Author Archives: Brian Lawler

About Brian Lawler

Brian Lawler is an Emeritus Professor of Graphic Communication at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and was a Guest Professor at Hochschule München from September, 2021 to September, 2022. He writes about graphic arts processes and technologies for various industry publications, and on his blog, The Blognosticator.

Making indentations more attractive

Posted on June 1, 2018 by Brian Lawler

As I mentioned in my last article, I believe that one should either indent, or space-after paragraphs in running text. Not both. And, when using a common indentation to create visual cues for the reader, I believe that you should … Continue reading →

Posted in Typography | Tagged Blognosticator, Brian Lawler, indentations, legibility, readability, typographic excellence, typographic readability | Leave a comment

Coloration has nothing to do with color in typography

Posted on May 30, 2018 by Brian Lawler

This is my third essay on Typographic Discipline. You can read the previous edition here. The word “color” or “coloration” is a term used to describe the texture of typography – its visual impact as a block of copy. It … Continue reading →

Posted in Typography | Tagged Blognosticator, Brian Lawler, excellent typography, how to set type, indentations, Jan Tschichold, typography, visual cues in typography | Leave a comment

Microsoft Word and the newest Amendment to the Constitution

Posted on May 30, 2018 by Brian Lawler

In my most recent essay on Typographic Discipline I discussed apostrophes and quotation marks. Those are important, and they are the most common typographic audacity I see every day. In today’s essay I want to bring to your attention the … Continue reading →

Posted in Language and grammar, Typography | Tagged Blognoticator, Brian Lawler, improper typography, improper use of Italic, typographic discipline, typography | Leave a comment

Introducing Typographic Discipline

Posted on May 27, 2018 by Brian Lawler

After taking several months off from blogging, I am back with a new special column called Typographic Discipline. In the coming months I will be writing and illustrating essays that describe how to create excellent typography. I feel that this … Continue reading →

Posted in Language and grammar, Mistakes you can avoid, Typography | Tagged Blognosticator, Brian Lawler, correct apostrophes, correct typography, excellent typography, proper apostrophes, punctuation, Spelling | Leave a comment

Ink-jet dreams and realities

Posted on December 16, 2017 by Brian Lawler

Sorry, dear readers, for my long absence. I returned from Germany to a full schedule of classes that required me to work five days a week (I only worked two days while in Germany), and had to manage a full … Continue reading →

Posted in Printing and Printing Processes, Technology | Tagged Brian Lawler, Excelagraphic, Heidelberg, Hewlett-Packard PageWide, ink-jet printing, Memjet, PrimeFire, Xante | Leave a comment

Repatriation of the Blognosticator

Posted on August 16, 2017 by Brian Lawler

After spending five months in Germany, teaching, learning, and exploring the region, we have returned to the U.S.A. It was a wonderful experience, one that I would repeat anytime if I could. During this time I was an employee of … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventures, History, Panoramic Photography, People, Photography, Printing and Printing Processes, Technology, Typography | Tagged Blognosticator, Brian Lawler, Germany, Gutenberg, Heidelberg, Hochschule Munchen, Munich, teaching in Germany | Leave a comment

Photographing the portrait-in-stone

Posted on July 29, 2017 by Brian Lawler

In April, my students and I visited the Landesamt für Digitalisierung Breitband und Vermessung in Munich (Read that story here). In English, this is the state office of digitization, broadband and surveying. Among the things they do is to manage … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Education, History, Photography, Printing and Printing Processes | Tagged Alois Senefelder, Blognosticator, Brian Lawler, Landsamt für Digitalisierung und Vermessung, LDBV, litho stone, lithography, Munich, Senefelder, Solnhofen | Leave a comment

250,000 readers as of this morning!

Posted on July 24, 2017 by Brian Lawler

This morning, almost exactly six years after my first blog on the Blognosticator, the site has received its 250,000th visitor. Thank you! I began writing blogs for Graphic Arts Monthly magazine in 2008, and the blog grew at that publication … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 250000 readers, Blognosticator, Brian Lawler, milestone | 1 Comment

Bavaria has castles! I have photos.

Posted on July 24, 2017 by Brian Lawler

In my home county in California we have a famous castle, one built by newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst in the early 20th century. Called Hearst Castle, it is a tourist mecca, visited annually by several million people. The castle … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventures, Panoramic Photography, Photography, Photoshop techniques, Printing and Printing Processes | Tagged Bavaria, Bavarian castles, Brian Lawler, castles, GigaPan, King Ludwig II, Munich, Neuschwanstein, Schloss Neuschwanstein | Leave a comment

Digital panoramic photography

Posted on July 13, 2017 by Brian Lawler

This is part four of my series on panoramic photography and cameras. In the first episode I wrote about rotating panoramic cameras that used rolls of film. As the camera turns, the film rolls past a vertical slit aperture in … Continue reading →

Posted in Panoramic Photography, Photography, Software, Technology | Tagged Brian Lawler, digital panoramic camera, mobile phone panoramic, Panoramic photography, rotating panoramic camera, Seitz Roundshot | Leave a comment