Typography Project 2 -Typographic Exploration & Communication

The uppercase letterforms below suggest symmetry but the case is it is not all symmetry. The letterforms below both have their own expressions and both are internally harmonious.

Baskerville stroke form : Easy to identify two different stroke weights

Univers stroke form : Upon close look, the left width is thinner than the right width

Fig 1.1 Baskerville "A" . Univers "A" , Week 5 (10/25/2023)

The complexity of each individual letterforms can be demonstrated by observing the lowercases "a" of the two very similar sans serif typefaces- Helvetica & Univers. By comparing how the stems of the letterform finish and how the bowls meet quickly can show the difference in character between those 2.

Fig 1.2 Helvetica "a" . Univers "a" , Week 5 (10/25/2023)

2. Maintaining x-height

X-height describes the size of the lowercase letterforms. Curved strokes like 's' must rise above the median or sink below the baseline in order to appear the same size as the vertical and horizontal strokes they adjoin.

Fig 1.3 Lowecase maintaining x-height , Week 5 (10/25/2023)

3. Form and counterform

The space are often contained by the strokes of the form, when letters are joined together to form words, the counterform includes spacing in between them. Letterform and counterforms holds the same importance as they are both needed to help recognize the shape of the letter and assure readability of words.

Fig 1.4 Form and counterforms , Week 5 (10/25/2023)

We can also observe the counterform of letters by enlarging each letters, it gives us an insight into the process of letter making.

Fig 1.5 Form and counterforms , Week 5 (10/25/2023)

4. Contrast

Contrast is an important aspect of design and also applied in Typography. A simple contrast can give rise to multiple variations such as

-small + organic / small + dark / large + light / negative + positive and much more

Fig 1.6 Combinations of contrast in Typography , Week 5 (10/25/2023)

Lecture 7 : Typo_6_Screen & Print

Typography in different mediums

Back in the past, typography was only seen as "living" only when they reached papers. There were no changes being made once the publication was published. But due to evolution, typography today do not only exist in paper but seen on multitude of screens. There are many factors other than designers controlling typography as they are subject to many fluctuating parameters like system fonts, the device itself and operating systems.

Print Type vs Screen Type

1) Type for Print

They are initially designed for intended for reading from print a long time before we read it on screen. The designers need to ensure that it has high readability and ensure the text is smooth & easy to read. Good examples are Baskerville , Garamond & Caslon as they are elegant and intellectual but also easy to read at small font size.

Fig 1.7 Type for print , Week 6 (11/1/2023)

2) Type for screen

They are designed to be reading on screens and modified to enhance readability and performance on screen for various digital environments. They have taller x-heights , wider letterforms, more open counters , heavier thin strokes and serifs , reduced stroke contrast as well as modified curves for some designs.

All these characteristics improve character recognition and enables them to have higher readability in a digital environment which includes e-books, e-readers and mobile devices.

Fig 1.8 Type for screen , Week 6 (11/1/2023)

3) Hyperactive link / Hyperlink

The defination of hyperlink is a word, phrase or image that you can click on to jump to a new document or a new section within a current document. They are found on almost all website pages and are normally blue and underlined by default.

4) Font size for screens

A 16 pixel type text on screen is equal to the same size as text printed in a book or magazine. They are set for reading distance, because we read books close to our face they are typically set at 10 points. If we want to read them at arm's length, it has to be at least 12 points which is equal to about 16 pixels on screens.

Fig 1.9 Font size on screens (left) , on print (right) , Week 6 (11/1/2023)

5) System fonts for screen/ Web safe fonts

We have pre installed fonts for each devices and this is largely based on their operating systems, and each systems differs from one another. For example, Windows based devices have their own while google android uses from their own system as well.

If a designer picked a font that is not available in the device's operating system, the device will automatically pick their own default font like for eg Times New Roman. Web safe fonts are fonts that are readily available across all system operations and they include Open Sans, Times New Roman , Times , Courier New , Courier , Verdana , Georgia , Garamond & Palatino.

6) Pixel differential between devices

The text we see on our screens differ in not only their size but in proportions too as they have different pixels. 100 pixels on laptop is not the same as 100 pixels on a big 60' HD television.

