Jo Bermejo, VCUQ Library, Icon development

Final set of icons.

After another class discussion and critique, I was told that my set of icons still didn't have a clear system. Some elements are centered on the box, while some are cropped out. In some icons, a pair of objects are separated while some are overlapping one another. The biggest issue was my grid system, which doesn't work for all of my objects. I need to decide on one system that would allow curves, but I need to be consistent with the way images are placed on the icons. In the end, I decided that the system that works best is when all the images are inside the boxes and not cropped out, and pairs of images would be separated and not overlap one another.

Then, we were asked over the break to come up with color swatches for our icons. Outside the library is the Yellow wall, and inside is full of neutral tones (wooden bookshelves, for example) so I decided that neutral or "earthy" colors would be appropriate. The library is a very calm and quiet place, so vibrant and bold colors would not work. Here are the samples of color experimentation:
In the end, I chose soft brown with light yellow because it gives off an earthy feel, and it's calm and looks professional. Here's my final set of icons with the chosen color scheme:

Lastly, we had to choose a typeface that would go with the set of icons we made. My icons are simple, (hopefully) clear with a rounded edge...which is why I felt the typeface Century Gothic is the most appropriate to use. We also had to choose an Arabic typeface that would compliment the English font, and I think Al Wadi in bold is a good match for Century Gothic. Note: I used an online translator for the Arabic type, and double checked with my friends to see if the translations are correct.

Jo Bermejo, VCUQ Library, Icon development

After tracing my drawings and simplifying them several times, I had a set that I am happy with and proceeded to make some sample icons. I want the icons to have a rounded edge square based on the pattern of the bins in the library. Here are the first few icons i came up with:

The bin pattern that I based it upon:We had a class discussion and I showed them the initial icons. I was told that the image of the front view and side view of the phone is the one that works the best for my location. The rest either didn't look like they belong to a design school, or are still not simplified enough. I decided to stick to the two mobile phones, and from there I tried to follow a system of simplified objects that were drawn using a grid system. I chose to use a grid to reflect the organization and the orderly characteristic of the library.
Here are the first proper set of icons:

The top set shows the different sections of the library.
The bottom set shows what's prohibited in the library.

Jo Bermejo, VCUQ Library, Icon development

What I did to start with, was look at the problems that I found at the library and tried to make a list of the symbols, indexes, etc. associated to these problems. For example, one of the problems were people are talking on their mobile phones in the library even though it's not allowed. I wrote down the words 'phone', 'mouth', 'noise', etc. anything that I can think of that associates with the problem.

I then started to draw things from my list, and here are the initial sketches:

I photocopied and traced the drawings several times, simplifying them each time. I want to come up with images that are very simplified for my icons. Here are the images I decided to work with:

Application of Fruit and Vegetable Market Signs

Here are some of my signs in their context. I decided since the market is out doors, placing the signs on walls would be a challenge since there aren't many walls and especially not where I need the walls to be. Therefore I used the blue shades that are placed all around the market to hang the signs from.
A strong rope will hold them to the right height they need to be at. Which is just over the average persons height. Then they would be painted or stuck on to a piece of wood. The sign will be placed on both sides of the wood so it is seen from every angle.

Below is the Weigh and Pay here sign:

Below is the Vegetables and the Fruits signs. They are placed at the front entrance to the market:


Below is a close up of the Vegetable sign. As you can see it is hung from the already existing shades:

Materials for Fruit and Vegetable Market signs

Research on sign materials

I did some research to find out what materials would be best to display my signs on.
Here is a website I found useful for this: http://www.fastsigns.com/sign-materials.html
After reading about each material, I decided that wood was the most suitable material for my signs.

