Week 4 Notes and Response

Notes Week 4 (1-31-12)

A wood type poster is a poster made from wood.

A fat face evolved from Bodoni used for posters and advertising.

Bracket

Tuscan style type is the ornate old western style type.

During the Industrial Revolution, housing and heath conditions of the iron workers were appalling by todays standards. Many families had to share one bed if they had one at all and many had no

Old style, transitional, modern, Egyptian , Sans serif.

Baseline - the line the text sits on.

X-line

Cap height

Ascender

Descender

Font size is the highest point to the lowest

Leading is measured from base line to baseline.

In 1815 Vincent Figgins showed Two Lines Pica, Antique; that was developed into Two Lines Egyptian by William Caslon.

In 1900 Sans Serif was first used in running text in a book.

Luddite: Someone that refuses to use technology. Coined by Ned Ludd. People would go around and smash weaving looms and other technologically advanced products.

The first iron press was invented by Earl Stanhope in 1800. Took 1/10^th the physical effort of the previous wooden press. 250 impressions in an hour.

Fredrerich Koenig invents the first double cylinder steam powered press in 1814. Produces 1,100 impressions per hour.

With this technology, cost of paper dropped from 3 cent to 1 cent. Because they are now mass produced, the 3 penny papers had to start marketing to a broader audience. They have to start selling ads in the paper to stay in business. Ad men came into existence. They were brokers of space. Today the job is called a media buyer. John Hooper is the first Ad man. He networked businessmen with space in various papers.

In 1886, Ottmar Mergenthaller perfected his linotype machine. The Mergenthaller corporation exists long into the 1900s. At this time machine presses are putting out 2,500 impressions per hour. He brought together patents from many different machines. “You’ve done it! A line-o-type.” This puts many people out of business in the type casting industry.

The first nature photograph is taken 1826 by Joseph Niepce.

Degaretypes?

1839, Paris street photograph by DeGare. Very slow exposure. People moved too fast for the film to capture which made the streets look empty.

Henry Fox Talbot takes the photogram(taking a piece of light sensitive paper, placing things on them and then exposing the paper).

First image taken from a negative in 1835 by Talbot.

Talbot and DeGare were in a patent race at this time.

Pencil of Nature, 1844, William Henry Talbot Demonstrates the elements of the Victorian era.

1889. Kodak releases the first camera that anyone can use. Takes 100 instant picture by pressing a button.

1880, Hogan invents the first Half Tone plate that allowed us to print photographs; allows you to print continuous tone.

The Civil War is the first war to be photographed. Most are of the aftermath.

1883 Muybridge photographs multiple images of a running horse to settle a bet. It was to see if a horse’s four feet left the ground at the same time. It was the first step towards motion pictures.

Victorian era graphics are noted for aesthetic confusion. The era is marked for having very strong moral and religious beliefs. They liked to be fussy and to complicate aesthetics.

The next big steps in history are lithography and chromolithography.

Lithography - To print from stone. A freehand drawing with grease-pencil on stone and eroded with acid. Invented in the late 1700s.

In the early 1800s chromolithography is invented.

1840s printer get realistic images.

Bufford and Sons; The Swedish Song Quartet, 1867 - A high quality chromolithographic print.

Louis Prang & Company and others (scrap cards), c.1880 – early 1900s. Marks the first time anyone can buy this type of art. People loved this type of ephemera like we love our gadgets.

Victorian graphics are noted for a spirit of nationalism. It is also the time for advertisements on traveling amusements.

Pub Set – a blank space on the top of amusement advertisements used for show dates at any certain location.

Personal Thoughts

The most interesting part for me was learning about the different presses from the first iron press, to the double cylinder steam powered press, to the linotype machine. I would like to see more on how the double cylinder steam powered press worked. The movie in the beginning part of class was interesting. It was a nice break from taking notes; just getting the feel for the times and the conditions. I would not have liked living in a time where I had to share a bed with 4 or more family members. I don’t even want to think about the waste disposal issues. I know they didn’t have a clue about germs back then, but I hope they boiled their water from the creek before drinking it. I’d think it would just taste better (not good, but better).

It was interesting to see a pantograph put together, but I think the movie you sent me was a better demonstration of how it worked. If you can find a video on how the linotype machine works, I would be very interested in seeing that too.

Another fascinating part of the lecture was the photos of the Victorian Era and the overly complicated and confusing aesthetics. I had seen other pictures that illustrated the ornate nature of the time period, but nothing like the one you showed tonight. There was just way too much going on in that room.

The brief history of the first major developments in photography was very interesting to me being an amateur photographer. Thanks for showing us those first important photos.  

I did not completely understand the Half Tone Plate technique of printing. It seemed like there was a lot said but I still could not picture how someone would make and use it.

Questions

How did they heat the molten lead in the linotype machine and was it safe?

How many people did it take to operate and maintain it?

Were there other factors at the time that time that contributed to the high unemployment?

I would like to learn more about how the chromolithograph worked. How did they control the colors and did they use a different pressing for each color?

How does the light sensitive paper that they used in the beginning compare with what is used today? How is it similar and how is it different?