Fig 2.0 Varying Pixel Sizes On Screens , Week 6 (11/1/2023)

Static vs Motion

1) Static Typography

They have minimal characteristics in expressing words, traditional characteristics such as bold and italic does very little to express dynamic properties. We encounter all forms of static typography with varying purposes in billboards, posters etc.

Fig 2.1 Static Typography , Week 6 (11/1/2023)

2) Motion Typography

Media offers typographers to be more dramatic and kinetic with their letterforms. Motion types can be found on films where they animate the type and bring it to life. Television companies, brand identities often contains motion types.

Reference link here

Fig 2.1 Motion Typography by Vincenzo on Behance , Week 6 (11/1/2023)

2. Project 2 : Editorial Magazine Text Formatting

For project 2, we are expected to come out with a editorial layout based on a few choices Mr Vinod gave us which includes "Unite to Visualise a better world" , "The role of Bauhaus thought on Modern Culture" & "A Code to Build on and Live by".

I chose the third one , which is a code to build on and live by because I find it most relevant to me as I enjoy doing coding and i felt that there are many interesting ways to do type expression.

2.1 Research

I searched online for how a "code" can be expressed and compiled some ideas below.

This is the typical format of how a code will look like in a computer backend , some iconic features like < > are used in codes often and I find that it might be helpful in helping the type expression

Fig 2.1.1 Code Structure , Week 5 (10/24/2023)

Next, I tried to go into the different variants of code and a very famous way of secret coding is the Morse code. I like how this is arranged as they utilised '_' and '." inside

Fig 2.1.2 Network of code , Week 5 (10/24/2023)

Fig 2.1.3 Morse Code , Week 5 (10/24/2023)

I went to Pinterest to get an inspiration on how magazine companies do their text editorial layout, below are some references I had

Fig 2.1.4 Layout References from Pinterest , Week 5 (10/25/2023)

2.2 Idea Sketching

I did a total of 3 paper sketches and they have different headline expressions and columns, next to the image, i listed down the number of columns and the font that i think will suit the design.

Fig 2.2.1 Paper Sketches , Week 5 (10/24/2023)

2.3 Headline Expression Illustrations

I decided that among the headline words, code is the most suitable to do type expression.

The meaning of "code" in the article mainly refers to a set of rules or principals in life we need to follow. I pereceived it to be similar to the "code" in computers as it is something behind the scenes that we cannot see but it is the backbone that keeps the object running. Just like how we live by the code and how a computer run using the codes.

Hence i mainly used the idea of "html codes" and "morse codes" to do my expression for the word code. I came out with 3 headline expression as per the sketches above using Adobe Illustrator

For the first design , i made use of the morse code expressions and the html < > code structure to do the expression. Furthermore, i highlighted the word C O D E inside as well

Fig 2.3.1 Headline 1 , Week 5 (10/25/2023)

For the second design, similarly i made use of the <> for html codes and did a size play on the word Code , making it from big to small . I edited the alphabet "E" as well to give it a code feeling.

Fig 2.3.2 Headline 2 , Week 5 (10/25/2023)

For the third design, i referenced to the Pinterest layout above and designed the word code to be hanging in the middle but with the alphabet "O" being bigger than the rest

Fig 2.3.3 Headline 2 , Week 5 (10/25/2023)

2.4 Layout Digital Explorations

I proceeded to InDesign to test out the sketches layout above, to my surprise the layouts came off okay and there was enough space to fit all the details inside.

Layout #1 :

I added the computer network layout to the borders of the design to give off a more technology feeling

Fig 2.4.1 Digital Layout #1 , Week 5 (10/25/2023)

Fig 2.4.2 Digital Layout Block for Layout #1 , Week 5 (10/25/2023)

Layout #2 :
I added an extension of lines to the alphabet "E" below and on top and two light grey round circles to it to balance off the white space on the left and right.

Fig 2.4.3 Digital Layout #2 , Week 5 (10/25/2023)

Fig 2.4.4 Digital Layout Block for Layout #2 , Week 5 (10/25/2023)

Layout #3 :

Similarly to Layout #1, I added computer networks in the design as well as two light grey circles to it.

Fig 2.4.5 Digital Layout #3 , Week 5 (10/25/2023)

Fig 2.4.6 Digital Layout Block for Layout #3 , Week 5 (10/25/2023)

After the feedback session from Ms Hsin, she shortlisted layout 1 and layout 3 as layout 2 feels too overdone. I tried a few different layouts by combining them together.

