January 30-31st, 2004
Atlanta, GA.

UnderConsideration was invited by Hank Richardson, Dean of Education at Portfolio Center, to conduct two workshops. The first related to typeface creation, and the second dealing with the exploration and practice of idea/concept development. For two days students gathered for a period of five hours each day and worked hard to achieve their goals.

Typeface Design imparted by Armin
For the typography workshop, students were asked ahead of time to choose two typefaces, one they love and one they hate, listing the reasons why this is so. Choosing elements such as weight, serif/sans serif, thicks and thins, x-height from each one they began working on the following lower-case letters: ednosvag. On the first day, they each presented their work and received feedback from classmates and Armin on what was working and what could be improved. Working one-on-one, Armin was able to work each case with minute detail and attention to each developing typeface. After a long sleepless night the students were able to see great improvement and advancement on their work as the second day was over. Today they continue to work on finishing and refining each typeface consulting with Armin and other professionals he has asked to participate. [ See photos ]

Concetp/Idea Development imparted by Bryony
In order to drive the students out of their comfort zone, the second room was covered in its entirety with kraft paper, and all the tables placed in the center creating a very large working area. Two weeks prior to meeting, the students were asked to take pictures, and gather items, scraps, fabrics, objects, anything they encountered and found interesting, without knowing what the outcome of the workshop would be, or the theme. Each student was presented with all the necessary information necessary to develop a book cover for a play by Shakespeare, including: Othello, A Midsummer Nightís Dream and Twelfth Night. Asked to choose a target audience and come up with a strategy, they started sketching on the walls with only the materials they brought. This developed a series of moments that were at once terrifying and exhilarating for each student, as a new way of approaching a project surfaced under their guidance. With Bryonyís help they embraced different concepting methods, new ways of approaching ideas and how to further develop them, and finally ways in which to take something a step further. Today, the final designs are being transferred and put together on paper to be scanned, refined and printed as a hardcover book. [ See photos ]