Here is what I found out about the wood:

"Wood and composite materials
Wood and composite materials will give you years of outdoor service. They are suitable for large format signage, are weather resistant and have a rigid, flat surface. Wood products can be painted to match custom colors for signage use in commercial real estate, construction firms and property leasing companies. Some composite materials come in a wide range of colors. Others are only available in white.
There are occasions when wood or any one of several other composite materials is the appropriate substrate to use for your outdoor signage needs. There are a number of different materials that can fill these requirements. Medium Density Overlay Plywood (MDO), Alumalite®, Omega® board, DiBond® to name a few. All are durable and versatile, materials designed for a wide variety of outdoor uses including these types of signage:

• Site Signs
• Directional Signs
• Identification Signs

Signs made from wood can be displayed in several ways:

• Bolted to posts and planted in the ground
• Bolted to walls
• Hanging"

The wood material contains all the elements I need for my signs. It can be used outdoors, in all climates. It can be used on walls and could be hung. It is fairly cheap and is not too heavy. It is long lasting and can be painted on or can be used with stickers.

Colors for the Fruit and Vegetable Market

Above you can see the colors I have chosen from the market mood board for my icons.
I chose to have two sets of colors: the green signs are for direction, telling people where to go and where to find what they want. The blue are warning signs telling people what to do or what to watch out for. The green ones will be placed higher then the blue ones for they need to be seen from further away.
I tried to keep the colors simple, to keep the icons easy to read. The white background keeps them clear, creating a high contrast between the white and the color.

AbuHammour Sinage Color Scheme and Application

I simplified my color scheme by using only 2 colors ,and increased contrast by using black as the background.I chose to use a light box for the application because its attracts attention and relates to the lights of the stores.

Colors for the Fruit and Vegetable Market

To find the right colors for my icons I went back to my mood board and picked out some of the colors that stood out the most and some of the colors that I felt would give the feel of the market. Here are some of those colors:
I then tried applying these colors to my icons and felt that this combonation of colors works best:The two colors used above came from my mood board I felt they went well against one another, for they carry a good contrast that keeps the icon clear to read.
The sample icon, above, shows an attempt of how the icon can be placed with the text on the the sign.

Color Scheme For AbuHammour

Color scheme The color scheme I chose was derived From the mood poster we did ,Grey from asphalt...etc,with the emphasis on the signs to be seen it's brightness so it's seen Execution:my first thought was apply my system to standard reflective metal signs. But after the critique in class,I am now leaning towards having a light box signs instead ,where they resemble the signs that fill the station.

adding color

here is my initial color scheme that I've chosen









and this is the more improved chosen the bright neon colors to contrast with the dull pastel colors of my space and they are inspired by the shopping theme of my section

refining and finding the suitable typefaces

1. this is the collection of icons that I've tried to finalize yet they still had some issues with the system









2. while being critiqued by both the class instructor and having a discussion with another teacher outside the class about systems in icons I started understanding more and knowing what could make an icon not belong to the system there are several points or elements to think of
- the most obvious problem is whether my icons should be flat or dimensional choosing one of these and keeping it consist ant which is what was lacking in the images shown above the shopping cart and the shopping bag are dimensional while mostly the other icons are flat
- the quality of the icons' edges whether they should be pointed and sharp or having them all with a rounded edge which I was trying to achieve but wasn't completely solved yet in some of the icons
-the consistency of the thickness of my stroke depending on the style of my icon for example in my icons I have to keep it consistent and not vary from one icon to another but from critique and observation other students who have chosen Arabic calligraphy style to there icons their strokes vary from thicks and thins but still having it consistent in all their icons
- lastly is the percentage of black I have as a fill color in my icons so for example if one icon has 70% black then it should be as consistent in the other icons which was still lacking in the alarm tag icon and the shopping cart icon

by such notes I tried to improve my icons as shown in the following:









and for arabic type I've searched for the most suitable arabic type that had similar counter space, x-height, stroke weight, and the proper legibility as well as their syntactic formal relationship to the icons. I've struggled with finding a suitable Arabic type then I was recommended to look through the GE fonts for suitable Arabic typeface

in case you were wondering what are GE fonts they are called Graph East fonts which from their name are designed to suit arabic typeface but they are designed to mimic the feel of latin typefaces in their shape, line quality and so on so far they are not available in the vcuq system but they are available in a few forums that I've looked at mostly arabic forums

GraphEast
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