Hayden Garrison GDS 172

It is always cool to look back at my basketball card collection as a kid and romanticize about my favorite athletes and look at their states and photos from long ago. This scan features 8 different card from my collection of over 1,000 that I saved growing up. Being a designer now, it is cool to see things in a different light, as I now look at the design, typography, spacing, and colors of each individual card. The backs of these cards include tables of statistics, along with a paragraph about the player and an image. Most of these cards use mainly sans serif type. Some of these cards are from the mid to late 2000s, while some are from the mid 1990s. It is cool to see different styles as they evolved and how each card has a different design front and back, trying to include all the information necessary on a small piece of card stock. This is something I have not always looked in depth at, but I now enjoy looking at the different methods of combining type, color, photography, and de...

Another project from my portfolio. This is one of my favorites for a couple reasons. First, because it has a lot of meaning to me. This player, Keifer Sykes, who now plays professionally overseas, reached out to me about 4 years back and wanted me to make some designs for him. Being in high school at the time, I would do anything for a Division 1 college athlete, even if it was for free, as an opportunity to enhance my portfolio. This is not the first piece I made for him, but it is one of many. I actually got the chance to meet him and I made this design shortly after. This design is also one of my favorites because it uses type to illustrate the image or showcase individual parts within the image. The typeface is a serif, I don't recall what the exact font was. What attracts me to this piece is the movement within the image created by warped text. This design was made by me in April 2015, and he used it as his profile picture on social media for a while, which was really cool ...

This is another project from my own portfolio. It's another wallpaper I made for my room. The font I used is a sans serif, it's called "NBA New York Knicks." It says "I will never lose my passion". I think I did a solid job using the text as a special effect and keeping it legible at the same time. I wanted to use some perspective on this, sort of to create the feel that the image is moving from the center on out. I am attracted to this because I spent a good 5-7 hours making everything as I wanted, and I like how the perspective of the title creates movement within the design. I used Adobe Photoshop to create this, I made it a couple years back while experimenting with my typography skills.

This is a project from my own portfolio. I make sports wallpapers in my free time, and this is a design I printed off and put on my wall. The font I used is a decorative font, but I rasterized the type so I could not check what the font was. It says "ZION", the name of the athlete shown, and it is inverted when it intersects with his body to create contrast. I think I did a great job not only with the contrast, but with the sizing. The contrast helps the sizing work effectively, otherwise it would be illegible and simply in the way of the image. It is hard to say exactly why you are attracted to your own work, but I will say I am attracted to this because of the fact that I explored a new style, and managed to make this look exactly as I wanted. This is not a publication design, but I thought it would be cool to showcase some of my own work and how I use typography.

This design makes me sort of uncomfortable, yet I am strangely attracted to it. The type is serif, I think it may be Times New Roman. Maybe the "VooDoo" type gives off a dangerous, creepy feel to the viewer. Or maybe it's the dark background that collaborates with the fire to create a chaotic, spooky, yet silent image for the viewer to investigate. Whatever it is, it's very successful. Everything is legible, and the use of color is successful because it's just enough color to draw the reader's attention without interrupting the dark mood that the designer wanted to create. I was attracted to this because of odd, abstract, surreal look in this design. It doesn't really fit my style, yet I was attracted to it because of it's uniqueness. This is a scan from the inside of St. Louis Rams game day program from October 2008.

Did I mention I love sports? The cover type is sans serif. I am unsure of the specific typeface, but I would categorize it as more of a decorative font with a geometric feel. The designer made a good choice to go with a white background, as it fits with the image and goes along with the silent mood the cover athlete is portraying. Another element I really appreciate about this is the sizing. The "NEXT" type is the same height as the image, so both compliment each other well. I was attracted to this because of the simplicity, as with many of my other posts. I like the use of yellow, and the little black arrow created as a symbol within the text.This is a scan of an ESPN the Magazine issue from April of 2018.

Colors, decoration, detail, and large type really take this design to the next level. The cover type is what I would classify as a decorative type, and I am unsure of the specific typeface. The paragraph type, is serif, probably Times New Roman if I had to guess. The designer did a great job here and even took some risks. It isn't easy to go with a dark background and have everything be flavorful and legible at the same time, but the designer pulled it off. I was attracted to this because of all the little details and the use of color. I also love the use of 3D, as it is something I would like to learn myself. I absolutely love the glowing effect created within each character as well. This is a scan of an ESPN the Magazine issue from April of 2018.

Car advertisements are always interesting to look at. You can go with a photographic approach, or you could go with a colorful, more futuristic look. This design combines both in it's own unique way. The body, headline, and subhead type is all sans serif. I suspect that it may be a font like Arial or something similar. The designer made a good choice to go with a white background, as it helps separate the car from the background, showing the cleanliness and smoothness of the vehicle. I was attracted to this because of separation of all the content. You have the company logo and headline at the top, along with the subhead and body copy underneath. In the middle you have the image of the car, the product being showcased. At the bottom you can see the company logo, tagline, and website. I like the use of a limited color palette in this design as it really emphasizes what's important. This is a scanned page from a University of Illinois program from 2017.

