(TYPOGRAPHY) Task 2: Typographic Exploration & Communication (Text Formatting and Expression)

27/5/2024 - 7/6/2024 (Week 6 - 7)
SUNG J XIN/ 0370139/ Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media
GCD 60104 TYPOGRAPHY

Task 2 - Typographic Exploration & Communication (Text Formatting and Expression)

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Lectures

Week 5: LETTERS

UNDERSTANDING LETTERFORMS

This uppercase letter forms below looks symmetrical when in reality they are not, because of the different stroke weights and unique arcs, and also the different widths of the slopes.

Fig. 1.0

The lowercase letter forms below share similar sans-serif typefaces; Helvetica and Univers, but the difference in the stems and bowls set the two apart.

Fig. 1.1

MAINTAINING X-HEIGHT

x-height = size of lowercase letterforms

Curved strokes must be above median to look like they are the same size as vertical and horizontal strokes.

Fig. 1.2

FORM/ COUNTERFORM

The space is described and often contained by the strokes of the form. When the letters are joined to form words, the counterform includes spaced between them.

How well you handle counters when setting type determines how easily we can read what's been set. 

Fig. 1.3

Examining the form in close detail provides a rewarding feeling to how the balance between form and counter is achieved and a sense of the letterform's unique characteristics.

Fig. 1.4

CONTRAST

Contrast is the most powerful dynamic in design. Simple contrasts produce many variations; small + organic/ large + machined, small + dark/ large light, and more.

Fig. 1.5

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Week 6: TYPOGRAPHY IN A DIFFERENT MEDIUM

In the past, typography was viewed as living only when it reached paper. Good typography and readability were the result of skilled typesetters and designers. 

Today, typography not only exists on paper, but on a multitude of screens as well. It is subject to many unknown parameters such as the operating system and system font.

PRINT TYPE

Type was originally intended for reading from print. 

The common typefaces used for print are Caslon, Garamond and Baskerville because their characteristics are elegant, intellectual and highly readable.

These typefaces are versatile and easy to digest which makes typesetting with it easy.

Fig. 1.6

SCREEN TYPE

Typefaces intended for the web are optimised and modified to enhance readability and performance on-screen. This includes taller x-height, wider letterforms, and more.

More open spacing is an important adjustment especially for typefaces in smaller sizes. This factor improves character recognition and readability in non-print environments, such as e-books.

HYPERACTIVE LINK/ HYPERLINK
A hyperlink is a word, phrase or image that you can click on to jump to a new section within the current document. Text hyperlinks are normally blue and underlined by default. 

FONT SIZE FOR SCREEN

Since we read books pretty close, the text is typically set at about 10 points. If we read books at an arm's length, it would be set at 12 points, which is about the same size as 16 pixels on most screens.

SYSTEM FONTS FOR SCREEN/ WEB-SAFE FONTS

Web-safe fonts are a small collection of fonts that appear across all operating systems from Windows to Mac to Google. 

These fonts include; Open Sans, Lato, Arial, Times New Roman, Times, Courier New, Courier, Verdana, Georgia, Palatino, Garamond.

PIXEL DIFFERENTIAL BETWEEN DEVICES

The screens used by our electronic devices are not only different sizes, but the text on-screen differs in proportion too because they have different sized pixels. 

STATIC TYPOGRAPHY

Static typography has minimal characteristics when expressing words.

From billboards to posters, magazines to fliers, the level of impression and impact they leave on the audience is closely knitted to their emotional connection with the viewers.

MOTION TYPOGRAPHY

Motion graphics, especially the brand identities of film and television production companies, contain animated type.

Typography has developed to become more expressive, and is often overlaid onto music videos and advertisements. This helps establish the tone or express a certain mood for the viewers.

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TASK 2: TYPOGRAPHIC EXPLORATION & COMMUNICATION (TEXT FORMATTING AND EXPRESSION)

Instructions

Fig. 2.0, MIB PDF

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Process Work

I was playing around with the fonts when Mr. Vinod suggested that I look at the works of Paula Scher, an American graphic designer, since I was going for a similar typographic style to hers.

I took note of some characteristics I like about her typography, such as the use of bold words and the placement of each word which is mostly perpendicular to each other.

