Form & Space: Diorama

Street Theater, diorama.
Mixed media 18x12x13"

Street Theater, diorama. Detail

Street Theater, diorama. Detail

Street Theater, diorama. Detail

Street Theater, diorama. Detail

Street Theater, diorama. Detail

Street Theater, diorama. Detail

Street Theater, diorama. Detail

We have looked at a number of ways to help us understand the form and space that objects, buildings, people are comprised of. Our final project puts this understanding to use by a 3D diorama or "sculpto pictorama" such as the Red Grooms piece we saw at the Palmer museum. Create a multi-dimensional piece... materials and methods are up to you... including both buildings or interiors and people. Figuring out the assembly process is part of the challenge here... the artwork may be illustrated or computer generated but must be primarily your own artwork. No real limitations otherwise as far as size, medium, etc

Typography: Diminuendo

Diminuendo, quote from 'Blade Runner'
Marker and pen on bristol board 19x24"

Since Roman times, diminuendo is a type arrangement in which a large letter or word leads the eye, gradually, to smaller and smaller words until a standard text size is established. Real-world tie-in: An abbreviated diminuendo is often seen today in the initial cap or large single letter that is sometimes used to lead the reader into a chapter of a book or a section of an article.

Typography: 1337

1337, paraphrase of lyrics by Tori Amos,
Marker and pen on bristol board with punched through holes.
11x19" Font: PT Courier 

Objective: develop an awareness of the Gestalt ideas of visual perception as it may apply to typography by creating a l33t. (Leet)
To quote wikipedia, a l33t or Eleet (sometimes rendered Leet, 1337, or 31337), also known as Leetspeak, is an alphabet used primarily on the Internet, which uses various combinations of ASCII characters to replace Latinate letters. The term is derived from the word "elite", and the usage it describes is a specialized form of symbolic writing. Different "dialects" or varieties of leet are found on different online forums. 
For our purposes,see the examples provided as a pdf resource and think along those lines, substituting numerals for letters, etc. Create a "l33t" word or phrase - minimum 7 characters. Any word, name, city, etc... just keep it PG rated. Identify font or fonts used on the back of your project... they need not be from your book, but must be "real" fonts.
Rendered by hand, in either full color, OR no less than black, white and one additional color. (The color should accentuate, not overpower or obscure your typography!) Render no smaller than 11 x 17", board, canvas, watercolor paper, etc. as appropriate to your choice of medium. Margins or not, up to you

Typography: ampersand

The ampersand is one of the most beautiful characters or glyphs, flowing and curvy; simple in function but great in beauty. Design a series of 3 new ampersands. Size: each individual letter should be designed to fit a working area no smaller than 5" x 7". You may gang these up on one board or use 3 boards - illustration or bristol board, or watercolor paper. You may render this in black and white or color, but remember the focus of the project is the ampersand, not the colors involved. Avoid "special effects" like glows, drop shadows and textures on the character; concentrate on the design of the ampersand. 

Ampersand design #1
Marker and pen on bristol board

Ampersand design #2
Marker and pen on bristol board

Ampersand design #3
Marker and pen on bristol board

Ampersand design #4
Marker and pen on bristol board

Photoshop: Webpage layout

Kare-free event planning web layout

Photoshop: Photo retouching

Family Portrait, retouched
Photoshop

Family Portrait, retouched and coloured
Photoshop

Family Portrait, original

InDesign: Sports Poster

Nittany Lions Schedule Poster
InDesign

Indesign: Student Planner

Front and back cover for the Student Planner.
Digital media

Indesign: table tent

table tent for Nola's restaurant
Digital media

table tent for Nola's restaurant
Digital media

Form & Space: Building in two point perspective

Robie house, final.
India ink on bristolboard.

Robie house, study. Pencil on paper.

Research a historic or famous building. Create a finished drawing, using shading, rendering, etc of the building in two point perspective. Any media, but consider graphite or pen and ink as excellent solutions here. Size: No smaller than 11x17".

Form & Space: Skeleton anatomy

The skeletons finally came out of the closet.
Charcoal pencil and conte crayon on paper.

Skeleton study.
Charcoal pencil on paper.

Skeletons all in a row, study.
Charcoal pencil on paper.

Skeletons all in a row, study.
Pencil, charcoal pencil and conte crayon on paper.

I Love The Dead. Skeleton study, pencil on paper.

Photoshop: Benefit Concert Series

Album cover for a series of remastered benefit concerts I;
No Nukes: The MUSE concert for a non-nuclear future. Digital media

Album cover for a series of remastered benefit concerts II;
The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert. Digital media

Album cover for a series of remastered benefit concerts III;
The Concert For New York City. Digital media

Photoshop: Emotions

Objective: to develop a reflective image that best illustrates the type of Human Emotions that you have chosen from the lists. Specifics: your collage image must incorporate Photoshop masks along with some Adjustment layers. overall, no less then 3 images should be included. more are encouraged.

