Advanced Typography - Task 1 - Typographic Systems & Type & Play
23.08.2021 - 13.09.2021 (Week 1 - Week 4)
Aishath Lene Abdulla Amir (0333185)
Bachelors of Design (Hons) in Creative Media / Taylor's
University
Typographic Systems & Type & Play
LECTURES
Week 1- Typographic System
This lecture was on the Typographical Systems which are
classified into 8 variations. These variations are known as Axial,
Radial, Dilatational, Random, Grid, Modular, Transitional and
Bilateral. In the lecture we are provided with in depth information about the
ways in which these systems work. Axial system is when the elements
are organised to the left or right of a single axis. The axis does not have
to be a straight line. Radial system is when the text extends
from a single point of focus. Dilational is when elements expands in a circular way. Grid is when the
texts are in a horizontal and vertical division. Modular is when non
objective units same in size are standardised. Next is transitional which is banding or in a wavy motion. Random
which means there is no specific pattern or relationship. Lastly, Bilateral which is when the elements are arranged symmetrically
on a single axis.
Week 2- Typographic Composition
This week's lecture focused on typographical compositions,
highlighting how composition has evolved to where it is
now. Typographic composition is the arrangement of textual information
on a given space. Some of the most common composition are emphasis, rule of thirds
and grid system. Text compositions used to be largely in grid or modular compositions,
as discussed in the previous lecture, but as time went on, newer
generations, particularly those influenced by punk, began
experimenting with other compositions such as random transitional. It
also explained environmental grid composition, which is based on
existing structure or numerous structures combined. Lastly Form and
movement structure developed by Mr. Vinod is based on existing grid
systems.
Week 3- Context and Creativity
This lecture consisted of history of letterforms and how they
evolved throughout the years. Beginning with the ancient Egyptians and progressing through Greek
and Roman letters. The lecture also discussed movable type, or what
we often refer to as printing. The history of printing and how
wooden blocks were used to print writing on paper to create mobile
devices.
Week 4 - Designing Type
In this lecture the discussion was about what goes into designing a
typeface. Specifically talking about 3 different type faces which
are Frutiger by Adrian Frutiger, where the purpose of this typeface
was to create an extremely functional, clean, distinctive and
legible typeface that is easy to see from both far away and up
close. Next typeface is Verdana by Matthew Carter. This font turned
out to be extremely legible even at vey small sizes on the
screen.Carter's fonts were created to address specific technical
issues those posed by early computers. And lastly Johnston Sans
created by Edward Johnston. He created this font for London's
underground railway posters and signs. The lecture also showed what
goes into the process of making typefaces from research, sketching,
digitisation, testing to Deploy.
Week 5 - Perception and Organisation
Perception in typography deals with visual navigation and
interpretation of the reader through contrast, form and organisation
of the content. Contrast means when something clearly stands out
in a layout. Contrast can be created with the use of size,
colour, weight, form, structure, texture and direction. Next is
form, which refers to the overall look and feel of the elements that
make up a typographic composition. When a typeface is perceived as a
form, it no longer reads as a letter because it has been manipulated
by distortion, texture, enlargement and has been extruded into a
space. Last one is organisation and Gestalt. The components and
elements of a design is only as good as the overall visual form. A
good organisation is created when the contact and form come
together in a layout it give its completed look.
INSTRUCTIONS
Figure 1. 0 - Module Information Booklet - 23/08/2021
Task 1 - Exercises
Week 1
Typographic Systems
Figure 1. 1 - Axial - 25/08/2021
Figure 1.20 - Trace - 6/09/2021
Figure 1.21 - Traced Letters - 6/09/2021
Figure 1.22 - Adobe Caslon Pro - 6/09/2021
Originally my idea was to play around with the shadow and
perspectives. I went with 'Figure 1.34' and had my first
attempt.
Typographic Systems
For this week's exercise we had to create designs for the given titles,
according to the 8 different types of typographic systems which are
Axial, Radial, Dilatational, Random, Grid, Transitional, Modular and
Bilateral.
