Advanced Typography | Task 1: Exercises 1 & 2

22/04/2024 - 13/05/2024 (Week 1 - Week 4)

Yong Xiao Tong / 0368290
Advanced Typography / Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media 

Task 1: Exercise 1 & 2

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LECTURES

Lecture 1 - Typographic Systems

Typographic systems are structured frameworks for arranging text creatively and effectively. 

They include methods such as grids and hierarchies to make text look good and communicate clearly in designs.

Axial System

All elements are organised to the left or right of a single axis.

Fig 1.1 Example of the Axial System

Radial System

All elements are extended from a point of focus.

Fig 1.2 Example of the Radial System

Dilatational System

All elements expand from a central point in a circular fashion.

Fig 1.3 Example of the Dilatational System

Random System

Elements appear to have no specific pattern or relationship.

Fig 1.4 Example of the Random System

Grid System

A system of vertical and horizontal divisions.

Fig 1.5 Example of the Grid System

Modular System

A series of non-objective elements that are constructed as a standardised unit.

Fig 1.6 Example of the Modular System

Transitional System

An informal system of layered banding.

Fig 1.7 Example of the Transitional System

Bilateral System

All text is arranged symmetrically on a single axis.

Fig 1.8 Example of the Bilateral System

Lecture 2 - Typographic Composition

Principles of Design Composition

Emphasis, isolation, repetition, symmetry, asymmetry, alignment, perspective and etc.

Emphasis

Fig 1.9 Example of Emphasis

The Rule of Thirds

A photographic guide to composition, it basically suggest that a frame (space) can be divided into 3 columns and 3 rows. The intersecting lines are are used as guide to place the points of interest, within the given space.

Fig 1.10 Example of The Rule of Thirds

Environmental Grid 

Based on the exploration of an existing structure or numerous structures combined. An extraction of crucial lines both curved and straight are formed. The designer then organises his information around this super-structure, which includes non-objective elements to create a unique and exciting mixture of texture and visual stimuli.

Fig 1.11 Example of Environmental Grid

Form and Movement

Based on the exploration of an existing Grid Systems. Mr. Vinod developed this system to get students to explore; the multitude of options the grid offer; to dispel the seriousness surrounding the application of the grid system; and to see the turning of pages in a book as a slowed-down animation in the form that constitutes the placement of image, text and colour.

Fig 1.12 Example of Form and Movement

Fig 1.13 Development steps of the Form and Movement

Lecture 3 - Context & Creativity

Mechanical letterforms were initially designed to imitate handwriting, which served as the basic standard for form, spacing, and conventions that mechanical type would try to mimic.

Fig 1.14 Evolution of the Latin Alphabet

Cuneiform, the earliest system of actual writing, was used in a number of languages between 34C. B.C.E through the 1st century. It's wedge form was the result of pressing the blunt ends f a read stylus into wet clay tablets.

Fig 1.15 Cuneiform c. 3000 B.C.E

The Egyptian writing system is fuse with the art of relief carving. 

1. As Ideograms, represent the things they actually depict.

2. As determinatives to show that the signs preceding are meant as phonograms and to indicate the general idea of the word.

3. As phonograms to represent sounds that "spell out" individual words.

Fig 1.16 Hieroglyphs 2613-2160 B.C.E

Early Greek (5th C. B.C.E.): Drawn freehand without compasses and rules, initially lacking serifs. Over time, strokes thickened, apertures lessened, and serifs appeared.

Roman Uncials (4th C.): Letters became more rounded for faster writing with fewer strokes.

English Half Uncials (8th C.): Uncials in England evolved into a more slanted and condensed form.

Carolingian Minuscule: Introduced capitals at sentence starts, spaces between words, and punctuation. This style influenced the Humanistic writing of the 15th century, forming the basis of our lowercase roman type.

Black Letter (12-15 C. C.E.): Characterised by tight, condensed lettering with evenly spaced verticals, reducing material costs in book production.

    

Fig 1.17 (Left to right) Early Greek ; Roman Uncials ; English Half Uncials ; Carolingian Minuscule ; Black Letter

Fig 1.18 Evolution of Middle Eastern Alphabet

Fig 1.19 Evolution of Chinese Alphabet

  

Fig 1.20 The oldest writing found in the ‘Indian’ subcontinent the Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) script (3500-2000 BCE)

Fig 1.21 Brahmi Script

      . 

