Typography Task 1 / Exercises

23.09.2024 -21.10.2024 (Week 1- Week 5)

Emily Ong Su Yu / 0365304   

Typography / Bachelor of Design in Creative Media

Task (Exercises / Task)

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Lectures

2. Instructions

3. Process Work

4. Feedbacks

5. Further Reading

6. Reflections

Typography Task 1 / Exercises

Lectures

Week 1: Development

Introduction

• Typography: The art and technique of arranging type to make different language legible, readable and appealing.
• Calligraphy: The style we write.
• Lettering: The form we draw out.
• Font: The individual font or weight within the typeface.
• Typeface: The entire family of fonts/weights that share similar characteristics / styles.

The Development of Typography Over a Period of Time 500

Early Letterform Development: Phoenician to Roman

Figure 1.1.1 Early Letterform Development

1. Phoenician (1000 B.C.E.): Scratch into wet clay with sharpened stick or carve into stone with a chisel. Simple combination of straights lines and pieces of circles.

Figure 1.1.2 4th Century B.C.E.

2. Greek (900 B.C.E.): Phoenicians read from right to left, Greeks read alternately from right to left and left to right.

Figure 1.1.3 Writing Style, 'boustrophedon'.

3. Roman  (100 B.C.E.): Etruscan carvers work in marble painted letterforms before inscribing them. The weight of letters changed in weight from vertical to horizontal, a broadening of the stroke at start and finish.

Figure 1.1.4 Late 1st century B.C.E., Augustan inscription in the Roman Forum, Rome.

Hand Script from 3rd - 10th Century C.E.

4. Square Capitals: Found in Roman monuments. Letterforms have serifs added to the finish of the main strokes.

Figure 1.1.5 4th or 5th century: Square Capitals.

5. Rustic Capitals: Compressed version of square capitals. Many words on a sheet of parchment. Took far less time to write but harder to read.

Figure 1.1.6 Late 3rd-mid 4th century: Rustic capitals.

6. Uncials: Roman cursive hand, simply as small letters. More readable at small sizes that rustic capitals.

Figure 1.1.7 4th-5th century: Uncials.

7. Half-uncials : Mark the formal beginning of lowercase letterforms. Replete with ascenders and descenders.

Figure 1.1.8 C. 500: Half-uncials.

8. Caloline miniscule: Charlemagne, first unifier of Europe rewrote the texts using both majuscules (uppercase), miniscule, capitalisation and punctuation. Set the standard for calligraphy for a century.

Figure 1.1.9 C. 900: Caloline miniscule.

Blackletter to Gutenberg's type

9. Blackletter (Textura): This strong vertical letterform gained popularity in northern Europe.

Figure 1.1.10 C. 1300: Blackletter (Textura).

10. Rotunda: This rounder more open hand gained popularity in the south.

Text Type Classification

1. 1450 Blackletter: The earliest painting type, its forms were based upon the hand copying styles that were them used for books in northern Europe.

Figure 1.2.1 1450 Blackletter.

2. 1475 Oldstyle: The forms evolves away from the Italian humanist scholars calligraphic origins over 200 years.

Figure 1.2.2 1475 Oldstyle.

3. 1500 Italic: All typefaces have been designed with accompanying italic forms.

Figure 1.2.3 1500 Italic.

4. 1500 Script: Originally and attempt to replicate engraved calligraphic forms.

Figure 1.2.4 1500 Script.

5. 1750 Transitional: A refinement of oldstyle forms. Thick to thin relationships were exaggerated, and brackets were lightened.

Figure 1.2.5 1750 Transitional.

6. 1750 Modern: Represents a further rationalisation of oldstyle letterforms. Serifs were unbracketed, and the contrast between thick and thin strokes extreme.

Figure 1.2.6 1750 Modern.

7. 1825 Square Serif / Slab Serif: Originally heavily bracketed serif, with little variation between thick and thin strokes. After evolved, the brackets were dropped.

Figure 1.2.7 1825 Square Serif / Slab Serif.

8. 1900 Sans Serif: These typefaces eliminated serifs altogether.

Figure 1.2.8 1900 Sans Serif.

9. 1990 Serif / Sans Serif: This style enlarges the notion of a family of typefaces to include both serif and sans serif alphabets.

Week 2: Basic

Describing Letterforms

Figure 2.1.1 Basic letterforms.

