Final for Second Project

What I wanted to do with the initial thumbnails was to get a "feel" for using positive and negative spaces and also for seeing the the letters more as shapes and less as text. I used the Veranda font throughout most of the thumbs since I found that the look of the negative areas around the letters allowed the space to be divided into smaller areas of geometric shapes which could be easily manipulated. I was particularly intrigued by the kind of trapezoid negative space that's formed underneath the capital letter "R". The nine pencil thumbs are an example of variations on this theme with a large capital "R" being used mostly to break up space as in "the rule of thirds".
The sharpie "rough draft" is a further extension of the thumb in the center of the pencil thumbnails. I used the large partial reversed "R" that dominates to simultaneously establish a focal point and establish a flow in-between the lesser elements such as the small "f" partially obscured in the lower left corner, the reversed lower case "r" in the lower right, and the partial elements near the top.
The design that I actually ended up using was a radical departure from what I had done previously. The major element that this image has in common with the others is a large upper case "R" controlling the overall flow between focal points. Where as the fonts used earlier were chosen with consideration as to whether I could easily render them by hand, the ones I used on the computer gave me many more choices that could be quickly altered into numerous variations. I vaguely remember the "R" on the left being Edwardian Script but have no recollection of the names of the other fonts used. (something I need to concentrate more on in the future) What I like about this choice is how I was able to use the counter-forms of the two letters on the right to "suggest" an outline for the letter on the left. I used the rounded curves in the "R" and upside down "f" in order to give this design some repetition and to achieve a sense of balance between the upper left and lower right corners. The designs' overall balance is also maintained with the alignment of the "f" and the bottom part of the "R". The grey "J" in the upper right corner offers a contrast in both the sharper edges of its form and the use of a value in-between that of the black and white used in the rest of the design.
The final image is once again a sort of "accident". I originally tried to add a gradient of color going from left to right. While experimenting with the gradient controls I found the "hotspot" effect that was used in the backround. After repeating the same type of gradient fill in the upside-down small "f", I found that the design now had an almost three demensional sense of depth to it. I decided to save this version immediately in case I changed it and the design became "overworked" and less eye-catching.