Ryan Gerhardt Resume Project

I used two serif fonts for my resume. The wordmark and sideways headings are in Monotype Modern Std. Extended and the rest of the text is in some variation of Adobe Jenson Pro. Not having a lot to put on a resume, I thought that this was the best way to fill the white space. Let me know what you think, just don't be too honest. Haha.

Visual Message: The main thing that I was trying to convey through the design of my resume was professionalism. Having little suitable experience meant that I had to convey in a different way my ability to work in a business and professional setting. The wordmark is very large and offset with especially the “R” and “G” being very strong and professional looking, almost like company initials I think. The wordmark also provides a nice frame in which to set the body of my resume. The overall design may be slightly simplistic, but I did not want to clutter the page suggesting that as a potential employee I would have difficulty narrowing my focus.

Audience: As I am not currently sure as to where I would like to work, I tried to create a resume that would be acceptable in most business settings. I am a political science major as well as advertising and I think the professional look of my resume would be suitable for a law firm and government office or even the administrative side of an advertising agency.

Design Strategy: My wordmark creates an instant presence on the page, since there are no immediate words or marks around it. I think the initials of my name create a strong anchor and frame from which the rest of my resume flows out. The initials are also quite heavy, just like the names under my headings, suggesting importance for things such as my job positions and school. The actual headings themselves I feel are less important and only for direction, which is why they are sideways and gray. The two typefaces, Adobe Jenson Pro and Monotype Modern Std. Extended, complement each other very well I feel. Monotype Modern Std. Extended is a little more difficult to read when it is small but is also very professional looking which is why I only used it for the wordmark and headings, being things that are larger font. Adobe Jenson Pro for the body I feel complements very well mostly because stylistically they are similar looking and both serif fonts, but Adobe Jenson Pro is much easier to read as a small font making it more practical.

Style Sheet:

Wordmark Initials: Monotype Modern Std. Extended, 80/96, optical kerning, no tracking

Wordmark body: Monotype Modern Std. Extended, 30/36, optical kerning, tracking +15

Address & E-mail: Adobe Jenson Pro Regular, 11.5/13.8, optical kerning, no tracking

Section Headers: Monotype Modern Std. Extended, 18/21.6, optical kerning, no tracking

Body Headers: Adobe Jenson Pro Bold, 13/13.5, optical kerning, no tracking

Place Names: Adobe Jenson Pro Regular, 13/13.5, optical kerning, no tracking

Dates: Adobe Jenson Pro Italics, 13/13.5, optical kerning, no tracking

College Name: Adobe Jenson Pro Bold, 11.5/13.5, optical kerning, no tracking

Body Text: Adobe Jenson Pro Regular, 11.5/13.5, optical kerning, tracking +20

Document Grid:

Top Margin: 4p2.393

Bottom Margin: 6p2.25

Left Body Margin: 4p8.557

Right Body Margin: 8p9.75

characters & calligraphy

Fonts that I used on my macbook used to seem like mundane characters that I utilized to get my points across - black scribbles on a white piece of paper - nothing special. But after the reading and class lectures, my font world has opened and I now view calligraphy and typefaces as not merely characters, but accessories to the world that surround me.

The beauty that I find in typefaces and characters is the story that it tells. Never before have I ever analyzed a logo without putting in so much thought and effort. San serifs and serifs have made me more observant, but most importantly, present in the current social media limbo that we are all actively taking part in. Never did I imagine that there could be "good" and "bad" typefaces, and like many minute details in the world, I have often overlooked the construction and history that goes behind these characters and fonts.

I do agree with the other students that the first 20 or so pages in the reading were not as interesting that I imagined or hoped it to be. But what is so fascinating about this subject is the fact that we can finally apply something we're learning right here and right now into the real world that so desperately awaits us. The transformation of fonts and typefaces has transcended just beyond logos and brands, but it has slowly sneaked into our daily lives, bombarding us.

One of my favorite logos is by a shoe company based out of Los Angeles that aims to provide shoes for children in Argentina. Its logo TOMS speaks of the simplicity beyond this concept. The company's One for One campaign gives buyers the reality of giving one pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair that they purchase themselves. The idea is simple and direct, and the logo conveys the idea.