Christian Balkin

Project 3

balkin3 — Wed, 15 Dec 2021 19:30:48 +0000

What did you learn?

This project got me thinking a lot about the history of type design. I learned a lot about futura and fonts in general. After a lot of online research I started to better understand the design format that fits a certain font, and it’s always representative of the era it comes from.

What was Easy?

I used illustrator for this project. To get the overall design of my poster I had each letter spelling out futura in separate text boxes. This made it easy to place each letter where I wanted it and give a specific color and font size.

What was Challenging?

I first came up with the design of my poster, then I started thinking about where I wanted to place the paragraph text. I realized I had not left myself enough space to do this effectively so I had to do some redesigning.

How could you submission be Improved?

I was happy with the way I designed my poster by placing Fututura across the page. I felt like there was too much empty space so I filled it with a poka-dot design. I’m not sure if this improved it or made it worse. I’ve considered that the cleaner look may have been better.

How can the professor improve the assignment in the future?

This assignment was straight forward and well explained. I realized when I went to thing of a font designer I was not familiar with any. Perhaps it would be beneficial to speak about more designers early in the semester.

How can this be applied in future assignments?

This got me thinking a lot about designing for a certain time period. In the future I plan to do more research on fonts to discover which one would best suit a specific design need

How did a specific source assist with this?

This is a website that lets you put in a search font and brings up results of posters made in that font. I used it to get references of other designs that had been made using futura.

Project 4 Reflection

balkin3 — Wed, 15 Dec 2021 19:30:10 +0000

What did you learn?

This was my first time designing a book document. One of the first things I noticed was how important placement and symmetry are. All of the titles and paragraphs had to be put just right on the page or the alignment was off. I also realized how important it is to keep tack of rules. For example if one title has a kerning of 10 the other ones need the same to match.

What was Easy?

I found it fairly easy to visualize a basic design for each page. I knew I needed the authors name, the text, and a title. With that in mind I could put all of those elements on the page and play around with their placement until they looked right.

What was Challenging?

I had some issues setting up the style of my paragraphs. Indesign has many useful tools for this but many times I also found myself breaking a paragraph. For the most part I found align center to give the most desired look. This depends on the length and style of text I was working with so there were some variables to consider there.

How could your Submission be improved?

I did end up breaking a couple rules while designing the document. In certain areas I had to adjust the size of text. Specifically in my two paged story page. I had issues fitting all of the content so I ended up changing the font size for the second half. This was a work around and I would prefer it to be consistent.

How can The professor improve the assignment in the future?

Between the class videos, examples and project description, I thought this was pretty well explained. I did have a little trouble understanding what the project was looking for by just reading the instructions.

How might you apply this knowledge to future projects.

This made me think a lot about alignment. In the future I would hope to use this knowledge to help me make well organized clean pages. There is a lot to consider and small changes can make a lot of difference.

How did a specific reading or video help you.

I used this website to look at some examples of poem books. This helped get me thinking about the design I wanted to make

Project 2 Reflection

balkin3 — Fri, 19 Nov 2021 00:59:35 +0000

What did you learn?

I really enjoyed this project and was pretty satisfied with my finished images. I decided to make posters for the movies “Blade Runner” and “The Shining”. This was the first time I designed something where the letters/words were taking the center stage of the image. When working with text I’m surprised to see how very subtle changes can make a difference. On both posters I realized that attributes such as character spacing could make or break the image. It was also important for the look that the words are symmetric with one another.

What was Easy?

As mentioned one of the aspects I placed prevalence on was the spacing between letters. I used illustrator to create these and the Type tools respond well. Setting up the spacing and aligning the separate text boxes was pretty seamless. I also realized that changing the color/outline of some characters really helped the words as a whole pop on the screen.

What was Challenging?

I had some issues with my “Blade Runner” poster. I felt like it was too empty/bland. I tried to add numerous things to it but I ultimately found they all made it look worse. I found that there is a very fine line when working with text. It can borderline to much or too little and the challenge is in finding that middle ground.

How could you submission be Improved?

