PROJECT: Students have been working on Typographic exercises throughout the year. The time has come to put all of your Typography skills to the test in a final Typography Challenge: "The Typography Triathalon!"
BEFORE YOU START: Make a "lastname_triathalon" folder on your network space. Save all of the files and JPEGs from this assignment into that folder. At the end of the project, you will turn in the entire folder.
A WARNING: Please make sure that you read the instructions for each leg of the challenge very thoroughly! You will be disqualified for any rules infractions!
THE PARTS: There will be THREE PARTS to this challenge, make sure that you complete all parts of each leg of the triathalon.
CLASSIC FONT SETS: ALL of the exercises below tell you to use only one of the five classic font sets. These are as listed below:
(Please note that ARIAL is not usually identified as one of the classic font sets. The sans serif font on the list is usually "HELVETICA". However, on our computers, the Helvetica font set is not a True Text font and does not scale well for this exercise. ARIAL and HELVETICA are very similar, so I have substituted.)
Please note that you can use BOLD or ITALIC versions of the font sets, as well as limited use of numbers and symbols. DO NOT STRETCH or DISTORT your letters in any way! NO SHAPES, NO GRAPHICS, NO COLORS, NO EFFECTS!
PART ONE: THE WORDS- Using only letters from the FIVE CLASSIC FONT SETS above, create a typographic representation of EACH of the 10 words below. Solutions will be created on a 400 x 400 pixel WHITE (or possibly black) CANVAS. Students may ONLY use BLACK, WHITE and GRAY letterforms. PLEASE USE THE LETTERS IN YOUR WORD ONLY ONCE. THE WORD SHOULD BE EASILY READABLE WHEN YOU ARE DONE!
To achieve the desired effect, avoid simply repeating the words or creating an illustration from the letterforms. The best solutions not only enhance the word’s meaning but are clever and aesthetically pleasing. See the three samples below:
Your TEN WORDS for this leg of the triathalon are:
Save each canvas as a JPEG: seedling.jpg, time.jpg, etc.
PART TWO: THE CLICHE- Choose a common cliché such as “Keep a stiff upper lip,” “Smoke like a chimney” or “Between the devil and the deep blue sea.” If you cannot think of a suitable cliche off of the top of your head, try heading to ClicheSite.com, the largest online collection of cliches, and pick one (please note that ONLY the LETTERED cliches are working on this site, click on the categories does not work.) Please make sure that the one you choose is school appropriate, no sex or drugs sayings, please!
Typographically represent the cliché on a 500 x 300 pixel canvas. PLEASE USE ONLY the letters from the FIVE CLASSIC FONT SETS. You can create illustrations from the letter forms and use color if you choose. DO NOT introduce other graphical elements—limit yourself to type.
Here is a sample ("At the Crack of Dawn"):
Save this file as "cliche.jpg"
PART THREE: THE LOGOS- For this final leg of the triathalon, you will be creating a short series of FIVE Typographic LOGOS. Your logos will be created ONLY FROM YOUR NAME(S).
Each of the FIVE LOGOS will be created on a 500 x 500 pixel WHITE canvas. You may only use only the FIVE CLASSIC FONT SETS and you may use only BLACK and WHITE letterforms. Each of the five different logos that you create will represent a different JOB OR CAREER THAT YOU COULD HAVE THAT SELLS A PRODUCT OR SERVICE. Each logo will consist of your "YOUR NAME" and will clearly demonstrate your product or service in the presentation of the typography of your name. You are allowed to complete MINOR shape and tool manipulation of the letters.
Examples of Mr. B.'s Logos are seen below:
CROSS BUILDER
HIGHWAY LINE PAINTER
Save each of your FIVE LOGOS as: LOGO1.jpg, LOGO2.jpg, etc.
IDENTIFYING YOUR LOGOS AND DISQUALIFYING YOURSELF: When you have completed this part of the Triathalon, please go online to THIS TYPOGRAPHY TRIATHALON SELF-EVALUATION FORM. Complete the form, telling Mr. B. what Character Trait each of your logos was meant to represent and whether or not you think you should be disqualified!
SCORING: When you are done with all 16 different parts of this Typographic Challenge, make sure that each file is saved as a JPEG and turn in the entire "lastname_triathalon" folder into the DROPBOX. Each of the three legs will carry an equal weight in grading:
- The WORDS: 5 points each for a total of 50 points.
- The CLICHE: 50 points total.
- The LOGOS: 10 points for each for a total of 50 points.
There will be additional scoring criteria for your ability to properly represent your words, cliches and logos.
This assignment will be scored by Mr. B., using your self-evaluation form and his wits to determine what the heck you were talking about on your typographical solutions.
THE REWARD: The student in the class that gets the highest score on their Triathalon Events will be exempt from taking the "History of Graphic Design" part of the Final Examination in this class, and will receive an automatic 100 percent on that test. Please note, the winner of this contest is NOT exempt from completing the FINAL PROJECT in this class, only the final "History of Graphic Design" test.
