26/09/2023-16/10/23 (Week 1-Week 4)
Lizzie Tanaka (0362065)
Typography | BDCM | Taylor's University
Task 1 (Exercise 1-2)
LECTURES
Week 1: Introduction and Briefing
1. Introduction to Typography
Through this lecture, I was once again reminded about how typography is fundamental to any design area. However, it might be difficult at first since we are used to dealing with textual information and not visualizing text. Simply put, typography is the act of creating letters or typefaces that come in many forms. Typography is practiced by different people such as typesetters, designers, compositors, artists, and more. I also learned that calligraphy is more of a writing style while the lettering is more of drawing the letter. There are 2 terminologies that were taught which were font, referring to individual weights within a typeface family (regular, bold, italic, etc), and typeface, referring to an entire family of weights sharing similar styles (Georgia, Arial, etc). I also took note that our judgment is usually based on our own style and that we must learn the rules before learning to break them.
Outcome; I understood
- The importance of this Typography module
- New terminologies in typography
- That rules must be learned before it is broken
2. Development of Typography (Typo_1_Development)
In this lecture, I learned so much about the long history of type and alphabet. The lecture summarized the timeline of type. The early letterform development began from Phoenician letterforms when writing was scratching into wet clay or carving a stone. Only uppercase was used since it consisted of straight lines and circles, which was easier to create with the lack of tools. Phoenicians read from right to left and then the Greeks changed it by reading from right to left and left to right alternatively (boustrophedon). Here, I learned that the tool we are using heavily influences the type of writing that is created.
Then comes the hand script from the 3rd to 10th century C.E. which consisted of square capitals that had serifs added into the main strokes. An alternative version, the rustic capitals was created to fit more text on a page. In their daily life, people used cursive, a quicker version of uppercase letterforms, which would then be the beginning of lowercase forms. There were also uncials (smaller letters) which were more readable than rustic capitals and then half uncials with ascenders and descenders. Charlemagne (unifier of Europe) standardized calligraphy with upper and lowercase letterforms, capitalization, and punctuation through the work of a monk he entrusted. There were regional variations such as blackletter in northern Europe and a more rounded one in southern Europe while Italy had a more humanistic approach. Gutenberg changed the course of printing by using all his skills in engineering, metalsmithing, and chemistry to accurately mimic the work of a scribe's hand which was then printed as much as he wanted to.
I also learned about the origin of several typefaces which were digitalized and named after their original creators such as Garamond by Claude Garamond in 1531, Caslon by William Caslon in 1734, Baskerville by John Baskerville in 1761, Bodoni by Giambatista Bodoni in 1818, and more.
Aside from the history, I also learned the 9 types of classifications.
1. 1450 Blackletter (Northern Europe)
2. 1475 Oldstyle by Italian humanist scholars
3. 1500 Italics; complement Roman forms (sans serif version: Oblique)
4. 1550 Script; not appropriate in lengthy text
5. 1750 Traditional; refinement due to advances in casting and printing. Exaggerated relationship between thick and thin strokes.
6. 1775 Modern; extremely contrasting thick and thin strokes
7. 1825 Square Serif/Slab Serif; heavily bracketed with little relationship between thick and thin stroke
8. 1900 Sans Serif; eliminated brackets and serifs with humanist forms (Gill Sans) and a geometric form (Futura). Also referred to as grotesque and gothic
9. 1990 Serif/Sans Serif; include both serif and sans serif alphabets and stages between the two
Outcome: I understood
- The importance of learning the history of typography to get context.
- The history of type and the way it became what it is in the current modern day
- The 9 type classifications
- How tools influence what we create
Week 2: Typo3_Text Pt. 1
The lecture this week taught me about text. I learned several terminologies such as;
- Kerning: the automatic adjustment of the space between letters
- Tracking: the act of adding or removing of space between letters; normal, loose, tight tracking. Too loose or too tight of a tracking in a paragraph will decrease the readability.
- Leading: space between lines of text
The lecture also taught as about formatting or text alignment.
- Flush left (ragged right): Most common alignment since we write from left to right.
- Centered (ragged right and left): Symmetry and equal value on both ends of any line, not suitable for long paragraphs, preferably for small amount of texts.
