Typography Task 1
29/3/2022-27/4/2022 (week1-week5)
Ng Jia Xien / 0355062
Bachelor of Design in Creative Media / Typography
Task 1
LECTURES
Week 1:
Introduction to the module information booklet, briefing of task
1. The development of typography over some time.
Reading from right to left and the letters will flip and reading from left
to right.
Draw on these slabs of stones with a paintbrush before chiseling it.
By using the broader edge and slant of the reed pen to achieve the variety
of stroke width.
Letters that are written in a condensed manner are more difficult to read
than letters that are more proportionate. The development of compressed
square capital is for a pragmatic reason but not necessarily good in terms
of readability.
Uncials didn't have lowercase and uppercase letterforms, it have elements of
capital and lowercase integrated into that writing system.
From the beginning and after 2000 years, we have seen improvement and
development of capital letters, rustic capital, condensed rustic capitals,
script form of writing, and others.
A large part of Europe that have too many writing systems and too many ways
of writing that will cause a loss in information when doing the translation.
Alcuin of York, Abbot of St Martin of Tours oversees the standardization of
writing systems.
People across a large landscape eventually develop their own styles, since
the geography, the tools they use, and the characteristic of those people
give an impact.
The process of writing takes a long period, and the parchment was costly, so
not many books can be created. He developed a mechanism where printing can
be done much more quickly, and since the writing is the domain of religious
order, he chose to do the Bible.
Week 2:
Focusing on basic typography, knowing a letterform's component parts
makes it much easier to identify specific typefaces.
Recognize baseline, median, and X height.
The full font of a typeface contains much more than 26 letters, numerals,
and a few punctuation marks.
We have uppercase and lowercase letters around all types families, and we
should know small capitals as well. As for numerals, there are uppercase and
lowercase numerals too. The forms in italic refer back to fifteen-century
Italian cursive handwriting oblique are typically based on Roman forms of
the typeface.
Punctuation and miscellaneous characters are used when doing mathematical
work. Ornaments are used as flourishes in invitations or certificates. We
also have to identify different type-faces like roman, italic, boldface,
light, condense, and extended.
We suppose to know that when we do our exercises for this semester, we will
only choose nine types families that are provided.
For every message that you convey as a designer gave to choose an
appropriate type family that respects that message, the message should be
the first and the typeface later. A good typeface presents the message of
the writer.
Week 3:
In week 3, we learn about textual matter, how to format text and what to
look out for things of that nature.
We were given a briefing on Indesign. When we are using upper case
letters, we need to Kerning a little bit so it will be more
presentable.
Designers always letter space uppercase, but there has long been
strong resistance within the type community to letter space lowercase
letters within text. Uppercase letterforms are drawn to be able to
stand on their own, whereas lowercase letterforms require the counter
form created between letters to maintain the line of
reading.
The flush left has a ragged graph and it is important to always make
the ragging on the right smooth
Centered text is difficult to read, especially when the paragraph is
long. The starting point is irregular, it causes a bad reading
experience, so the centered text should be used sparingly for small
amounts of text.
Not using flush right for large amounts of text is important, when readability is a priority.
We have to note that when we are justified text, the spaces in between
that form are due to the justification of the text.
Different typefaces suit different messages, a good typographer has to know which typeface best suits the message at hand. So, remember to half close our eyes and look at the gray values and check whether it is well-formatted or appropriate or not.
In general, the leading space is decided on the vertical movement of the
reader or the gray value, or the colour. A large body of text generally
requires between 2 to 2.5 points larger than the point size from the
text.
The devil is in the details, and typography is all about the detail.
Week 4
This week is a holiday, we only watch the lecture video by
ourselves.
Pilcrow is one of the options for indicating paragraphs, a holdover from
medieval manuscripts seldom use today. Leading, assume that the text point
size is 10, so the leading should be 12, then the paragraph spacing value
should be also 12, the purpose for this is to maintain cross alignment.
Cross alignment is when we have two columns of text sitting next to each
other where the text line is also aligned to the next column.
Whenever we are using indentation we should never use ragging on the
right, indentation is the best use when the text is justified.
A widow is a short line of the type left alone at the end of a column of
text, and an orphan is a short line of the type left alone at the start of
a new column. Both widow and orphan must not occur in our design.
When we have large amounts of text, we gonna highlight the important
information by using italics, bold, or changing the color of the text
(only use black, cyan, magenta, and yellow, but yellow is unreadable). We
have to take note that sometimes when we change the type family, it is
necessary to reduce the point size. Also take note that when highlighting
text by placing a field of color at the back of the text, maintaining the
left reading axis of the text ensures readability is at its best.
