My day at Justified West was really awesome. It was unfortunate that the speakers only had 1/2 hour to talk about their work as I was intrigued by many of their stories and presentations. Here's a quick recap of my day.
Marian Bantjes was the first speaker and I have to say was inspired by her whimsical, abstract, yet detailed approach to her typographic illustrations.
Tom Phinney explained how his work as a designer led him into typographic investigations in cases of forged documents, which I never would have thought of. Using proof of when certain fonts were released and on the common computer, how letterforms were shaped in 1980 compared to their current day counterparts, how certain technologies print differently when analyzed under a microscope...facinating stuff!
Richard Kegler presented a sneak peek into his film production on local typographer, Jim Rimmer. The rough-cut trailer was so interesting as it focused in on Jim's technique in using traditional techniques to design a new font for digital and metal release. I can't wait to see it.
Emily Luce spoke about how typography has played a role in preserving language, specifically that of the nuu chah nulth language.
Stephen Coles is a typographer and blog publisher who spoke about typefaces and the important of choosing one that is right for your project. He was quite right in saying that most people think their standard fonts are good enough. We all got a good chuckle...especially when Comic Sans popped up on the screen along with others like Arial, Times, and Monotype Corsiva.
Kevin Larson, a researcher on Microsoft's Advanced Reading Technologies team, talked about how written words are understood and read. He spoked about his research on eye fatigue, benefits on a highly typographic page layout, and the legibility of characters and words.
Zara Evens, senior designer at Punchcut, spoke about user interface on mobile technologies and the need for better typography for an enhanced user experience. I loved her for not liking MySpace or mobile backgrounds...yes! I'm not alone. Why do you think I don't have a MySpace page...
Peter Cocking, a book designer, presented many of his pieces to describe the role of type in book design. His humor was great and I loved that he was so experimental and curious with his designs.
Unfortunately, the day ran overtime and I had to scoot out of there right at 6 so I didn't get a chance to see the last speaker or stay for the typography films, but I thought what I did see was fantastic, although I think it could have definitely afforded to be a two-day conference. There were some great speakers, great topics, and great conversation.
I really hope to see more conferences like this happen in Vancouver as I truly enjoyed myself, was infinitely inspired, and I walked away with more knowledge than what I had going in.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Learning Styles
Over the past 5 years, I've really taken up a love for reading whether it be fiction, non-fiction, documentaries, or reference books.
I always read as a kid and a few books really stood out in my mind and has stuck with me to this very day. However there are some books that I have read, that didn't stick. Even though I am, or was, truly interested in the subject matter and had many AHA! moments during the read, I just didn't absorb it like the others.
This can be frustrating when you're trying to learn something new and make something stick in your mind only to have it flee as soon as a test rolls around or when it's time to put that knowledge to use. Where did that knowledge go?
This got me wondering what kind of learner I am. Maybe if I knew what kind of learner I was, it could help me absorb information in the future? So I searched on the internet for some tests and came across this one.
My scores were:
* Visual: 8
* Aural: 3
* Read/Write: 8
* Kinesthetic: 12
Woah! I always thought I was a visual learner. Turns out, I'm a kinesthetic learner.
Excellent. Now I can figure out how to maintain what I've learned or read rather than lose it after time passes.
What kind of learner are you?
I always read as a kid and a few books really stood out in my mind and has stuck with me to this very day. However there are some books that I have read, that didn't stick. Even though I am, or was, truly interested in the subject matter and had many AHA! moments during the read, I just didn't absorb it like the others.
This can be frustrating when you're trying to learn something new and make something stick in your mind only to have it flee as soon as a test rolls around or when it's time to put that knowledge to use. Where did that knowledge go?
This got me wondering what kind of learner I am. Maybe if I knew what kind of learner I was, it could help me absorb information in the future? So I searched on the internet for some tests and came across this one.
My scores were:
* Visual: 8
* Aural: 3
* Read/Write: 8
* Kinesthetic: 12
Woah! I always thought I was a visual learner. Turns out, I'm a kinesthetic learner.
Excellent. Now I can figure out how to maintain what I've learned or read rather than lose it after time passes.
What kind of learner are you?
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