How were photographs transferred to the half tone plates? Were the dots put on the glass by hand or was there a more scientific process?

Week 3 (1-24-12)

Notes Week 3

Rococo types were known as Transitional type faces. Typography done by copper plate engravers allowed for thin line font faces. During the Rococo there was civil war.  A royal decree was enacted restricting printers to 20.

Giambattista Bodoni noted for Saggio tipografico(typographic essay), 1771. Neoclassicism a renewed interest in classic styles. 1790, Bodoni redesigned roman letter form with a more geometrical, mechanical(precise and reusable) shape. He also reinvents the serif by taking the brackets off of the serif. He believed that the letter forms should be built from a limited number of interchangeable units. Bodoni is one of the five historical typefaces. He modernized the old typeface through a slow transition from old style to neoclassicism. Develops fat face, which is a title version(Display Face) of Bodoni.

Industrialization comes into full swing. Population booms, society shifts from an agrarian living to an industrial life style, giving way to commercialism. People need to buy products in order to support the new industries. A good many people come into money and they now need someone to tell them how to spend it. With all this new buying breeds envy and contempt.

There is a social cost to industrialization. Mass unemployment, tenements, and extremely difficult working conditions. On the upside, there is growing literacy and more public education.

Industrialization leads to competition among the printer’s and their own typefaces.

The invention of the router and pantograph speeds the production of letter forms. A new face is born called the Egyptian face. Identified by the big slab serifs. It was so called simply because Egyptian things were in style at the time. Two-line Egyptian was also developed; now known as sans serif.

Tuscan face developed that looked like old west cowboy style type. It came about because of competition in the industry all looking to attract new customers. From this we got shadows, pictures inside letters, faux embossing, etc.

Ephemera are printed material not meant to be saved or collected. (There is actually a National Ephemera Society. It is passing/of the moment; Taking things that you’re not supposed to see and making it visible.

At this point, there is a boom of ephemera and a mass explosion of print shops. Poster houses spring up. Turf wars ensue. Laws are created regulating the conduct of the industry.

Size and composition is limited in this kind of typeface. It is also limited by storage space, due to such large letters.

Typography Characteristics:

A type face is measured from it’s lowest point to it’s highest pont(point size). X-height is the top of the lowercase letters. Baseline is the common lower edge of the text. Leading is measure from base line to base line. Leading is generally 20% over the base height from line to line.

The five historical typefaces: Old Style(easy to read, flowing), Transitional(more ridged, smaller brackets), Modern(no brackets), Egyptian, Sans Serif.

Following are: Display, Black letter, Handwritten, Script, Dingbats.

Personal Thoughts

The thing I liked better last week was the personal stories of the people behind the fonts. Not as many stories this week. The thing I enjoyed most was when we were shown a clip from Gangs of New York. It gave a powerful visual to illustrate the times we’re studying. It got more interesting when we got into the industrial revolution. Talking about the living conditions and how the printing industry went through a dramatic shift during this time. It was a new and interesting look at industrialization and the growing commercialization that came from it.

I never imagined that there would be turf wars between printers. However, it makes sense that any industry would be fighting to get customers. Still seems to be a strange thing to fight over, but when you are struggling to pit food in your children’s mouth, I guess you would be willing to do anything it takes.

Another part I found interesting was the battle between print shops to create the most interesting poster typefaces. I liked the illustrations of the wild fonts that were created during this period. I might be interesting to experiment with some of these one day; especially knowing the history behind them now.

Questions

Was there a printmaker during the industrial revolution that left behind a story? I would be very interested to hear that person’s account of the time and the struggles that were endured.

Who came up with the name for the Egyptian typeface? How in the world did that name get so widely accepted, being that it looks nothing like any Egyptian script or symbols?

What is Bodoni’s story? How did he become a printer? Background?

I would like to see a demonstration of the pantograph. What exactly does it look like? Are there any still in use and for what?

1-17-12 Class #2 Daily Reaction

The Day's Notes 1-17-12 (written in short hand)

Important terms: Lascaux, Sumerian, Cuneiform, Scribe, Illuminated manuscripts, Book of Kells.

Illuminated Manuscripts: Literally-included gold and silver leafing. Figuratively-illuminated the mind.

Charlemagne - Crowned Emperor of holy Empire. Tried to learn to read. Was not very successful. German Franco ruler. Appoints Alcuin of York as Head Scribe who develops Caroline Minuscules.

With the spread of reading and writing so too did power.

The playing card changes society: From xylography(wood block printmaking). Both kings and peasants can play. Starts people thinking about memorization, sequencing, strategy, sign systems, and develops a new form of entertainment.

Wood block printing allows peasants to afford personal devotionals. A popular subject of the time was death. The Ars Moriendi was an instruction book for dying. It was early church propaganda designed to con the people into giving the church their money when they died instead of to their family.

Changing factors: Growing middle class, students in expanding universities, increased literacy, the monopoly of literacy is being taken away from the churches, a growing demand for texts. 

