becausemaybe blog » Typography

No Stranger to Failure

nel — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 12:27:13 +0000

My final project in Andrew Byrom’s Advanced Typography class this last semester was to design and construct house numbers. Originally, we were supposed to design the numbers, produce/manufacture the numbers and design the packaging it would come in. But due to time constraints we just had to have a proof of concept mock-up. I had this idea, which at the time, I thought was completely brilliant. My house numbers were based off a kid’s xylophone. The concept was that the numbers together would produce a sound that is unique to your address. It would also come in handy should your door bell ever be broken.

I constructed a mock-up version out of strips of brass, but something I did not foresee happened. When the numbers are held upright, they do not produce the right sound. The force of gravity prevents them from vibrating properly and producing a tune. Not to mention, this was probably the ghetto-est mock-up I’ve ever constructed in my life! If I were to remake this, I’d probably just get the numbers laser cut.

Dipping Toes in Type Design

nel — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 09:24:52 +0000

I hesitate to say that I’ve designed a typeface only because I know it’s much more complicated than what I have done.

This semester, I’m taking an advanced typography class with Andrew Byrom and I’m enjoying every minute of it. Over the past month, we’ve been working on designing a sans serif typeface. We only worked on the lowercase, but I might work on the uppercase in the near future.

This is Forma. And it likes white space.

Signage Sunday!

nel — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 05:56:10 +0000

I spent most of my day today in the Arts District of Downtown LA. The day started off with a meeting at Urth Caffe with a few of the leaders from the various student groups within AIGA/LA. We spent a couple of hours brainstorming and discussing concepts for the upcoming rebranding of the AIGA/LA Education Committee. Afterwards, we migrated to Wurstküche for some delicious sausage!

Being Sunday, Downtown was quite busy…I had to park a little bit further than what I’m used to. But I parked next to a building with this lovely address sign:

What I Do On Saturdays

nel — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 09:30:17 +0000

Today was just supposed to be like any other Saturday…just lounge around, spend time on the internet, work on school projects…But today I had to meet with my group for our building signage project…We took a group trip to Home Depot…one thing lead to another. And we ended up cutting our entire project using the saws in the moulding aisle. And surprisingly, no one complained or stopped and stared.

Brought to You by the Letter E

nel — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 07:14:43 +0000

Just a little teaser of the type from the sketch from the last post being mocked up.

Strung Up

nel — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 08:14:01 +0000

The new semester has started and I think it’s going to be a very exciting one. I’m really looking forward to what’s going to come out of my Advanced Typography class I’m taking with Andrew Byrom. The first of our projects is to come up with signage for a building on campus that’s confusing to navigate through. Our lovely group chose to tackle the Theatre Arts building. Some of our early ideas plays off of puppetry.

Here’s a little glimpse of what we’re up to:

I’m going to be spending my weekend prototype this with wooden popsicle sticks.

The other project I’m tackling this early in the semester is a book cover series for three books by Nick Hornby: High Fidelity, 31 Songs, and Juliet, Naked. I just really love Nick Hornby and the style in which he writes. And I’ve always been able to relate to his characters in a “that’s like the story of my life” kind of way.

If h is a Chair

nel — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 11:41:20 +0000

Andrew Byrom recently gave a talk as part of TEDxUCLA. Every time I hear Andrew Byrom talk, I feel excited and grateful that I will be taking a class with him this upcoming fall semester. Never have I met a man so proud and energetic about his work. He’s also quite notorious for his shameless self-promotion. But what I love most about Andrew Byrom is his boundless curiosity that drives his work. So sit back and enjoy this video!

Franny and Zooey

nel — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 01:53:16 +0000

Here’s a little sneak peek at my experimental book cover for J.D. Salinger’s Franny and Zooey that I’m working on for portfolio.

So…What’s the Plan?

nel — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 01:42:17 +0000

Enjoy this little kinetic typography motion piece using an excerpt from Shaun of the Dead.