There are many kinds of subdivision within the text of a chapter, including
A head within the text (indicates a clear break between the topics within a
section), B head (subordinate to A head, B indicates a new supporting
argument or example for the topic at hand), and C head (highlights specific
facets of material within B head text).
Cross aligning headlines and captions with text type reinforces the
architectural sense of the page-the structure-while articulating the
complimentary vertical rhythms.
INSTRUCTIONS
<iframe
src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RAZJ7-17y45PUfmZlCXD4MJbBSgaqu28/preview"
width="640" height="480" allow="autoplay"></iframe>
Task 1: Exercise 1 -Type Expression
Since the word "cough" is mandatory, we have to choose another three words
from "squeeze", "pop", "explode", "grow", and "wink", to express it
typographically. However, it is important to note that we are only allowed
to use the ten types of families that are provided to us. I start my work
with the below sketch.
 |
| Figure 1. Sketch of type expression, by Ng Jia Xien, 4/4/2022 |
|
|||
| Figure 2. Sketch of type expression 2, by Ng Jia Xien,
4/4/2022 Digital Type Expression
|
|
Figure 4. Type Expression in Digital, by Ng Jia Xien, 4/11/2022 |
Final submission for Type Expression
 |
| Figure 5. Final submission for Type Expression, By Ng Jia Xien, 4/13/2022 |
Final submission for Type Expression in PDF, By Ng Jia Xien, 4/13/2022
Type Expression Animation
Process of creating animation by using the word "cough".
.png) |
| Figure 6. Artboard of still image |
.png) |
| Figure 7. Frames of animation |
Final submission for Type Expression in Animation
|
| Type Expression in gif, by Ng Jia Xien, 4/20/2022 |
Task 1: Exercise 2 -Type Formatting
In exercise 2, we are still using the previously downloaded10 type family to practice the technic of kerning, tracking, leading, paragraph spacing, alignment, etc. We were asked to use Indesign to complete this exercise, it required us to be familiar with the function of the software.
Exercise of Kerning and Tracking
 |
| Figure 8. Exercise for kerning and tracking |
Exercise of Leading and Paragraph spacing
Adjust the front size to about 8-12, and the leading should be 2/2.5 larger than the front size.
.png) |
| Figure 9. Front size and Leading |
The paragraph spacing should be the same as the leading, note that we should change the mm to pt. Characters in the longest rows should be 55-65.
.png) |
| Figure 10. Paragraph spacing |
Separate the text into two parts, and align it on the bottom.
.png) |
| Figure 11. Alignment |
Actually, there is a simpler way to create alignment by using the "align to baseline grid" tool.
.png) |
| Figure 12. Align to baseline grid |
Below is the final outcome for exercise leading and paragraph spacing.
|
| Figure 13. Exercise leading and paragraph spacing |
I also come out with my own layout.
 |
| Figure 14. Type Formatting-1, By Ng Jia Xien, 4/25/2022 |
 |
| Figure 15. Type Formatting-2, By Ng Jia Xien, 4/25/2022 |
For the final submission, I choose the first one as it shows a smoother layout, and there is too many rivers occurring in the second work.
Final submission for Type Formatting
Font : Univers LT Std
Typeface :59 Ultra Condensed, 55 Roman
Font size : 9 pt, 14 pt, 35 pt
Leading: 11pt
Paragraph Spacing: 11pt
Average characters per line : 58-62
Alignment: Left Justify
Margins : 12.7mm (top, left, right), 30mm (bottom)
Columns : 4
Gutter (for columns) : 4.233 mm
 |
| Figure 16. Final submission for Type Formatting, By Ng Jia Xien, 4/26/2022 |
Final submission for Type Formatting in PDF, By Ng Jia Xien, 4/26/2022
Final submission for Type Formatting in PDF, By Ng Jia Xien, 4/26/2022
FEEDBACK
Week 2
Specific Feedback:
The "explode 1" is good but the "grow2" is similar to "explode 1", but
overall is good. For the "grow 1", Mr. Vinod commented to change the "r",
"o", and "w" in capital letters to express the word grow.
General Feedback:
We are supposed to complete week 1 lectures, do further reading, and get
started creating our design in adobe illustrator.
week 3
Specific Feedback:
Overall is good, but try to work harder on the word "explode" in figure 4.
General Feedback:
Start to create our type expression in the animation method.
week 4
Specific Feedback:
N/A
General Feedback:
N/A
week 5
Specific Feedback:
Complete the final submission of digital type expression, and also made the link accessible to the MIB and PDF.