Figure 1. 1 - Axial - 25/08/2021
Figure 1. 2 - Radial - 25/08/2021
Figure 1. 3 - Dilatational - 25/08/2021
Figure 1. 4 - Random - 25/08/2021
Figure 1. 5 - Grid - 25/08/2021
Figure 1. 6 - Transitional - 25/08/2021
Figure 1. 7 - Modular - 25/08/2021
Figure 1. 8 - Bilateral - 25/08/2021
Week 2
On Week 2 we were given feedback for the exercise we did on Week 1. We
were given one more week to make improvements.
Typographic Systems - Final Outcome
Figure 1. 9 - Axial.jpg - 06/09/2021
Figure 1. 10 - Radial.jpg - 06/09/2021
Figure 1. 11 - Dilatational.jpg - 06/09/2021
Figure 1. 12 - Transitional.jpg - 06/09/2021
Figure 1. 13 - Bilateral.jpg - 06/09/2021
Figure 1. 14 - Random.jpg - 06/09/2021
Figure 1. 15 - Grid.jpg - 06/09/2021
Figure 1. 16 - Modular.jpg - 06/09/2021
Figure 1. 17 - Export with Grid - 06/09/2021
Figure 1. 18 - Typographic Systems - PDF - 06/09/2021
Task 1 - Exercises
Week 3 - Finding Type
For this exercise, we have to select a picture that includes a
natural/ geometric pattern and observe and trace the letterforms you
find within the picture. We have to make 4 letters and or numbers.
If they are all letters, we have to make sure that they are either
uppercase or lowercase.
While selecting my picture I figured that cells were something that
has a-lot of patterns. This picture from Alamy stock Images is
called braincells in the dark field under the microscope 100x.
I found it pretty interesting as it had many different shapes and I
could already imagine the traces of some letters.
Figure 1.19 - Brain Cells - 6/09/2021
After observing this picture for a while I could kind of tell where
I was going with the letter because of how they turned out when I
traces out the letters.
Figure 1.20 - Trace - 6/09/2021
As you can tell already I traced into more than 4 letters. I did
this because I wanted to be on the safer side in case some letters
don't work well with each other. The next step was to arrange them
together and find a typeface that kind of presents as a basic
structure of the letters. For this I used Adobe Caslon Pro.
Because out of all the letters, for me the best one was the
letter "A", and I wanted to base the rest of my letters to that
theme.
This next step is where the refining process began.
From these letters I chose the 4 letters which looked the most
similar to each other. From K, A F and H, y favourite letter is A.
Following this as the main I will attempt my design.
Figure 1.23 - Refine Process - 8/09/2021
I got a fresh perspective of the designed letters after a day and
realised that it didn't resemble the original trace that much.
Figure 1.24 - Refine Process - 10/09/2021
Figure 1.24 - Refine Process - 10/09/2021
I followed the design of the other letters to make the letter "H",
still trying my best to maintain an essence of what the trace looked
like. The last design in "Figure 1.24 is the final.
After feedback given by Mr Vinod, I made some final changes to my
design.
After Feedback
I had to make a few changes in the letters. Mr Vinod advised that I
should follow the letter 'H' when making the final edits to the
letters, making sure the curve at the end matches as well.
Figure 1.25 - Refine Progress - 13/09/2021
Figure 1.26 - "K" - 13/09/2021
Figure 1.27 - "A" - 13/09/2021
Figure 1.28 - "H" - 13/09/2021
Figure 1.29 - "F" - 13/09/2021
Figure 1.30 - Final - 13/09/2021
Final Outcome
Figure 1.31 - Refine Progress PDF - 13/09/2021
Figure 1.32 - Finding Type Final PDF - 13/09/2021
Task 1 - Exercises
Week 4 - Image and Type Play
For Image and type play we have to choose an image and add
typography to it. Both the image and type should look equal in the
final outcome.
Figure 1.33 - Image - 18/09/2021
Figure 1.34 - Image - 18/09/2021
Figure 1.35 - Image - 18/09/2021
Figure 1.35 - Image - 18/09/2021
In my first few attempts it looked looked odd to me because the
perspective and the lighting looked off and the shadows seemed
too sharp. I wanted the letters to look like the were placed
there.
