants

iv.   Hand drawn lettering…

v.    I think it’s safe to say we’ve seen a development in the design community to appreciate handcrafted aesthetics, and appreciation for the DIY and time-consuming nature of craft. This may have emerged with the rise of more obtainable digital products.

G.   The second-coming of hand lettering

a.    The possibilities are endless

i.       It gives the word a tone

ii.      Adds personality; a human feeling through flaws

b.    When a typeface is close but not precisely what you are looking for

i.       Hand lettering can make everything look cohesive and considered

ii.      Gives the work unity

c.    Hand lettering can kill two birds with one stone.

i.       Provides attractiveness

ii.      Provides art of sorts to a work otherwise artless

iii.     The Secrest Concert Series

1.    Start with a strong concept, hand draw letterforms without reference to existing typefaces, keep relevant information together, and repeat every year.

2.    This is a solid example of lettering doubling as information and art

d.    Not a small scale reentry

i.       Versatility of hand lettering made it wildly popular

ii.      Not just do-it-yourself and juvenile designs

iii.     Calvin Klein, Microsoft and IBM chose to use untutored lettering in large scale campaigns

H.    Where hand lettering will go from here

a.    Here to stay, but it won’t always be this popular

b.    It will turn into another tool for designers to use in their work, not necessary but if the budget permits and style allows it would help the project make a statement.                                    

Oct 23-29

More work on the outline this week. It should be completed now. I'm very satisfied with all the progress I've made. Although, the research seems endless. So many things I could tie in but where do you draw the line. Oh well, I'm ready to start on the paper and get this thing knocked out... It will feel so wonderful to be done!

oct 16-22

Playing catch-up this week. Re-working my thoughts and ideas a little while I make my outline more detailed. Finding a TON of interviews done already on the internet. I think this is going to be a great source of information since there isn't a lot of books out about current hand-lettering trends. Great interviews of Nate Williams, Bernard Maisner have surfaced as well as some great articles written by Steven Heller. I also obtained a copy of Elegant Lettering From Design's Golden Age Scripts that Heller compiled with Louise Fili, in a word, gorgeous.