Mad as a hatter. Digital media.

Typography: plakatstil poster

Dutch Candy Cane Co.
Gouache, acrylic and watercolour on paper

Form & Space: room in one point perspective

Colorado timeshare, pen on paper

Typography: what's in a name?

Luciano Sormani in Kabel, final.
Pen and marker on illustration board.

Luciano Sormani in Kabel
pencil, pen, marker and highlighter on paper

Luciano Sormani in Kabel, sketch 02
pencil, pen and marker on paper

In researching typefaces that represent me, I thought of a couple of criteria that would have to apply. First of all I wanted a font that was modern and not tied too closely to a specific era or style. That pretty much excluded most of the serif and decorative fonts, even though there were a few of those that had attributes that I really liked; the stylishness of Mucha, the sturdy severity of Kelmscott. I decided it had to be a sans serif font. I’ve always liked the family of fonts that include Twentieth Century and Lucida, they have a very modern feel and I like their geometric simplicity. Yet I didn’t want something that was purely rational and mechanic. That’s when I settled on Kabel. Its geometric shapes are very well balanced and yet the angled edges of the strokes give it a certain playfulness. It’s like it tries to be severe and perfectionistic, yet at the same time it’s highly inconsistent. There’s a lot of variation between the widths of the letterforms and the way the ends are slanted gives the impression that they are dancing over the page. As Wikipedia puts it: 
 “Stroke weights are more varied than most geometric sans-serifs, and the terminus of vertical strokes are cut to a near eight-degree angle. This has the effect of not quite sitting on the baseline and making for a more animated, less static feeling than Futura.“

The C’s and O’s are perfectly round and safe, but the M’s and N’s have sharp points that almost give them a dangerous edge. The only thing I don’t like about this font is the dots on the lower case I’s and J’s, but it’s a small imperfection that gives it character and is easily forgiven.To me, Kabel gives a sense of uncluttered geometry that inspires clean, simple designs and yet is quirky enough to be fun. For this project I decided to do something with geometric shapes that give it an almost constructivistic feel, yet also reminds me of an 80’s style. It is the era that formed my esthetic sensibilities after all. 
Kabel, like me, is serious and rational at first, but on closer inspection reveals a quirky and humorous side. It aspires to perfection but only succeeds to a certain level, it’s balanced and adapts to different uses. It’s modern and yet retains a timeless quality.

Typography: Letter collage

K-thedral
ink and marker on illustration board 8"x13"

Form & Space: hallway perspective

Hallway, one point perspective
 pencil, charcoal, marker and gouache on foamboard.

Color theory: Pandas

Pandas, color pencil on paper.

How the monochromatic pandas escaped from the Emerald Kingdom, braved the terrors of the Grayscale Mountains and found a new home in the Hills of Complementary Colors.

It’s not easy being green, but in the case of the monochromatic pandas that lived in the emerald city it was definitely not easy not being green. If it wasn’t bad enough that they were monochromatic (some would even go as far as to say achromatic) they also managed to eat all of the bamboo in the Emerald Kingdom. This to the great chagrin of its ruler, Hue, who was very fond of everything green. Also, the fact that looking at the pandas for too long always gave him horrible after-images didn’t help much. So he gave the pandas two options: either be turned into rugs, or brave the perils of the Grayscale Mountains in search of a new home. Not wanting to be turned into any kind of upholstery, the pandas went on their way, guided by the light of the three primary planets in the sky. First they had to traverse the treacherous and dangerous path through the Grayscale Mountains that lay at the edge of the yellow brick road. The mountains were not particularly high or steep, nor were they inhabited by anything more dangerous than the common Char-kole, yet their apparent calm was deceptive, for inside the mountains lay the biggest danger anyone could face: utter boredom. Many travelers who took that path simply perished from the lack of color. The pandas however did not find the lack of color disturbing and would have happily shared the Grayscale Mountains with the elusive Char-kole, were it not for the fact that there was nothing for them to eat; no bamboo, no pencils, not even a tough little crayon. So they decided to try and cross the misty river to the fair and multicolored lands beyond. It was a dangerous path, and they almost lost a handful of pandas, but soon they reached the beautiful analogous shores. From there it was only a short trek towards the sanctuary of complementary colors, where the food was bountiful, and animals of every color were made to feel welcome, including those that didn’t have any color at all.

Luciano Sormani

Color Theory

11/16/2010

Color theory: complementary colors

Sasquatch! Vibrating 60's style music festival poster.
Gouache and acrylic on bristol board.