As said I had some issues with my Blade Runner poster. My issue is with the bottom half, most of the text is centered near the top. Perhaps I should have added additional text to the bottom such as the directors name.

How can the professor improve the assignment in the future?

I thought this assignment was laid out well. My only point would be that the project description does not specify that two posters should be made. Other than that, it made a clear point what the project was about and what to start researching to get ideas.

How might this knowledge be applied in the future?

I use text a lot in projects yet I never do to much to design it other than resize and change colors. I found with this project that text can be used as a very powerful center object. Applying this in the future I would like to give text more center focus.

How did a specific source help?

I was having trouble balancing everything in my poster for the shining. I found a video that introduced an interesting technique by changing the opacity of a background image. After applying this I ended up with the style I was looking for.

Project 1 Font Construction

balkin3 — Fri, 19 Nov 2021 00:56:48 +0000

What did you learn?

Throughout the process I started to understand how much goes into pulling off a successful font. Looking at examples online I tried to figure out how to create a look/theme that matched between all of my letters. I had to rethink everything a couple of times. I would find that my letters started to contrast with each other. Ultimately I stuck to a set of rules that still proved difficult with certain keys.

What was Easy?

I found that certain letters and numbers proved to be much easier than others. I was constructing a pretty simple blocky text. My idea was something that resembled fonts that appeared in old video games. The tools on Fontstruct were easy enough to navigate so it just started coming together.

What was challenging?

Opposite of what was easy I found that certain letters and especially symbols proved difficult to make. The “&” was particularly challenging. The block pixel format was difficult to navigate the symbols that have lots of curves and subtle details. It was also difficult to keep track of the size between all the letters. The grids and markers assisted with this but I had to make lots of corrections when the rough font was complete. I also had small errors sprinkled throughout where certain letters did not match the theme.

How could your submission be improved?

In the finished product I still have some letters and symbols that I am not happy with. I think my submission could use some redesigns. My letter x is a good example. I think that it fits into the look yet it still stands out when being used in a sentence. Perhaps some fine tuning on it would help it blend better.

How can the professor improve the assignment in the future?

Ultimately I liked the way the assignment was run. I think some students may benefit from some lessons on how font designers approach some of the more difficult symbols.

How might you apply your knowledge in future assignments or work scenarios?

In the future I would put much more time into creating a set of rules. I did not go into this font with a very solid idea on what I wanted to create. It caused me some problems as I got into it with certain things contrasting.

How did a specific reading, video, or example inspire or help you?

I looked online at a lot of font examples. These did give me some ideas on how to organize it. I based some of my loose rules on a mix of the examples I saw online.

Forest Lawn Type Hunt

balkin3 — Fri, 19 Nov 2021 00:53:58 +0000

This Grave has been labeled using a Decorative Typeface. I really like the letter design with this font. While some of the letters are separated it maintains a clean sharp look.

This stone is a great example of a Sans Serif font. It has a very clean look and allows the name to be the center of attention.

This was one of the harder fonts to find throughout the cemetery but here is an example of slab serif. This would not be my first idea for a grave font but I must admit it stands out. The characteristics of slab serif give it a blunt delivery.

This gravestone is marked using Black letter font. I think this is a really cool looking presentation. The font choice gives it and old and distinguished feel. It works great in this situation(being on a grave stone), yet I imagine in others Black letter may not be the right choice.

Here is a great example of a serif font. It is very clean and has a simple presentation. I think this is a great choice for a veterans grave. It definitely seems like a font that would implemented well in the military.

This is a decorative font that we came across while exploring the cemetery. I really like the presentation on this stone. It has a sort of medieval vibe to it. The letters line up nice with one another, especially how the M goes to the A. I could see this as something like a Knights tomb stone.

This grave stone went with a script font. I think this looks really nice and I love how the Y loops down under the end of the name. This font is decorative and distinguished, a great choice to be used on a grave stone.

