TYPOGRAPHY / TASK 1 : EXERCISES
27.8.2021 - 24.9.2021 (Week 1 - Week 5)
Muhammad Azka Farezi Septenal / 0351345 / Bachelor of Design (hons) in
Cretive Media
Typography
Task 1 / Exercises
- Writing meant using a sharpened stick to scratch wet clay or carving stones with chivel.
- Tools or instrument has a very important influence on the type of writing that is created
- Phoenicians like other semitic peoples (middle east) wrote from right to left, however the greek changed the direction of writing from right to left and left to right (boustrophedon)
- The greek also changed the orientation of the letterform.
- Similar with phoenicians, The greek did not use letter space or punctuations, they were move to strict left-to-right writing.
- Square Capitals : This letterform can be found in Roman monuments. These letterforms have serifs added to the finish of the main strokes.
- Rustic Capitals : A compressed version of square capitals, it is also allowed fr twice as many words on a sheet of parchment and took less time to write, Altough more convenient (faster and easier) this letter form were slightly hard to read because they’re more condensed.
- Roman Cursive : Typically reserved for documents of some intended perfomance. Everyday transactions, however were written in cursive hand (simplified forms for speed). It is also the beginning of lowercase letterform.
- Uncials : It is incorporated some aspects of the Roman cursive hand (especially A, D, E, H, M, U, and Q). Uncials means twelfth of anything; as a result some scholars think that is refer to letter that one twelfth of foot (one inch). It is also simpifly as smal letters and more readable at small size than rustic capitals.
- Half Uncials : A more formalize type of the cursive hand. It is also mark the formal beginning of lowercase letterforms, replete with ascenders and descenders, 2000 years after the origin of the Phoenician alphabet.
- Calolie Minuscule : The first unifier of Europe since the romans, Charlemagne, issued an edict in 789 to standarize all ecclesiastical texts. This task entrusted to Alcuin of York. The monks rewrote the texts using both majuscules (uppercase), miniscule, capitalization and punctuation which set the standard for caligraphy for a century.
- Blackletter to Gutenberg’s type : With the dissolution of charlemagne’s empire came regional variations upon Alcuin’s script. a condense strongly vertical letterform gained popularity and known as Blackletter or textura in northern europe. In the south, a rounder more open hand called ‘rotunda’ also become popular. The humanistic script (in italy) based on Alcuin’s miniscule.
- Blackletter (1450)
- Oldstyle (1475)
- Italic (1500)
- Script (1500)
- Transitional (1750)
- Modern (1775)
- Square Serif/Slab Serif (1825)
- Sans Serif (1900)
- Eliminated serifs altogether. Introduce by Caslon (1816)
- Reffered to as grostesque (ugly) and gothle
- Serif/ Sans Serif (1990)
- Enlarges the notion of a family of serifs and sans serif (often stages between the two)
- Example : Rotis, Scala, Stone.
- Baseline: imaginary line the visual base of the letterforms
- Median: imaginary line defining the x-height of letterforms
- X-height: the heigh of the typeface in the lowercase x
- Capitals are lower than ascender height – they’re usually wider.
- Ascending stroke of the lowercase is usually above capital letter to give the impression that the lowercase is also as large as capital letter
- Stroke: Any line that defines the basic letterform
- Apex/Vertex: The point created by joining two diagonal stems
- Arm : Short strokes off the stem of the letterform, either horizontal (E, F, L) or inclined upward (K, Y).
- Ascender : The portion of the stem of a lowercase letterform that projects above the median.
- Barb : The half-serif finish on some curved stroke
- Beak : The half-serif finish on some horizontal arms.
- Bowl : The rounded form that describes a counter. The bowl may be either open or closed.
- Bracket : The transition between the serif and stem
- Cross Stroke : The horizontal stroke in a letterform that joins two stems together.
- Crotch : The interior space where two stroke meet.
- Ear : The stroke extending out from the main stem or body of the letterform.
- Em/en : Originally referring to the width of an uppercase M, and em is now the distance equal to the size of the typeface (an em in 48 points, for example). An en is half size of an em. Most often used to describe em/en spaces and em/en dashes.
- Ligature : Character formed by the combination of two or more letterform
- Link : The stroke that connects the bowl and the loop of a lowercase (G).
- Loop : in some typefaces, the bowl created in the descender of the lowercase (G).
- Serif : The right-angled or oblique foot at the end of the stroke.
- Spine : The curved stem of the (S).
- Spur : The extension the articulates the junction of the curved and rectilinear stroke.
