Typography: Task 2 - Typographic Exploration & Communication (Text Formatting and Expression)

May 09, 2022

Typography: Task 2 - Typographic Exploration & Communication (Text Formatting and Expression)

3/5/2022 - 17/5/2022 (Week 6 - Week 8)

Yew Yu Pheng | 0348359 | Bachelor of Mass Communication (Hons) Advertising and Brand Management | Taylor's University | Typography

Task 2: Typographic Exploration & Communication (Text Formatting and Expression)

LECTURES

Week 5 /

Online Prerecorded Lecture: Typo_5_Understanding

Understanding Letterforms

The uppercase letterforms below suggest symmetry, but it is not symmetrical. It is easy to see the two different stroke weights of the Baskerville stroke form; more noteworthy is that each bracket connecting the serif to the stem has a unique arc.

Fig. 1.1 Baskerville "A" | 09 May 2022

The uppercase letterforms may appear symmetrical, but the width of the left slope is thinner than the right stroke. Both Baskerville and Univers demonstrate the meticulous care a type designer takes to create both internally harmonious and individually expressive letterforms.

Fig. 1.2 Univers "A" | 09 May 2022

The complexity of each individual letterform is demonstrated by examining the lowercase ‘a’ of two sans-serif typefaces—Helvetica and Univers. A comparison of how the stems of the letterforms finish and how the bowls meet the stems quickly reveals the palpable difference in character between the two.

Fig. 1.3 Helvetica "a" vs Univers "a" | 09 May 2022

Fig. 1.4 Comparison of both Helvetica and Univers "a" | 09 May 2022

Maintaining x-height

The x-height generally describes the size of the lowercase letterforms. The curved strokes, such as in ‘s’, must rise above the median (or sink below the baseline) in order to appear to be the same size as the vertical and horizontal strokes they adjoin.

Fig. 1.5 Median (Line Above) and Baseline (Line Below) | 09 May 2022

Form / Counterform

The counterform (or counter)—is the space described, and often contained, by the strokes of the form. When letters are joined to form words, the counterform includes the spaces between them. The latter is a particular and important concept when working with letterforms like lowercase ‘r’ that have no counters per se. How well you handle the counters when you set type determines how well words hang together—in other words, how easily we can read what’s been set.

Fig. 1.6 Form / Counterform | 09 May 2022

Contrast

Fig. 1.7 Contrast | 09 May 2022

Week 6 /

Physical Class: N/A (Public Holiday)

Online Prerecorded Lecture: Typo_6_Screen & Print

Typography in Different Medium

Type for Print

The designer’s job is to ensure that the text is smooth, flowing, and pleasant to read.

Caslon, Garamond, and Baskerville are the most common typefaces that are used for print. They are elegant and intellectual but also highly readable when set at a small font size. They are versatile, easy-to-digest classic typeface, which has neutrality and versatility that makes typesetting with it a breeze.

Fig. 1.8 Type for Print | 09 May 2022

Type for Screen (web, e-books, e-readers, and mobile devices)

Typefaces intended for use on the web are optimized and often modified to enhance readability and performance onscreen in a variety of digital environments. Eg: a taller x-height (or reduced ascenders and descenders), wider letterforms, more open counters, heavier thin strokes and serifs, reduced stroke contrast, as well as modified curves and angles for some designs.

For typefaces intended for smaller sizes more open spacing. All of these factors serve to improve character recognition and overall readability in the non-print environment.

Fig. 1.9 Screen Design for Website | 09 May 2022

Hyperactive Link / Hyperlink

A word, phrase, or image that you can click on to jump to a new document or a new section within the current document. Hyperlinks allow users to click their way from one page to another. Text hyperlinks are generally blue and underlined by default. When you move the cursor over a hyperlink, the arrow should change to a small hand pointing at the link.

Font Size for Screen

16-pixel text on a screen is about the same size as text printed in a book or magazine; this is accounting for reading distance. Because we read books pretty close — often only a few inches away — they are typically set at about 10 points. If you were to read them at arm’s length, you’d want at least 12 points, which is about the same size as 16 pixels on most screens.

Fig. 1.10 Font size of screen (Left) & print (Right) | 09 May 2022

System Fonts for Screen/Web Safe Fonts

Open Sans, Lato, Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman, Times, Courier New, Courier, Verdana, Georgia, Palatino, Garamond

Pixel Differential Between Devices

The screens used by PCs, tablets, phones and TVs are not only different sizes, but the text you see on-screen differs in proportion due to different sized pixels.

Fig. 1.11 Pixel Differential Between Devices | 09 May 2022

Static Typography

Static typography has minimal characteristics in expressing words. Traditional characteristics such as bold and italic offer only a fraction of the expressive potential of dynamic properties. Eg: billboards, posters, magazines, flyers, etc.

Fig. 1.12 Static Typography (Billboard) | 09 May 2022

Motion Typography

Film title credits present typographic information over time, often bringing it to life through animation. Motion graphics, particularly the brand identities of film and television production companies, increasingly contain animated types. On-screen typography has developed to become expressive, helping to establish the tone of associated content or express a set of brand values. In title sequences, typography must prepare the audience for the film by evoking a certain mood.

