Typography Task 2: Typographic Exploration & Communication
28/09/2024 - 03/11/2024 / Week 5 - Week 8
An Hongzheng / 0378415
Typography / Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media / Taylors University
Task 2 : Typographic Exploration and Comminication
CATALOGUE
LECTURES
Week 5 :
Typo_5_Understanding
The typography discussion emphasizes the complexity and precision involved in designing letterforms. Uppercase letters, while seemingly symmetrical, contain subtle differences in stroke weight and connections, as seen in fonts like Baskerville and Univers. Lowercase letters reveal further nuances, especially when comparing fonts like Helvetica and Univers, where small variations in how stems and bowls meet impact the character’s overall feel.
Maintaining x-height requires curved strokes to extend beyond the baseline and median to align visually with straight strokes. Understanding counterforms (the spaces within and between letters) is essential for readability. Finally, applying contrast in typography, such as size and weight differences, adds dynamic visual interest to designs.
Figure 1.1.1 . CONTRAST Week 5 (24/10/2024)
Week 6 :
NO LECTURE THIS WEEK.
Mr. Vinod gave us feedback and explanation on Task 2 Work, and introduced the next assignment.
Week 7 :
NO LECTURE THIS WEEK.
Mr. Vinod helped us print our Task 2 work, analyze and improve it.
We learned how to create our own fonts on the graph A4 paper.
INSTRUCTION
Task 2: TYPOGRAPHIC EXPLORATION AND COMMUNICATION
1.Reserch
For this task, we need to address Mr Choose one of the three texts provided by Vinod for design and presentation. I chose 'Unite to Visualise A Better World', which I think is a very meaningful text.
For the design of the Headline, I choose to emphasize the word 'Unite'. I think the focus should be on the letter 'U'. I conducted many related studies to gain more inspiration.
Figure 3.1.2 Reserch Reference Images. Week 5 (27/10/2024)
2.Sketches
I designed and drew three layouts based on the content of the headline and body text.
I focued on the design of "unity" or finding ways to highlight the presence of the letter "U", in order to express the theme that I believe this headline should convey.
Figure 3.1.2 Sketches. Week 5 (27/10/2024)
Figure 3.1.3 Sketches. Week 5 (27/10/2024)
Choosing the appropriate font for the title is very difficult, although this step may seem simple. I need to find the most suitable typeface and their different fonts, which is a very complicated process because I need to keep trying one by one.
I chose to use different page margins and column for the body text of three layout designs, so that I could obtain different solutions for comparison. However, because of this, the entire design process took up more time.
Figure 3.2.1 Layouts 1. Week 5 (27/10/2024)
HEAD LINE
Typeface: Univers LT Std
Font/s: Univers LT Std 55 Roman
Type Size/s: 625 pt, 80 pt, 12 pt
Leading: 0 pt
Paragraph spacing: 0
BODY
Typeface: Univers LT Std
Font/s: Univers LT Std 55 Roman
Type Size/s: 9 pt
Leading: 11 pt
Paragraph spacing: 3.811mm
Characters per-line: 27-35
Alignment: Left Justified
Margins: 12.7 mm top, 12.7mm bottom, 12.7mm left, 12.7mm right
Columns: 3
Gutter: 5 mm
Figure 3.2.2 Layouts 2. Week 5 (27/10/2024)
HEAD LINE
Typeface: Adobe Caslon Pro
Font/s: Adobe Caslon Pro Regular
Type Size/s: 520 pt, 90 pt, 55 pt ,17pt
Leading: 0 pt
Paragraph spacing: 0
BODY
Typeface: Adobe Caslon Pro
Font/s: Adobe Caslon Pro Regular
Type Size/s: 9 pt
Leading: 11 pt
Paragraph spacing: 3.811mm
Characters per-line: 60-70
Alignment: Left Justified
Margins: 12.7 mm top, 12.7mm bottom, 12.7mm left, 12.7mm right
Columns: 2
Gutter: 5 mm
Figure 3.2.3 Layouts 3. Week 5 (27/10/2024)
HEAD LINE
Typeface: ITC Garamond Std
Font/s: ITC Garamond Std Book Condensed
Type Size/s: 306 pt, 90 pt, 12 pt
Leading: 0 pt
Paragraph spacing: 0
BODY
Typeface: ITC Garamond Std
Font/s: ITC Garamond Std Book
Type Size/s: 9 pt
Leading: 11 pt
Paragraph spacing: 3.811mm
Characters per-line: 30-40
Alignment: Left Justified
Margins: 12.7 mm top, 12.7mm bottom, 12.7mm left, 12.7mm right
Columns: 3
Gutter: 5 mm
Here is my final design before Mr.Vinod provide the feedback on the work, I chose this layout because it not only highlights the "unite", but also has a very good composition, leaving just the right amount of space and it's very readable.
Figure 3.2.4 FINAL WORK. Week 5 (27/10/2024)
Figure 3.2.5 FINAL WORK. Week 5 (27/10/2024)
Figure 3.2.5 FINAL WORK. without grid pdf Week 5 (27/10/2024)
Figure 3.2.6 FINAL WORK. with grid pdf Week 5 (27/10/2024)
HEAD LINE
Typeface: ITC Garamond Std
Font/s: ITC Garamond Std Book Condensed
Type Size/s: 306 pt, 90 pt, 12 pt
Leading: 0 pt
Paragraph spacing: 0
BODY
Typeface: ITC Garamond Std
Font/s: ITC Garamond Std Book
Type Size/s: 9 pt
Leading: 11 pt
Paragraph spacing: 3.811mm
Characters per-line: 30-40
Alignment: Left Justified
Margins: 12.7 mm top, 12.7mm bottom, 12.7mm left, 12.7mm right
Columns: 3
Gutter: 5 mm
4. Final Work
After Mr. Vinod gave me feedback, I made significant adjustments. This time I chose to focus only on the letter 'u' in my design, rather than the entire word 'unite'. I placed all words except for 'unite' in the letter 'u' to represent the theme of unite, and added a shadow drop to 'u' to enhance people's perception of it. In addition, since there were many rivers in the body text of the previous layout that were difficult to solve, I chose to use 2 columns in the new layout, which solved the problem and made the viewing experience of the entire text smoother.