1. Baseline: The imaginary line the visual base of the letterforms.
2. Median: The imaginary line defining the x-height of letterforms.
3. X-height: The height in any typeface of the lowercase 'X'.
4. Stroke: Any line that defines the basic letterform.
5. Apex / Vertex: The point created by joining two diagonal stems (apex above and vertex below).
6. Arm: Short strokes off the stem of the letterform, either horizontal (E,F,L) or inclined upward (K,Y).
7. Ascender: The portion of the stem of a lowercase letterform that projects above the median.
8. Barb: The half-serif finish on some curved stroke.
9. Bowl: The rounded form that describes a counter. The bowl may be either open or closed.
10. Bracket: The transition between the serif and the stem.
11. Cross Bar: The horizontal stroke in a letterform that joins two stem together.
12. Crotch: The interior space where two strokes meet.
13. Ear: The stroke extending out from the main stem or body of the letterform.
14. Em / en: The distance equal to the size of the typeface and en is half the size of an em.
15. Finial: The rounded non-serif terminal to a stroke.
16. Ligature: The character formed by the combination of two or more letterforms.
17. Spur: The extension the articulates the junction of the curved and rectilinear stroke.
18. Stress: The orientation of the letterform, indicated by the thin stroke in round forms.
19. Swash: The flourish that extends the stroke of the letterform.
20. Terminal: The self-contained finish of a stroke without a serif.

The Font

Uppercase, Lowercase, Boldface and Light

Figure 2.2.1 Uppercase. 

Figure 2.2.2 Lowercase.

Figure 2.2.3 Boldface.

Figure 2.2.4 Light.

1. Italic: Refer to fifteenth century Italian cursive handwriting, oblique are typically based on the roman form of the typeface.

Figure 2.2.5 Italic font.

2. Roman: Refer to fifteenth century Italian cursive handwriting, oblique are typically based on the roman form of the typeface.

Figure 2.2.6 Roman font.

Italic vs Roman font

Figure 2.2.7 Italic vs Roman font.

Week 3: Text / Tracking Part 1

Tracking: Kerning and Letterspacing

1. Kerning: Means the automatic adjustment of space between letters.

Figure 3.1.1 Without and with kerning.

2. Letterspacing: Means to add space between the letters.

Figure 3.1.2 Without and with letterspacing.

3. Tracking: Means the addition and removal of space in a word or sentence.

Figure 3.1.3 Tracking.

Formatting Text

1. Flush left: Each line starts at the same point but ends wherever the last word on the line ends. Spaces between words are consistent throughout the text.

Figure 3.2.1 Flush left, Ragged right.

2. Centered: Symmetry upon the text, assigning equal value and weight to both ends of any line.

Figure 3.2.2 Centered, Ragged right and left.

3. Flush right: Emphasis on the end of a line as opposed to its start.

Figure 3.2.3 Flush right, Ragged left.

4. Justified: Symmetrical shape on the text, expanding or reducing spaces between words and letters. Occasionally produce 'rivers' of white space running vertically through the text.

Figure 3.2.4 Justified.

Texture

1. Type with  generous x-height or heavy stroke width produces a darker mass on the page compare with smaller x-height or lighter stroke. 

2. Sensitivity to these differences in colour create successful layouts.

Figure 3.3.1 Texture.

Leading and Line Length

1. Type size: Should be large to be read easily.

2. Leading: Not too tightly and loosely to be read easily.

3. Line length: Shorter lines require less leading; longer lines more.

Week 4: Text / Tracking Part 2

Indicating Paragraphs

1. 'pilcrow' (¶): A symbol in most typefaces, was used in text to indicate paragraph space.

2.  'line space': Ensures cross-alignment across columns of text, if the line space is 12pt, then the paragraph space is 12pt.

Line space vs Leading

Figure 4.1.1 Line space vs Leading.

Widows and Orphans

1. Widow: Short line of type left alone at the end of a column of text.

2. Orphan: Short line of type left alone at the start of new column.

Solution to Widows and Orphans 

• For widows, rebreak the line endings through out the paragraph so that the last libe of any paragraph is not noticeably short.
• For orphans, require more care as careful typography make sure that no column of text starts with the last line of the preceding paragraph.

Highlighting Text

1. Italic

Figure 4.2.1 Italic Text.

2. Bold and Colour

Figure 4.2.2 Bold and Coloured Text.

3. Quotation Marks

Figure 4.2.3 Quotation Marks Text.

