I would like to answer these following questions regarding typography:
1) What is type’s role in design?
Type is used in design to facilitate effective visual rhetoric communication method to “convey an idea or to convince/persuade” (Ref: Podcast by Prof. Ronkowitz). It is used to lend expression to a design and when type is used in a specific way it’s meaning goes well beyond the text’s message( Ref: Podcast by Prof. Ronkowitz).By using the right typeface it is possible to establish a instant connection with the audience( Ref: Podcast by Prof. Ronkowitz).
2) How can type used as a “compositional element”?
· Type can be used as a linear element to help guide the reader through the composition
· Type can be configured to a shape, texture or a line in a composition
· Type assumes a supporting role when a compelling image deserves centre stage as seen in the ad for McDonald.
· The use of typeface family to create variation and theme in a composition
· Combine typefaces that requires effective mixing of opposites that have different but complimentary characterisitcs
Designing and choosing a type carefully to convey a particular persona and assure a “content unity and form” (zapf 1970 & White 1988 as quoted by Eva Brumberger in rhetoric of Typography.
3) What value does “expressive” typography to a design’s message?
In SIGN LANGUAGE: Typography is an art form of its own - and it's all around us by Richard Nilsen - Dec. 24, 2006( http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/ae/articles/1224signage1224main.html) he speaks of John Risseeuw, who teaches at Arizona State University and runs the ASU art press, Pyracantha “And typeface has a voice," Risseeuw said. "Just as a writer has a voice and the typeface should somehow compliment that or make the writer's voice apparent on the page”. By choosing a specific typeface for a piece of text one can decide what kind of voice that text is "spoken" in. The voice might be loud or soft, friendly or formal, authoritative, hip or old-fashioned. Depending on the project design and communication goals type can be used as a design element to convey a message examples are NYT mastheads and logotypes that projects an attitude, mood and uses gothic (period) font.
Type can be configured to suggest a shape
Build hierarchy
Type can be altered in other ways to support a mood or attitude
All the above suggest that “visual rhetoric of a text can radically change the message”(Kostelnick 1994 p.112), visual elements of a document affect the readers attitude towards the document shape the way in which they receive information from the document and will make them assign a value to the information. Therefore typography should enhance the value of the product.(ref Avoiding typeface errors by Kathleen Burke Yoshida)
4) When is it acceptable to use decorative and hard to read typefaces?
Decorative and hard-to-read fonts are used for display or to create a special effect and when expression is given more importance than reading legibility.
5) When you should use highly legible typefaces?
When designing a lengthy document which contains instructions such as user/technical manual and importance is given to user readability.
6) How can type serve as a unifying element in a composition?
Using the right typeface harmoniously integrated with other elements such as length of the lines, line spacing, intervals between words that are consistent with the purpose of the document will enhance the meaning of the message whereas not doing so will alter the composition.
7) What makes the video effective in typography?
Video by nature is dynamic and fast moving every two seconds the image is changing. Due to the time limitation the reader needs a typography that is bold and the length of the lines short …they have to make a statement and make an impression on the reader within a short span of time.
Typography: Sky:
This video uses typography to render expression to the message, the text is bold with a legible and clean sans serif typeface and in web or video sans serif works better than serif (unlike in print). The mood or attitude is enhanced by the audio that accompanies the video. The typography is used to create special effects using text as images to create a linear effect. Throughout the video clip a consistent typeface is used.
Typography: Web 2.0 The machine is Us/ing us
Unlike the Sky video clip this one is very fast moving, distracting and conveys the message using visual rhetoric. The typography used here is inconsistent and ever changing expressing the attitude of the message and it carries the meaning beyond the message- it conveys the intent of the message effectively with the right mix of imagery (mostly screen shots, hypertexts, links of websites) and fonts. High importance and prominence is given to the text that appears in the message, the font that is used is bold and clean sans serif type face to differentiate it from the other fonts that come and go. Other than the theme of the video clip I read only these few words Google, flickr,Savage minds, anthropology club, blogger.
8) Can video techniques be used in other mediums such as web, print and merchandizing?
Video techniques can be used in web and advertising. Since print is a static medium video technique cannot be used unless it is to be printed online/web.
When video is used in Web and advertising due to its time limitation it is made with clean, legible fonts and the line length is very concise. The content on each page is very short. The video usually comes with an audio track. Images are used with text and it looks like a presentation in power point. The same thing goes for videos used for education too.