Figure 4.1.1 FINAL WORK. without grid jpeg Week 6 (28/10/2024)
Figure 4.1.2 FINAL WORK. with grid jpeg Week 6 (28/10/2024)
Figure 4.1.3 FINAL WORK. with grid pdf Week 6 (28/10/2024)
Figure 4.1.4 FINAL WORK. with grid pdf Week 6 (28/10/2024)
HEAD LINE
Typeface: Gill Sans Std
Font/s: Gill Sans Std Shadowed
Type Size/s: 600 pt, 63 pt, 27 pt, 14pt
Leading: 0 pt
Paragraph spacing: 0
BODY
Typeface: Adobe Caslon Pro
Font/s: Adobe Caslon Pro Regular
Type Size/s: 9 pt
Leading: 11 pt
Paragraph spacing: 3.811mm
Characters per-line: 60-70
Alignment: Left Justified
Margins: 12.7 mm top, 12.7mm bottom, 12.7mm left, 12.7mm right
Columns: 2
Gutter: 5 mm
FEEDBACK
Week 5
General Feedback：I printed out the text that I designed and formatted. As Mr. Vnoid said, I found that the real thing is always a little different from what we see on the computer screen using InDesign.
I found that the layout needs to be brief, and the right font, font size and leading paragraph spacing should be selected to avoid the appearance of orphans and widows.
Specific Feedback：I adjusted the layout of my design to make the headline more concise and easy to read.
I had previously overlooked a very important issue. When using kerning and tracing to avoid orphans, it is easy to cause the distance between words to be too large, resulting in the appearance of rivers. I should control the number of kernings to be reduced or increased, and use hyphenate to control it when necessary.
Week 6
General Feedback：Mr.Vnoid explained how to make a good headline design with correct type face and font.
Most of the students showed more problems on task2 design compare with task1, I supposed it's because for the headline, we need to consider the design for more than one word,and combine them with text formatting and layout. Specific Feedback：Accroding to Mr.Vnoid's view to my task2 work, I used a heavy distoration for the font by mistake, I should only choose the right typerface for the effect i want. Too much rivers in the text formmating, should be more carful when using justity with last line aligned left.
The expression of the headline is not sufficient, so I decide to redesign it.
For the headline, we should choose just one word to hghlight in order to keep the readibility.Week 7
General Feedback：Based on Mr. Vinod's guidance and feedback, we have further improved our work on Task 2. We will print the improved work on B5 paper to observe how the final layout differs from what we see on a computer screen. We also used A4 Graph Paper and a highlighter to sketch for Task 3.
Specific Feedback：In the layout of Task 2, we learned about the role of margin. Due to technical issues during batch printing, these margins can leave enough space to protect our fonts from being cut.
For Task 3, we can use different angles of the marker pen to achieve different effects when writing font sketches.
REFLECTIONS
Experience - In this task, we need to combine all the knowledge we have learned before to complete it. It's like finally having the opportunity to apply the skills and experience accumulated for a long time, so it's very interesting. But at the same time, I also feel a bit confused and forgotten about the knowledge I have learned in the past, which reminds me to constantly review the knowledge and notes I have learned.
Observation - I found that it is very difficult to control the font of each line in the body text, especially when you want to avoid the appearance of widows and orphans and have a good layout. This requires a lot of experience and practice to achieve balance in all aspects.
Findings - The final result printed on real paper often differs from what we see on the screen, especially for the parts that use effects. This is influenced by printing technology, several materials, and other factors, which should also be considered in our design.
FURTHER READING
Typographic Design : Form and Communication,
book by Ben Day, Philip B. Meggs, and Rob Carter.
(Figure 6.1.1)
Week 5
- Syntax and Communication
Typographic syntax involves the arrangement of letters, words, and design elements to create coherent and effective visual communication. It’s essential to understand how to connect these elements through typographic space, hierarchy, ABA form, and grid systems. These tools help form cohesive designs that are structured and visually appealing, ensuring that the reader can navigate the text easily while appreciating its aesthetic balance.
Week 6
- The Typographic Message
This chapter highlights typography as a powerful visual language that can educate, persuade, inform, and entertain. When designed with knowledge and intent, typographic signs can achieve clarity, expression, beauty, and more. Although typographic messages are so ingrained in our culture that they are often overlooked, those that stand out leave a lasting impression through the harmonious relationship between content and form. The connection between the message and how it is visually presented is essential to creating memorable and impactful typographic designs.
Week 7
- The Evolution of the Typographic Technology
The invention of typography is seen as the start of the Industrial Revolution, as it mechanized the process of hand-lettering books. Typography's evolution has been deeply connected to technological advancements, with typesetting systems influencing design constraints and opportunities. From traditional hand composition to modern digital typography, it is crucial for designers to understand these technologies. This knowledge enables them to blend design and production effectively, pushing the creative and communicative limits of typography.
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