Gutenberg, who was just a regular guy, was credited with inventing the moveable type printing press. He was previously a jeweler. Develops metal alloy (lead and tin) to cast letters. Develops ligatures. teaches a small group the secret process of creating mirrors. 5 year contract with group. 

Church creates the Letters of Indulgence. They are a figurative ‘get out of jail free’ card. Gutenberg decides to make some extra money fabricating these letters with his printing press.

In 1450-1455 Mainz, Germany, Gutenberg makes the first printed book-The Bible. He goes into business with Johann Fust. Gets loan for 800 guilders to produce bible. Borrows 800 more to finish it. Fust sues him for the money before he finishes it and court gives Fust the Printing shop and all materials. Gutenberg is shut out. Fust goes into business with Gutenberg’s foreman, Shofieur(sp).

The advent of printing ranks right next to the advent of writing itself. Typographic printing is the major milestone between the advent of writing and modern communication.

Printing on Vellum - Sheep skin is scraped conditioned and dried to create a page for printing. 

Incunabula – Literally, baby carriage. The first 50 years of printing.

1479 – printing of Aesop’s Fables. It lost the frame around the image. Negative space interacts with the image for the first time in print.

Gutenberg used the letter forms of the day’s script writers - Textura aka Gothic aka Black Letter.

William Caxton translates ‘Histories of Troy’, 1475. The first book to be printed in English.

The crusades had a big impact on printing. They lead to paper making and print making being brought back from the East.

Swevyheym and Pannartz – Evolution of Roman letters.

During the Renaissance, they were rediscovering the historicval texts. It was a continual process of refinement. Tippins started to be used. Things that had to be inserted by hand.

Steven Daye(a locksmith) – brings printing to the colonies in 1639. The first book he printed was a book of Psalms.

Rococco was at it’s height in the 1700s(late Baroque). It was ornate and fanciful. It was also a time of inquiry and science.

Louis XIV orders committee to come up with a royal type face. Letters were drawn by scientific principles and grids. Vertical and ridged. Contrast between thick and thin lines in the letter.

Romain du Roi (Royal Typeface) – You could tell it by the spur on the lowercase el.

Pierre Simon Fournier le Jeune, French 1768 – Developed Rococco fleurians(sp).

Copper Plate engraving were etched designs on metal plate with a stylus. Engravers now got involved with letter press production, furthering the evolution of printing.

Personal Thoughts

I found that the evolution of typeface was far more interesting than I had previously thought. It was interesting learning about the creation of vellum. I would like to see the process in more detail though. Maybe a video would have been good.

I also loved the story of Gutenberg and Fust. I think that giving the facts a personal aspect makes them a lot more interesting and I find that I retain that information much easier. Stories about the figures in history are more interesting than purely their accomplishments.

I also enjoyed the video of the man making a type punch. Even though it was very long and drawn out, it got the point across that a single letter was a very time consuming process.

I found it interesting that Charlemagne highly valued literacy although he struggled with it himself.  He seemed wise.

The development of print using copper plating was interesting to learn about. I love how you can get so much detail in those engravings. Beautiful prints. Those prints seemed like they were done more for art sake than functional piece of writing.

Questions

I would like to learn more about the life of Charlemagne.

How old was he when he came into power?

What other interests did he have?

What other lasting influences did he have?

I also would like to know more about Alcuin of York. What other things might have been attributed to him?

I would like to see more examples of the Copper plate prints. Beautiful.

Did they just use sheepskin in the production of vellum or is there other documentation indication other skins were used? If so, from what animals? What materials were applied to the vellum to turn it into an adequate writing surface?

I would like to see how the did book binding. 

First Class - Notes, Reaction, and Response

Tonight we learned how all design is a regurgitation of what has come before. In the film, Everything is a Remix, we were shown how music artists reuse parts of songs previously published and how cover designers also reuse the designs of others. Hollywood is the master of the remake - taking something old and making it new. The hero's journey, for example, has been told and retold and retold and retold, but we still are entertained by it.
We also learned about how written communication has evolved. From pictures to cuneiform symbols to more recognizable letters. There was a whole other evolution to the written word after that. Capitalist Quadrata(formal) evolved into Capitalist Rustic(non-formal, easier) and Uncial letters that are more rounded. Scribes of old went through painstaking measures to preserve the written word and to pass on knowledge to future generations.
Those scribes deserve some serious respect. I can't even imagine working in the conditions that were described in the film. I suppose that forgiveness from all sin was a pretty heavy motivator though. I love the designs in the illuminated manuscripts. The Book of Kells is most definitely the most beautiful hand made book I have laid my eyes on. It is just a baffling to me, as it was to the lords of the time, how they could create those impossibly detailed knots, links, and representations.
As far as modern design is concerned, I will never see it the same again. I had no idea how much of what we see is just an updated copy. However, that does not mean that I will not continue to enjoy it.

About Me

Hello. My name is Robin West. I am a first year student at the Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida. My major is Motion Design. I have a wonderful wife named Tiffani, who teaches 4th grade, and a beautiful 7 month old baby boy named Liam. I am super excited about my experience here a Ringling. Spring will be my first semester here and everyone has been awesome so far. I am looking forward to working with all my new classmates. See you all in class!