When video is used in advertising special effects are used to attract the attention of the audience and typography is used as an “expressive and composition element and can be configured to shape, line and texture or to build hierarchy.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Friday, September 14, 2007
Individual blogging
Individual Blogging
The critical aspect that a blogger has to remember is that blogging is not about technology, it is about people. Media is an extension of man (Marshall Mcluhan, as quoted in the podcast by Professor Ronkowitz)) this analogy is true in the case of blogging that is an extension of our thoughts and ideas. Blogs are popular because they are easy to host and maintain. The content of the blog and the number of readers, their repeated visits and entries received determine the success rate of a blog. Many bloggers prefer a friendly tone in their blogs. The following are some of the many hats a blogger has to wear:
Technical Writer – has to be clear and concise while writing. When a blogger publishes views on a particular topic, interest or subject he/she has to keep the reader in mind and make the information easy to read, understand and find. The tone of the blog is as important as the content and a technical writer should maintain consistency in the tone throughout the blog.
Reader – has to read the various posts made on the blog for relevancy, redundancy and sometimes even for errors and editing the length.
Researcher –constant research on topics related to the blog is required to keep the blog current and relevant.
Designer – has to incorporate various design elements on the blog site. Blog should be user–friendly, information accessible easily (ref:Podcast by Prof. Ronkowitz), with appropriate links and pleasant visual layout.
Subject Matter Expert – has to have thorough knowledge on the technical aspects of the blog topic and should be able to respond to technical questions raised by bloggers. This area is important where there is a high degree of technical knowledge is involved.
Marketing - is required to promote and attract user visits to the blog site. This can be done by referencing the blog site through various popular corporate blogs, advertisements, search engines and email campaigns.
House Keeping –is very important in order to maintain the sanity of the blog and to purge redundant and irrelevant information from the site. This is applicable to both individuals and corporate blog sites.
Technical - maintaining appropriate hardware and software required for blogging and hosting blog sites. This is important for corporate blog website since the web servers are usually hosted in-house.
Security - is required for the site in order to prevent users from uploading malicious files, spamming and hacking. This is critical for corporate blogging since individuals use public websites like www.blogspot.com which already addresses these issues.
Legal – aspects should be considered while publishing contents related to copyrighted materials. This aspect is critical for corporate blogging and is not an issue with individual blogging.
Sources
1. http://www.chrisg.com/10-blogging-hats/
2. Essential Blogging , by Cory Doctorow; Rael Dornfest; J. Scott Johnson; Shelley Powers; Benjamin Trott; Mena G. Trott
Publisher: O'Reilly
Pub Date: August 2002
The critical aspect that a blogger has to remember is that blogging is not about technology, it is about people. Media is an extension of man (Marshall Mcluhan, as quoted in the podcast by Professor Ronkowitz)) this analogy is true in the case of blogging that is an extension of our thoughts and ideas. Blogs are popular because they are easy to host and maintain. The content of the blog and the number of readers, their repeated visits and entries received determine the success rate of a blog. Many bloggers prefer a friendly tone in their blogs. The following are some of the many hats a blogger has to wear:
Technical Writer – has to be clear and concise while writing. When a blogger publishes views on a particular topic, interest or subject he/she has to keep the reader in mind and make the information easy to read, understand and find. The tone of the blog is as important as the content and a technical writer should maintain consistency in the tone throughout the blog.
Reader – has to read the various posts made on the blog for relevancy, redundancy and sometimes even for errors and editing the length.
Researcher –constant research on topics related to the blog is required to keep the blog current and relevant.
Designer – has to incorporate various design elements on the blog site. Blog should be user–friendly, information accessible easily (ref:Podcast by Prof. Ronkowitz), with appropriate links and pleasant visual layout.
Subject Matter Expert – has to have thorough knowledge on the technical aspects of the blog topic and should be able to respond to technical questions raised by bloggers. This area is important where there is a high degree of technical knowledge is involved.
Marketing - is required to promote and attract user visits to the blog site. This can be done by referencing the blog site through various popular corporate blogs, advertisements, search engines and email campaigns.
House Keeping –is very important in order to maintain the sanity of the blog and to purge redundant and irrelevant information from the site. This is applicable to both individuals and corporate blog sites.