Headline within Text

1. 'Head A': Head indicates a clear break between the topic within a section.

Figure 4.3.1 'Head A'.

2. 'Head B': Not interrupt the text strongly as 'Head A'. Head indicates a new supporting argument or example for the topic at hand.

Figure 4.3.2 'Head B'.

3. 'Head C': Not materially interrupt the flow of reading. Head shown in small caps, italics, serif bold and san serif bold.

Figure 4.3.3 'Head C'.

Cross Alignment

Cross aligning headlines and captions with text type reinforces the architectural sense of the page and the structure.

Figure 4.3.4. Four lines of caption type (leaded 9pts.) cross align with three lines of text type (leaded to 13.5pts).

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Instructions

Task 1 Exercises 1 - Type Expression

We had given words to compose and express which are tangle, pull, wind, explode, rush and chop. After selecting the ideas, we will chose four out of six and be given a set of 10 typefaces to work with in digitisation phase. We need show the meaning of the words through the arranging of typeface with 10 fonts for Typography: Adobe Caslon Pro, Bembo Std, Bodoni Std, Futura Std, Gill Sans Std, ITC Garamond Std, ITC New Baskerville Std, Janson Text LT Std, Serifa Std and Univers LT Std.

Process Work

Exercises 1 - Type Expression

References

Sketches

I accidentally used other section chosen four words which are sleep, cry, swirl and climb.

Figure 5.1 Sketches#1.

Figure 5.2 Sketches#2.

Progress

I define the meaning of the words and try to designed them using the fonts provided in Adobe Illustrator.

Tangle

Definition: The resting state in which the body is not active and the mind is unconscious.

Pull

Definition: To produce tears as the result of a strong emotion, such as unhappiness or pain.

Wind

Definition: To move quickly with a twisting, circular movement, or to make something do this.

Chop

Definition: To go up, or to go towards the top of something.

Explode

Definition: To break up into pieces violently, or to cause something to do this.

Rush

Definition: To (cause to) go or do something very quickly.

Figure 6.1 Typefaces.

Figure 6.2 Digital Sketches#1.

Figure 6.3 Digital Sketches#2.

Figure 6.4 Digital Sketches#3.

After receiving feedback from Mr Vinod, I modify the words. Firstly, I changed the direction of the word 'Chop' by slightly rotating it. Next, I remove the useless line I added in the word 'Tangle' as they did not link to the meaning of tangle. Thirdly, I modify the 'U' shape in the word 'Pull' to present it in a better composition instead of stretching it. Lastly, I enlarged the word 'Explode' to let it sit well in the square area.

Final Type Expressions

Figure 7.1 Final Type Expressions - JPEG

Figure 7.2 Final Type Expressions - PDF

Final Animating Type Expressions

I came up with an idea which is represent the meaning 'Pull' by 'pulling' the letter U down and the letter P and L drop down. It is like a trigger the trigger. I also added a little bouncy for the letter P and L when they drop on the ground to make it more fun.

Figure 8.1 First Try Animating Type Expressions.

Producing Animation Frame

Figure 8.2 Producing Animation Frames.

Figure 8.3 Final Animating Type Expressions.

After observing the animation and receiving feedback from Mr Vinod, I learnt to add pause to certain part in the animation to make the animation smooth. Besides that, I learn to add filter such as blur motion to letter P and L to increase the feeling of dropping down from the top.

Exercises 2 - Formatting Text

In this exercise, we are required to edit a file name 'I AM HELVETICA' by John Doe through Adobe InDesign with proper type choice, type-size, leading, line-length, paragraph spacing, forced-line-break, alignment, kerning, widows and orphans and cross-alignment.

Tutorial Video

Before starting the exercise, I did the minor exercises in the videos provided by Mr Vinod to increase my familiarity and capability with Adobe Indesign and develop my knowledge of information hierarchy and spatial arrangement.

Text Formatting Video 1:4

• Press option + left arrow to minimise the space between letters.
• Preferences -> Units and increments for smaller space.
• Press option + right arrow for general tracking.

Figure 9.1.1 Kerning & Tracking Exercise.

Text Formatting Video 2:4

• Layout -> Margins and Columns.
• Point size within A4 and A3 generally between 8 to 12 points.
• Press paragraph to control the space between paragraph.
• Press W to remove the lines.
• Leading and paragraph spacing be the same (Unit= pt).
• Number of characters in one row 55 to 65 (Press info to see).

