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Year 9 �UNIT 1 DESIGN

You will be exploring Typography, Composition and Pattern to design a Toi Kupu dictionary cover, your name for your Art workbook (sketchbook), or a Whakatauki poster.

Teacher note:

This presentation is not intended to be taught as a whole unit of work. Slides and activities can be selected to suit your students or might be used as starting points to develop further learning activities for your classroom.

Illustration: Chloē Reweti https://chloereweti.com/work

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  1. You will learn about elements of typography
  2. You will explore both English and Māori design fonts
  3. You will practise text designs with shapes in your workbook
  4. You may also use a computer and convert each phrase/kupu into different fonts and colours
  5. You will also explore images to combine with your text with drawing.
  6. You can use a wide range of media both digital and analogue, gouache, watercolour, collage, markers, pencil, ink, pen….

Objectives

Using your chosen kupu, you will be designing a dictionary cover, your name for your Art workbook (sketchbook) cover or a whakatauki poster.

Outcome

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Let's explore elements of text….

Illustration: Johnson Witihera, Tangiwha Series https://www.johnsonwitehira.studio/tangiwha

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Main Font Families

Although there are millions of font styles these can be divided into four main categories:

Sans Serif Fonts

modern, clean, and minimalist typefaces characterized by the absence of small decorative strokes (called "serifs") at the ends of letter strokes. Derived from the French word "sans" (meaning "without"), they are highly legible on screens, offering a straightforward, uncluttered aesthetic suitable for digital interfaces and contemporary design

Serif Fonts

Serif Fonts are typefaces characterized by small lines, strokes, or "feet" attached to the end of larger strokes in a letter. Originating from Roman stone carving, these decorative additions are designed to guide the reader's eye along a line of text, making them ideal for long-form, printed materials like books, newspapers, and magazines

Script Fonts 

Script fonts are typefaces based on the fluid, varied strokes of handwriting, often featuring connected letters and a personal, elegant, or casual feel. They mimic traditional calligraphy or modern handwriting, offering charm and personality to designs. Due to their stylistic nature, they are best suited for headlines, invitations, and logos rather than long, body-text passages

Display Fonts

Display fonts are designed to grab attention, making them ideal for headlines, titles, and cover accents rather than long, immersive passages of text. Unlike body fonts that prioritize readability, display fonts often feature more "flair," distinct styles, or a decorative nature that sets a specific tone, such as sophisticated, modern, or whimsical.

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Anatomy of a typeface�

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Exercise 01

Learning Objective:

Practise constructing a range of typefaces using structured lines

Write your name four times using different styles each time

When you are finished label the font family and write its characteristics

Task

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Worksheet

You can add illustrations alongside if you wish to.

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Examples

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Exercise 02

Learning Objective:

Explore word and meaning using text

Using a variety of fonts, effects colour and size, illustrate the meanings in three of the following word combinations:

Old / New

Serious / Silly

Loud / Quiet

Beautiful / Ugly

Strong / Weak

Fit / Lazy

Natural / Man Made

Rich / Poor

Reality / Fantasy

Word combinations

Thaqif Syarafuddin: Typography Design Journal https://thaqifdesigns.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_70.html

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Go to https://maorifonts.com/

Find inspiration and practise �writing your name / Kupu

MORE OPTIONS! Experiment with fonts to find one you like

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ADDITIONAL LEARNING TO CONSIDER

Hierarchy

Readability

Legibility

Kerning

Tracking

Orphans

Widows

Spacing

Size

Weight

Baseline

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Practise text drawing……

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Exercise 03

Learning Objective:

Explore text using a range of shape formats

Task

Fill in three shapes with your name or other words

In the remaining space do a text shape design to illustrate an animal, food or something of your own choosing.

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Try other forms

Raewyn Harris, Cover/Poster Ideas

Dan Flemming, Word Animals

Ji Lee, Word as Image.

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Exercise 04

Learning Objective:

Create nameplate using geometric shapes

Task

  1. Select some coloured paper, two or three colours that would work together.
  2. Cut some geometric shapes out, make sure they are similar in size. You might want to rule a strip and draw the shapes first.
  3. Experiment with creating letter forms with the shapes
  4. Glue your name plate down on a piece of paper

Extension Activity

  • On a piece of A4 paper create your own alphabet using the geometric shapes. You will need some rules for consistency. E.G: Limit the colours and shape you use.

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Task

  1. On a black paper draw 2-3 letters
  2. Lightly draw in koru kape and other cultural designs.
  3. Use your white pencil to draw into the patterns.
  4. Cut out each letter and then stick onto a piece of paper.

Exercise 05:

Stylise your letterforms

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Looking at whakatauki/ proverbs….