Technical - maintaining appropriate hardware and software required for blogging and hosting blog sites. This is important for corporate blog website since the web servers are usually hosted in-house.
Security - is required for the site in order to prevent users from uploading malicious files, spamming and hacking. This is critical for corporate blogging since individuals use public websites like www.blogspot.com which already addresses these issues.
Legal – aspects should be considered while publishing contents related to copyrighted materials. This aspect is critical for corporate blogging and is not an issue with individual blogging.
Sources
1. http://www.chrisg.com/10-blogging-hats/
2. Essential Blogging , by Cory Doctorow; Rael Dornfest; J. Scott Johnson; Shelley Powers; Benjamin Trott; Mena G. Trott
Publisher: O'Reilly
Pub Date: August 2002
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Corporate Blogging
Introduction
This blog entry is meant to compare and contrast the features present in three of the top corporate blogs namely Dell, Nokia and Toyota. The intent is to analyze and understand the best blog practices amongst the top corporate. Here is what Matt Brown- Macromedia Community Manager has to say about Macromedia using blogs as quoted in the book “Blogging: Genius Strategies for Instant Web Content” by author Biz Stone.
“…The idea is that we can get information back to the community more rapidly than a lot of other channels. We do a lot of that anyway, but we do that mostly on a 1-1 basis or spread through a lot of other venues. This way we can bring in the important info to one place and get that out to people."
DELL (Direct2DELL Blog)
Dell’s blog starts with a clearly defined goal which is consistent through the blog where the creation, intent, methods, rules commitments to customers, privacy and Dell’s Online Policies are neatly listed out under DELL’s Doctrine (http://direct2dell.com/about.aspx) and the intended audience are its customers. The various blog topics related to the product are listed on the right side from A to Z which is localized according to specific region. These topics contain a lot of information mostly blogged by Dell’s employee regarding product launch, product delays, battery recalls and environmental campaign to name a few and the blog site also supports user subscription to RSS feeds. There are also topics devoted to Consumer, customer experience which allows the customers to comment as well as send suggestions through emails. The average length of the blog entry is anywhere from one liner such as the one in comments to half a page. Dell uses a variety of visual elements such as screenshots, video collections – under the topic VLOGS and multimedia links. Visual elements in terms of color, font and language were lucid and consistent in usage of screen shots, appropriate use of context sensitive hyper links, all blog entries have footer with links to comments and external websites such as Digg.
Nokia (S60 Blogs)
True to its image Nokia blog was flashy with generous use of the Flash multimedia tools, ability to subscribe to RSS feeds based on topic and support through various podcasts. The tone of the blog is very lively and the blogs are aimed at enabling and enriching the Nokia S60 user community. There are several topics related to user experience, and the site allows user comments by way of links, and there is a “subscribe” link for Posts and Comments. RSS feed is encouraged and the easy navigation allows the reader to navigate to the blog entry and place his/her comment. The length of the blog entry ranging from several lines to one or multi paragraphs, to half or one page in length.
TOYOTA (Open Road Blog)
This blog is aimed at Toyota retail vehicle buyers, the blog entries act as a tool to interact with the customers and to aids the company to tout its corporate image and standing in the consumer market. The mission of the blog is clearly stated in the main page under a note of Welcome on the left hand side. Corporate blogs are listed on the left side and blog related groupings are well organized on the right. The content is distributed evenly on both sides with the blog entries forming the main centre point. This blog encourages user comments; this is evident at the footer of each blog entry where there is a link to post the reader’s comments. Additional importance to reader’s comments is given by creating a category for recent posts and recent comments. The page layout of the blog is very stylish with three columns unlike Dell and NOKIA S60. Few of the more popular and recent blogs are posted with their header hyperlinks at the centre on top of the page and the blog entry itself is in the centre column. The length of the blog entry is not more than half a page. The font used is Trebuchet MS and the color -theme is very pleasing. The tone of the blog is very engaging and several visual elements have been used such as video clippings, multi-media presentations, cartoons and photos as communication tools.
Summary
Each company uses the blog as a strategic communication tool in order to promote brand-building, to build trust and goodwill with the consumers. Dell blog site is mainly used for customer service whereas Nokia S60 blog site is centered on its product features and issues related to it. The categories column in Dell blog is limited to customer service issues only whereas Toyota blog has additional entries promoting its products and company image. Dell was not efficient in eliminating duplicate blog entries on the same topic whereas Toyota had efficiently provided links to topics related to a specific blog entry. Dell’s blog was more forthcoming in providing detailed information on various issues but the navigation was problematic.
