Advanced Typography / Task 1

24.09.2024 - 19.10.2024 / Week 1 - Week 4

GAN YI KIAN / 0374572
Advanced Typography / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media
Task 1 / Exercises 

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LECTURES

Week 1

Fig 1.1 Typographic System Examples 

Typographic Systems

"All design is based on a structural system"

There are eight major variations with an infinite number of permutations.

• Axial
• Radial
• Dilational
• Random
• Grid
• Modular
• Transitional
• Bilateral

Axial

All elements are organized to the left or right of a single axis.

Radial

All elements are extended from a point of focus.

Dilational

All systems expand from a central point in a circular manner.

Random

Elements appear to have no specific pattern or relationship.

Grid

A system if vertical and horizontal divisions.

Modular

A series of non-objective elements are constructed as standardized elements.

Transitional

An informational system of layered banding.

Bilateral

All text is arranged symmetrically on a single axis.

Week 2

Typographic Composition

Emphasis 

Fig. 1.2 Emphasis

The rule of thirds

The percentage shown in the picture represents the first chance of people being attracted, and this composition is often used in photography.

Fig. 1.3 The Rule of Third

Grid system

While the Grid System may seem to be old or rigid, the versatility of the system and its modular nature tends to allow an infinite number of adaptations. This is why continues to remain popular.

Fig. 1.4 Grid System

Week 3

Context & Creativity

Why is handwriting important in the study of typography?

We study handwriting because the first mechanically produced letterforms were designed to directly imitate handwriting. Handwriting would become the basis or standard for form, spacing and conventions of mechanical type would try and mimic.

The shape and line of hand drawn letterforms are influenced by the tools and materials used to make them. Sharpened bones, charcoal sticks, plant stems, brushes, feather and sheel pens all contributed to the unique characteristics of the letterform.

Cuneiform

• c. 3000 B.C.E.
• The earliest writing system.
• was used in a number of languages between the 34C. B.C.E. through the 1st century C.E.
• Written left to right.
• Distinctive wedge form was the result of pressing the blunt end of a reed stylus into wet clay tablets.
• Characters involved from pictograms.

Hieroglyphics

• 2613-2160 B.C.E.
• The Egyptian writing system is fused with the art of relief carving.
• Mixture of both rebus and phonetic characters- the first link to a future alphabetic.

1. As ideograms, to represent the things they actually depict.
2. As determinatives to show that the signs preceding are meant as phonograms and to indicate the general idea of the word.
3. As phonograms to represent sounds that 'spell out' individual words.

Early Greek

• 5th C. B.C.E.
• Phoenicians developed a phonetic alphabet consisting of 22 letters.
• The Phoenicians system was adopted by the Greeks.
• Greeks was often read in a format known as boustrophedon or "as the ox plows."
• One row would read left to right and switch from right to left.
• Drawn freehand.
• After the strokes of these letters gradually became thicker, the apertures gradually became smaller, and serifs appeared.
• Served as models for format lettering in imperial Rome.

Roman Uncials

• By the 4th century Roman letters were becoming more rounded,curving allows for fewer strokes and faster writing.

English Half Uncials

• 8th C.
• Evolved into a more slanted and condensed form.

Emperor Charlemagne

• 8 C. CE
• A breakdown of handwriting into diverse regional styles.
• For 300 years, written knowledge was preserved mainly in remote religious outposts.

Carolingian Minuscule

• During Charlemagne's patronage book production increased and language was standardized - pronunciation and spelling as well as writing conventions - capitals at the start if a sentence, spaces between words and punctuation.
• Was used for all legal and literary works.
• as important a development as the standard Roman capital.
• Became the pattern for the Humanistic writing of the fifteenth century. 

Black Letter

• 12-15 C. CE
• Gothic style from 1200-1500.
• The term Gothic originated with the Italians.
• tight spacing and condensed lettering.
• Condensing line spacing and letter spacing reduced the amount of costly materials in book production.

