Task 3 - Seminar participation

Task 1.1 - Gothic Scripts (1/16)

Ancient Scripts: Gothic 

The Gothic language was the first recorded Germanic language. The Goths were becoming Christianized by the fourth century CE. At that time, Goths had their own alphabet (Futhark). Since it was a pagan invention, Bishop Wulfila, with the help of a Greek missionary, "took the Greek alphabet, added letters from Latin and Futhark alphabets, and created a new alphabet to write the Gothic language."(Lawrence 1996-2012)

The original manuscripts were written during the period of Ostrogothic rule in northern Italy. Some include "portions of the New Testament and a minor part of the Old Testament". (Project Wulfila, 2004)

Gothic alphabet

Since the letters were adopted from the Greek, two letters don't make any sound. Each letter of the Classical Greek alphabet has a number associated to it.

The Gothic alphabet faded in most of Europe by the ninth century CE. Although the Gothic language survived in theatres, it still became extinct in the seventeenth century CE.

Ancient Scripts, 2014. Gothic. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.ancientscripts.com/gothic.html. [Accessed 22 April 2014].

Gotica, 2014. About the Gothic language. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.wulfila.be/gothic/gotica/. [Accessed 22 April 2014].

Task 1.1 - Merovingian (2/16)

Merovingian Wrtiting

Merovingian originated in central Europe under the ruler Charlemagne. It evolved under the fall of Rome and was used in the seventh and eighth century. This style is one of the most difficult to read since its characters are quite complex. 

It was called "deliberately illegible and inimitable" (Larchmont, n.d). Merovingian has thin intersecting lines which made it impossible to forge any text. It was considered to be the main writing hand of France.

The four major centers of the script were Laon, Luxeil, Corbie and Chelles. Each of which developed from uncial and half-uncial.

The image on the left is the Merovingian alphabet copied from Luxeil Lectionary in the eighth century, while the image on the right is a very fine Merovingian Minuscule.

Merovingian was used in the imperial chancery until the twelfth century.

Evolution of the Latin Alphabet, 2014. Merovingian. [ONLINE] Available at: http://alphabetevolution.rifai.ru/pages/merovingian_05.htm. 

[Accessed 21 April 2014].

Merovingian Calligraphy, 2014. N.A [ONLINE] Available at: http://housebarra.com/EP/ep07/10calli.html. [Accessed 21 April 2014].

Task 1.1 - Bodoni Typeface (3/16)

The History of Bodoni

This font was named after Giamattista Bodoni (1740-1813) knows also as the 'King of Printers'. Bodoni is a serif typeface with a slightly condensed and more vertical upper case.  Some characteristics include "the square dot over the letter “i”, and a double storey “a”. The capital “Q’s” tail is centered under the figure, and the uppercase “J” has a slight hook. Also, there are two versions of the uppercase “R”, one with a straight tail and one with a curved tail." (ifoundmedinosaurs, 2011)

Bodoni "decided that letters should be created by the combination of a limited number of identical units". (Rifai,2004)

Bodoni is considered as one of the first modern typefaces used for posters, headlines and logos. It is also popular in the fashion industry.

Famous brands using Bodoni

It has been widely used since the eighteenth century especially in Italian books. In the twenty-first century, Bodoni is mostly used in advertising especially in magazine covers.

Personal thought: Bodoni is a Serif font which has a baseline and a capline. One can notice the apex in the letter A and the hairline in various letters ; N, U, V, W etc. This means that this typeface is made from different line weights. One can also notice the link in the 'g' which connects the 'loop' and the 'bowl' of this letter. There is also a clear example of a spine in the letter 's'.

Evolution of the Latin Alphabet, 2014. Bodoni  [ONLINE] Available at: http://alphabetevolution.rifai.ru/pages/bodoni_16.htm#. [Accessed 21 April 2014].

ifoundmedinosaurs, 2014. Bodoni: The History of Being Awesome [ONLINE] Available at: http://ifoundmedinosaurs.wordpress.com/2011/11/25/bodoni-the-history-of/. [Accessed 21 April 2014].

