major project

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nj24

New Member
Hi

I'm working on my major project and I'm exploring the topic of indecisiveness. I was thinking about creating some sort of a design experiment with my fellow students. What I'm wondering is there any kind of mechanism that makes you choose in example, typefaces, layouts etc. easily or would you prefer a system that would have fewer options and make decision making easier for you?

Thank you in advance for your thoughts, opinions...
 
Hello,

I'm not quite sure what you're getting at here but I'll throw my two cents in.

I need a 'system' as it is. I want to be able to choose my own typefaces, or custom made fonts. I need full control over my layouts etc. I need to be able to translate what is in my head, onto paper and then in turn into my Mac's design software. Any restrictions to this, would greatly hinder my ability to make this translation accurately and as intended. Reason being, I need to be able to choose specific fonts that relate the best way possible to what my design is conveying. I need my layouts to make sense for the design in question. None of this can be achieved if there are certain limitations.

However, there are already 'systems' in in place that gives you a limited selection of fonts, layouts etc, to which you can choose from and build your design around. Web templates are a great example of this.

Regarding indecisiveness, I can see this being an issue when it comes to selecting the right typeface. But this all comes down to experience and organisation of your font collection. The indecisiveness usually comes from one of two things: 1/ You know the type and 'feel' of font you want but you just can't find the right one to hit the nail on the head. OR 2/ You don't know the type of font you want so you scroll through your fonts until you find one you deem most suitable. Again this is all down to experience, as after a while you become familiar with what type of fonts work well for certain designs, and what type of fonts to avoid.

I hope I have somewhat answered your question somewhere in my waffle. I think the topic of indecisiveness could really be fitting as a typographic final piece if executed well.
 
Last edited:
CLHB said:
Hello,

I'm not quite sure what you're getting at here but I'll throw my two cents in.

I need a 'system' as it is. I want to be able to choose my own typefaces, or custom made fonts. I need full control over my layouts etc. I need to be able to translate what is in my head, onto paper and then in turn into my Mac's design software. Any restrictions to this, would greatly hinder my ability to make this translation accurately and as intended. Reason being, I need to be able to choose specific fonts that relate the best way possible to what my design is conveying. I need my layouts to make sense for the design in question. None of this can be achieved if there are certain limitations.

However, there are already 'systems' in in place that gives you a limited selection of fonts, layouts etc, to which you can choose from and build your design around. Web templates are a great example of this.

Regarding indecisiveness, I can see this being an issue when it comes to selecting the right typeface. But this all comes down to experience and organisation of your font collection. The indecisiveness usually comes from one of two things: 1/ You know the type and 'feel' of font you want but you just can't find the right one to hit the nail on the head. OR 2/ You don't know the type of font you want so you scroll through your fonts until you find one you deem most suitable. Again this is all down to experience, as after a while you become familiar with what type of fonts work well for certain designs, and what type of fonts to avoid.

I hope I have somewhat answered your question somewhere in my waffle. I think the topic of indecisiveness could really be fitting as a typographic final piece if executed well.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your response.
Let me elaborate a little bit, the topic came from reading The Paradox of choice, in which the author explains the fewer choice we have, the easier the decision, to sum it up. So, what am I kinda trying to create is a system in which your choice to create a let's say magazine, would be limited by an x-number of typefaces, which would then lead to x-number of layouts, etc. so let's say that if you fail to make a decision about which typeface to use in several seconds, the program would make the decision for you...
What i'm a bit confused by is how could I present the experiment, before actually creating the said program. I suppose what I'm trying to say is how to get into the head of a graphic designer and how do designers make decisions (based on how many different tools/fonts/etc. is available; and I know most of the decision making becomes easier with experience).I hope I've made it a bit clearer.
 
Hi there, this project sounds a little complex without knowing how are you going to create such system?

We'll use a magazine design for example, if this system helps simplify your decisions and perhaps reduces time to complete a project, you are in hindsight taking away the essence of being a designer - a creative thinker. Designing a magazine has endless possibilities and experimentation, a designer will learn what looks 'right' and what does not work. Also would originality of the magazine be in question, if limited to choice?

When choosing suitable typefaces, colour, layouts, etc, for a design project, your thoughts maybe taken from research / inspiration like online, books, magazines and your own ideas.

The output of project is based on your understanding of the client and from there working out your approach to the design. A system will not know the client, unless you input specific keywords that best describes the client.

How are you going to make this work, let's say introducing your system to a large design studio?
 
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