[5]

Here is a magazine cover designed by Dave Eggers that uses typography to stimulate visual interest as if it were an engaging picture. Garamond is used exclusively, but variation is achieved by changing the font size. All of the type is contained in boxes that are both rigid and malleable. There is great consistency in the type contained in the rigid boxes, but vast fluctuations in the type that rustles about in the hand-drawn boxes. Whether or not the type has the energy to break out of the boundaries, it all seems at home within the containment. The variation between Garamond's thick spines and thin finials and serifs makes it fit into the trembling composition of the cover. This effect actively moves the eye around the page, as we led along by the contrasts between order and orderly disorder.

[4]

Here we have a screenshot of "illustrator extraordinaire," Nathan Fox's website. I've followed his work in many directions, but one of my favorite ways to look at it, oddly enough, is on his highly interactive website. This means a lot coming from me, a diehard proponent of paper.

The dominant blue and red theme makes a reference to old-timey 3D films and comics. The blue and red are successful signifiers because of their specific hues, saturation, and the fact that they are sometimes offset. Had they been a different type of blue or red for instance, we may have mistaken it for a patriotic reference. Instead, his choice of color and their interaction ties this modern website to a younger, simpler era. The weathered comic book feel of the website, emphasized by the folds, creases, and stains, complements this retro feel. An intentionally cropped header on the page breaks compositional boundaries, while his immodest femme fatales make frequent appearances. These self-aware elements of his website —his presentation— signify an adventurous promiscuity that Fox often includes in his illustration.

[3]

The imagery in this anti-smoking advertisement fits the message perfectly. The style of placing the subject against a stark black background is aware of the minimal and eye-catching liquor ads we see in magazines. The image of a burning cigarette forming an elegant form in smoke could have easily been used to advertise cigarettes, but by turning the image upside down, it fits the caption "Going Down?" This inverted image is not only effective but is more visually engaging. And the "fine print" that would normally go at the bottom of the poster is also inverted and moved to the top, which keeps it from intruding upon the composition.

[2]

[1]

[]Design is a means to force the viewpoint, appearance, or function of an object.

[]Culture is the body of human accomplishment that establishes how a society sees the world. Design varies among societies according to the values that are upheld within a culture. 

[]Language is the vehicle for all human communication. Language takes on different forms, whether it be projected audibly or visually as text or images. Spoken and written language vary from culture to culture, and design plays a role in how a language is received. Design heavily shapes the visual representation of language: typefaces are designed, compositions are designed, images are designed, and the amount of interaction between type,composition, and image is moderated by design.