In comparing these three top blog sites Toyota seems to have a more effective blog site. The blog site suggests open conversation through its engaging appearance, and content-rich blog topics, it looks professional and community oriented.
This blog entry is meant to compare and contrast the features present in three of the top corporate blogs namely Dell, Nokia and Toyota. The intent is to analyze and understand the best blog practices amongst the top corporate. Here is what Matt Brown- Macromedia Community Manager has to say about Macromedia using blogs as quoted in the book “Blogging: Genius Strategies for Instant Web Content” by author Biz Stone.
“…The idea is that we can get information back to the community more rapidly than a lot of other channels. We do a lot of that anyway, but we do that mostly on a 1-1 basis or spread through a lot of other venues. This way we can bring in the important info to one place and get that out to people."
DELL (Direct2DELL Blog)
Dell’s blog starts with a clearly defined goal which is consistent through the blog where the creation, intent, methods, rules commitments to customers, privacy and Dell’s Online Policies are neatly listed out under DELL’s Doctrine (http://direct2dell.com/about.aspx) and the intended audience are its customers. The various blog topics related to the product are listed on the right side from A to Z which is localized according to specific region. These topics contain a lot of information mostly blogged by Dell’s employee regarding product launch, product delays, battery recalls and environmental campaign to name a few and the blog site also supports user subscription to RSS feeds. There are also topics devoted to Consumer, customer experience which allows the customers to comment as well as send suggestions through emails. The average length of the blog entry is anywhere from one liner such as the one in comments to half a page. Dell uses a variety of visual elements such as screenshots, video collections – under the topic VLOGS and multimedia links. Visual elements in terms of color, font and language were lucid and consistent in usage of screen shots, appropriate use of context sensitive hyper links, all blog entries have footer with links to comments and external websites such as Digg.
Nokia (S60 Blogs)
True to its image Nokia blog was flashy with generous use of the Flash multimedia tools, ability to subscribe to RSS feeds based on topic and support through various podcasts. The tone of the blog is very lively and the blogs are aimed at enabling and enriching the Nokia S60 user community. There are several topics related to user experience, and the site allows user comments by way of links, and there is a “subscribe” link for Posts and Comments. RSS feed is encouraged and the easy navigation allows the reader to navigate to the blog entry and place his/her comment. The length of the blog entry ranging from several lines to one or multi paragraphs, to half or one page in length.
TOYOTA (Open Road Blog)
This blog is aimed at Toyota retail vehicle buyers, the blog entries act as a tool to interact with the customers and to aids the company to tout its corporate image and standing in the consumer market. The mission of the blog is clearly stated in the main page under a note of Welcome on the left hand side. Corporate blogs are listed on the left side and blog related groupings are well organized on the right. The content is distributed evenly on both sides with the blog entries forming the main centre point. This blog encourages user comments; this is evident at the footer of each blog entry where there is a link to post the reader’s comments. Additional importance to reader’s comments is given by creating a category for recent posts and recent comments. The page layout of the blog is very stylish with three columns unlike Dell and NOKIA S60. Few of the more popular and recent blogs are posted with their header hyperlinks at the centre on top of the page and the blog entry itself is in the centre column. The length of the blog entry is not more than half a page. The font used is Trebuchet MS and the color -theme is very pleasing. The tone of the blog is very engaging and several visual elements have been used such as video clippings, multi-media presentations, cartoons and photos as communication tools.
Summary
Each company uses the blog as a strategic communication tool in order to promote brand-building, to build trust and goodwill with the consumers. Dell blog site is mainly used for customer service whereas Nokia S60 blog site is centered on its product features and issues related to it. The categories column in Dell blog is limited to customer service issues only whereas Toyota blog has additional entries promoting its products and company image. Dell was not efficient in eliminating duplicate blog entries on the same topic whereas Toyota had efficiently provided links to topics related to a specific blog entry. Dell’s blog was more forthcoming in providing detailed information on various issues but the navigation was problematic.
In comparing these three top blog sites Toyota seems to have a more effective blog site. The blog site suggests open conversation through its engaging appearance, and content-rich blog topics, it looks professional and community oriented.
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