Fig 2.4.7 Layout #4 , Week 6 (10/31/2023)

I felt that the spacing between the body text and the title text is too big and needs fixing, hence i reduced the space between them and increased the paragraph spacing instead. I made a black border around them to hold the text better together.

Final editorial text layout JPEG ( Without Grid ) :

Fig 2.4.8 Final Layout jpeg , Without Grid , Week 6 (10/31/2023)

HEAD

Fonts : Univers LT STD 53 Extended (Headline) , Futura STD Bold (Byline)

Type Sizes : 62pt (Headline) , 12pt (Byline)

Leading : 64pt (Headline) , 14pt (Byline)

Paragraph Spacing : -

BODY

Fonts : Janson Text LT STD 55 Roman (Body Text) , Univers LT STD 65 Bold (Title)

Type Sizes : 9pt (Body Text) , 10pt (Title)

Leading : 11pt (Body Text) , 12pt (Caption)

Paragraph Spacing : 22pt

Characters per lined : 44 characters

Alignment : Justified Left

Margins : 12.7mm (top,left,right) , 12.7mm (bottom)

Columns : 3

Gutter : 5mm

Final editorial text layout PDF ( Without Grid ) :

Final editorial text layout JPEG ( With Grid ) :

Fig 2.4.8 Final Layout jpeg , With Grid , Week 6 (10/31/2023)

Final editorial text layout PDF ( With Grid ) :

3. Feedback

Week 6

General feedback : Avoid widows and orphans in our editorial text, kerning needs to be done to our text, design a type expression that does not sacrifice too much on readability.

Specific feedback : The layout for #2 is too complicated, not recommended to use. Instead the text expression for layout #1 and layout #3 is good, try to combine them together to create a new layout. Use black border to hold the text better.

4. Reflection

Experience

This project requires both the skills i learnt in project 1 (type expression) and project 2 (task formatting) together. I started off by researching online on how famous editorial magazines layout their texts and brainstormed at least 3 layouts. In this project, we were given little guidance on how to format our text as the main learning experience is for us to try to breakdown large texts and arrange them in such a way that it catches the reader's attention and that it is easy for them to process the meaning behind the text.

Observation

I realised that in the process of designing the headline word expression, many ideas may flood our mind but it is important to remember to not overdo the expression and make it too complicated. It is also good to have a various of layouts as during the feedback session, Ms Hsin suggested to combine 2 of my layouts together to come up with a new layout that is better than the ones i initially did. This helped me discover that in designing, great stuffs can be produced by merging two good ideas.

Findings

I found that during this task, the most important factor is effective communication to the users. It is vital to explore as many good layouts as possible to create a positive impact on our readers when reading. This task helped me to be even more aware of tiny details and how they can make an impact in the outcome of the final task.

Overall, with my understanding of task 1 , it helped me with this new task and eventually came out with a design that can effectively communicate to the users.

5. Further Reading

Fig 5.1 The Vignelli Canon by Massimo Vigenelli , Week 6 (11/2/2023)

I read about "Grids, Margins & Columns" chapter and learnt that grids provide the basic structure of any design and helps to organize content effectively as well as providing consistency.

Fig 5.2 Types of grids introduced , Week 6 (11/2/2023)

Grids for books

For the design of a book, the grid provides structure and continuity from cover to cover. According to the type of content, the grid can have columns and sub columns to organize the content. It is good practice to relate the grid to the majority of content. By structuring the grid accordingly the book will have a higher level of integrity than otherwise.

Fig 5.3 Grids for books , Week 6 (11/2/2023)

Grids are used not only in books but also in posters, magazines and newspapers everywhere, each with their own level of specificity but all of them follow the same concept - organizing information. One level of refinement is to plan our grid in such a way that the type and illustration follows the same exact grid.

In order to achieve that, a specific leading should be determined for the type area of each module so that it gives off great elegance to the printed page.

Fig 5.4 Grid examples , Week 6 (11/2/2023)

QUICK LINKS

Project 1 : Exercises

Project 3 : Type Design & Communication (Font Design)

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Winnie Ho (0364866)

Typography Project 2 -Typographic Exploration & Communication

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