Thursday, October 29, 2009

Dummy Text Generator

Ever at a loss for words? Or are you just too lazy to fill that empty text box with anything of your own creation?

Don't worry because the dummy text generator can do it for you. Just insert type, number and voila. Insta-text.

Below is an example taken from Kafka.


One morning, when Gregor Samsa woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a horrible vermin. He lay on his armour-like back, and if he lifted his head a little he could see his brown belly, slightly domed and divided by arches into stiff sections. The bedding was hardly able to cover it and seemed ready to slide off any moment. His many legs, pitifully thin compared with the size of the rest of him, waved about helplessly as he looked. "What's happened to me? " he thought. It wasn't a dream. His room, a proper human room although a little too small, lay peacefully between its four familiar walls. A collection of textile samples lay spread out on the table - Samsa was a travelling salesman - and above it there hung a picture that he had recently cut out of an illustrated magazine and housed in a nice, gilded frame. It showed a lady fitted out with a fur hat and fur boa who sat upright, raising a heavy fur muff that covered the whole of her lower arm towards the viewer. Gregor then turned to look out the window at the dull weather. Drops of rain could be heard hitting the pane, which made him feel quite sad. "How about if I sleep a little bit longer and forget all this nonsense", he thought, but that was something he was unable to do because he was used to sleeping on his right, and in his present state couldn't get into that position. However hard he threw himself onto his right, he always rolled back to where he was. He must have tried it a hundred times, shut his eyes so that he wouldn't have to look at the floundering legs, and only stopped when









Friday, October 23, 2009

Grid Layout

To help with the explanation of a grid layout we have some visuals from a student, Joana Koiller, who makes use of grid work in all her layouts and spreads.

She had 12 columns that she aligns all of her text boxes, visuals and titles to.
But she has fun with the grid and does not get mired by it.

Take a look.




EDIT: OKAY, I realized it is very hard to see the lines, Until i can remedy this just click on the image to enlarge it and you will be able to see faint blue guide lines. Never the less, one can see the pattern that emerges from keeping the text and image uniform on grids. Well Done.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Non-Format



















Kjell Ekhorn (Norwegian) and Jon Forss (British) have worked together as the creative direction & design
team Non-Format since 2000. They work on a range of projects including art direction, design, illustration and custom typography for arts & culture, music industry, fashion and advertising clients. They have art directed the independent music monthly The Wire and also Varoom: the journal of illustration and made images.

Go to Non-Format

Monday, October 19, 2009

Looking for script fonts?

Dafont.com has plenty of free fonts. This specific hyperlink takes you straight to the free script fonts. They're not all good, so use discretion. Also, if you don't have a font management program you can use your computer to search through the font library. Type "script" in the seach bar and you can view all fonts with script in the title. There are plenty to choose from. Some good ones that don't have script in the title are :

Fling, Affair, LaPortenia.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Daily Drop Cap

It must be immense, this silence, in which sounds and movements have room, and if one thinks that along with all this the presence of the distant sea also resounds, perhaps as the innermost note in this prehistoric harmony, then one can only wish that you are trustingly and patiently letting the magnificent solitude work upon you, this solitude which can no longer be erased from your life; which, in everything that is in store for you to experience and to do, will act as an anonymous influence, continuously and gently decisive, rather as the blood of our ancestors incessantly moves in us and combines with our own to form the unique, unrepeatable being that we are at every turning of our life.

-Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to A Young Poet



Presently the Rabbit came up to the door, and tried to open it; but, as the door opened inwards, and Alice's elbow was pressed hard against it, that attempt proved a failure. Alice heard it say to itself `Then I'll go round and get in at the window.' `That you won't' thought Alice, and, after waiting till she fancied she heard the Rabbit just under the window, she suddenly spread out her hand, and made a snatch in the air. She did not get hold of anything, but she heard a little shriek and a fall, and a crash of broken glass, from which she concluded that it was just possible it had fallen into a cucumber-frame, or something of the sort. Next came an angry voice--the Rabbit's--`Pat! Pat! Where are you?' And then a voice she had never heard before, `Sure then I'm here! Digging for apples, yer honour!'

-Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland



"The Daily Drop Cap is an ongoing project by typographer and illustrator
Jessica Hische. Each day (or at least each WORK day), a new hand-crafted decorative initial cap will be posted for your enjoyment and for the beautification of blog posts everywhere. To use a Daily Drop Cap on your site or blog, follow the instructions in each post and read about the usage limitations. Enjoy!"

Dailey Drop Cap

An illustrated letter for everyday.

The Daily Drop Cap is an ongoing project by typographer and illustrator Jessica Hische. Each day (or at least each WORK day), a new hand-crafted decorative initial cap will be posted for your enjoyment and for the beautification of blog posts everywhere.


Drop Cap