General Feedback:
Note down all the points the lecturer mentions, complete and improve our blog as 4/27/2022, 12pm is our deadline for task 1.
REFLECTIONS
Experience:
In our class for typography, we often go through the lecture by
ourselves before the class. And during the class, the lecturer will
solve the question we face when watching the lecture video, give us
feedback about our work, and also we are given time to practice or learn
some specific technic about the software. I think it was effective as the
lesson on campus become more compact and I can solve my problem when using
the software immediately when practicing it in
class.
Observations:
I observed that I'm not attentive enough to discover the details in
typography, I do agree with the lecturer's words that said typography is
all about details, sometimes I even can't tell the difference between the
two examples that the lecturer provided. Also, I have observed that I was
not sufficiently skilled in the application of the software.
Findings:
I found that I had to improve my proficiency in the application with more
practice as proficiency in the use of the software is essential for
typography class and also for my future career. And I realized that the method of the class has helped me to stay
aggressive and focused during the lesson time, learn the use of software
in class with peers also help me to better understand it by solving any
problem I faced immediately by asking classmates or
lecturer.
Further Reading:
Samara, T (2018). Letterforms: Typeface Design From Past to Future.
Minneapolis: Rockport Publishers.
The focus of Samara's book is to convey the basics of typography to
practitioners and to thoroughly explain and illustrate the development
of form and style. Takes you through the anatomy of letterforms, tool
methods, structure and proportion, and more.
The modern alphabet with its standardized shapes and fine details is the culmination of 10,000 years of progression from pure image-making to an abstract system of symbols or writing.
The first recognized civilization to develop a marker system for commercial purposes was the Sumerians. Around 3200 B.C., they began exchanging small clay bars bearing pictures rolled down from stone columns to identify the completion of a transaction and the participants - bills of delivery to "complete the deal.
 |
| Figure 17. Typeface design from past to future |
After that, the use of images to represent objects opened the way for original writing or hieroglyphic communication. It was not efficient to memorize thousands of pictures and to lose track of unfamiliar ideas when they came up; nor was it possible for everyone to draw similarly well. Over the next 1200 years, the Sumerians solved these problems by streamlining, evolving purely hieroglyphic symbols into more stylized ones by limiting the diversity of their shapes.
Eventually, they chose a wedge-shaped stylus to create most of the triangular marks, arranging them in a linear order to improve readability and avoid time loss. This writing style is known as cuneiform.
Next, the Sumerians changed the meaning of the marks from representational to linguistic - representing the sounds of phrases and then words, and the Sumerians reduced their written language to approximately 200 words of symbols, known as logographs, written horizontally.
Over time, it was recognized that writing was valuable for recording accumulated knowledge of the natural world, plans, instructions, and legal statements; the latter important texts were put into stone carvings to ensure their durability.
 | |
|
The Egyptians, located along the Nile and its delta on the northern coast of Africa, also develop a hieroglyphic script.
Around 1400 B.C., the Ugaritans of western Syria had developed their linguistic script, a highly simplified character set, based on cuneiform. The combination of these two possibly related experiments influenced the development of the culture of Canaan, a Phoenician city-state located in what is today Lebanon.
Their script became the language of commerce - relentlessly reduced to 20 characters, representing individual sounds rather than words, and based strictly on circles, triangles, and arrow-jaw marks. Phoenician is a modular, flexible package of parts that are easy to learn, draw, and use. In accordance with Phoenician custom, characters (letters) are named after something important.
 | |
|
The Greeks created the first true abecedary, or alphabetic, writing system. It was especially useful because the vowels made the language more compatible with the languages of their different trading partners, making the Greeks become the dominant force in the Mediterranean. The Etruscans developed their own culture and script but learned much of what the Greeks introduced.
 | |
|
By 700 B.C., the southern Latins founded a city-state called Rome; 200 years later, the city evolved into a democratic-based republic that would conquer the surrounding Italian city-states and expand outward in successive waves of conquest. Then, the Roman Empire extended northward to what is now England, westward to what is now Turkey, and southward to the northern continent of Africa.
 | |
|
1. using letters as a form
|
| Figure 21. Image in 100 design principles for working with type |
|
|
|
2. Using counter spaces as a form
The spaces inside and around the shape of a letter, called counter
spaces, are often overlooked as design elements. Counter spaces sometimes
called "negative" spaces, are like the jewels tucked in the letters.
 | |
|
.png)
Comments
Post a Comment