- Flushed Right: can be used for captions or when the relationship between the text and the image is ambiguous and is used for small amount of texts.
- Justified: Needs to pay more attention to line breaks and hyphenations to fix 'rivers' of white space (spaces between the letterforms).
Ragging needs to be smooth in all alignments. Formatting text needs to be clear and is an appropriate presentation of the author's message. Expression is allowed but it needs to be clear and it takes practice to achieve a balance of both.
The main goal of text type is for easy prolonged reading achieved through:
1. Type size: Large enough to read easily at arms length
2. Leading: Too tight can make people lose their place in reading and too loose distracts the reader. To find the appropriate leading size: text size (pts) + 2/3 (pts) = leading size (pts)
3. Line length: Shorter lines require less reading. Longer lines impairs reading. Tip: keep between 55-65 characters
I also understood more about a type specimen book. It is a sample of a typeface used in various sizes to provide an accurate reference for type, type size, leading, line length, and more. Another tip I learned is that text should create a field that can occupy a page or screen. While dealing with type, it's good to zoom in by 400% to get a clear sense between the descenders and ascenders.
Week 3: Typo_4_Type pt. 2
In this week's lecture, I learned more about type such as to indicate paragraphs, things I should avoid in the long run, and how to highlight text.
A. Indicating paragraphs
- pilcrow symbol: available in most typefaces. Indicate paragraph spacing.
- maintaining cross alignment (line alignment across 2 columns): value for paragraph spacing = value of leading.
- line space: the descender of a sentence to another descender of another.
- leading: space between two sentences
Ideal indentation size is same size of the line spacing or the text point size. Best used on justified paragraphs, not on left/right alignment to avoid ragging on both ends.
B. WIDOWS N ORPHANS
- Widow: short line of type left alone at the end of a column of text
- Orphan: short line of type left alone in the beginning of a column of text (starting a new column with the last line of the previous column).
- Solution to widows: rebreak line endings throughout paragraph so that the last line is not so noticeable. Using false line break or change the kerning only +- 3 pts.
C. HIGHLIGHTING TEXT
- italics for information
- increase the boldness
- change the typeface and increase boldness (might want to reduce the point size of text)
- change the color of the text: black, cyan, magenta, yellow
- can reduce point size for numerals by reducing it 0.5 pt as sometimes numbers follow the capital height instead of the x-height.
- prime for inches n feet is different from quotation marks.
Indicate clearly for text hierarchy.
- A heads (headlines): using bold weight, bigger size, different type family, using small capitals
- B heads (sub ordinate to headline): spacing is following the leading size
- C heads (sub ordinate to B heads): highlight specific parts of materials within B head text. shown in small caps, italics, serif bold, sans serif bold.
D. Cross Alignment
- cross align headlines and captions with text type reinforces the structure sense of the page.
- double the leading of the headline/caption from the leading of the text paragraph.
Week 4:
Typo_2_Basic
In this week's lecture, Mr Vinod explained a lot about describing letterforms, typefaces and just about typefaces in general. Below is the terminologies to describe letterforms:
> Baseline: Imaginary line in the visual base of the letterforms
> Median: imaginary line defining the x-height of letterforms.
> X-height: the height in any typeface of the lowercase 'x'
> Median: imaginary line defining the x-height of letterforms.
> X-height: the height in any typeface of the lowercase 'x'
Fig 1.1 Parts of a letterforms (22/10/2023)
> Apex/vertex: point created by joining 2 diagonal stems such as 'A' 'V'. Apex is at the top, vertex is at the bottom
> Arm: short strokes off the stem of the letterform
> Ascender: Portion of the stem of a lowercase letterform that goes above the median.