Fig 1.22 (Left to right) Pallava Script ; Pra-nagari script ; Kawi ; Incung ; Rencong

. . .   

Fig 1.23 (Left to right) Batak Script ; Bugis Script ; Javanese ; Record of sale for a female Batak slave to the British ; Demak

Fig 1.24 Baloo by Ek Type

Lecture 4 - Designing Type

Two reasons for designing a typefaces:

- Type design carries a social responsibility, thus we must continue to improve its legibility.

- Type design is a form of artistic expression.

General Process of Type Design

Research: Begin by understanding the history, anatomy, conventions, and terminologies of type. Determine the type’s purpose and the various applications it will be used for. Study existing fonts to gather inspiration, ideas, references, and context.

Sketching: This can be done using traditional methods or digital tools.

Digitisation: Use professional software like FontLab and Glyphs App. Some designers also start with Adobe Illustrator before moving to specialised font apps, although purists often frown upon this approach.

Testing: Testing is crucial for refining and correcting the typeface. Prototyping provides important feedback, helping to improve readability and legibility, especially for text typefaces. For display types, the expression of form can take precedence over strict readability.

Deployment: After deploying a typeface, there are often minor issues that weren’t apparent during prototyping and testing. Continuous revision is necessary, and rigorous testing helps ensure these issues are minimal.

Typeface construction

Roman Captial: The grid consists of a square, and inside of it is a circle that touches the lines of the aqure in four places. Within the square, there is also a rectangle. This rectangle is three quarters the size of the square and is positioned at the centre.

Thus, using grids (with circular forms) can facilitate the construction of a letterforms and is a possible method to build/create/design letterform.

Fig 1.25 Construction grid for the Roman Capital using 8×8 cells

Construction & considerations

Fig 1.26 Classification according to form and construction

Most typefaces come about due to a need or demand. The need/motivation can be intrinsic and extrinsic.

Intrinsic can be best summed up this way, the designer has an inexplicable need driven by interest to design a typeface, and seeks out a form that comes close to fulfilling a desire. It is also possible that the designer identifies a gap/problem and thus endeavors to solve it through the design of the typeface.

Extrinsic can be summed up in this way the designer has been commissioned or the student-designer has a task to complete that involves designing a typeface.

Lecture 5 - Perception and Organisation

Perception refers to how something is regarded, understood, or interpreted. In typography, it involves the reader's visual navigation and interpretation of content through contrast, form, and organization. The content in focus is textual.

Contrast: This affects how different elements stand out against each other.

Form: This involves the shape and structure of the typography.

Fig 1.27 Typographical Contrast devised by Rudy Ruegg

Fig 1.28 Carl Dair's seven Typographical Contrast

Organisation / Gestalt: Perceptual Organisation / Groupings

- Law of Similarity: Elements that are similar in colour, orientation, size, or motion are perceived as a group.

- Law of Proximity: Elements that are close together are perceived as a group. Items closer together are grouped, while those further apart are not.

- Law of Closure: The mind tends to see complete figures or forms even if parts are missing or obscured.

- Law of Continuation: We perceive intersecting objects as separate and continuous, influenced by their alignment.

- Law of Symmetry and Law of Pragnanz: Additional principles that describe how we perceive organized and symmetrical patterns as unified groups.

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INSTRUCTIONS

Task 1: Exercise 1 - Typographic Systems

Explore 8 systems of Axial, Radial, Dilatational, Random, Grid, Modular, Transitional and Bilateral in InDesign using the following content:

       The Design School,

       Taylor's University.

       All Ripped Up: Punk Influences on Design

       Open Public Lectures:

       June 24, 2021

       Lew Pik Svonn, 9AM-10AM

       Ezrena Mohd., 10AM-11AM

       Suzy Sulaiman, 11AM-12PM

       June 25, 2021

       Lim Whay Yin, 9AM-10AM

       Fahmi Reza, 10AM-11AM

       William Harald-Wong, 11AM-12PM

       Lecture Theatre 12

[Size 200 x 200 mm. In addition to black, can use one other colour. Graphical elements (line, dot, etc.) can be used but limitedly.]