- Stress : The orientation of the letterform, indicated by the thin stroke in round forms.
- Swash : The flourish that extends the stroke of the letterform.
- Terminal : The self-contained finish of a stroke without a serif. This is something of a Catch-all term.
- (T) above
- Flared
- Acute
- (t) above
- Grave
- Concave
- Convex
- Rounded as a ball or a teardrop.
- Uppercase : Capital letters, including certain accented vowels.
- Lowercase : Lowercase letters, include the same character as uppercase.
- Small Capitals : Uppercase letterforms draw to the x-height of the typeface. Small Caps are primarily found In serif fonts as part of what is often (expert set).
- Usually use in acronyms without making the typeface too messy.
- Uppercase Numerals : also called lining figures. Used with tabular material or in any situation that calls for uppercase letters.
- Lowercase numerals: Also known as old style figures/text figure. Far less common in san serifs than in serif.
- Italic : Most fonts today are produced with a matching italic. Small caps, however, are almost always only roman.
- Punctuation, miscellaneous characters : Although all fonts contain standard punctuation marks, miscellaneous characters can change typeface to typeface.
- Ornaments : Used as flourishes in invitations or certificates (usually are provided as a font in larger typeface family)
- Roman : The letterform is so called because the uppercase forms are derived from inscriptions of Roman monuments. A slightly lighter stroke in roman is known 'book'
- Italic : Named for fifteenth century Italian handwriting on which the forms are based.
- Oblique : conversely are based on roman form of typeface.
- Boldface : thicker stroke than a roman form
- Can be semibold, medium, black, extra bold
- The boldest is referred to as poster
- Light : lighter stroke than roman form
- Even lighter strokes are called thin
- Kerning :
- refers to the automatic adjustment of space between letters.
- Often mistakenly referred to as 'letterspacing'.
- It is NOT letterspacing, letterspacing means to add space between the letters.
- Tracking : The addition or removal of space in a word or sentence.
- Normal Tracking.
- Loose Tracking :
- Loose tracking in lowercase letters require counterform between letters to be created to maintain the line of reading
- Tight Tracking.
- Flush Left :
- 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.
- Space between words are consistent throughout the text.
- Centered :
- This format imposes symmetry upon the text.
- It transforms fields of text into shapes, thereby adding a pictorial quality to material that is non-pictorial by nature.
- It's important to amend line breaks so that the text does not appear too jagged.
- Flush Right :
- This format places emphasis on the end of a line as opposed to its start.
- Can be useful in situations (like captions) where the relationship between text and image might be ambiguous without a strong orientation to the right.
- Justified :
- This format imposes a symmetrical shape on the text.
- Achieved by expanding or reducing spaces between words and, sometimes, between letters.
- The resulting openness of lines can occasionally produce 'rivers' of white spaces running vertically through the text.
- Attention to line breaks and hyphenation is required to amend this problem.
- Different typefaces suit different messages.
- A good typographer has to know which typefaces best suits the message at hand.
- Type with relatively generous x-height or relatively heavier stroke width produces a darker mass on the page than smaller x-height or lighter stroke.
- Thicker stroke increases readability (on prints)
- Type Size :
- Text type should be large enough to be read easily at arms length - imagine yourself holding a book in your lap.
- Leading :
- Text that is set too tightly encourages vertical eye movement; a reader can easily loose his or her place.
- Type that is set too loosely creates stripped patterns that distract the reader from the material at hand.
- Line Length :
- Appropriate leading for text is as much a function of the line length as it is a question question of type size and leading.
- Shorter lines require less leading; longer lines more.
- A good rule of thumb is to keep line length between 55-65 characters.
- Extremely long or short lines lengths impairs reading.
- Shows samples of typefaces. You can only determine choice on screen when its final version is to read on screen.
- A Type specimen book (or ebook for screen) is to provide an accurate reference for type, type size, type leading, type line length.
- It is useful to enlarge type to 400% on screen to get a clear sense of relationship between descenders on one line and ascenders on the line below.
- The best screen is still an electronic approx. of the printed page (unless you are designing for screen)
- Linespace : The base line of one sentence to the desencender of the other sentence
- Leading : Space between 2 sentences.
- Standard Indentation : Typically here the indent in the same size of the line spacing or the same as the point size of your text.
- Used to save some spaces
- Too short of a paragraph will cause more ragging
- Don't use ragging on the right (remember to always use justify if you're using indentation)
- Window : Is a short line of type left alone at the end of a column of text.
- Break line endings through out paragraph so that the last line of paragraph is not noticeably short.