Fig 1.2 Ascender (22/10/2023)
Fig 1.3 Barbs (22/10/2023)
Fig 1.4 Beaks (22/10/2023)
Fig 1.5 Bowls (22/10/2023)
> Cross bar: horizontal stroke connecting two stem
> Cross stroke: horizontal stroke in a letterform joining two stems together
Fig 1.6 Cross Stroke (22/10/2023)
Fig 1.7 Crotch (22/10/2023)
Fig 1.8 Descenders (22/10/2023)
Fig 1.9 Ears (22/10/2023)
> Finial: Rounded non serif to a stroke
Fig 1.10 Finials (22/10/2023)
Fig 1.11 Legs (22/10/2023)
Fig 1.12 Ligatures (22/10/2023)
Fig 1.13 Links (22/10/2023)
> Shoulders: curved strokes that is not a part of the bowl
> Spine: curved stem of 'S'
> Spur: extension articulating the junction of the curved and rectilinear stroke
Fig 1.14 Spurs (22/10/2023)
> Stress: orientation of the letterform, indicated by the thin strokes in round forms.
Fig 1.15 Stress (22/10/2023)
Fig 1.16 Swashes(22/10/2023)
> Terminal: finish of a stroke without a serif
A typeface family includes 26 alphabets, numerals, punctuations. We must work with a full font and know how to use it to be successful. Always choose a type family with variety of weights/fonts.
The Font
- Lowercase, uppercase, small caps (capitals on x-height)
AI generated/force small caps is not recommended as it can thin out the strokes
- Uppercase numerals and lowercase numerals (equal to x-height)
- Italics (based on Italian cursive) and Obliques (based on roman forms)
- Punctuation and miscellanous characters
- Ornaments; flourishes usually found in invitations or certificates
Describing Typefaces
- Roman: from Roman monuments' inscriptions. Thinner strokes known as Book
- Italics: from Italian cursive, obliques are from roman form
- Boldface: thicker stroke than a roman
- Light: lighter stroke than a roman
- Condensed: condensed variation of a roman
- Extended: extended variation of a roman
A good typeface is somewhat ambiguous and is able to fit all situations. We always have to pick a typeface that can present the message.
INSTRUCTIONS
A.1. Task 1 Exercise - Type Expression
For task 1, we were asked to choose 4 words that we would be using for our type expression. After that, we have to do some research on our ideas and explore by sketching our own ideas. The goal is to express the word just by using typefaces provided. By the end of week 1, I chose the 4 words which were; huge, shock, dive, and windy. In week 2, our sketches are given feedback to improve again and to get approval for digitization process. In week 3, we get more feedbacks on our digitized sketches and finalize it.
Process Work
1. Research
I began my work with researching on various examples of type expression in Pinterest.
Fig 2.1 Research (26/09/23)
I came up with a compilation of type expression works that inspired me. I was looking to modify the spacing between letters and change the position of each letter to express the words I chose. I wanted to avoid ideas that require distortion to the letterforms as much as possible, so I wanted to focus on the letter spacing and position as well as different sizes. For some words such as 'windy' and 'dive,' I looked up pictures that show their movement where their characteristics are shown. For example, 'dive' has a direction that goes top to bottom.
Next comes my sketch and ideas.
A. Shock
Fig 2.2 Sketch for 'shock' (03/10/23)
For the word 'shock,' I wanted to emphasize on the O being abnormally huge in comparison to the other letters. The sudden increase and decrease in the size creates a surprising element. For the font used, I decided to use a sans serif in bold styles, if possible in condensed so that the O does not take too much space in the middle. The O should be big enough to touch the top and bottom borders of the artboard, but enough space should be left to position the rest of the alphabets. Using an extended or roman style would make the O too wide and thus leave no space for the other alphabets. All three ideas of the word 'shock' is similar in terms of highlighting the 'O,' however, I tried to play with the positioning. In the first sketch, I wanted the word to start from the top left, as if starting a sentence and it suddenly became huge during the 'O' letter. The second sketch was a little different in the positioning of the other letters beside O by scattering them. The third one is where I put the O in the center to highlight it even more and made it look like it is squishing the other letters. The last sketch was the one chosen to be digitised.
B. Huge
Fig 2.3 Sketch for 'huge' (03/10/2023)
For the word 'huge,' I decided that the word should entirely fill the artboard with as little white space left around it. The idea was to use a thick and bold font style in sans serif such as Gill Sans, Futura, or Univers as well as to avoid using condensed fonts. All the letters should touch the borders of the artboards. Similarly, the three ideas have the same goal; fill up the artboard. The first sketch was simply to fill the artboard with the text itself, leaving very little space. In the second sketch, I tried an idea where the letters are overlapping each other and some parts go outside of the artboard, as if the artboard cannot contain its size. For the last one, I tried using a more condensed sans serif style where the word will fill up the artboard. The first sketch was the one approved for digitisation.