Logo design & Quark Xpress: First Night Brochure

First Night State College Logo, black & white version

First Night State College, trifold brochure exterior

First Night State College, trifold brochure interior

Quark Xpress: Book design

Book Jacket design

Book content page

Quark Xpress: Courage Campaign Newsletter

Newsletter for a charity or non-profit organization

Logo design: Infinite Energy

Infinite Energy Logo, final version
marker on paper

Infinite Energy Logo Design

Company Name:

Infinite Energy
Infinite Energy will be the first energy drink that lasts 12 hours with no crash, jitters, or other negative side effects. The product will feature time released B vitamins and a special 12 hour caffeine. You take it late in the day......you don’t sleep that night. If you don’t feel great for about 12 hours you should check your pulse.

Top Three Things to Communicate Through the Logo Design:

• • Energy
• • Power
• • Stamina

Target Audience:

Energy Drink Market. Competitors. Red Bull, 5 Hour Energy, Monster Energy, Rock Star . Male/Female in

the age range of 18-38.

Considert the following when coming up with your concept:

• • fonts
• • color(s)
• • style

Logo design: Cadence

Cadence Performer Boots Logo, alternative
marker on illustration board aprox. 7"x7"

Cadence Performer Boots Logo, alternative
marker on illustration board aprox. 7"x7"

 

Cadence Performer Boots Logo, color version
marker on illustration board 7"x7"

Cadence Performer Boots Logo, black & white version
marker on illustration board 7"x7"

CADENCE PERFORMER BOOTS

San Francisco CA. Est. 1975

Cadence: [keyd-ns] Balanced, rhythmic flow.

History

Cadence Boots & Shoes was started by two brothers from Oklahoma City, OK in the early '70's. Harry "Bubba" Thrush and Dick "Dale" Thrush came from a family of Boot makers that had passed on the boot making trade down the generations, going back to their European origins. The family business had made a strong name for itself over the years making virtually indestructible cowboy boots and workman shoes, the basic design of which hadn't changed too much throughout the years. From a young age, the brothers were trained in the various techniques of shoemaking as well as the business savvy needed to continue the family business. The brothers however didn't feel much for taking over the family business and instead set their sights on Hollywood and the carefree lifestyle of the east Coast. They left their Midwestern roots behind and set out for California. It wasn't as easy to get a foot on the ground there as it had seemed, both brothers made a living doing odd jobs and had a brief stint as models, but money was short and living together in rented rooms was taking its toll on their relationship. In the meantime, Harry had his coming out and was introduced into the growing gay scene. It was there that the brothers began to see a need for their skills and know-how. With a little money borrowed form their parents, they started designing and making custom boots for drag queens and performers. Their ability to create high-quality footwear that was both extravagant and durable, as well as their connections to the underground drag scene proved a winning combination. Soon they were supplying boots to a wide array of clients, from drag queens to exotic dancers, erotic performers, dancers, models as well as privately to the emerging fetish scene.

Today the company maintains their winning combination of extravagant and outré designs, with a deeply ingrained commitment to quality and durability. They manufacture their products in a wide gamut of sizes, from petite to extra large, to accommodate both male and female anatomies. They value a close relationship with their clients, preferring to deal directly with them instead of selling their products through stores. However, they do sell a selection through exclusive boutiques worldwide and maintain a few brand stores in New York, Los Angeles and Tokyo, as well as their flagship store in San Francisco.

A Word on style

Etymology

French outré, form of outrer (“to go to excess”); see also outre (“beyond”). Adjective

outré (comparative more outré, superlative most outré)

Very unconventional.

bizarre

eccentric

outlandish

excessive

outrageous

As far-ranging as the styles created by the designers at Cadence are, and they can range from black leather S&M sandals to three foot peacock feather adorned platforms, they all push the limits of what you’d expect footwear to look like. These boots are made for confident people who know what they want and aren’t afraid to shock, awe and impress. Imagine retro-kink-futuristic-barbarella, and you’ve only scratched the glossy, animal-patterned surface.

Target age group: 25 – 45

Target market: young professionals, art-directors, fashionistas, film and theatre companies, cabaret performers, adult entertainment performers.

Cadence logo design

Overlapping, distorted shapes of boots, making use of lines to illustrate the rhythm and flow of the word cadence, juxtaposition of male and female shapes. Color use: neon, fuchsia, black. Horseshoe theme to illustrate the company origins and can be used instead of the letter C. Intertwining lines as shoelaces. 

Drawing: Skull

Red skull (sketch in preparation of self portrait),
conte crayon and charcoal on paper

Big skull (sketch in preparation of self portrait),
charcoal on paper