DES 393 FINAL PORTFOLIO Shirley Yang | Fall 2021

Shirley Yang

Project 1

DES 393 A1 Fall 2021 Portfolio

Project 1: Part 2, 27th Letter. (11’ x 17’)

In the first project, the aim was to explore the different characteristics and anatomy of typefaces.

The project includes three parts: in part 1, I took

pictures and collected information about a found typography in life; in part 2, I designed a 27th

letter that would fit into a typeface; in part 3, I

came up with expressive typography solutions to match a keyword.

In this project, I learned the basics of the composition of a letter and typefaces, and design

softwares such as Indesign and Illustrator. In the second part, I used illustrator to create a 27th

letter. The letter I designed took inspiration from multiple letters with curves, combined into one

smooth curve that is unique yet not out of place.

The letter has to be readable in different sizes, as shown on the right. It also shares all the charac-

teristics (line weight, serif, … etc.) as other letters

in this typeface so that everything looks uniform.

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Shirley Yang

Project 2

DES 393 A1 Fall 2021 Portfolio

Project 2: Photo Variations and Text Dyads. (11’ x 17’)

In the second project, the objective was to create pairs of photographs and typography solutions that match in composition and tone. In the

design ideation process, I brainstormed to find a word that represents the object we received.

Then I found a narrative that relates to this word,

and arranged the narrative to create variations of typographic layouts.

In the second part, the text is paired with original photographs that reflect the same underlying

structure and communicate a clear tone. For this dyad on the right, multiple text devices were

used to match the shape of the leading lines in

the photograph. The highlight of the text is also

placed at the end of the leading line, matching in the significance.

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Shirley Yang

Project 3

DES 393 A1 Fall 2021 Portfolio

Project 3: Front and Back Covers, (14’ x 8.5’) (Top). Page 1-2 Spread, (14’ x 8.5’) (Bottom).

In the third project, the learned outcomes of

previous projects were applied to the booklet layout design. I created several double page spreads while paying attention to the visual flow and

hierarchy in the placement of text and images. The details of typography such as kerning and

leading are all carefully adjusted. The photography devices and text arrangement were coordi-

nated to create a uniformed layout, with the aid of graphic lines.

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Shirley Yang

DES 393 A1 Fall 2021 Portfolio

Project 3: Page 3-4, (14’ x 8.5’) (Top). Page 5-6 Spread, (14’ x 8.5’) (Bottom).

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Shirley Yang

DES 393 A1 Fall 2021 Portfolio

Project 3: Page 6 with grid, (14’ x 8.5’)

Grid Dimensions page (14 in x 8.5 in)

margins: top (3 p) + bottom (3 p) margins: left (3p) + right (3 p) columns (6) + rows (5)

modules (9 p x 12 p) + gutters (1 p)

0

Heading

1

Sub heading

2

Body text

3

Page numbers

4

Pull Quote

5

Captions

1 4

2

Century Gothic Bold, 13 pt

Century Gothic, 10 pt

Segoe UI Historic, 8.5 pt

Bahnschrift Light, 8 pt

5

Montserrat Italic, 14 pt

Segoe UI Historic, 7 pt

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Shirley Yang

DES 393 A1 Fall 2021 Portfolio

Reflections I learned…

I enjoyed…

Course Improvement

In this course, I learned the fundamentals of

I enjoyed the creative freedom we had with these

I personally wished there were more instructor-

problems. The project objectives and learning

The project was fun and unique while teaching

the structure of hybrid classes but I think the

typography and applying them to solve design outcomes were clear and reflected in the final project. In each part of the project, a set of

basic rules and guidelines were followed to

create a neat looking layout. This trained my habit to align texts and images, and beware

projects, especially in the 27th letter project. us the anatomy of letters and characteristics

of typefaces. It was also inspiring to see other

students’ solutions in this project. The feedback was provided in detail so I can improve on

led critiques and in-class work periods. I liked

class would benefit from seeing other people’s work process and going through ideation processes together.

the lacking areas in the next project.

There are not many things I would like to

basics of multiple industry standard softwares,

I also enjoyed the opportunity to present and

have explored more photography in project 2

a level of professionalism (such as reading

with a conclusive presentation. Although it was

of overall structure. I was able to learn the

and the project requirements also asked for

the briefs thoroughly and printing). I believe

these will prepare me for the future courses as well as actual designer-client situations.

reflect on our work in a professional setting

challenging, I liked that we were restricted with

improve on the course itself, but I wish I would instead of settling on the photographs I took in a short time.

one word across different projects since this

forces us to come up with creative solutions in

a more realistic designer situation of not being able to decide on the topic.

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Shirley Yang | DES 393 Final Portfolio