C. Dive
Fig 2.4 Sketch for 'dive' (03/10/23)
For the word 'dive,' my main goal is to show how the letters are seemingly falling down and I wanted the 'E' to look like it was sinking. In the first sketch, I wanted the 'i' to look as if it is about to jump, with the dot above it already falling first. For the second sketch, I wanted to depict how the letters are slowly falling down with the 'E' sinking. The third sketch is quite similar to the second one, however the 'D' is facing upwards before all the letters slowly starts to face downwards. The 'D' facing upwards is to show how people usually jump upwards first before facing down. The font I had in mind for this one was a bold sans serif. The third sketch was the one approved.
D. Windy
Fig 2.5 Sketch for 'windy' (03/10/2023)
In the word 'windy,' I was attempting to show the wind movements through the difference in spacing between the letters. For this word, the font I had in mind was an italic serif font such as ITC Garamond or Caslon. In the first sketch, I wanted to make the letters seem like it is flying away due to the wind, also playing with the different spacing and the decreasing size the further it goes. The second sketch is also to show the wind movements by increasing the spacing between letters as well as more rotation to each letter. In the third sketch, I also tried to show the movement by putting the first and last letters a little over the artboard and increasing the spacing of the letters. At the end, the 2nd sketch was the one approved.
2. Digitization
a. Shock
Font: Futura Heavy
Arranging the letters were quite simple, however I struggled the most in the spacing of the letters. The 'H' and 'U' had no gaps but the 'G' and 'E' had a gap in between which made the overall look weird. My sketch had no gaps in between them so I tried my best to follow it. However, after experimenting, I decided to add gaps in between the 'H' and 'U' as well. In the final result, I altered the space so that it will be the same and modified the end of the 'G' so that it sticks to the artboard.
Fig 3.2 Digital Exploration for 'Huge' (03-10/10/23)
I initially began to arrange according to the sketch but I modified the sizes, I thought that if I started with a smaller size and gradually increasing it, it will create more movement. I also used Univers Black Extended. However, I felt like there was too much white space if I use that font so I tried changing it to a more condensed font with Univers Bold Condensed. I was also advised by my lecturer to compose the letters in a way that it looks like each letter is 'pushing' the other letter. In the end, I decided to move the 'E' to the bottom right corner of the artboard so that the movement is smoother and to highlight the sinking effect more. In the final result, I used clipping mask to cut away to bottom part of the 'E'.
I began with arranging the letters according to my sketch. I kept the letters to go a little over the guideline. However, I felt like it was too rigid and so I tried moving the 'd' and 'y' downwards. The 'w' and 'i' are also a little tilted to the right. The goal is that each letter will be more tilted as it goes. Another detail I put is the dot for the 'i' that I separated and moved it a little to the right as if it's also been blown away by the wind.
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A.2. Task 1 Exercise 2: Type Animation
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2. Final Result
FEEDBACKS
REFLECTIONS
FURTHER READING
For this week's further reading, I read the same book from week 1. This week I read about reinforcing meaning from page 64-69. I thought that reading this would give me more knowledge about type expression.
Fig 3.1 Digital Exploration for 'Shock' (03/10/23)
b. Huge
Font: Gill Sans Std in Ultra Bold Condensed
c. Dive
Font: Univers in Bold Condensed
Fig 3.3 Digital Exploration for 'Dive' (03-10/10/23)
d. Windy
Font: ITC Garamond in Book Narrow and Book Narrow Italic
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Fig 3.4 Digital Exploration for 'Windy' (03/10/23)
E. Final result
Fig 3.5 Final Result for Type Expression (10/10/23)
For exercise 2, we were tasked to create a simple motion in Adobe Photoshop from 1 of our type expression work in which I chose to do 'huge.'
