Type 2 (due Feb 17)

For this week's journal I read the articles Designing Under the Influence and Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Typeface. I liked Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Typeface more, but I'll admit that my opinion has more to due with the writing style than the subject. Both articles broght up very interesting and valid points. At what point does an idea that resembles and borrows from another become plagerizm? I guess I think it is (usually) OK to borrow from previous designers or artists as long as you bring some of your own ideas to the table. I also find borrowing a little more acceptable if you are using that person's style for more than just a "cool factor." The quesion of "How much design history does one have to know before he or she dares put pencil to paper?" also intrigued me a bit.
The second article, Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Typeface, discussed how and why designers should choose certain typeface over others. I am of the opion that typography is mainly used to comunicate information and shouldn't inhibit the reader in understanding the message. To help encourage the flow of information from the designer to the reader, I belive it is best to avoid being a typographical "slut." However, I think limiting a designer's available choices for typefaces is, well, limiting. It would be stupid to limit a person's word usage to the ones they knew by the time they were ten years old just as I think it would be stupid to limit the available typefaces to five. Sure, said typefaces might be really awsome, but I think typefaces have their own personality and certain ones can carry a specific message better than others for any given project.