Final Polymer Plate and Crash Printing

It's sad to say that this semester is over. I had so much in the class and learned a ton, most specifically within the final production pieces. I learned to appreciate and respect the challenges that go along with hand done printing, i.e. that of the inadequacies of the pieces. I experienced several blocks to not be type-high but lead me to utilize strips of masking tape to raise the blocks. During crash printing, the wood type takes the rubber based inks in an uneven fashion and when printed creates a very exciting texture which is truly specific to the medium of wood type. Also, the issues with registration (as seen in the second image in the triptych) that are so specific and precise. As a designer, I want it to be perfect and points and picas are just not small enough to get it right! But that goes with the medium and I appreciate and welcome the challenge.

I chose to leave out the word "ready" on some of the prints to retain the integrity of the design and detail of the polymer plate itself. As seen in the bottom image of the triptych, the dimension of the image is highly detailed and the polymer plate medium makes this possible as it can support such a small dot within a halftone image.

My internet connection is not fast enough to load the final images of these pieces so visit my website and see this, and all of the finished pieces from this semester! READY-made final page

Again I loved this class and will continue to blog about my processes in later classes because ultimately the process dictates the final piece and I feel that is important to document.

Crash Printing!

I was so excited after class on Thursday, I just had to blog about it. My experience with crash printing was great! I left class with ink dyed hands and a smile on my face. The images included are simple cell phone images and I apologize for the quality, I will update as soon as I am able. Laid out are the prints I made with the headline "Type SET!, Press" and "Ready, SET!, Press" which is a contradiction to the amount of time the prints actually take to create.

It took quite awhile for things to come together, what with non-type-high pieces that are older than I am. In order to make things sit at the right levels, I first tried using strips of leading underneath the pieces and that was even too much. So, from there, I used only two strips of masking tape which worked really well. Also, when I realized I wasn't pulling the arm back far enough on the Ostrander press, things worked even more effectively. It's over 100 years old, naturally I will be a little tentative.

Again, I will add more images once they are available, I was just too excited!

Assignment 05: Website/Blog

Throughout the course of Spring semester, our class was assigned to create a blog page (the very one you are reading now) and also a complete website with a link to each of our final pieces in a digital format. The U of MN allows each student a certain amount of web-space which made this website possible. There is a link in the right hand bar to the site. Or click on the web address and you will be redirected to the site.

http://www.tc.umn.edu/~stran356/2334  

The design of the site resulted from the need to appear professional but also to reflect my age and personality. I decided to utilize circles as a background in grayscale in order to allow the final pieces to pop off the page and become a focal point.

As this site is still under construction, some of the menu bars are inactive at this time. The "coursework" menu that leads to "computer apps" and "gd 1" are live and show final pieces with a description of the project and the piece itself. Also, the "biography" and "contact" links are active.

Letterpress Sketches

I know these probably should have gone up first, I just finally got my sketches scanned. These show my exploration of the finger-painting idea, from the word "ready" through the development of the scratching idea.

Here's the first proof print! It was really surprising to see the plate and then see print. The plate holds a really really small dot so the half-tone was really difficult make out, but once it printed it was amazing!

Assignment 04: Letterpress

For this project we were assigned to create a design utilizing two polymer plates to be used on the Vandercook press. We were each given a prefix to the idea of "-made." I receive the word "ready." From here, I came up with the idea that something that is ready-made is perfect upon creation and does not need outside assistance. Nature and children stuck out to me the most. After sketching, I decided to peruse the child idea. 

A child with its innocence and wonder is essentially ready-made. As a child plays, or finger-paints, he or she is completely open to the work and it is pure and utterly perfect in the feeling put in.

I image put here are possible color choices to 

use on the press. The design itself, is a splotch of paint with the word "ready" scratched in as if a child had done it. Also, the dominant "ready" written over top will be used if the scratched word is not readable.

Assignment 03: Informative Series Final

This is the final of the Informative Series project. These posters are designed to be on a bus shelter to be seen by those waiting for buses and also, those driving by. To do this I wanted to avoid too much text and concentrate on image and large drastic statistics.

After much review I essentially combined the creepy and informative styles used in previous drafts. Each piece utilizes a striking statistic juxtaposed with an image to both draw attention, but also suggest the intensity of the statistic presented. The bright yellow-green was used to emphasize the idea of the wicked witch from Snow White and the poison apple analogy. Also, the stem and leaf motif was used to create a sense of identity to the pieces and to suggest there is more than just these three pieces. Lastly, the pattern in the background is designed to reflect the mass amount of people this issue affects. Using the typical bathroom stall male image also fits with a statistic style.

I tried to mix very similar designs with that of pieces that can be independent. The first two are similar in design and I think they fit together better than the third. Granted, these would typically not be seen all at once, but I would have liked all three to be more similar. That being said, I feel the third is a strong design in itself because of the strong attention it draws from the viewer.

Greenway Mailer Final

This is the final for the Greenway Mailer. The flowers were reevaluated to represent more native plants to the Minnesota area. Also, the background was made a tint of a blue color as used inside the mailer my group created. The direct email color was changed to fix the vibrating boundaries that occurred once it was printed.

These are the correct colors that were utilized for the mailer.