Imagine if the smart phone was a technology developed in the 1950s. How would the advertising of that era showcase this modern marvel? Students in the Typography class were challenged with this concept. Given a stock image they were to design an ad featuring a smart phone being careful to use typefaces and design trends common in the 1950s. It was a great way to stress how important design details are to the historical context of a piece.
Graphic design is one of the few professions that places a high premium on the appearance of professional documents used to land jobs in the creative field. On occasion I’ll hear others outside our industry criticize the way our design students challenge the mold of the traditional, templated resume.
‘That type is way too small. You should use 12 point text.’
‘You don’t need that much color.’
‘What’s with the logo?’
‘Everything should be in one column.’
What they fail to understand is that the design of the resume, cover letter and stationery present the designer with an immediate opportunity to demonstrate to a prospective employer their mastery of typography, layout design and visual identity. In my experience there is really no better way to evaluate how well a candidate can do such tasks than for them to show it.
True, the content, spelling and grammatical perfection of these documents is equally important – and don’t forget the adage: it’s not always what you know but who you know – but if you hire a candidate to do design that visually demonstrates poor graphic design skill …well, you asked for it.
Graphic Design and Communications Sophomores at BSC spend a great deal of time honing their personal brand identities to match who they are creatively and professionally. They learn about how to assemble an impressive stationery system, build a resume and write cover letters so that they can apply for creative jobs with confidence. Combined with an impressive portfolio, the ultimate goal of the class, designers stand a much better chance of being hired to do what they’ve so clearly demonstrated they can do and happen to do very well. Design.
Type is a powerful design element, one that greatly influences the mood and emotion of any creation. When era-specific typefaces and styles are used in a design the perceived age of that design changes accordingly.
First year students in BSC’s Graphic Design and Communication’s Typography class recently demonstrated how, just by changing a typeface, a modern television program can be transported back to an earlier time.
Click on the image above to load some examples of vernacular TV titles.
Business cards are some of the most common brand identity elements designers are asked to create. So what if your brand is a fairly notable individual? First year students in the Typography class recently completed an assignment where they had to imagine and design a business card for an actual or fictitious character. After conducting some research as to who their character was they had to make design choices that reflected the era in which they lived. They were to consider typographic styles and details that would help the finished card appear as legitimate as possible. Typography is often a hit or miss proposition but with some historical context the choices can become more obvious.
Some notable business card designs from a handful of students. (Clockwise from left to right: Annette Pickard, Lindsay Swaidner, Hannah Schafer, Preston Murschel, Ashley Rudnick and Kelsey Nicholson.)