Abstract
I am a book cover designer, working with typography as image. I aim to find that perfect point of verbal-visual connection, where the title and how that typography was made reinforce each other. I do this by incorporating image-making techniques that harness the visual communication possibilities of physical materials. Over the past fifteen years, I have developed a unique process to turn physical materials into engaging digital images that I call “Subject, Material, Tool.” This process is a structured way to create images in which the materials used to make the images both form and inform the meaning of the typography. “Subject, Material, Tool” is a set of limitations designers can play with in order to get the most image-making possibilities out of any given material. Essentially, it prompts designers to examine each material through three distinct lenses: as a subject, as a raw material, and as a tool. My study demonstrates exactly how “Subject, Material, Tool” works via a series of applied case studies in book cover design. Image-making, the verbal-visual connection, and type as image are topics that have been well researched by colleagues such as Nancy Skolos and Thomas Wedell, Annabelle Gould, Renee Seward, Keetra Dean Dixon, and others. This is for good reason, because finding an ideal verbal-visual connection is one of the biggest challenges designers face. “Subject, Material, Tool” is a new take on image-making process, offering a unique structure and point of view, therefore adding valuable scholarship to this important area of research.
Presenters
Anna JordanAssistant Professor, College of Art and Design, Rochester Institute of Technology, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Typography, Image, Visual Research, Imagemaking, Materials, Graphic Design, Education