Task 1.1 - Mesoamerican Scripts (4/16)

Ancient Scripts: Mesoamerican Scripts

The Mesoamerican scripts derived from Northern Mexico and are often called hieroglyphs since their pattern is similar to that of the Egyptian Hieroglyphs. Mesoamerican glyphs resemble real objects such as people and animals. Human body parts were also drawn, such as arms and legs.

I personally noticed that Mesoamerican glyphs look more like paintings rather than alphabetic scripts.
In Aztec and Mixtec scripts, names and places were written on the picture itself.

The Mesoamerican numeric system is quite basic (bar-and dot-notation). The dot represents value ‘one’ and the bar represents value ’five’.

Bar-and dot-notation

These can be found on monumental inscriptions. For quantities larger than 20, other methods were used. 

”The Aztecs, for example, used special symbols such as a flag to represent 20, a feather to represent 400, and an incense bag for 8000. To construct the number 946, you would draw two feathers (2 x 400 = 800), seven flags (7 x 20 = 140), and six dots (6 x 1 = 6), the sum of which (800 + 140 + 6) is 946.” (Lawrence, 1996-2012)

Ancient Scripts, 2014. Mesoamerican Writing Systems. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.ancientscripts.com/ma_ws.html. [Accessed 18 April 2014].

Task 1.1 - Brahmi Scripts (5/16)

Ancient Scripts: Brahmi Scripts

The Brahmi script is one of the earliest historical inscriptions in India which is also the ancestor to other scripts found in East Asia. It is an elegant Indian script of the fifth century BC but “early texts suggest that its origin lies further back in time.” (Lawrence, 1996-2012).

This is a simplified version of the Brahmi Script.

Various inscriptions of the Brahmi script can be found north-central India, 

which are the edicts of Ashoka.

Various modern scripts have descended from Brahmi and were used across South Asia. The Gupta script also forms part of the Brahmic family of scripts and it was sometimes called ‘Late Brahmi’.

It originated from the Aramaic script but the Brahmi is less straightforward. “Thus the Brahmi script was the Indian equivalent of the Greek script that gave arise to a host of different systems”. (Lawrence, 1996-2012)

Ancient Scripts, 2014 Brahmi. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.ancientscripts.com/brahmi.html. [Accessed 18 April 2014].

Task 2 - Illustrated Academic Essay

In this essay I will be analyzing 5 historical/contemporary works which were created using different and similar techniques. The style in the following examples is similar since they are all on paper as an interactive medium.

What are Volvelles and what was their use?

Volvelles consist of one or more layers of circular discs which were fixed firmly to a leaf; each disc was rotated separately from the others. This medieval instrument performed calculations for a variety of purposes but mostly to calculate the motion of the Moon in relation to that of the sun. "Volvelles in particular have been called 'astronomical computers' due to their ability to perform basic computational exercises such as calculating astronomical phenomena..." (Gravelle M., Leroux C., Mustapha A., 2012).

The first known Volvelle was created by Matthew Paris(Benedictine Monk) in 1250. He got inspired from the circular charts that appeared in the abbey's books. Volvelles were a popular addition in astronomy books such as the one found in Johannes Sacrobosco's Sphaera, which is a 13th century astronomy text.

Sphaera from Ioannis de Sacrobosco, Sphaera

 (Paris: Apud Gulielmum Cauellat,1552).

 Image courtesy of Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library.

Army-Navy Insignia Guide - 1942

This volvelle shows stars and stripes on Army/Navy Officers. 
When rotated, the name of the rank and the shoulder/wrist ornaments are shown.

Verb Wheel

Nowadays, one can still find volvelles/wheel charts which are mostly used for educational purposes especially with children and teenage students.

Modern volvelles are colourful and more eye catchy such as the following example which is a verb wheel. Since they are interactive, they provide hands on approach which leads to positive teaching.