Week 7 /

Physical Class: This week's class started with Mr Vinod showing us the overall feedback on our Task 1 and E-portfolio in the Google Sheet file. After that, we were requested to post our work on the Facebook group then Mr Vinod give us feedback on our work. After that, Mr Vinod brief us on Task 3A and something we should be noticed when sketching Task 3A.

INSTRUCTION

Fig. 2.1 Module Information | 09 May 2022

Task 2 - Typographic Exploration & Communication (Text Formatting and Expression)

You will be asked to express typographically the content in the link provided in a 2-page editorial spread. No images are allowed. However, some minor graphical elements, i.e. line, shade, etc. might be allowed.

Utilising the knowledge gained in the exercises and other modules from the same semester, you will use Adobe InDesign to typographically compose and express the text within a given size (200 x 200 per page).

You may use Adobe Illustrator to create the headline expression should you feel the need to do so. However, the final layout is to be completed in Adobe InDesign. Explore several options in expression and layout (sketches). Execute a good layout, with an expressive and appropriate headline in line with the spirit/message of the text.

Sketches for Type Expression

After conducting research, I decided to work on Follow The Code essay and focus on expressing the word "Follow". Because I think that the overall essay is mainly enhancing about follow. I drew up a total of 3 drafts for the headline. Here are my sketches:

Fig. 2.2 Sketches for Headline | 09 May 2022

I digitized every expression for the headline using Adobe Illustrator. I only use a minor graphical element in my headline sketches, which is the line. The biggest problem I encountered during the digitising process was how to align the lines with the original lines of the letters.

Fig. 2.3 First Draft for Headline | 09 May 2022

Fig. 2.4 Second Draft for Headline | 09 May 2022

Fig. 2.5 Third Draft for Headline | 09 May 2022

Sketches for Text Formatting

Based on the 3 sketches of expression, I come out with three text formatting layout sketches.

Fig. 2.6 Sketches for Text Formatting Layout | 09 May 2022

I didn't have much preference for the third draft, so I decided to discard it. I only digitized the first and second drafts.

Fig. 2.7 First Draft for Layout | 09 May 2022

Fig. 2.8 Second Draft for Layout | 09 May 2022

After considering the feedback from Mr Vinod, I have decided to go on with the first draft and made some changes to the first draft. I made the "L" letter's thickness the same as the letter "O" and "W".

Fig. 2.9 Fourth Draft for Headline | 10 May 2022

Fig. 2.10 Third Draft for Layout | 10 May 2022

However, I am not satisfied with the black spaces in the third draft. I researched the word code and decided to add some elements about it to the layout.

Fig. 2.11 Research about Code | 12 May 2022

Final Submission

Fig. 2.12 Final Submission of Text Formatting and Expression Blocked Out | 13 May 2022

Fig. 2.13 Final Submission of Text Formatting and Expression (JPEG) | 13 May 2022

Fig. 2.14 Final Submission of Text Formatting and Expression (With Baseline Grids) | 13 May 2022

Fig. 2.15 Final Submission of Text Formatting and Expression (PDF) | 13 May 2022

Font: Gill Sans, Futura Std

Typeface: Gill Sans Light, Regular, Light Italic, Bold (Body Text); Gill Sans Light, Futura Std Light (Headline)

Font size: 60 pt, 30 pt, 19 pt, 15 pt, 9pt

Leading: 11pt

Paragraph Spacing: 11pt

Average characters per line: 37 ~ 45

Alignment: Left Align

Margins: 10mm (top, left, right, bottom)

Columns: 3 per page

Gutter (for columns): 5mm

FEEDBACK

Week 7 (10/05/2022):

General Feedback: Change the placement of the expression, the position and layout seem a bit crowded. It will be better if given more spaces, eg: clear the top section.

After reviewing the changes: Be aware of the spaces and format. The layout is all about form.

Specific Feedback: The problem with the layout is the thickness of double "L" should be the same as "O" and "W" since the "L" is already different from other letters. Reduce the font size of the body text. The second draft doesn't work, but the movement of the text is being considered. This is a good sign, it shows you are trying to be sensitive to the way the text looks.

REFLECTION

Experience -

Task 2 can be described as a combination of two exercises from Task 1. I also did a lot of research throughout the design process of Task 2. I had a lot of problems with the wording and I was unable to combine the information I researched. I fell into a misconception and forgot that sometimes designs don't need to be made up of too many elements combined. Simple designs can be visually satisfying and sometimes even better than complex ones.

Observation -

Throughout this task, I have found that it is better to have more than one design when designing so that you can get more ideas. It also allows you to compare between your designs and combine the best of different designs for a better final result.

Findings -

In this task, I learned the importance of space and that proper white space can give a better visual effect to the piece. However, it can be difficult to control when there is too much white space, as too much white space can make a piece look not very good, but too little white space can detract from the look and feel of the piece.

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Yew Yu Pheng (0348359)