This piece done by Ren Takaya is a very good example of creative typography in a design. The geometric shapes are done in highly saturated colors in a never ending stairway pattern to lead your eyes throughout the text. The design reflexes the typography well, foil and emboss work meaning: pressing thin sheets to mold a shape. The use of flashing bright colors is much like the shining crinkled texture you'd find in foil. Though foil isn't colorful it still catches the eye. More and more I seem to find good usage of text pertaining to the subject. If they are not linked then they are not good.

Source: Typography 32: The Annual of the Type Director's Club, pg. 31

This week's blog post was use of good illustration. This picture is very effective at disrupting the viewer's tranquil thoughts, or at least it'll stick in their mind. Like many of Searle's pictures, the line indicating the cats fur is jagged and going in all different directions to create discord. Most of the body is made up of the face, like a children's picture, only taken in a darker tone. The only color that cat be seen in this picture are it's emphasized eyes, that look somewhat like the inside of a jawbreaker. The text on the partner page is also something to take into consideration. The page reads "A rather timid wolf in cat's clothing." In a book full of cats, I find this quote to be quite sinister.


Source: Searle's Cats, By: Ronald Searle, Pg. 4 

We see book and dust covers as a prominent part of typographic design in day to day life. Many Book Jackets have the words planted flatly on the cover or facing the viewer to make it easier to read and more available to understand. Often times if the words are facing in a different direction then that makes the viewer less inclined to notice.
In this approach, however, the colors used in order to create contrast is just as eye catching, if not more, as a title planted flatly on the cover. The bright scarlet red against the black is as startling as the title "The Four Fingers of Death" and help convey the message. The blue shadow being cast by the cactus is a light blue on white words right next to the red, creating even more contrast. In addition to the cactus shadow, the shadow of the title and dark background give the image a floodlight that screams "We caught you!" to the title. The angle and lighting gives the impression that we are looking in on a scene from a movie cast in the lonely desert. This design was done by Keith Hayes and certainly earns the award it got.

Source: Typography 32: The Annual of the Type Director's Club, pg.70

The title of this piece is Though the Flower and it certainly makes you feel the movement with the illusion though it's slightly curved lines in the petals. The white highlights used on the edge of the petals, closest to the center, make it look like light is reflecting off of a glowing middle. To make such gradient coloration the Artist, Judy Chicago, sprayed this design in acrylic paint on canvas. The three colors red, blue, and white are distributed throughout the picture in a radial symmetrical pattern, making it a very design unified.

Source: Are You Experienced?: How Psychedelic Consciousness Transformed Modern Art, Pg #179
By: Ken Johnson

The concept of typography as art has been a new idea for me, but looking between these two pictures I can see the obvious inspiration. Just like many designers, this typographer took a piece of  naturally formed design and used it to their benefit. Good thing mother nature doesn't have a copyright. By using the sharp curving, cutting forms of the branches, the letters and message become very warped. The way the typography forces you to stare at it until it is understood is very much like psychedelic art.
In the ideology of psychedelic artwork, the meaning of the words is understood better through straining to see the actual writing letters of the text.
 Written in such veiny, spiderweb forms, "A Hill To Die Upon" becomes much more earthy and nature bound, reminding me of old time Pagenistic beliefs of nature worship.

This is an Acrylic on canvas painting done by Ed Ruscha, 2003. The masterful usage of color really has an eye snatching effect because of the great amount of contrast. The range of colors, going from bright yellows, blues and bits of green are similar to what one would see in many tropical birds and flowers. The darkest parts of the picture encase it, as the black is on top and bottom with light background and white words centered in the middle. The rhythm of the painting connects with the typography of diagonal, slanting lines leading you to the next part of the picture. Working with it's powerful imagery of snowy mountain tops, this piece is quite large, 60 x 60 inches, makes this piece quite imposing and magnificent.

Source: Are You Experienced?: How Psychedelic Consciousness Transformed Modern Art
By: Ken Johnson