Like volvelles, flaps or pop-ups also represented an early interactive interface. Flaps were also found in books during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since flaps were used to explain subjects that required three-dimensional imagery, one may find various pop-ups in geometry books such as Euclid’s - The Elements of Geometrie. The flaps were cut to lie flat, which allowed the books to close naturally. 

Geometric Flaps used to represent 3-dimensional shapes,

Euclid's The Elements of Geometrie Image courtesy of Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, University of Toronto. 

How are pop-ups used nowadays?

Even though centuries passed from the creation of pop-ups, one can still find modern pop-up books designed for educational purposes such as the one below.

Animated Anatomies – a University exhibition of anatomical flap books

Modern artists were inspired from earlier pop-ups. “This exhibit traces the flap book genre beginning with early examples from the sixteenth century, to the colorful 'golden age' of complex flaps of the nineteenth century…” (EDW Lynch, 2011)

Pop-up books are also used by interior designers. The Space Book is a pop-up book designed by Jin-Hui Kim. This is an oversized pop-up and each page is an image of each room in a house. It is extremely detailed and each room  is "furnished with paper cutout furniture and painted-on accessories." (Alice E., 2008)

The Space Book - Jin-Hui Kim

Harlequinades are also an example of early interactivity. They were the first movable books for children developed in the 1700's. These are also referred to as turn-up books, where "folded parts of a page were lifted to disclose a new picture that fitted neatly on to the remaining part of the first one" (UD Library Special Collections, 2014). Therefore different panels are lifted to create a story.  An example is a seventeenth century manuscript which narrates the story of a clown(image below). A Pantomime was also performed in relation to the story.

A Harlequinade Manuscript from 1698 - Penny Plain: TwoPence Coloured

This design is also found nowadays for example; in professional portfolios. It is more unique and innovative also quite interactive.

Credits: Digital print, Book Binding & Finishing - Team Impression

 Lookbooks are also similar to harlequinades and panoramas in the way they are folded.

2012 Lookbook: Images via behance and the dieline

Panoramas, on the other hand are folded horizontally  ("v" fold) as shown below. Strips of paper were joined and folded into compact books to create a panorama. Pasting tissue was used to avoid straining the folds when opening portions. 

 

"V" Fold and "A" Fold

Panorama of The Queen’s Coronation Procession by Joseph Robins

An example was Robins’s Panoramic Representation of the Queen's Coronation Procession. 

This consists of 20 sheets of paper joined together to form a panorama of the Coronation.

It was made in 1838, published by Joseph Robins and the technique used was hand-colouring.

Nowadays panoramas are still used but the technique is very different. One can download specific software to attach photos automatically before print. Each photo is placed next to each other and then saved as a single photo. If the image is too large, the panorama can be printed on large format printers.

Here the user is choosing the photos to create a panorama

Panoramas and Harlequinades where both an inspiration to create my interactive brochure on healthy eating. My brochure folds in various directions; therefore makes it interactive. It is also informative since each flap contains information regarding the topic. 

This is it brochure I designed for an assignment.

One can notice that despite technological advances, the same techniques are still being used. Designers were inspired from past techniques regarding printing and pop ups. Such examples include present interactive children's books. The first printed pop-up books date back to the sixteenth century  and have been evolving since then; 3D books have become quite popular. This same technique is used nowadays in greeting cards and other entertainment purposes. In my opinion this influenced current thought especially in the interactive media sector. Despite the evolution of 3D printing, the pop-up technique is still being used especially for educational purposes. 

Bibliography

Adopt and Adapt ICT-in-ELT, 2014. Verb Wheels and Edmodo: A Winning Combination for Teaching Irregular Verbs. [ONLINE] Available at: http://davidmearns.blogspot.com/2013/10/verb-wheels-and-edmodo-winning.html. [Accessed 02 April 2014].

Alice E., 2008. The Space Book: a pop-up book for interior designers | DVICE. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.dvice.com/archives/2008/04/the_space_book.php. [Accessed 03 May 2014].

ArchBook, 2014. Architectures of the Book - Flaps [ONLINE] Available at: http://drc.usask.ca/projects/archbook/flaps.php. [Accessed 06 March 2014].

