motivated, extroverted, limitless—these are some of the words most commonly attributed to avid marathoners. but we have found them to be meditative, humble, and empathetic individuals as well. most can’t imagine their life without the constant training that the event of the marathon requires, and many of them find it to be a welcome escape from the pressures of everyday life. training becomes more than just something they do every day—it becomes something they can’t live without.

as the marathon event continues to gain popularity, more and more people are tapping into—and adopting—the lifestyle that accompanies it. but it won’t be long before they realize what veteran marathoners already know: if you aren’t willing to live the marathon, you’ll never reach avid marathoner status.

Creating visual distress with letter forms on transparencies can create an experience which limits the perception of the typographic message. This is leads me to think about how I can create a moment of clarity in a seemly chaotic environment. Looking at the video it seems like the static typography has a perceivable form in contrast to the type which is in motion. Therefore I can make the assumption that static typography is hierarchically more dominant in comparison to dense moving letter forms. But also looking at the photograph of the transparencies with space in between the planes and the depth of field created with the photographic lens, I can project that the sharpness of the letter forms gives them visual precedence over the type which is out of focus. These experiments have gotten me thinking a lot about hierarchy, the traditional vs. nontraditional ways of establishing clear hierarchy. Rather then using scale as a design element to create visual order, or color, or position; what about sharpness, or motion? These alternative and shifting forms of achieving hierarchy are what I am going to explore next.

Scale. A basic design principle I find interesting, mostly because of its infinite expandability. Meaning there is no ultimate zero, or no ultimate largeness. Scale is also relational, meaning it needs context in order to be comprehended. A white sphere in a dark space with no context has no implied size, at least while working in a graphic space, if it were in an observable space the context would be yourself therefore it has context. The tiniest of the tiny and the biggest of the big can only be appreciated for their greatness when put next to one another.

Perception. A trait which is varying from viewer to viewer. How do you know you see the same red I see? Its definitely some deep thinking. But I think its interesting to consciously manipulate someones perception, because this makes the viewer feel as if you were in their head. Inception style. Playing with perception can come in other forms besides color and is, like scale, fairly reliant on context. One example of playing with perceptions may be optical illusions, these illusions are successful because of the way our eyes take in light information and have our brains process that information. Tricking the brain into “seeing” something different. How we perceive the world around us can change with time, or not. Constants and inconsistent objects maybe an interesting area to explore. When somethings change while others do not. This can reveal a hidden message, or an alternative meaning, especially if the typographic message and context are parallels.

Legibility. How challenging it is to comprehend a body of text or an individual letter form. Because our English language is comprised of nothing more then abstract symbols that build together to represent abstract ideas (words), legibility can some times be a typographic gray area for guidelines. Sure there are rules which have us create evenly spaced letter form compositions, but instead question the specific characteristics which create the serf level symbols. These are the gray areas, that could be altered by adding or subtracting lines or points. If all letters had lines removed would they still have their original symbolic meaning? or would it be un-comprehenable.

These topics are also not mutually exclusive. scale and perception can work together or against each other in order to alter the message. Legibility and scale can alter one another or become combined studies into the experiment.

But before I think about the message I want to convey, I think it will be necessary to observe formal anomalies and patterns, in order to think about how I can use those to my advantage.

Where to start? Create experiments pushing the limits of these traits. Then observe the overlap between the three and build.

Charles Burchfield, The Insect Chorus, 1917. Abstract visualization of the insect’s sounds. Accomplished with rhythm and quality in the lines.

So how can these scientific experiments be utilized to create typographic form? In most instances seen above the sound which is being visualized is tonality. Not spoken word, which would be the direct cousin of typography. In the instance of the Radiohead song words are included into the visualization but it also consisted of an instrumental element, which is what usually resulted in the formation of the ripples. Also these instances are not static images, they are temporal experiences. Although a still image can be used to synthesize the entire experience, it would not be a direct visual representation of the sound because sound is a curved wave form which is traveling, there is no such thing as a “point” in this spectrum. Therefore I feel filming my experience should be something I consider. Or exploring alternative ways of showing multiple instances in a single frame.

Two points stood out to me in this post.

Respect complexity

If a single idea has followed me around this year, from politics to art and work to friendships, it’s been this one: “it’s more complicated than that.”

It’s centrally important to seek simplicity, and especially to avoid making things hard to use or understand. But if we want to make things that are usefully simple without being truncated or simplistic, we have to recognize and respect complexity—both in the design problems we address, and in the way we do our work.