- Orphan : Is a short line of type left alone at the start of new column.
- It must be avoided or you can adjust the column height.
- Making it bold, italic, change the typeface or has a different colors (cyan, magenta, or black)
- When changing the typeface, you need to adjust depends of the point size.
- You can also align number with the capital.
- You can also create box of text to highlight text.
- It is also necessary occasionally to place certain typographic elements outside the left margin of a column of type to maintain a strong reading axis.
- This includes Quotation, bullets - they can create indent and breaking left reading axis
- Make sure to signify the relative importance of these heads and their relationship to each other



- The uppercase letter forms bellow suggest symmetry, but in fact it is not symmetrical. It is easy to see the two different stroke weights of the Baskerville stroke form (below); more noteworthy is the fact that each bracket connecting the serif to the stem has a unique arc.
- The uppercase letter forms may appear symmetrical, but a close examination shows that the width of the left slope is thinner than the right stroke. Both Baskerville (previous) and Univers (below) demonstrate the meticulous care a type designer takes to create letterforms that are both internally harmonious and individually expressive.
- The complexity of each individual letterform is neatly demonstrated by examining the lowercase 'a' of two seemingly similar sans-serif typefaces -- Helvetica and Univers. A comparison of how the stems of the letterforms finish and how the bowls meet the stem quickly reveals the palpable difference in character between the two.
- X - height generally describe the size of the lowercase letterforms. However, you should keep in mind that 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.
- Counter or Counterform -- the space describes, and often contained, by the strokes of the form. When letters are joined to form words, the counter form includes the space between them
- The basic principles of Graphic Design apply the directly to typography. The following are some example of contrast -- the most powerful dynamic design -- as applied to type, based on a formate devised by Rudi Ruegg.
- In the past, typography was viewed as living only when it reached paper. Once a publication was edited, typeset and printed, it was done. Nothing changed after that. Good typography and readability were the result of skilled typesetter and designers.
- Today typography exist not only on paper but on a multitude pf screens. It is subject to many unknown and fluctuating parameters, such as operating system, system fonts, the device and screen itself, the viewport and more. Our experience of typography today changes based on how the page is rendered, because typesetting happens in the browser.
- Type for Print :
- Primarily, type was designed intended for reading form print long before we read from screen. It is designer's job to ensure that text is Smoot, flowing, and pleasant to read.
- A good typeface for print-Caslon, Garamond, Baskerville are the most common typefaces that is used for print. Because of their characteristic which are elegant and intellectual but also highly readable when set at small font size
- They are versatile, easy0to-digest classic typeface, which has a neutrality and versatility that makes typesetting with it breeze.
- Type for Screen :
- Typefaces intended for use on the web are optimized and often modified to enhance readability and performance onscreen in a variety of digital environments. This can include a taller x-height (or reduced ascender 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.
- Another important adjustment -- especially for the typefaces intended for smaller sizes -- is more open spacing. All of these factors serve to improve character recognition and overall readability in the non-print environment, which can include the web, e-books, e readers, and mobile devices.
- Hyperactive Link/ hyperlink :
- A hyperlink is 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 are found in nearly all web pages, allowing users to click their way from page to another. Text hyperlink, whether it is text or an image, 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 book 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 as 16 pixels on most screen.
- 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 our PCs, tablets, phones and TVs are not only different sizes, but the text you see on-screen differs in proportion too, because they have different sized pixels. 100 pixels on a laptop is very different from 100 pixels on a big 60" HDTV.
- Static vs Motion :
- Static typography has minimal characteristic in expressing words. Traditional characteristic such as bold and italic offer only a fraction of the expressive potential of dynamic properties.
- Temporal media offer typography opportunities to "dramatize" type, for letterforms to become "fluid" and "kinetic" (Woolman and Bellatoni, 1999). Film title credits present typographic information overtime, often bringing it to life through animation. Motion graphics, particularly the brand identities of film and television production companies, increasingly contain animated type.
EXERCISES :
FEEDBACK
REFLECTIONS
FURTHER READING
Throughout our creative lives we have sifted through
everything to select what we thought best. We sifted through
materials to find those for which we have the closest
affinity. We sifted through colors, textures, typefaces,
images, and gradually we built a vocabulary of materials and
experiences that enable us to express our solutions to given
problems - our interpretations of reality.
It is
imperative to develop your own vocabulary of your own
language - a language that attempts to be as objective as
possible, knowing very well that even objectivity is
subjective.
Comments
Post a Comment