Arcsoft, 2014. How to Print My Panorama Photos. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.arcsoft.com/topics/panorama-maker/how-to-print-panorama.html. [Accessed 02 April 2014].

Deface365, 2014. Pure Design Consultancy. [ONLINE] Available at: http://deface365.blogspot.com/2014/04/passport-rosalind-stoughton-jonathan.html. [Accessed 03 April 2014].

Gravelle M., Leroux C., Mustapha A., 2012. Architectures of the Book - Volvelles. [ONLINE] Available at: http://drc.usask.ca/projects/archbook/volvelles.php. [Accessed 06 March 2014].

Lynch EDW, 2011. An Exhibition of Antique Medical Pop-Up Books. [ONLINE] Available at: http://laughingsquid.com/animated-anatomies-an-exhibition-of-antique-medical-pop-up-books/. [Accessed 02 April 2014].

Penny Plain, Twopence Coloured, 2014. Harlequin and the Pantomime [ONLINE] Available at:http://pennyplain.blogspot.com/2006/09/from-staff-of-pollocks-toy-museum.html. [Accessed 03 April 2014].

Rena Tom, 2014. The Value of Look Books. [ONLINE] Available at: http://blog.renatom.net/2012/02/29/the-value-of-look-books/. [Accessed 03 April 2014].

The Book and Paper Group Annual, 2014. Treatment of Folded Paper Artifacts. [ONLINE] Available at: http://cool.conservation-us.org/coolaic/sg/bpg/annual/v06/bp06-03.html. [Accessed 01 April 2014].

The Conveyor, 2014. Harlequinades. [ONLINE] Available at: http://blogs.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/theconveyor/2008/05/27/harlequinades/. [Accessed 01 April 2014].

The Volvellery, 2014. Army-Navy Insignia Guide. [ONLINE] Available at: http://volvellery.tumblr.com/page/2. [Accessed 03 May 2014].

UD Library Special Collections, 2014. Pop-up and Movable Books . [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.lib.udel.edu/ud/spec/exhibits/child/popup.htm. [Accessed 01 April 2014].

V&A Search the Collections, 2014. Print | Robins, Joseph (and C. Tilt). [ONLINE] Available at: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O78226/print-robins-joseph-and/. [Accessed 01 April 2014].

Yanko Design, 2014. Really Big Pop-up Book. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.yankodesign.com/2008/03/26/really-big-pop-up-book/. [Accessed 03 May 2014].

Task 1.1 - History of Typography (6/16)

History of typography  

Typography is the technique used for arranging letters. Typefaces/ fonts evolved by time and handwriting was transformed into printed letters. It is also the study of line length and space between letters.

Typography started around 5000 years ago where civilizations used pictographs to communicate. This evolved in ideographs and later hieroglyphs.

The Book of Ornamental Alphabets from the 8th century

The first alphabet to include only letters was the Phoenician alphabet which developed around 1200BC. Afterwards, Romans added serifs to the letters for example; Times new Roman.

Typefaces were later developed, such as the Garamond typeface which was developed by Claude Garamond. He  also created the apostrophe and the French written accent. 

Garamond (Old style)

By the 20th century Frederic Goudy, who was a typeface designer, had developed various font families.

A few font families by Frederic Goudy

The History of Visual Communication, 2014. The Alphabet. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.citrinitas.com/history_of_viscom/alphabet.html. [Accessed 29 March 2014].

A Brief Historical Overview of Typography Trends, 2014. Inspired Magazine. [ONLINE] Available at: http://inspiredm.com/typography-history/. [Accessed 29 March 2014].

Five Classic Typefaces for Design and Content, 2014. Garamond [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.gravitateonline.com/marketing-101/design-learning-center/typography-design/classic-typefaces.[Accessed 29 March 2014].

MyFonts, 2014. Frederic W. Goudy. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.myfonts.com/person/Frederic_W_Goudy/. [Accessed 29 March 2014].