TYPOGRAPHY-EXERCISES

28/08/19-25/09/19 (Week 1 - Week 5)

Phoebe Ansel (0340165)

Typography 

Exercises

---

LECTURE

Lecture 1 - Week 1

This was the first week of class, we started the class by creating our own blogs on blogger for our e-portfolio. We were also introduced to typography and its wide history. We also learned the terminologies of typography :

Font : which is the process of creating typeface

Typeface : refers to a individual type within typeface

Type family : refers to the entire family of fonts

Lecture 2 - Week 2

For the second week of class, we were taught the history and origins of typography. We learned the early letterform development.

It starts with the Phoenician alphabets, called by convention the Proto-Canaanite alphabet for inscriptions older than around 1050 BC, is the oldest verified alphabet. 

fig 1.1: Phoneician 

The Greeks then created a writing style called ' boustrophedon'- text lines read alternately from left to right and then right to left.

fig 1.2: Boustrophedon

Then there were the Roman alphabets, the alphabet evolved by the ancient Romans for the writing of Latin, based upon an Etruscan form derived from the Greeks and ultimately from the Phoenicians. The alphabet serves for writing most of the languages of W Europe and many other languages.

fig 1.3: Phonecian to Roman

Lecture 3 - Week 3

This week we were introduced to several typography terms, such as kerning and letter spacing. The term ‘kerning’ refers to the automatic adjustment of space between letters. Letterspacing means to add space between the letters. The addition and removal of space in a word or sentence is referred to as ‘tracking’. 

fig 1.4: kerning

fig 1.5: different types of tracking

Designers always letterspace uppercase letters, but there has long been strong resistance within the type community to letterspace lowercase letters within text. Uppercase letterforms are drawn to be able to stand on their own, whereas lowercase letterforms require the counterform created between letters to maintain the line of reading.

There are 3 types of text formats:

1. Flush left: This format most closely mirrors the asymmetrical experience of handwriting. 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, allowing the type to create an even gray value. 

2. Centered: This format imposes symmetry upon the text, assigning equal value and weight to both ends of any line. It transforms fields of text into shapes, thereby adding a pictorial quality to material that is non-pictorial by nature. Because centered type creates such a strong shape on the page, its important to amend line breaks so that the text does not appear too jagged.

3. Flush right: This format places emphasis on the end of a line as opposed to its start. It can be useful in situations (like captions) where the relationship between text and image might be ambiguous without a strong orientation to the right.

We learned that different typefaces suit different messages. A good typographer has to know which typeface best suits the message at hand.

fig 1.6 : different typefaces for invitations

fig 1.7: anatomy of typeface

We were also introduced to the format of the text as well as different typefaces that created different colors and textures.
Leading : text that is set too tightly encourages vertical eye movement.
Type size : text size should be large enough to be read easily at a arm length.
Line length : appropriate line length is 55-65 characters. Shorter lines requires less leading, more lines requires more.

Lecture 4 - Week 4

For this week's lecture, we were taught several options for indicating paragraphs. There is the ‘pilcrow’ (¶), a holdover from medieval manuscripts seldom use today.

fig 1.8: pilcrow

We also learned more about line space and leading. 

fig 1.9: line spacing vs leading

There are two unforgivable gaffes in traditional typesetting —widows and orphans.

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

2. Orphans :  short line of type left at the start of a new column.

fig 1.10: widow and orphan

There are several ways to highlight a text.

fig 1.11: highlighting text (italic)

 fig 1.12: highlighting text (bold)

 fig 1.13: highlighting text (different typeface)

fig 1.14: highlighting text (different color)

fig 1.15: highlighting text (placing field of color at the back of the text) 

fig 1.16: highlighting text (using bullet)

fig 1.17: highlighting text (quotation marks)

  

INSTRUCTIONS

EXERCISE

Week 2

Our first exercise was to create typography or lettering of our names based on our personalities. I decided to choose 'bright' as the personality that best describes me and came up with 5 sketches to convey it.

fig 2.1: 5 sketches

To show 'bright' as my personality, I chose to animate my name, creating a 'light up' effect like a light bulb. I created 8 frames on my first try to make the letters light up gradually but then decided to create a 'flicker' effect instead.

fig 2.2: Screenshot of my illustrator artboards

This is the final result.

fig 2.3: Final Result

Week 3 

For our second exercise, we were given 6 words and several typefaces to create different type expressions. The 6 words are gigantic, clean, explode, sneeze, emerge and party.

fig 2.4: 6 type expressions

After creating our 6 type expressions, we were also asked to choose and animate one of them. I chose to animate the word 'explode'.

fig 2.5: screenshot of my illustrator boards

fig 3.7: final animation for 'explode'

---

FEEDBACK

Week 2
 Specific feedback: Mr Vinod advised me to not to put too much illustration on my design. So I made the design less illustrative and more simple.

Week 3
Specific feedback: I was advised to make the design of my text brighter and to make my text's animation into a light bulb 'flicker' effect instead of making it gradually brighter.

Week 4
I was absent due to poor health this week.

---

REFLECTION


Experiences:
Week 1
For the first week, we were told to create our own blogs, I did not bring my laptop with me and found it extremely confusing trying to create a blog through a phone.
Week 2
For our first exercise, we were told to sketch a design of our name based on our personality, It was fun coming up with ideas for the sketches.
Week 3
I was quite satisfied with the result/how my animation turned out. I was told to make small changes to emphasize my personality more.
Week 4
I was absent this week. So I asked around and started doing the type expressions for the given words as well. I struggled to create sketches for several of the words.

Observations:
Week 1
I found a lot of people around me to be very creative with their sketches.
Week 2
I realized that typography is so much more detailed than I initially thought and is definitely not a simple or easy subject.
Week 3:
I found everyone's animation to be very creative and unique and I was definitely inspired by  a lot of people's works.
Week 4: 
I struggled to create a design I liked for a few of the words.

Findings:
Week 1

I found the class to be fast-paced and detailed.
Week 2

I learned so much more about typography, including terms that I have never even heard of before.
Week 3

I found it quite difficult to use illustrator at the beginning, but slowly got the hang of it.
Week 4

I found it hard to create designs that will describe every word properly, as we were also given specific typefaces that we were allowed to use.

---

FURTHER READING

Typographic Universe by Steven Weller and Gail Anderson

Type is everywhere. Most of the time, we do not realize that fonts and typefaces fill everything we consume or inhabit. They communicate, inform, sell, explain and we might find the most unique fonts in surprising and unexpected places.

The book introduces and points out "lost" or "unseen" typographies in nature and our daily lives. From machine-made and sculptural forms to flora and fauna, from the fading ghost types on buildings from a pre-digital age to the subterranean forms found beneath our urban centers, from crowd-sourced creations to the popular vernacular, there is a universe of letterforms all around us.