–Erin Kissane, Editor of Contents magazine, Content Strategist at Brain Traffic

Respecting complexity is not an easy task to accomplish. It requires a synthetic universal perspective. What I mean by this is the antithesis of how easy it is for us to gain tunnel vision on the things we are working on. All throughout the design process it is important to maintain a healthy balance of what is important, and what is not. Often in my own work it isn’t until I realize I’m trying to force a circle into a square hole that I become successful in trying to solve the problem. Develop reason. Without reason how do you intend to make a particular decision? So by respecting the complexity of the design you are knowingly developing reason for your design choices. Design can be an extremely complicated subject, therefore by simply understanding you are addressing complicated subject matter (design) you are taking the first step in developing reason. Respect complexity. Nicely stated.

“Its not about over simplifying the complexity, its about managing it.” —Marty Maxwell Lane

It’s all about the experience

The most important thing I’ve (re)learned this year is that the greatest experiences in life aren’t designed at all. I’ve spent less time on blogs and Twitter and more time watching sunrises in beautiful places. I’ve obsessed less over gadgets and tools and more over finding the right wine to go with a great meal. I’ve remembered that I love my work more when it isn’t also my life. All of these things make me more patient, more optimistic, and more inspired…which can only make me better at what I do.

–Kim Goodwin, Author, Designing for the Digital Age

Something infinitely dense, in a vacuum, with nothing to compare its density to, is in fact not dense at all. Working continuously forever yields no progression. Cultural experiences are necessary for design. They allow for the evolution of ideas and the ability to make abstract connections, which in a vacuum would be impossible to discover.

nicely done!

The tale upon which the modern Olympic Marathon rests is the mythic run of Pheidippides from Marathon to Athens. He was a professional messenger and, in 490BC, is supposed to have brought a message from the plains of Marathon, where the Greek Army had just won a crucial battle against the invading Persian Army of General Datis. After the battle, in which he may have taken part, he was dispatched to Athens to deliver the news: “Rejoice, we are victorious”. He did this, and no more, dropping dead with the delivery.

source: “The Expert’s Guide to Marathon Training” (Hugh Jones, 2003)

Contemporary races:

IAAF Competition Rules for Road Races

International Association of Athletics Federations

Marathon = 42.195km running race. all running should be done on roads, with an exception of start and finish being able to take place inside a sport stadium.

The races shall be started by the firing of a gun.

In Road Races, an athlete may leave the road or track with the permission and under the supervision of an official, provided that by going off course he does not lessen the distance to be covered.

For all events longer than 10km, refreshment stations shall be provided at approximately every 5km. In addition, drinking / sponging stations for water only shall be placed approximately midway between the refreshment stations or more frequently if weather conditions warrant such provision.

A hands-on medical examination during the progress of an event by the official medical staff appointed by the Organizing Committee and identified by armbands, vests or similar distinctive apparel shall not be considered assistance.

An athlete shall retire at once from the race if ordered to do so by the Medical Delegate or a member of the official medical staff.

Kenyan, Patrick Makau, hold a time of 2h03:38, in Berlin on Sep, 25th 2011. The fastest male marathon recorded.

while Paula Radcliffe of the United Kingdom ran a 2h15:25 marathon in London on the 13th of April 2003 for the fastest women time recorded.

source: http://www.iaaf.org/

Training:

Running long distances in a competitive atmosphere requires lifestyle decisions.  Daily running routines is a common occurrence in the avid marathon runners life. Multiple miles a day is common.

Online people publish their own training routines, and quite often people comment and critique on each others schedules.

These routines often include not only “I run 3 miles a day” generic descriptions. But in-depth breakdowns of the variables: distances, times, hydration details, weather, stretches, diets, etc.

here are a couple of training programs

http://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/marathon.html

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-244-255-6946-0,00.html

I find it interesting that a marathon is nothing more then an instinct to challenge ones physical self and push the human body to the limits.  The “race” is just as much a mental strain as a physical one.  Often running partnerships take place in order to motivate the runners to overcome the mental.

Equipment:

Avid marathon runners are also in need of external equipment to help enhance their performance, hopefully making the running process as “streamlined” as possible. Watches for timing. ipods for music. water bottle belts for hydration. special running sneakers. special socks. clothing which is formulated to “play well” with sweat. reflectors or lights for running at night. heart monitors.

champs sports running section