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Exercise 06:

Investigate Whakatauki-Proverbs

Task

  1. Look over the sheet on Whakatauki/ Proverbs
  2. Write down two that stand out to you in both Māori and English
  3. Can you think of any other wise sayings/proverbs?
  4. Write down 1-2 other proverbs (they could be old sayings from your own culture)

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Select one to create . . .

He waka eke noa

We’re all in this together

Kia kaha, kia maia, kia manawanui

Be strong, be brave, be steadfast

Okea ururoatia

Keep fighting

Me manawa tītī

Keep going and don't give up

Whāia te iti kahurangi, ki te tuohu koe,

me he maunga teitei

Seek the treasure that you value most dearly

Kei ōu ringaringa te ao

The world is yours

Toku toa, he toa rangatira

My courage is inherited

Tama tū tama ora; tama noho tama mate

He who stands lives, he who sits, perishes

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New Zealand Curriculum Resource.

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Explore Ideas

Task

  1. Select a Whakatauki to illustrate
  2. On A4 page rule up 2-3 rectangles to draft up your concept sketches.
  3. Make a design in each rectangle. Fill Each rectangle with a variety of fonts and type.

Consider: �Font �Size/scale�Layout/Placement�Overlapping �Shape/s�Positive/Negative

Your final design could include images, but text should be the dominant feature.

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Looking at posters…

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Posters

Posters should grab the viewers attention. They also need to convey their message. They convey the tone, mood and style of the message or product.

Although this poster explores text and image with a high level of skill, it does not quite convey the meaning of the proverb. This is because one word fails in conveying the tone of the message. Here the word ‘iti meaning small is scaled up too large.

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More examples of Kell Sunshine’s lettering https://kellsunshine.com/lettering

The intent of your poster should be clear

Kell Sunshine

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Making your poster…

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Colour

There are many other ways to show the intent of your poster through colour. Look carefully at the exemplars

You can explore colour palettes to select the colours that work best for the effect you want.

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Fill in the colours you will be using together

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If you are going to work HANDMADE:

Practise with selected words.

Try 3 different styles of letterforms, changing colour and media each time.

Insert evidence of your handmade type exploration into your workbook.

If you are going to work Digitally:

Using a selected programme on your computer, type out the Te Reo Māori version of your word.

  1. Copy and paste this at least 3 times
  2. Convert each phrase into a different font and colour
  3. Consider the legibility (how clear it is to read), as well as how selected fonts might work together

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Develop and refine your design

Task:

Select your best designs and draft up again to make any further adjustments to improve the design.

For example, you may choose to change the scale or placement of some of the words. Or you might decide to include an image.

You might use free online apps to explore layout options.

https://express.adobe.com/ https://www.canva.com/ https://www.photopea.com/

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Task

CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING . . .

Using a font generated from the computer (Canva or PhotoPea) - what font will be clear, easy to read but still link to the meaning you are wanting to convey with your poster?

Planningand preparation

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Planning…

CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING . . .

If you are planning on using existing Kowhaiwhai Patterns, or if you are wanting to develop some of your own – you might wish to utilise some of the following resources.

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Chloē Reweti

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https://chloereweti.com/te-papa-tongarewa

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Shane Hansen

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Weston Frizzell

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Inspo

Or select kupu or your own meaningful saying

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TYPE

BASED

INSPO

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You could use collage and mixed media

TYPE

BASED

INSPO

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TYPE

BASED

INSPO

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Plan your ideas here

- transfer onto good paper for the final version

(Highlight the Whakatauki or Kupu you are going to use)

What does your selected Whakatauki or kupu mean to you?

What do you want someone looking at your poster to see/ feel?

What imagery (subject matter) will you use to represent this (make a list)?

Why have you chosen this? What colour palette will you use? What effect do you want it to have?

Select from any of the following media to create the imagery for your A4 Poster:

Pencil, Pen, Coloured Pencil, Watercolour, Photographs (own or Creative Commons)

Make some quick sketches on your planning doc that illustrate your potential ideas

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Possible Assessment Activity…

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Poster CONCEPTS

Type-based Concepts:

Using just the fonts you have selected, and both the Te Reo Māori and English versions create 3 different layouts that respond to following design conventions:

Insert evidence of your layout and font testing into your workbook.

ORDER / CHAOS / GRID

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REFINEMENT of Poster

Concepts with imagery:

Add imagery to your 3 type-based layouts (ORDER / CHAOS / GRID) to enhance each of these designs.

These will be your 3 x poster concepts that show you have tested different ideas for your layout.

Insert evidence of your 3 x poster concepts into your workbook.

Development:

Select your favourite concept design, apply final changes to create a cohesive design. This improved design will become your final.

If you are using hand drawn materials think about how to ensure you use them effectively and with control. What works the best ?

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THE END…