Fig. 2.1, Works by Paula Scher

I went to work by playing around with the provided fonts in Illustrator and coming up with an initial design. I played around with the placement of each word and settled on this. 

Fig. 2.2, Initial Design (28/5/2024)

Then I went to InDesign to created a layout using that design. I didn't want to make a complicated text layout yet since this was just the initial design.

Fig. 2.3, Initial Layout Design (28/5/2024)

This received a positive reaction from Mr. Vinod after making sure that the sub-headline does not take as much space as the main headline.

I wanted to experiment more with the design and layout so I made some modifications and adjustments to the initial design that I thought would look cool.

   

Fig. 2.4, Experiment with New Design (4/6/2024)

This received some feedback mainly on the main headline because it was hard to read the word UNITE. I decided to focus on this word since it will be the main focus of this headline.

I went and played around with the fonts more making sure that the word UNITE will be the main focus of the headline. At the same time I wanted to put some emphasis on the other words as well.

Fig. 2.5, Process Work (13/6/2024)

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Final Design

Fig. 3.0, Final Design W/O Grids (14/6/2024)

Fig. 3.1, Final Design with Grids (14/6/2024)

Fig. 3.2, Final Design With and W/O Grids PDF (14/6/2024)

(SUB)HEADLINE

Font: Futura Std (Extra Bold Condensed)

Type Size: 14 pt

Leading: 17 pt

Paragraph Spacing: 0

BODY

Font: Adobe Caslon Pro (Semibold)

Type Size: 9 pt

Leading: 12 pt

Paragraph Spacing: 12 pt

Characters per line: 57

Alignment: Align Left

Margins: 12.7 mm (Top), 12.0mm (Left, Right, Bottom)

Columns: 2

Gutter: 5 mm

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Feedback

Week 6: (Personal Feedback)

• Sub-headline should not take a lot of space since it is not the main subject of the design. 
• I was recommended to look at Paula Scher's designs since I was going for a similar style to hers.

Week 7: (Personal Feedback)

• Put emphasis on the word UNITE by making the I longer while the other letters are on the side within the letter I. 
• Give more attention to the word instead of the details surround it.

Week 8: (Independent Learning Week)

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Reflections

Experience

This task allows us to use what we know from task 1 and apply it to a text layout. Additionally, we learnt how to design these text layouts from the tutorial lectures provided to us. Trying to create a design using the text options given to us is the difficult part, since the headline is the main focus of this task and we need to create a design based around it.

Not only that but the text formatting requires some attention as well since some parts of it are not readable from a distance and would require some adjustments such as kerning and leading.

Observations

Since the headline is the main focus of the layout, it needs to be easily readable to the viewer's eyes. There should be a proper direction of reading it especially when it's a complicated design. Choosing a word to put clear emphasis on will help paint a full picture on how you want the final design to look like.

Findings

I found this task to be quite difficult since it requires us to make proper use of the space in the page containing the text formatting. Once you finish the layout and look at it from a distance, and it doesn't look messy at all, then it's a good layout already.

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Further Readings

Fig. 4.0, A Type Primer (2nd Edition) by John Kane

Kinds of Proportion

• A designer's first consideration is the size and shape of the page.
• It is extremely useful to understand how the proportions we work with have evolved.
• These proportions are the result of direct observation of the world around us.

• The golden section: A relationship that occurs between two numbers when the ratio of the smaller to the larger is the same as the ratio of the larger to the sum of the two. The formula expressing this relationship is a : b = b : (a + b)
• This has existed as a model for proportion since classical times, mostly used by architects and visual artists to determine the composition at all scales.

• Fibonacci sequence: A sequence in which each number is the sum of the two preceding numbers: 0, 1, 1 [1 + 0], 2 [1 + 1], 3 [1 + 2], 5 [2 + 3].
• Nature is full of examples of the Fibonacci sequence and the golden section, for example, the intervals of the branches on a tree.

Type as Image and Information

• Many designers collect specimen books for the sheer purpose of admiring the type on paper.
• Specimen books offer an interesting design challenge because they present type as image and information.

• A broadside is another device that designers and printers used to acquaint their clients with their product.
• They serve the purpose of giving users the opportunity to see a typeface as real ink on real paper.