Website Code

balkin3 — Wed, 03 Nov 2021 23:33:30 +0000

Index.html



    
        
        
        
        
        Planet Balkin
    
    
        
            
                Planet Balkin
                
                    
                        Home
                        Videos
                        Drawing
                        Photos
                    
                
            
        

        
            
                
                    About Me
                    Hello, Welcome to my webpage. I am  from Buffalo, Ny 
                        and have a major in Digital Media arts from Canisius College. 
                        I have experience with Adobe programs such as Illustrator, Photoshop, 
                        After Effects, Premeir, amd Animate. I also have some experience with 
                        3D Modeling. I am available for work with any content creation means. 
                        I can do anything from setting up social media advertisements to taking 
                        videos, fully editing them and adding special effects. Fell free to 
                        explore this site to see my past work. Everything can be found in the 
                        menu tab on the top right. I have included contact information, please 
                        reach out with any inquires.
                    
                

                
                    Video Demo

illustrations.html



    
        
        
        
        
        Planet Balkin/ Illustrations
    
    
        
            
                Illustrations
                
                    
                        Home
                        Videos
                        Drawing
                        Photos
                    
                
            
        

        
            
                 Recents
                
                

                 Image 2 
                

                
                

                Image 3
                

                
            
         

        
            
                 Recents
                
                

                 Image 2 
                

                
                

                Image 3

videos.html



    
        
        
        
        
        Planet Balkin/ Videos
    
    
        
            
                Videos.
                
                    
                        Home
                        Videos
                        Drawing
                        Photos
                    
                
            
        

        
            
                 Recents
                
                

                 Video 2 
                

                
                

                Image 3
                

                
            
         

        
            
                 Recents
                
                

                 Video 5 
                

                
                

                Video 6

pictures.html



    
        
        
        
        
        Planet Balkin/ Pictures
    
    
        
            
                Pictures
                
                    
                        Home
                        Videos
                        Drawing
                        Photos
                    
                
            
        

        
            
                 Recents
                
                

                 Image 2 
                

                
                

                Image 3
                

                
            
         

        
            
                 Recents
                
                

                 Image 2 
                

                
                

                Image 3

style.css

@import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Inter:wght@300&display=swap');


html {
    background-image: url(../images/space1.jpg);
    background-repeat: no-repeat;
    background-size: cover;
    background-attachment: fixed;
}


*{
    box-sizing: border-box; 
    padding: 0%;
    margin: 0%;
}

body {
    font-family: 'Inter', sans-serif;
    color:black;
    line-height: 1.0;
}

ul {
    list-style-type: none;
}

a {
    text-decoration: none;
    color: black;
}

h1, h2 {
    font-weight: 300;
    line-height: 1.2;
    margin: 10px 0;
}

p {
    margin: 10px 0;
}

img {
    width: 100%;
}

.navbar {
    background-color: green;
    color: white;
}

.navbar ul {
    display: flex;
}

.navbar a{
    color: white;
    padding: 10px;
    margin: 0 5px;
}

.navbar a:hover {
    border-bottom: 2px white solid;
}

.navbar .flex {
    justify-content: space-between;
}

/* boxex */

.information{
    max-width: 1100px;
    margin: 0% auto;
    overflow: auto;
    padding: 0 40px;
}

.information .info-grid{
    margin-left: auto; 
    margin-right: 0;
}

.information .info-youtube{
    margin-right: auto;
    margin-left: 0;
}


.information h1 {
    font-size: 40px;
}

.information p {
    margin: 20px 0;
    background-color: lightskyblue;
    color:black;
    line-height: 2;
    font-size: 15pt;
}

.information .grid{
    grid-template-columns: 55% 45%;
    gap: 30px;
}

/* UTILITIES */

.container {
    max-width: 1100px;
    margin: 0 auto;
    overflow: auto;
    padding: 0 40px;
}

.flex {
    display: flex;
    justify-content: center;    
    align-items: center;
    height: 100%;
}

.grid {
    display: grid;
    grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr;
    gap: 20px;
    justify-content: center;
    align-items: center;
    height: 100%;
}

/* Illustrations */

.drawings {
    width: 500px;
}

.left-side {
    line-height: 2px;
    margin-left: auto;
    margin-right: 0;
    padding: 150px;
}