Process

Fig 2.1 Axial Systems - attempt #1

Fig 2.2 Radial Systems - attempt #1

Fig 2.3 Dilatational Systems - attempt #1

Fig 2.4 Random Systems - attempt #1

Fig 2.5 Grid Systems - attempt #1

Fig 2.6 Modular Systems - attempt #1

Fig 2.7 Transitional Systems Attempt #1

Fig 2.8 Bilateral Systems Attempt #1

Final Submission

Fig 2.9 Final Axial Systems - JPG (05/05/24)

Fig 2.10 Final Radial Systems - JPG (05/05/24)

Fig 2.11 Final Dilatational Systems - JPG (05/05/24)

Fig 2.12 Final Random Systems - JPG (05/05/24)

Fig 2.13 Final Grids Systems - JPG (05/05/24)

Fig 2.14 Final Modular Systems - JPG (05/05/24)

Fig 2.15 Final Transitional Systems - JPG (05/05/24)

Fig 2.16 Final Bilateral Systems - JPG (05/05/24)

 

Fig 2.17 Final Typographic Systems - PDF (05/05/24)

Fig 2.18 Final Typographic Systems (Grids and Guides) - PDF (05/05/24)

Task 1: Exercise 2 - Type and Play

Choose an image with minimal complexity, then analyse, dissect, and identify potential letterforms within it. Refine the extracted letterforms and combine them with the original image from which the letters were extracted.

Fig 2.19 Chosen Subject - Building Structures

Fig 2.20 Identified letters

Fig 2.21 Extracted letters

Fig 2.22 Typeface reference - Univers LT Std

Fig 2.23 Process

Fig 2.24 Initial extraction + final refinement

Final Submission

Fig 2.25 Final Type Design - JPG (19/05/24)

Fig 2.26 Final Type Design - PDF (19/05/24)

Fig 2.27 Final Poster - JPG (19/05/24)

Fig 2.28 Final Poster - PDF (19/05/24)

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FEEDBACK

Week 2

General Feedback 

- Avoid designs with 45-degree cuts; they are considered poor design choices.

- When using center alignment, pay careful attention to information hierarchy and how you structure different elements. Proper segregation of information is crucial.

- Always consider the space available for your artwork. A design's effectiveness is heavily influenced by how well it utilises the space. If the design doesn't comfortably fit or command the space it occupies, it's not well-suited for that environment.

Week 3

General Feedback

- When choosing a font, consider the object you're working with, don't arbitrarily choose a font. Also, look at your extraction and choose a reference point. For instance, if your extraction has an organic form, avoid selecting a font with a mechanical reference.

- You may choose to deviate from the initial form and add elements to refine letterforms. This is acceptable as long as you comprehend the original form and ensure that any additions reflect what you see in the forms.

- Remember the three points mentioned in the article regarding refinement: thickness, weight, and characteristics.

Specific Feedback

Keep the weight and proportions consistent to improve comparability. 

Week 4

General Feedback

- Large spaces between paragraphs or sentences of text are called rivers. This is a typographical 'no no'. Never do it because it makes your text look bad. It also reduces the reading rhythm for the person reading it.

- Indecision is the enemy of any designer. You have to make a decision. Whether that decision is right or wrong is up to you. But to the best of your knowledge and judgment, if you've done the proper evaluation and the necessary amount of work, you have to be honest with yourself and make the right decision.

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REFLECTION

Experience

Completing these two exercises has been an enriching and insightful experience that significantly enhanced my design skills and creative thinking. Working with the eight typographic systems allowed me to explore various methods of arranging text to make it all look good. Extracting letterforms helped me appreciate the subtle details within the image. When I had to find letter shapes in pictures, it made me notice little details within the images that I hadn't seen before.

Observations 

I found myself becoming more observant after Exercise 2. I found myself paying more attention to things when I was looking for shapes that could be letters in the pictures. It was exciting to see how some weird shapes could turn into letters. But making those letterforms was a bit tricky, especially while keeping them connected to the original picture.

Findings

Overall, I'm happy with what I did. These exercises helped me understand how to use visual elements better and see how text and pictures can work together in designs. Each exercise did taught me something new about design. Even though it was hard, this exploration pushed me to think critically about balance, structure, and creativity in design.

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FURTHER READING

Fig 3.1 Typographic Systems

I chose to read this book because Exercise 1 focused on the 8 typographic systems. In this book, Kimberly, the author, thoroughly explains all 8 typographic systems with a lot of pictures, making it easier for me to understand. Additionally, "Geometry of Design" helped me understand basic design rules, like how to make things look right proportionally. And in "Exploring Typography," I gained a solid understanding of typography basics, which helped me connect all these concepts. Overall, these books provided invaluable insights into organising type effectively.