a classic student project (continued): playing with letterforms à la Norman Ives

In the two previous blog pieces in which we featured graphic design work from Dordt College students, we continue the theme here with more examples of students’ work.

This classic project of closely cropped letterforms was influenced by designer and educator Norman Ives and is commonly found in most graphic design programs. Each composition closely crops the lower case “a” letterform to suggest and reveal the intrinsic artistic form and character of the letter. One of the goals of the project is to enrich ones imagining powers by handling positive and negative space.


© Kit Drennon 2013


© Kit Drennon 2013

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a classic student project (continued): close cropping of letterforms à la Norman Ives

In the previous blog piece in which we featured graphic design work from Dordt College students, we continue the theme here with a couple of examples of students’ work.

This classic project of closely cropped letterforms was influenced by designer and educator Norman Ives and is commonly found in most graphic design programs. Each composition closely crops the lower case “a” letterform to suggest and reveal the intrinsic artistic form and character of the letter. The goal of the project is to develop greater thoughtfulness toward the communicative function of typography.


© Amanda Oberman 2013


© Nathan Walter 2013

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a classic student project: close cropping of letterforms à la Norman Ives (1923–1978)

This classic project of closely cropped letterforms is commonly found in most graphic design programs. In essence, this project was inspired by the work of designer/artist Norman Ives. Dordt College students in Graphic Design 1 this past semester completed the examples shown here. Each composition closely crops the lower case “a” letterform to suggest and reveal the intrinsic artistic form and character of the letter.

Norman Ives’s work celebrates and cultivates the typographic arts. Designer Rick Valicenti says that Ives typographic compositions promote “the poetry of organic curves and rigid structures found hidden deep within an alphabet…”(1) 

The tension created by the juxtaposition of positive and negative spaces—or the figure and ground shapes—articulate a wonderful visual rhythm and pattern.

1. Valicenti, Rick, et al. “Digital Glass Portfolio Series.” Thirst 3st. n.p., 12 June 2013. Web. 15 Dec. 2013. http://www.3st.com/work/skyline-digital-glass-portfolio-series#5.

compositions by © Shelby Herrema 2013

compositions by © Tanner Brasser 2013

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Dordt advanced graphic design students explore the issues of childhood mortality

Records for Life: Reaching Children with Life-Saving Vaccines 
A Concept for Universal Child Health Records
poster size: 42 inches x 54 inches 

This semester, Dordt College’s advanced graphic design class responded to the call issued by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which was seeking help in redesigning the look and feel of child health records. The above graphic shows the collaborative poster that explains and details the students’ concept proposing a UPC/QR identification system for universal Child Health Records.

Student designers included: Daryl Bruinsma, Hayley Dahl, Rebekah Dykhuizen, Teddy Getenet, Brett Jasper, Jayson Korthuis, Caleb Vugteveen and instructor David Versluis.

Six million children between the ages of 0 and 5 die annually, worldwide. In response to this global health crisis, Dordt students and non-governmental organizations convened on Wednesday, November 20 to dialogue and explore the issues of childhood mortality and to share their thoughts. It was at this event that the graphic design students presented their project. Approximately 300 people were in attendance..

The project was a culmination of the Dordt’s semester-long AGILE (Approaching Global issues through Interdisciplinary Learning Experiences) Project, which examines a critical global issue and looks at creative solutions. This year's focus was on child and infant mortality.

The introduction on the poster written by the graphic design students states:

Child and infant mortality rates affect families and communities around the world. Mortality rates for young children are caused by many variables including health, nutrition, cultural practices, lack of education, and more. Healthcare for both pregnant mothers and young children is essential to allow newborns to grow and develop in a healthy environment. Immunizations and vaccinations are essential for all children at a young age. Unfortunately, the health record system in many countries often allows children to miss vaccinations, failing to stop preventable diseases. A simple, universal system would allow doctors, mothers, and other health workers to confidently vaccinate and care for young children.

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