1. Process Work
For my motion, I decided it will zoom in on the word 'huge,' right in the middle and then turn all black before the GIF replays. This was my initial idea. I was also advised to begin the motion by assembling the letters to the center first and then zooming in the middle and turn all black. At the end, I decided to go with my initial idea because I wanted my motion to be straightforward.
I began by creating artboards in Adobe Illustrator and manually moved the word to its position. After that I imported the JPEG to Adobe Photoshop and began making the motion.
Fig 4.1 Frames in Adobe Illustrator (10/10/2023)
Fig 4.2 Motion process in Adobe Photoshop (10/10/2023)
Fig 4.3 Motion process in Adobe Photoshop (10/10/2023)
Fig 4.4 Motion process in Adobe Photoshop (10/10/2023)
2. Final Result
Final work of type motion after being exported as GIF.
Fig 4.5 Final Work (10/10/2023)
B.1 Exercise 2 Text Formatting
For this exercise, we are practicing tracking and kerning using our names and the ten fonts in InDesign.
1. Tracking and Kerning Process Work
a. Bembo Std
Fig 5.1 Bembo (18/10/2023)
For Bembo Std, I chose the regular weight and wrote my name in all caps. I decreased the tracking a bit and kern several letters such as the IE and the TA.
b. ITC Garamond Std
Fig 5.2 Garamond (18/10/2023)
For ITC Garamond, I decided on the Light narrow italic weight and also modified the tracking and kerning so that some letters would touch each other.
c. Janson Text LT Std
Fig 5.3 Janson (18/10/2023)
d. Adobe Caslon Pro
Fig 5.4 Adobe Caslon Pro (18/10/2023)
I decided to use uppercase and lowercase alphabets and decreased the tracking as well as modified the kerning.
e. ITC New Baskerville Std
Fig 5.5 ITC New Baskerville (18/10/2023)
For Baskerville, I chose to distance the letters from each other and wrote my name in lowercase alphabets only.
f. Bodoni Std
Fig 5.6 Bodoni (18/10/2023)
I chose the poster compressed font for Bodoni, since I think it is a unique take amongst the serif typeface I used on the first 5.
g. Serifa Std
Fig 5.7 Serifa (18/10/2023)
I decided to use the thin weights of Serifa. When slab serif comes to mind, I always think of heavy weight, bold fonts so I chose the thinner weights of Serifa just to do things a little different than what I had in mind. To add variation, I also made the 'ZZ' and the 'A's in italic.
h. Futura Std
Fig 5.8 Futura (18/10/2023)
For Futura, I decided to go with the heavier weight and used both lowercase and uppercase alphabets.
i. Gill Sans Std
Fig 5.9 Gill Sans (18/10/2023)
With Gill Sans, I chose their bold and compressed weight, since I've always thought of wide, bold letterforms when hearing about Gill Sans. So I decided to go with their compressed and altered the tracking.
j. Univers Lt Std
Fig 5.10 Univers (18/10/2023)
As for Univers, I decided to use a classic regular weight for this sans serif, since for the other 2 sans serif, I already used their heavier weight. To add variation, I made the 'A's italic.
2. Final Result
Fig 5.11 Final with tracking and kerning (18/10/2023)
Fig 5.12 Without tracking and kerning (18/10/2023)
Fig 5.13 Comparison of before and after kerning and tracking (18/10/2023)
Fig 5.14 Final result in JPEG (18/10/2023)
B.2. Text Formatting
1. Process Work
For the second part of exercise 2, we were asked to make an editorial layout using a demo text provided with the 10 fonts. In this exercise, I chose the 'I am Helvetica' text. To begin, I made 4 layouts. Three of them has texts that used up 2 columns and the last used 1 column each.
Fig 6.1 Layouts (19/10/2023)
All of the layouts are done using Univers typeface family, with Univers bold and also Univers Regular as the headline and Univers Regular in 9pt as the body text. Every one of them is with 5mm gutter and 4 columns in A4 template. In the end, I went with the 4th layout as I think it had a straightforward direction of reading and I personally prefer the emphasized title.
I first ensured everything was cross aligned. To do this, I used the baseline grid to see if everything is aligned. I made sure the increment is at 11pt, which is equal to my leading and paragraph spacing. I also changed the offset of the text frame to leading instead of ascent.
