Graphic Design Exercises

Illustrator: Type Studies

 

Objective

To experiment with typography visually. To select appropriate fonts based on content. To learn Illustrator production techniques by example.

 

Description

Using the list below, select three movie titles of your choice and create a typographic wordmark for each title in black and white.

2001: A Space Odyssey
A Clockwork Orange
A Night at the Opera
American Beauty
Annie Hall
Before Sunset
Being There
City Lights
Dr. Strangelove
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Fargo
Fight Club
Forrest Gump
It Happened One Night
Jaws
L.A. Confidential
Lost in Translation
Modern Times

Raging Bull
Requiem for a Dream
Reservoir Dogs
Rocky
Taxi Driver
The Apartment
The Best Years of Our Lives
The Deer Hunter
The Graduate
The Great Dictator
The Philadelphia Story
The Pianist
The Silence of The Lambs
The Sixth Sense
The Third Man
The Usual Suspects
Touch of Evil
Unforgiven

 

Procedure
  1. launch Illustrator; copy and paste the above list onto the paste board area of a blank page
  2. choose one title to experiment with; copy and paste the title onto the printable area
  3. duplicate the title 3 times, change case (all caps, all lowercase)
  4. duplicate 5 times, choose 5 different "classic" fonts (consider italics, bolds)
  5. choose your favorite configuration, duplicate
  6. convert to outline, ungroup
  7. rearrange the words/letters onto different lines
  8. consider changing sizes, kerning, leading, cropping/cutting, etc.
  9. fill the page with your studies
  10. choose your favorite study, copy and paste onto a new blank page, make larger
  11. print a b&w proof for critique
  12. revise the design based on feedback
  13. repeat with 2 more titles

Grading

  1. submit b&w laser proofs with your name and the exercise number on it for critique
  2. file your graded proof in your Process Book for individual review
  3. file > save for web (preset=GIF 32 no dither, image size=800px wide, clip to artboard=yes)
  4. publish JPEG as a link from your Process Page