.left-side h1,h2,h3{
    color: white;
    font-size: 25pt;
}

.right-side {
    line-height: 2px;
    margin-left: 0;
    margin-right: auto;
    padding: 150px;
}

.right-side h1,h2,h3{
    color: white;
    font-size: 25pt;
}

 

/* Photos */

/* Videos */

Typography Lab 1

balkin3 — Tue, 07 Sep 2021 19:44:39 +0000

I am already realizing that there is a lot more that goes into typography than would appear on first glance. It takes into account the thickness of characters, spacing between them, roughness or smoothness, and much more. I realized while messing around in Illustrator that there are tools which allow a creator to make font fit their specific needs. I took this picture of a furniture store in down town Buffalo. I believe that is Helvetica. This has a very clean look to me, and I love how it goes in different directions. The color of this text also blends really well with the blue on the rundown building.

2D Graphics Project 4

balkin3 — Thu, 20 May 2021 09:43:11 +0000

1. What did you learn?
– This project employed many separate techniques. I used the pen tool to create many of the roads and different areas. I discovered some new uses that come along with the text tool in illustrator.

2. What was easy?
– I enjoyed creating the roads. Throughout the year I have become a lot more comfortable with the pen tool, this was the perfect way to apply that.

3. What was challenging?
– I had trouble creating some of the symbols for the map. Since some of my symbols were made up of separate objects they became disproportional at certain sizes. This caused me some trouble throughout.

4. How could your submission be improved?
– I was not fully satisfied with my color scheme. This was something I spent a long time on to no avail. Often I would start to run into contrast with all of the different elements.

5. How could the professor improve the assignment for the next class?
– I think it could be an interesting idea if there was a lab prior to this project concerned with making some of the symbols for the map.

6. How might you apply your knowledge in future assignments or work scenarios?
– These skills would be great when trying to create artistic information. This is something there is a high demand for, being able to create something that is eye catching but also relays information in a simple efficient way.

7. How did a specific reading or video inspire or help you?
– I looked a couple of maps online. I also watched the posted video of an “infographic critique”

2D Graphics Lab 8

balkin3 — Tue, 18 May 2021 04:13:32 +0000

1. What did you learn?
– This lab had us create a banner for a map in illustrator, implementing the text tool.

2. What was easy?
– I thought the overall set up of the banner was easy. Using the shape tool and duplicates it took a clean form quickly.

3. What was challenging?
– For this I found it hardest to settle on what font I wanted to use, also the color scheme, So essentially just deciding what the theme should be.

4. How could your submission be improved?
– This submission was pretty straightforward. I tried my best to center the text and fine tune everything. I’m sure looking closely I could get aspects like the shadows to be more accurate.

5. How could the professor improve the assignment for the next class?
– I think this was a great way to introduce us to project 4. Nothing comes to mind for this.

6. How might you apply your knowledge in future assignments or work scenarios?
– Countless employers have a demand out there for information graphics. Creating elements like this could be usefully for many tasks.

7. How did a specific reading or video inspire or help you?
– I watched a video online about what fonts are best for information that still look good.

2D Graphics Lab 7

balkin3 — Tue, 18 May 2021 04:11:40 +0000

1. What did you learn?
– This lab employed the paint bucket tool to fill in spaces of an artboard with color. I had never used it like this before.

2. What was easy?
– I created a lot of lines using the pencil tool. Just doing random strokes on the page generated some interesting patterns.

3. What was challenging?
– I had big trouble with the paint bucket. It was not recognizing the areas I wanted it to and it was filling over some of my lines. I had to be a little creative to get it to work

4. How could your submission be improved?
– Because of my issues with the paint bucket I was not able to get the exact pattern I wanted. If I could, I would alter it.

5. How could the professor improve the assignment for the next class?
– There appear to be some issues with the paint bucket. It was giving me lots of trouble like combining shapes.

6. How might you apply your knowledge in future assignments or work scenarios?
– I would imagine doing what we did here could generate a very interesting background if you wanted a colorful one made from scratch.

7. How did a specific reading or video inspire or help you?
– The coolers website was very interesting. I enjoyed using it to pick out colors for the lab to my liking.