Fig 6.2 Before and after cross alignment (20/10/2023)
With the text being cross aligned, I went on to refine the widows and began modifying the kerning to reduce the ragging. The text does not have any orphans to begin with.
Fig 6.3 Before and after kerning and refining widows (20/10/2023)
In class (24/10/2023), Ms Hsin advised me to horizontally align the author name to the baseline of 'I AM' and vertically align it to the 'E'. I was also advised to add a description to my picture, but since my image is just for decorative purposes, I decided not to. Lastly, I checked if my title is aligned to the baseline.
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Fig 6.4 Before and after aligning the author name (24/10/2023)
Fig 6.5 Final result of text formatting (PDF) (W5 24/10/2023)
Fig 6.6 Final result in JPEG (W5 24/10/2023)
HEAD
Font/s: Univers LT Std 55 Roman
Type Size/s: 137
Leading: 139
Paragraph spacing: 139
Font/s: Univers LT Std 55 Roman
Type Size/s: 137
Leading: 139
Paragraph spacing: 139
BODY
Font/s: Univers LT Std 55 Roman
Type Size/s: 9pt
Leading: 11pt
Paragraph spacing: 11pt
Characters per-line: around 55-65
Alignment: Left alignment
Font/s: Univers LT Std 55 Roman
Type Size/s: 9pt
Leading: 11pt
Paragraph spacing: 11pt
Characters per-line: around 55-65
Alignment: Left alignment
Margins: 12,7mm top, 12,7mm left + 12,7mm right + 12,7mm bottom
Columns: 4
Gutter: 5mm
Columns: 4
Gutter: 5mm
FEEDBACKS
Week 2:
General Feedback
- Sketch photo under the sun or use CamScanner
- Sketch inside an artboard
- Have a date on every image (sketch) along with description on sketches
- Number your sketches
- Draw according to the 10 fonts
Specific Feedback
- Sketch more precisely, according to the font you have in mind.
Week 3:
General Feedback
- Include date and figure numbers in photos
Specific Feedback
- Can try to highlight the gaps of the word 'huge' by making the letters come in the middle first and then zooming in (type motion).
Week 4:
General Feedback
General Feedback
- Don't embed pictures in google drive for progress photos and sketches, only for final results.
Specific Feedback:
- So far so good, can continue to exercise 2
Week 5
General Feedback
- The typeface that we choose for our text formatting should also be able to communicate the message of our content.
Specific Feedback
- Align the author name horizontally to the baseline of 'I AM' and vertically to the 'E' of 'Helvetica.' Maybe add a description to the image. It's a unique take on pushing the title almost out of the page. There are no orphans or widows, ragging is okay, everything is aligned well.
REFLECTIONS
Experience
I like that most of our tasks are done during classes, in practical sessions. Lectures are self learned through Youtube videos, which helps me a lot in understanding and grasping the material since I can watch it in my own speed. Every week, our e-portfolios are looked through and we are given feedbacks on improving it. This goes the same to our weekly progress, in which we get helpful critiques. Doing most of our work in class gives us the chance to ask for help immediately when we are facing a problem. I also experienced little difficulty in using Indesign since it was my first time, it takes time to get used to some different shortcuts. It was interesting to study typography in detail such as the history and formatting text which most people tend to ignore.
Observation
I observed that when doing my sketches and researching, I was able to explore more creative ideas and the development of it. While doing task 2, I observed that attention to detail is a must in dealing with text. It might not seem like much at a glance, but small details such as kerning to reduce ragging really helps in readability. I find that further reading is also important to add more insight to typography.
Findings
I found that documenting the process and changes during my work is something I need to improve in, because I tend to forget the changes I deem insignificant. I also found that it is a little difficult for me to write about my process work in great detail, I think it is something I need to practice and experience more. Besides these, I find that sketching beforehand really helped me when during the digitization process since I'm not entirely clueless. I also found that time management in this course is important since we all have to be on track each week.
FURTHER READING
Fig 7.1 A Type Primer by John Kane (2002)
Reference:
Kane, J. (2002). The type primer. (2). Laurence King Publishing.
