Spencer Cook Presentation At Flashpoint Academy

Something I Ran Across...

So I got to work today and began to clear the clutter that has been accumulating for the past couple months... Where it comes from I have no idea. But I ran across a Post-It note where I scribbled down something I belive Jeff Garlin said when he was at Flashpoint a while back and it stuck with me. WEAR THE MASK TOO LONG IT STARTS BECOMING THE FACE It is a funny but very true statement. We all are guilty of occasionally doing things that are inherently not definitive of who we truly are (that is just "so not me"). But when does it come to the point when you can distinguish between the talk, action and essense? What I mean is you act upon a given instance according to something inside of you, then you can either be silently proud of how you acted because it was in tune with your inner essence (I cannot think of a better term) or you can talk and disavow what you previously said with some form of an excuse. But if you continously act out and disavow than how can you claim to be otherwise inside? I just am just somewhat startled by the amount of people who act one way and claim to be otherwise... that is why I find this quote so relevant and so true. If you do act a certain way time and time again and if you pretend to be this or that for some ulterior motive (whether you acknowledge the motive or not), you have to at some point morph into whatever facade you put forth. And this is true with both the good and bad... I don't know, something to ponder.

Charley Harper

Charley Harper (b. 1922 in West Virginia) provides us with a unique view of animals and other aspects of the natural world - not through realistic paintings, but by means of stylized drawings and paintings that capture the essence of his subjects using the fewest elements. He describes his style as minimal realism. In his art, the parts of the creature or ecological system are all there and are recognizable, but distilled in a manner that enhances our appreciation for their unique combinations of shapes and colors (i.e., less is more). He likes to joke that he doesn’t count the feathers of the birds he paints, just the wings. His different perspective on the world always includes a little humor and mystery.

Poster Design

Designing Type by Karen Cheng

As one of a graphic designer’s most essential tools, typefaces influence the appearance of visual print materials perhaps more than any other component. This essential book explains the processes behind creating and designing type. Author Karen Cheng discusses issues of structure, optical compensation, and legibility, with special emphasis given to the often overlooked relationships between letters and shapes in a font.The book is illustrated with numerous diagrams that demonstrate visual principles and letter construction, ranging from informal progress sketches to final type designs and diagrams. A wide range of classic and modern typefaces is analyzed, including those from many premier contemporary type foundaries. Introductory essays and diagrams emphasize the history of type, the primary systems of typeface classification, the two main proportional systems for type, the parts of a letter, the effects of new technology on design methodology, the optical illusions that affect density and balance in letterforms, and the differences in form between basic serif typestyles. The book provides detailed guidelines for creating serif and sans serif letters, numbers, punctuation, and accents. As design clients increasingly call for original and custom typefaces, Designing Type is a superb reference for both students and professional graphic designers.