Journal 8

Type Means Never Having To Say You're Sorry:
I think a few alternatives to Futura would have to be Gotham, Helvetica, and Trade Gothic. The character widths of Helvetica and Trade Gothic are similar to Futura and Gotham retains the same cohesiveness of most geometric san-serifs. While I do believe that Futura is a great typeface in terms of versatility of applications, I should always remember that lots of other typefaces can serve the same purpose as Futura. Even though which tends to be a safe choice, it may not be the best for a design.

Designing Under the Influence:
Michael Beirut's article initially discusses the iconic usage of Futura in Barbara Kruger's work and how she created a definitive style through her usage of the typeface. It then goes on to question if a graphic design style can actually be owned by any one person amidst designing from influences, as homages, or even approprations. The article also asks the amount of design history one must know before even conceptualizing. As for me, I think this article brought up a valid point on the terms of plagiarism in the design world. Being a student, I have to draw inspiration from somewhere, but to the degree it is reflected in my designs needs to be evaluated all the time. For me there's quite an amount of apprehension to making design risks when all I see risk-wise seems to have been done in the many years that have past. So to question originality, I should really evaluate my designs constantly, always wondering what I can do to make something that follows good conventions but hone in on what makes it my own.