TypeDrawing for the iPad is an art-type app designed for creating typography art and/or a unique watermark over your photos.
It is currently priced at $1.99 (3/31/16)
The App allows users to draw via creative typography. Users can also create unique watermarks for their photos. Type a sentence, then just draw with that repeating sentence. User can create one of a kind, totally unique and amazing typographic works of art with finger or stylus.
Type of Material:
iPad app
Recommended Uses:
This app supports the creative process. There are a variety of ways this app can be used including: creating art; enhancing digital images with letters, words, phrases; adding a watermark to a digital image; creating an ad; overlay labels on images; digital collages; and digital drawing. The App could work as part of a drawing course for certain, but also as an interactive tool for language courses.
Technical Requirements:
Compatibility: Requires iOS 6.0 or later. Compatible with iPad.
Identify Major Learning Goals:
There is no preset learning goal for the app, allowing educators to incorporate this app as a supplement to their pre-existing learning goals.
Type drawing allows users to create typographic art, wallpapers, and unique watermarks over photos.
Target Student Population:
Primary grade students can easily use this app. Upper elementary students through adults will be able to apply use the variety of options at a progressively more sophisticated level.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:
None, although having an idea of a project to develop in conjunction with this app would help to assure that the app is meeting the selected learning goals of the instructor.
Content Quality
Rating:
Strengths:
TypeDrawing for iPad provides users with unique and inspiring ways to draw with letters, phrases, or sentences. There are a variety of tools that support creative endeavors. Users can type and draw in any language supported by iOS, unicode, or selected symbols included in the app. The app supports both vertical and horizontal orientations.
There are 64 different typefaces available, as well as the option of selecting a random typeface. Users can control size and tracking and varying font size by finger speed. The standard Hue-Saturation-Value (HSV) Color Wheel and random color sliders are available. There is also an option for drop shadows. There is an eyedropper tool for matching colors. Users can select black, white, or a photo as a background. If a photo is selected, users can also select its opacity level. Zooming and panning are available with two fingers. This feature can also be disabled if the user chooses. There is a playback feature that allows the user to view how the typedrawing was actually created.
The created images can be saved to a gallery within the app and/or exported as a png to Photos on the user's device, iTunes, email, Twitter, or Facebook. When saving to iTunes, users can change the format to a pdf as well. The app helps to demonstrate design concepts and skills. And, this app is simply fun to use.
Concerns:
None.
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
Rating:
Strengths:
The app makes it very easy to draw with typefaces. It is immediately engaging. Users will be able to adjust typefaces, colors, sizes, backgrounds and orientation soon after beginning to use the app. The app offers educators and students a variety of possibilities from outright drawing with typefaces for texture to labeling images, creating posters, to putting watermarks on photos, and more. The app allows users to play with their ideas in imaginative ways. Since the images can be exported as pngs or pdfs there are more ways to use them in presentations, reports, blogs, and video clips. How this versatile app can be applied specifically to education settings can be determined by creative educators willing to include this creative tool.
The App and its demos on the website offer examples of usage that can further how the material would work in a variety of situations.
Concerns:
None.
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Rating:
Strengths:
This app is both inviting and easy to use. The user interface is clearly labeled with icons and some text. There is a settings feature for zooming, faster strokes, and thicker lines. There are a variety of options for saving the created typeface images including the gallery within the image and exporting to Photos on the user's device. The in-app gallery is useful for quick references and refining created images. This app is appropriately flexible in its use while providing the necessary tools for any user to feel successful. Its immediacy in drawing with a finger is attractive to students. It is fun.
Concerns:
While the app itself is exceedingly simple, having some context for the potential uses and educational purposes built into the app would help to extend the quality and usefulness in educational settings.
Creative Commons:
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