Advanced Typography: Task 2 Key Artwork & Collateral

15.05.2025 - 18.06.2025 / Week 4 — Week 9

Chan Zhi-Ren Zenndan / 0369069

Advanced Typography / Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media / Taylor's University

Key Artwork & Collateral

1. Lectures

AdTypo_5_PerceptionAndOrganisation

"Perception is the way in which something is regarded, understood, or interpreted."

Is perception what you see and understand, or what you are manipulated into seeing and understanding?

Perception in typography deals with visual navigation and interpretation of the reader via:

Contrast

Form

Organisation

Contrast

To show contrast, apply these methods:

Light / Bold — Condense / Extended — Organic / Machined — Roman / Italic — Small / Large — Negative / Positive — Serif / Sans serif — Ornate / Simple — Red / Blue

Fig 1.1 Several methods to create contrast (26/05/2025).

Carl Dair's principles on texture and direction to create contrast is also valid:

Size — Weight — Contrast of form — Contrast of structure — Contrast of texture — Contrast of color — Contrast of Direction

Fig 1.2 Carl Dair's principles on contrast (26/05/2025).

Form

Refers to the overall look and feel of the elements that make up the typographic composition.

A good form in typography is visually intriguing to the eye if it:

Leads the eye from point to point
Entertains the mind and is most often memorable

Typography can be seen as having two functions:

To represent a concept
To do so in a visual form

Fig 1.3 Harmonious alignment in form placement (26/05/2025).

Organisation

Gestalt is a German word that refers to the way a thing has been "placed" or "put together."
Gestalt Psychology is an attempt to understand the laws behind the ability to acquire and maintain meaningful perceptions.

Gestalt psychologists developed a number of "laws" that predict how perceptual grouping occurs under a variety of circumstances.

Gestalt theory emphasizes that the whole of anything is greater than its parts. Instead of breaking down thoughts and behavior to their smallest elements, the Gestalt psychologists believed that you must look at the whole of experience.

In design: The components that make up the design is only as good as its overall visual form.

A list of perceptual organisations:

Law of Similarity
Law of Proximity
Law of Closure
Law of Continuation
Law of Symmetry
Law of Simplicity (Praganz)

Fig 1.4 Some examples of Gestalt principles (25/05/2025).

2. Instructions

Document 2.0.1 Module Information Booklet (20/05/2025).

Task 2 (A) — Key Artwork (10%)

This task is to create a key artwork—a wordmark of our first name or pseudonym that also functions as a standalone artwork. It serves as both a personal identifier and visual collateral.

Submission requirements:

Black wordmark on white background

White wordmark on black background

Colour palette

Wordmark in actual colours on lightest shade of colour palette

Wordmark in lightest shade of colour palette on darkest shade of colour palette

Wordmark animation (Gif format)

To begin, we created a mind map to reflect on our identity, values, and personality. These insights guide the development of the final piece.

Fig 2.1 Mindmap about me (20/05/2025).

I narrowed down further into what I want my keywords to be, and so I decided on 'Straightforward, Minimal, Order.'

Fig 2.2 First attempt (21/05/2025).

As per Week 5's feedback, I had to do some more explorations. I tried to do things by the grid this time.

Fig 2.3 Further explorations (23/05/2025).

After making the drafts, I had to reflect on which best represented my keywords. I reckoned that the second one (right picture) best fit the keywords.

Fig 2.4 Second attempt (27/05/2025).

As per Week 6's feedback, I had to resize the 'N' to make it consistent with the other two letters. I was also encouraged to not make the inner corners sharp.

Fig 2.5 Resizing 'N' (1/06/2025).

I proceeded with the highlighted one in Fig 2.5, and finalised it by making the inner corners not too sharp. I also used a different set of keywords to better align with the wordmark.

Fig 2.6 Final Key Artwork (1/06/2025).

I then went to coolors.co to find a colour palette. Below is what I proceeded with.

Colour palette:

Lightest shade — #F4D8CD

Light shade — #EDB183

Middle shade — #F15152

Dark shade — #1E555C

Darkest shade — #3A2E39

With the key artwork finalized, I proceeded to start with the animation GIF. I worked on After Effects and first turned my letterforms into vectors.

Fig 2.7 Vector layers in After Effects (2/06/2025).

I spent quite a bit of time thinking about how I wanted to animate my logotype, but most of the tutorials I found on YouTube were too complicated and advanced for what I was looking for. So, I revisited the basic animations we learned in DPI last semester and decided to build on that foundation.

I came across this idea where I could use a bouncing ball to crack open (or reveal) my logotype as it bounces. Fig 2.8 shows the bouncing animation keyframes.

Fig 2.8 Bouncing ball keyframes (02/06/2025).

It took a while to get the bouncing and rolling physics to look natural, but I managed to achieve the look I wanted. Fig 2.9 shows my animation GIF for my logotype.

Fig 2.9 Logotype animation GIF draft (02/06/2025).

Task 2 (A) Final Outcome

Fig 2.10 Final black wordmark on white background (17/06/2025).

Fig 2.11 Final white wordmark on black background (17/06/2025).

Fig 2.12 Final colour palette (17/06/2025).

Fig 2.13 Final wordmark in actual colours on lightest shade of colour palette (17/06/2025).

Fig 2.14 Final wordmark in lightest shade of colour palette on darkest shade of colour palette (17/06/2025).

Fig 2.15 Final wordmark animation (17/06/2025).

Fig 2.16 Final Task 2 (A) PDF Compilation (17/06/2025).

Task 2 (B) Collateral (20%)

Building on the wordmark developed in Task 2 (A), we’re now extending its visual identity across selected collateral.

