Technology has always threatened traditional means of doing anything, including publishing models and typographic practices. I think traditional typographic practices started falling out of favour when Mac computers first became popular in the late 1980's and early 1990's. A lot of the designs in that period tried to use the computer as a design tool since designers wanted to experiment and push the boundaries. So popular was the computer in the 1980's, that it was Time's "Machine of the Year" in 1983. Below is an example of some generic Cola cans from the 1980's. Notice how the psychedelic 1970's painterly style isn't used at all.
This next example is a video by Hillman Curtis of Paula Scher, a New York based graphic designer who has been practicing since the 1970's. The whole video is interesting to watch but the section from 4:21 - 6:07 is when she talks about her typographic practices and what she thought when the computer was first used as a design tool. She's a pretty funny woman.
I'm not sure whether it's because of nostalgia, or whether it's because we're trying to recycle some old ideas and make them new - but recently people have turned back to craft. It is true that a lot of companies are doing more digital material and paper usage is discouraged, even here at COFA. But sites such as Etsy and blogs like Cutout and Keep are examples of people wanting to be more tactile with design. Flow magazine is published in the Netherlands and is a great example of tactility. Not only does its front covers use hand-drawn illustrations and paintings, it has fold-out posters, bound in booklets and different paper stocks in each issue. The bottom image even uses glitter ink for the magazine title.
I'd like to think that physical publishing models will never vanish, but I think sometime in the future it will altogether. Typographic practices however can still be preserved in online publications since there are so many softwares that can emulate traditional typography e.g. letter press.
Week 11 Discussion Point: The digital desktop has shifted the responsibility of preparing artwork for reproduction to the designer. Identify an area of file preparation you need to learn more about and provide an overview (200 word max) of the process and its significance.
From reading the lecture, it seems like I'm still lacking full knowledge in all of the printing areas! However, I find the one that I struggle most with is image file formatting. The abbreviations (JPEG, TIFF, EPS) throw me off since I associate those terms with 'complicated tech stuff'. I know that an image has to be 300 dpi or 2400 dpi for it not to look pixelated but it's frustrating when you've found the perfect photo when it's not the right size. In my quest for finding the clearest explanation for when to use the different file types for images, I came across this very succinct description from http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/input-output-workflow/2976-jpg-vs-tif-vs-eps.html:
JPG or JPEG – (Joint Photographers Experts Group) Developed for compressing and decompressing digitized photos. Use this file type for photographic imagery intended for the Internet. It supports 24 bits of color information, and is most commonly used for photographs and similar continuous-tone bitmap images. The JPEG file format stores all of the color information in an RGB image, then reduces the file size by compressing it, or saving only the color information that is essential to the image. Most imaging applications and plug-ins let you determine the amount of compression used when saving a graphic in the JPEG format. Unlike GIF, JPEG does not support transparency. If used for offset printing, make sure resolution is at least 300dpi and compression quality was set to “high”.
Con: Every time you save a JPEG file, It loses some information and can degrade over time. TIFF or TIF – (Tagged Image File Format) TIF or raster graphics are bitmapped graphics. Raster images are best used for images such as photographs or paint style graphics. They are versatile and can be imported into most software but their biggest disadvantage is that they are resolution dependent. Bitmapped graphics can be reduced in size successfully but if you try to enlarge them you will be subject to serious deterioration. TIF files can be black-and-white, grayscale, or color bitmapped-images, particularly those produced by scanners. This format generally does not compress the size of the image file significantly unless the image is scanned in line art mode. TIF files have better resolution and are good for outputs such as RGB and CMYK. The TIF format is the most common file format considered a “safe” format that is very stable, widely supported, cross-platform and rarely causes problems during output. Use this file type for scanned images or photos intended for offset printing. EPS or EPSF – (Encapsulated PostScript) EPS or vector graphics are resolution independent, meaning that you can enlarge them any number of times without having their resolution deteriorate. Vector images give you crisp, clean lines at any size. They don't, however, look as nice on screen as bitmap graphics do. If you have an illustration program like Adobe Illustrator, Freehand or Corel DRAW you can import and edit the images. Regardless of how they look on screen, EPS images print beautifully to a Postscript printer. The EPS file format can be used on a variety of platforms, including Macintosh and Windows. When you place an EPS image into a document, you can scale it up or down without information loss. Use this file type for vector graphics from drawing programs and multi-channel images from Photoshop such as duotones and clipping paths. EPS files can be graphics or images of whole pages that include text, font, graphic, and page layout information. This format contains PostScript information and should be used when printing to a PostScript output device. The Bottom Line If you have a postscript printer or will be creating documents that will be output to a postscript device then your best bet is to go with EPS graphics. If, on the other hand, you don't print to a Postscript device and your software doesn't support EPS graphics (although most do) then maybe TIF files are the way to go. Finally, talk with you printer and see what they recommend. |
It's a relatively easy process once you know when is the best context to use either JPEG, TIFF or EPS. JPEG is good for online publications, TIFF is recommended for all physical print jobs and EPS could be something you would use if you wanted to get something laser cut since it is resolution independent.
Knowing which file type to save your images are will save a lot of time, money and it will also ensure that the image quality is at its best. There could be no greater nightmare than finding out that your images didn't appear, or was pixelated just because you saved it as the wrong file type.
Ultimately though, I think asking your printer would be the best way to ensure that nothing is amiss.
Week 10 Discussion Point: Reflect on your perspectives and your position on the relevance of typographic conventions and traditions in contemporary publishing contexts. Discuss your views in the context of relevant examples.
Typographic conventions and traditions are important for us as young designers who are about to embark on perhaps our first professional work crusade. Most contemporary publishing contexts whether it be magazines, one-off movie posters or food packaging would have a grid that was either developed for the designer, or developed by the designer to adhere to. The grid helps create consistency with visual hierarchy and aesthetics. To us designers, this grid may help us create a design that 'sings'. To the general public that would engage with our work, the design would send subliminal messages of a balanced, well-proportioned composition. This could well mean the difference between them choosing a particular product over another.
On the other hand, if the typographic conventions and traditions were broken, it could allow for a very interesting design. I'm not sure if there's a right way to breaking the rules, but there are those who have done it successfully, like David Carson. His designs, although difficult to read, is interesting to look at and relates to his target market. David Carson's designs stood out amongst many others because he broke the typographic rules.
I would personally go with the mantra "learn the rules first to break them later". Familiarising myself with typographic conventions and traditions I think would help me build a strong understanding of what works and what doesn't. In a way, I think this would also help my intuition. If a time calls for me to break these rules, then I would happily do so knowing that I've already got a firm grasp on the basics.
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