Later i changed, so that the shadow would read the letters
normally rather than the actual letters. I followed the shadow
of the person in the picture. The perspective was challenging to
adjust but I found a way to work my way though this problem.
Figure 1.36 - Shady- 18/09/2021
Figure 1.37 - New idea- 20/09/2021
Figure 1.38 - Euphoric - 21/09/2021
Figure 1.39 - Euphoric - 21/09/2021
Final Outcome
Figure 1.40 - Euphoric- 21/09/2021
HOURS SPENT
T1: Ex1 15hrs, Ex2 10hrs, Ex3 7hrs
FEEDBACK
Week 1
General Feedback: Don’t cut down the design straight down the middle of the
page.
Specific Feedback: No specific feedback
Week 2
General Feedback: Make sure to look at the negative space on the page. Letter
spacing and tracking is important. To make sure to upload PDF with visible grid.
Specific Feedback: The random typographic system can be more
wilder.
Week 3
General Feedback: Make sure that the embedded items are visible on
the blog. Don't do the refinement process all in one day. and use
illustrator to do the task.
Specific Feedback: No specific feedback
Week 4
General Feedback: Image and type play exercise, don't distort the Image.
Image and test should be 50/50.
Specific Feedback: Finding type exercise- Follow the stem stoke and curve of the letter H, when making changes to the final letters.
Specific Feedback: Finding type exercise- Follow the stem stoke and curve of the letter H, when making changes to the final letters.
Week 5
General Feedback: It is important to refer to the feedback given to others.
Specific Feedback: No specific feedback
REFLECTION
Experience
The first 3 weeks are always a challenge for me. With the first exercise
which is Typographic systems I faced my fair share of obstacles. I had to
change almost all of my designs I made on the first week. I was afraid so I
made really safe design choices. Though when it came to week 3, I was able
to somewhat step out of that thought process. Now that I understand the
proper thought process that goes into this I will be able to perform better
in the next tasks to come. My experience with Exercise 2 which is Type and
Play, I had a completely different experience. I was able to make choices
more smoothly than in Exercise 1. I got stuck a few times but I worked my
self through the trouble. I am much happier with the final result. In the final exercise which is Image and type play, I had a hard time finding the right perspective and adjusting the shadow of the letters.
Observation
The feedback sessions weren't supposed to be for everyone, but since it was
the first few weeks Mr. Vinod ended up giving us feedback anyway, to give us
some direction. We should now be able to make out own decisions when it
comes to our design and be confident. When faced with a challenge we are
supposed to find a way to work through those challenges. In the image and type play exercise I observed clearly the diction of the subject and how the shadow aligned, this is how i applied the shadow of the letters.
Findings
At the beginning of the semester, i found myself forgetting little
things when using InDesign. I realised that it is important to keep
practicing. I realised that just by looking and hearing about different typographic systems, I couldn't apply the instructions to the design. There, needed to be clear observation of the
layouts and to see where one typographic system differs from the
other.
I found that what helps me the most is looking at different kinds of images and typography separately and imagining which type of typographic design would go best with which image.
FURTHER READING
Figure 1. 41 - Further Reading - 25/08/2021
Link:- https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2012/04/when-typography-speaks-louder-than-words/
This article named " when typography speaks louder than words, shows us the importance of balancing visual and
verbal aspects of typography. It also talks about what a powerful tool
typography can be when relaying a message. This informs from the manipulating feelings and reactions to how to make the most of the visual
language.
Figure 1. 42 - Further Reading - 04/09/2021
Link:- https://www.toptal.com/designers/ui/typeface-history
This article is about about the typeface history. It shows us, from
the book of masses, space saving typefaces in history, how readability
was improved, first appearances of modern serifs, slab serifs, san
serifs to 20th century typeface and how it developed to digital
typography to how typeface evolved on the web.
Figure 1. 43 - Further Reading - 22/09/2021
Link:- http://ede1053.cias.rit.edu/interactive1/article/paulascher.html
Thos article is about the famous graphic Designer Paula Scher, who took inspiration from the art of typography and have designed some of the most well known designs. This article gives us some information about her background, her career and her work.
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