Submission requirements:

Collateral 1, 2, 3

Instagram handle & link

IG screen grab with good resolution. IG featuring 9 tiles (profile must feature a bio).

As for the collaterals, I used the following links:

https://mrmockup.com/free-backside-t-shirt-mockup/

https://mockups-design.com/free-mousepad-mockup/

https://mockups-design.com/free-pin-button-mockup/

I applied my design to these mockups and did the editing on Photoshop.

Fig 2.17 Applying design on the pin mockup (02/06/2025)

Fig 2.18 Applying design on the t-shirt mockup (02/06/2025).

Fig 2.19 Applying design on the mousepad mockup (02/06/2025).

After applying my design to the mockups, I worked on the colour palette's tile and my two other pattern tiles.

This is what my Instagram feed is planned to look like (portrait not done yet).

Fig 2.20 Instagram posts draft (03/06/2025).

As per Week 7's feedback, I chose to redo the mousepad's mockup to utilise more of the pattern of the color palette.

Fig 2.21 Mousepad mockup revised (07/06/2025).

With that, I decided to adjust to Instagram's new post size (1080 x 1350 px) and upload the collaterals on Instagram.

Fig 2.22 Instagram account (11/06/2025).

Fig 2.23 Instagram page (11/06/2025).

Fig 2.24 Instagram on an Iphone X (11/06/2025).

Following Week 8's feedback, I reworked the pin's pattern and the following tile, replaced a tile with my animation, and reuploaded them on Instagram.

Fig 2.25 Tiles preview on Illustrator (17/06/2025).

Task 2 (B) Final Outcome

Fig 2.26 Final Collateral #1 (17/06/2025).

Fig 2.27 Final Collateral #2 (17/06/2025).

Fig 2.28 Final Collateral #3 (17/06/2025).

Instagram link: https://www.instagram.com/_______zenn_______/

Fig 2.29 Screenshot of Instagram page (17/06/2025).

Fig 2.30 Task 2 (B) PDF Compilation (17/06/2025).

Task 2 Outcome Compilation

Fig 2.31 Final black wordmark on white background (17/06/2025).

Fig 2.32 Final white wordmark on black background (17/06/2025).

Fig 2.33 Final colour palette (17/06/2025).

Fig 2.34 Final wordmark in actual colours on lightest shade of colour palette (17/06/2025).

Fig 2.35 Final wordmark in lightest shade of colour palette on darkest shade of colour palette (17/06/2025).

Fig 2.36 Final wordmark animation (17/06/2025).

Fig 2.37 Final Task 2 (A) PDF Compilation (17/06/2025).

Fig 2.38 Final Collateral #1 (17/06/2025).

Fig 2.39 Final Collateral #2 (17/06/2025).

Fig 2.40 Final Collateral #3 (17/06/2025).

Instagram link: https://www.instagram.com/_______zenn_______/

Fig 2.41 Screenshot of Instagram page (17/06/2025).

Fig 2.42 Task 2 (B) PDF Compilation (17/06/2025).

3. Feedback

Week 5

General Feedback: Think broader about what keyword you like. Research on 'Post rationalization." Draw a rectangle around the design to check negative space. Balance and symmetry are essential in markmaking. Avoid literal translations. Always check for elegance and stability. Look back into type expression — simple, communicative, effective.

Specific Feedback: Keywords seem fascist, readability is difficult when displayed in the current order, and the current ideas need more exploration. Keep and explore more on the current keywords.

Week 6

General Feedback: When working on your wordmark, it is important to zoom in to see if there are problems in the structure-crafting. Color palette should have: dark shade, light shade, middle shade (complimentary yet contrasting).

Specific Feedback: Z and E look fine, but N needs to match their width for consistency. Keywords need a rethink: sharp is already visually clear; rigid sounds negative; order could be replaced with something stronger. I’ve also been advised to soften the inner corners.

Week 7

General Feedback: Mr. Vinod advised students to start finalizing Task 2 and start reading Task 3's brief.

Specific Feedback: For the collaterals, utilize the triangular shapes more as displayed in the color palette. As for the animation, the speed of the ball falling off poses a bit of a distraction. Try making the ball bounce (look into carroms), maybe have three balls.

Week 8

General Feedback: Self-identity expansion takes a different level of thinking and takes time to develop.

Specific Feedback: There is potential to expand patterns in more interesting ways. Try not to use the diagonal style and keep it horizontal (esp. the pins).

4. Reflections

Experience

For Task 2, I created a wordmark using my name and developed collaterals based on it. At first, I was a bit confused about what exactly was expected. But after spending some time with the brief and getting guidance from Mr. Vinod, I gradually understood the task better and grew more confident in my approach.

Observation

One thing I noticed was how much Mr. Vinod emphasized using grids to keep the design consistent and structured. He also kept reminding us about essentials like kerning and spacing, which really matter if you want a polished look for your wordmark.

Findings

I found that I needed to do quite a bit of research, including reviewing past students’ projects, to figure out the best way to approach this task. I also revisited some assignments from previous modules to help with the animation part, which turned out to be very helpful.

5. Further Reading

Fig 5.1 Logo Design Love, by David Airey, Week 6 (28/05/2025).

I referred to Logo Design Love by David Airey, specifically Chapter 7, “From Pencil to PDF.” This chapter provided valuable insights into the design process, including the relevant practice of mind mapping and the importance of refining ideas before finalizing them. Although my work was mainly digital in Illustrator, this process helped me create a focused, consistent design.

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Chan Zhi-Ren Zenndan (0369069)