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Posted: January 10, 2010
Mixed Messages
In my mind I envisage a perfect world where everything is standardized. We would all drive on the same side of the road, electric systems would be the same so I could plug in my appliances into the same style socket using the same voltage where ever I was, DVD and VHS formats would be the same everywhere, and finally (and most importantly) paper sizes would be consistent across the board.
Most of my career so far has been spent in Canada, where I got used to working with the North American paper sizes: US Letter at 8.5" x 11"; Legal at 8.5" x 14"; Tabloid at 11" x 17" and so on. Easy measurements to remember and sub divide etc.
Moving back to the UK has meant having to re-familiarize myself with the 'A' sizes based on one square metre . Not a real problem as such as it was a quick and easy switch to make, but as many of my clients are based in Canada I do find myself having to switch between Metric and Imperial measurements regularly. Again, not a problem really, but I do wish there we could adopt a 'one system for all'. Surely it would make paper production easier?
Of course there is also the added confusion of being based in a country that, despite supposedly switching to the metric system 40 years ago, still insists on using both. This brings me to my point and that is about when we use both systems in the same sentence, a thing I occasionally come across and also am guilty of doing myself. Just yesterday I went to buy a replacement wardrobe rail. I had measured carefully (in millimetres) and made a note of the length I needed only to be confronted with the following label when I got to the store. Still, it did bring a smile to my face. Only in Britain…
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Posted: November 30, 2009
Just my type...
I have recently been asked to create a digital typeface from a series of hand-drawn letters. As I am not really a typographer, I initially I thought I was going to have to buy either Fontographer or one of the cheaper FontLab utilities to allow me to do this, but thanks to a tip off from a friend I discovered the site www.yourfonts.com.
It's a clever site, with easy step-by-step instructions, and is aimed mostly at those who want to turn their handwriting into a font , but can be used for other purposes such as the one I had. You basically download their pdf template and enter the characters you want digitized. Then upload it, pay the small fee, and it then creates a TrueType font for you, which is delivered via email.
It's not perfect and don't expect professional results. From what I can tell, it seems to use the same process as Illustrator's Live Trace function, and we know how inaccurate that can be at times, but all in all it worked for what I needed. I am going to go back and clean up the hand drawn type in Illustrator and run it through again to see if takes out some of blemishes.
Below is the template showing the Black Sheep typeface:
Black Sheep typeface © Julian Cope 2009. All rights reserved.
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Posted: November 11, 2009
It's a small thing, but...
As you can see from my site, my design experience extends more in the direction of print design than web design. Don't get me wrong, I believe I can design a pretty good web site, it's just that I don't get too many opportunities to do so. Because of this my knowledge is fairly limited to using Dreamweaver and understanding basic HTML.
Now call me slow, but long ago I noticed the effectiveness of having a little icon/logo appear next to the address in the menu bar of browsers and having it also appear when a site is bookmarked, but I never looked into what this icon is called, or how to create it, until now. So, for those that may also be looking for how to do this I thought I would share. It couldn't be simpler...
Its called a Favicon and it is a bit special because it has to be in a certain format [.ico] and the code relating to it has to be placed between the <head> and </head> tags. Photoshop doesn't allow you to save a file in this format, but thankfully there are sites out there that can take an image file an automatically resize and convert it for you. A couple of excellent sites that can do this can be found at:
Of course, I immediately added this function to all the pages of this site, so today I am happy because I have learned something new!
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Posted: November 8, 2009
Launching the new look
I started work on this overhaul of the site last year, after painting the picture that is featured on the front [details here]. I then promptly set the project aside as at that time I was deeply immersed into my MA studies. Finally, as this year draws to a close I have found the time and energy to bring it back to life and so I hereby officially launch the new look site!
As you can see I have chosen to include this new 'blog' section. The aim is to use it to post my thoughts and experiences and share with you my art and design process. Although it's not, at this stage, a true blog (i.e. you can't post comments etc.), if you do want to respond then drop me an email and I will make sure your comments are posted.
Currently working on...
 I have just completed the revised edition of Charles Claphams excellent Great Walks of Vancouver Book. He has decided to update and revise the book for 2010 release as it has proved so popular. I have worked on Charles' books, thanks to Granville Island Publishing, several times now and have had the privilege in watching them grow from the initial publication which covered walks from Horseshoe Bay to the USA border to now extensively covering the Metro Vancouver area and even including walks that take you north as far as Whistler.
It was excellent to be given the opportunity to revisit this book as going through it again I was able to correct all the inconsistencies in the maps that came from them being developed by two different designers at different times. I was also over conscious of how much my recent MA had taught me. The first version of the book was more than good enough but now I feel I have a whole new level of expertise and am able to life it a few levels higher.
With the world's attention focusing on Vancouver next year as they host the 2010 Winter Olympics, I wish Charles huge success!
Upcoming...
Fingers crossed, I should hear this month from Sigma Press in Wales as to whether they wish to publish my Prehistoric Peak book. The book has evolved somewhat from what I produced for my MA.
In September I met with John Barnatt, Senior Archaeologist for the Peak District National Park. After a short four hour meeting I came away with invaluable information, for which I am indebted to him. This prompted me to go back into the book and edit and revise certain aspects. At some of the sites I had originally included there really is nothing to see, so I decided to take these out, revise the overall structure and add two new sites. In the end this has brought the page count down to 192, which I believe will make it more marketable. I have also added a comprehensive list of 'other sites' at the end and have revised all of maps to make them as 'un-OS like' as possible so that they are purely of my own invention.
I hope you enjoy the new site and please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or comments.
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