Figure 9.1.2 Final Text Formatting Exercise.

References

Sketches

Progress

Figure 9.2.1 Exploration #1.

Figure 9.2.2 Exploration #2.

Figure 9.2.3 Exploration #3.

After receiving feedback from Mr Vinod, I realised that the text should have cross alignment and my previous text formatting did not show that. Besides that, the images also should be related to the topic which is 'I Am Helvetica".

Final Formatting Text

Figure 9.3.1 Final Text Formatting - JPEG

Figure 9.3.2 Final Text Formatting Grid Visible - JPEG

Figure 9.3.3 Final Text Formatting - PDF

 

Figure 9.3.4 Final Text Formatting Grid Visible - PDF

Final Text Formatting Layout

Head

• Font : Univers Lt Std (85 Extra Black)
• Type size : 40 pt
• Leading : 0 pt
• Paragraph Spacing : 0 pt

Body

• Font : ITC New Baskerville Std (Roman)
• Type size : 10 pt
• Leading : 12.5 pt
• Paragraph Spacing : 12.5 pt
• Characters per line : 59
• Alignment : Flushed left

Margines : Top/Bottom/Inside/Out (12.7mm)
Columns : 4
Gutter : 5 mm

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Feedbacks

Week 1:

General Feedback:

I learned about typography, chose four words for our first work and learnt to create a e-portfolio.

Week 2:

General Feedback:

I learned about well ordered of sketches, consider the fonts and fit it well in the square to display the four words. 

Specific Feedback:

I should consider the 10 typefaces while designing the words and work more on the sketches.

Week 3:

General Feedback:

We could try and play around making the animation of one of the words for the next submission.

Specific Feedback:

For the word "tangle", g and l tangle together. For the word "chop", increase the distance between the two parts of word and let it be more bounce and doesn't look like a straight line. For the word "pull", create outline and stretch the word using white mouse.

Week 4:

General Feedback:

Watch the four videos, state the font, type and leading for task two. For the exercise 2, don't choose images with text, it will look like a headline.

Specific Feedback:

Add pause and motion blur in the animation.

Week 5:

General Feedback:

Leave more space, make a flow, don't break the reading, should be even grey, ensure the tracking is 5, cannot have a lot of amount of text bold, need to be clean and neat. For the next task, do research, sketching come out many options, no images are allowed. Will use Adobe Indesign, watch the videos in teams before begin the task. We need to decide which keywords we want to express in the sentence. Only one expression, grab the reader attention, the other word react to the expressed word. The text need to be clean and neat, need alignment, the body text come together. Headline is the most important. Place the text first, see how much space takes out. 

Specific Feedback:

Should have cross alignment, base need to be align.

Further Readings

1. A Type Primer_2nd Ed by Jone Kane

Figure 10.1.1 A Type Primer_2nd Ed.

Introduction

• Content dictates form.
• Less is more.
• God is in the details.
• Type is physical.
• Type evolved from handwriting.

Basics

Figure 10.1.2 A Type Primer_2nd Ed#Describing letterforms.

• Baseline: The imaginary line defining the visual base of letterforms.
• Median: The imaginary line defining the x-height of letterforms.
• X-height: The height in any typeface of the lowercase 'X'.

Development

Figure 10.1.3 A Type Primer_2nd Ed#Evolution of letterform A.

2. Typographic Design Form Communication 6ed-Rob Carter

Figure 10.2.1 Typographic Design Form Communication 6ed-Rob Carter.

The Evolution of Typography

Figure 10.2.2 The Evolution of Typography.

Typography is an evolution of the written word, and as such it participates in a history of visual communication extending thousands of years. 

Reflections

Experience

In this five weeks, I have gained a wealth of experience about typography. I get to know the basics of typography, the development of typography, kerning and letterspacing and many other knowledge that use to create a good composition of words. Besides that, I learnt how to use the software through the lecture videos. For the first exercise, I learn how to design the words in Illustrator, then I learn to animate it through Photoshop. For the second exercise, I learn about formatting text using different tools in InDesign to complete the formatting exercise.

Observations

While I am doing the exercises, my biggest observation is that we need to pause or stop while doing the animation for the animating type expression exercise. It will be a bit awkward if the frames keep moving without a pause.

Findings

Lastly, I find that typography is very fun and a good typography could help us to have a better reading experience. It was important in our daily life and I hope I could improve more in my typography future task.