If you've read this blog before, you may be asking yourself, "Does Hayden only post sports related images?" The answer is yes, pretty much most of my posts come from a sports related source, haha! The cover type is serif, but it is used for more of a decorative look. The paragraph at the bottom is sans serif, possibly using Arial. The "RANKED NATIONALLY IN THE FIELD" type is not actually a part of the field in this image, but the designer did a great job making it look at though that is the case. For ads in the inside of a magazine, it is not uncommon for the headline text to be significantly larger than everything else, and that is the case here. This piece is an example of how you can work with typography in different ways in different programs. For example, the large text was likely done in Photoshop, and the text at the bottom was more than likely created with InDesign. This is a scan of a game program from a St. Louis Rams game in October of 2008.

I have always loved sports ever since I was a little kid. I want to pursue a career in sports with design, and this program cover is the type of work I like to create. The cover type is sans serif, I think the font used is probably "Frutiger" because I work with the University of Illinois style guide a lot and that is the main font of their brand. The simplicity allows for the viewer to admire everything, including the image, background, type, and colors. I love the use of color in this design, as the background does not clash with the white text, instead the text and background compliment each other perfectly. I was attracted to this because of the simplicity, and the overlapping of image and text. This is a scan of the 2016-17 University of Illinois Men's Basketball program. 

Something I always love to see is when type is successfully blended with photography. This is a scan of a truck advertisement in a magazine. The type is sans serif, but it's more of a geo-metricy sans-serif, if that makes sense. The designer did a quality job on this ad, starting with the variance in tnot only type size, but type weight. The decision to go with all-caps for all the text in a design can be risky, but it paid off here. Everything that needs to be emphasized is emphasized. Images are color graded perfectly to fit with the with type. I was attracted to this because of how the typography and photography blend together in perfect harmony, with all the information being conveyed to perfection. This is a scan from the inside of ESPN the Magazine, July 2017.

This is a scan of an inside page in a magazine. The body type is serif, and the headlines are sans serif. I think one of the fonts is New Roman, but I am unsure on the font for the headlines. There is plenty of space in this design, but I like it that way. The viewer will not be distracted by jumbled up elements, and can see the whole page as it was meant to be portrayed. I love that the article is not just simple type and an image, but that it includes an illustration, as well as breaks in the text and subtle emphasis on certain parts. This is a scan from the inside of ESPN the Magazine, September 2016.

This is a scan of an advertisement in a magazine. The type is sans serif, I think one of the fonts is Arial, but I am unsure on the font from the Geico logo. There is plenty of space in this design, but I like it that way. The viewer will not be distracted by jumbled up elements, and can see the whole page as it was meant to be portrayed. I love the variance of type size in this ad, as it creates emphasis on the parts that are more important, and draws the viewer to one part of the page, which allows the reader to slowly draw themselves to the rest of the information. What I have always admired about Geico is that they can successfully advertise their message with something completely irrelevant to insurance. In this, Geico is using humor to grab the audience's attention. I was attracted to this because of the use of multiple type sizes, and how the image at the top is interesting and draws the viewer in. This is a scam from the inside of ESPN the Magazine, September 2016.

This is a scan from the inside of a story in a magazine along with an advertisement at the bottom of the page. The page is split so that the story uses the top half of the page, and the ad is on the bottom half. The type is a serif, I'm guessing the font is Times. I love the kerning in this page, it is fitting for a regular body text, and allows the reader to continue reading along the lines with no distractions. What attracted me to this was the use of imagery in the advertisement to help it blend with the page as a whole, but not distract the reader at the same time. This is a scan from the inside of ESPN the Magazine, in early October 2016.

This scan is a page from the inside of a story in a magazine. This page includes both serif and sans serif type. I am guessing that the typefaces are Arial and Times New Roman, although I am not quite sure. The spacing and quality of the typography here is fitting for that of the inside of a magazine publication. The variance of color, type style, type size, and spacing gives emphasis to certain parts over others, and creates a sense of variety and balance. What attracted me to this is the use of multiple fonts, colors, spacing, and the breaks in the page. This scan is from a September 2016 edition of ESPN the Magazine.

This is a scan from a book. The layout of this page is intended to showcase a chart as well as writing. The quality of typography is pretty good, and I love the use of photography as a background. The main type is a sans serif, probably Futura or something similar. The type inside the table at the bottom left is a serif, I am not quite sure what that font could be. What attracted me to this piece was the use of photography, and how the page includes both regular type as well as a table of information. This scan is from the same source as my last post, "For the Love of the Game," by Michael Jordan.

This is a page from Michael Jordan's autobiography "For the Love of the Game." Forgive me for not being able to fit the full scan on screen. What I really love about this page design is the space of the layout. It really allows the view to be attracted to everything the page has to offer. The quality of the typography is nice because of this spacing. I love the use of black and orange text because it perfectly fits the warm color of the photography. Tracking and kerning is perfect. The larger type is sans serif, with the body text at the bottom being serif. If I had to guess the type, I would guess that the serif text is Times, and that the sans serif is Futura. What attracted me to this piece was the use of warm colors, the spacing, the different in text size, and the photography. Pretty much everything works together in harmony.

This is a magazine cover from ESPN the Magazine. The function is obviously to attract readers to view it, but with this issue specifically, the cover attempts to evoke emotion and show the pride and culture of being a black athlete. This cover has part of an image in the center, but the main focus is the text around it which brings everything together. The type is a handwritten illustration, and looking further into it, is clearly not a font as not every letter is different, even the repeated characters. I was drawn to this illustration as soon as I saw it in my mailbox. I really enjoy the use of black and white as well as the letters formed around the fist. Everything is legible. I love the use of acrylic paint, as well as the decorative lines and subtle splatters throughout the page. The illustration was done by Jeff Rogers.