WEEK 1:
This week, I read "A Type Primer" by John Kane, specifically the 1st chapter consisting of the basics. I decided to read the first 3 sections which were; Describing Letterforms, The Font, and Describing Typeface. To summarize what I've learned, here is a list:
- Kane listed 32 descriptions of letterforms such as ascenders, descenders, spurs, stress, barb, finial, and more.
- There are 8 parts that make up a font;
a. Lowercase
b. Uppercase
c. Small capitals; capitals with the x-height size
d. Uppercase numerals; equal height to uppercase
e. Lowercase numerals; set to x-height with ascenders and descenders
f. Punctuation and miscellaneous characters
g. Italics
h. Dingbats (typically a separate typeface)
- There are 6 terminologies to describe typefaces;
a. Roman — basic letterform style, usually lowercase. The thinner version is called book.
b. Italics — referring to Italian cursive. Oblique is based on Roman letterforms
c. Light — lighter stroke of Roman, a lighter one is known as thin
d. Boldface — thicker stroke of Roman. Other names include semibold, medium, black, extra bold, black, poster, etc.
e. Condensed — condensed letterforms of Roman, extreme ones are known as compressed.
f. Extended — extended version of Roman letterforms
WEEK 2:
Fig 7.2 A Type Primer by John Kane (2002) pg. 64-69
I learn that simple choices can highlight the concept, action, objects even more. The author gave examples by using only 1 weight of 1 typeface and played around with the positioning and the sizes. Meaning of each word can also be represented through different placements in the artboard and even covering some parts of the word can put meaning too. Other ways to suggest the meaning of words can be done by breaking the letters apart or repeating the words (rhythm).
WEEK 3:
Fig 7.3 A Type Primer by John Kane (2002) pg. 70-79
For this week's further reading, I read the chapter about text from page 70-79. The author discusses the different ways text can be composed to be expressive yet still readable.
a. Making sentences more expressive through type play; changing the size, weight, and placement of words.
b. Set the text but keep in mind that Latin alphabet reads left to right. Quality of line depends on the size and weight of the typeface and the gray value of the typeface, as well as the leading.
c. Placement of type; balance between distinctive composition and readability. More interesting composition does not guarantee accessibility.
d. Readers comprehension increases when it's easier to scan the text meaning fewer visual distractions. Shorter texts gives more chances for expressive composition.
e. Highlighting meaning through interesting arrangement of type is possible, but always consider the content and the reader.
Choosing appropriate typeface by the content of text depends on:
- tone of author voice
- period of the text written
- intended audience
Tip: Never use a typeface that is too distinctive so that the reader does not have to see the effects of the type itself before reading the content.
Examining syntax.
- Break short texts up to make it more expressive.
- Irregular rags sometimes should be avoided in longer text settings.
Finding core message.
- Highlight by:
> Changing weight or size of typeface (italic is not recommended since it does not create enough contrast with the roman letterforms).
- Combine scale and structure (use different typefaces, sizes, weights, and explore structures).
WEEK 4:
Fig 7.4 A Type Primer by John Kane (2002) pg. 90-93)
This week, I read about tracking, kerning, and letterspacing to support my process in doing the first part of exercise 2. Here is what I learned:
- Kerning is done mostly in letterforms with angled strokes
- The goal of kerning is to make the word/sentence remain optically consistent.
- Even the best tracking would sometimes require minor adjustments
- Tip: when dealing with bigger size text (>24pt) it can help to tighten the tracking
- Always maintain easy reading
- Letterspacing lowercase letters is not recommended since they are not created to stand alone, unlike uppercase letters.
Week 5:
Fig 7.5 A Type Primer by John Kane (2002) pg. 138-143 about columnar layouts
I decided to read about columnar layouts for this week's further reading to give me more insight about text formatting in task 2. Here is what I understood:
- Columnar layouts help maintain manageable line length and allow white space other than the margin area.
- Always keep in mind the relationship between type size, leading and line length.
- Some columnar layout allow other narrower field for secondary information such as the 5 column layout, it allows 2 fields for text and a third narrow field for secondary information.
- Horizontal layouts allow for wider fields of text, supporting sustained reading more comfortably.
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