Movable Type 

• 11 C.-14 C.
• Printing (wood block) had already been practiced in China, Korea and Japan (Dharani Sutra, AD750）.
• The introduction of moveable type was introduced in the 1000-1100 CE.
• Innovation was pioneered in China but achieved in Korea.

Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) script

• 3500-2000 BCE.
• The oldest writing found in the 'Indian' .

Brahmi script (450-350 BCE) 

• The earliest writing system developed in India after the Indus script.
• One of the most influential writing system.
• All modern Indian scripts and several hundred scripts found in Southeast and East Asia are derived from Brahmi.

Pallava (or Pallawa in Malay)

• South Indian script.
• Originally used for writing Sanskrit and Tamil.
• becoming the basis for writing systems across Southeast Asia.
• Wasn't the only Indian script in use in the Malay Archipelago.
  

Pra-nagari

• An early form of the Nagari script, used in India for writing Sanskrit.

Jawi

• The Arabic-based alphabet.
• Introduced along with Islam.
• Greater importance in Malaysia.
• the script used for all famous works of literature.
• written of every hikayat and Malay charm book.

Week 4

Designing Type

Why design another typeface?

• Type design carries a social responsibility so one must continue to improve its legibility,
• Type design is a form of artistic expression.

Adrian Frutiger

• Create the typefaces: Univers and Frutiger.
• Purpose: create a clean, distinctive and legible typeface.
• Considerations: letterforms needed to be recognized even in poor light conditions or when the reader was moving quickly past the sign. 

Matthew Carter

• Many of the fonts were created to address specific technical challenges. (Verdana for Microsoft).
• Purpose: The font was tuned to be extremely legible even at very small sizes on the sizes on the screen due in part to the popularity of the internet and electronic devices.
• Create typeface: Bell Centennial.
• Purpose: use in telephone directories.

Edward Johnston

• The hugely influential London "Underground".
• Create typeface: Johnston Sans.
• Purpose: London's Undergrounf railway ordered a new typefaces for poster and signage from the calligrapher.He handed over details and examples of letter shapes.
• An elegance and a simplicity that fit the modern age.

General Process of Type Design:

1.Research

• Understand type history, type anatomy, type conventions, terminologies, side-bearing, metrics, hinting.
• Determine the type's purpose or what it would be used for, what different applications it will be used in such as.
• Examine existing fonts that are presently being used for inspiration/ideas/reference/context/usage pattern/etc.

2. Sketching

• Using tool set (brush/ pens, ink, and paper} or using digital tool sets, such as Wacom.

3. Digitization

• Software used in the digitization of typefaces: FontLab and Glyphs App.

4. Testing

• The results of the testing is part of the process of refining and correcting aspects of the typefaces.

5. Deploy

• Even after deploying a completed typeface there are always teething problems that did not come to the fore during the prototyping and testing phases.

Roman Capital

Fig. 1.5  Roman Capital

The grid consists of a square and inside it a circle that just touches the lines of the square in four places.

Construction and considerations

Fig. 1.6 Construction and considerations

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INSTRUCTIONS

 Task 1 - Exercise 1: Typographic Systems 

We have been tasked with exploring eight systems using InDesign, including Axial, Radial, Dilatational, Random, Grid, Transitional, Bilateral and Modular.

Size: 200 x 200 mm 

Color: Black and an additional color

Minor graphical elements (line, dot, etc.) are limited but limited.

The Design School,

Taylor’s University

All Ripped Up: Punk Influences on Design

Open Public Lectures:

June 24, 2021

Lew Pik Svonn, 9AM-10AM

Ezrena Mohd., 10AM-11AM

Suzy Sulaiman, 11AM-12PM

June 25, 2021

Lim Whay Yin, 9AM-10AM

Fahmi Reza, 10AM-11AM

Manish Acharia, 11AM-12PM

Lecture Theatre 12

Attempts

Under these requirements, I first looked for reference works and then made my first attempt in InDesign.

Fig. 2.1 Axial Attempt (5/10/2024)

Axial

Font Used

: Futura Std (Heavy)

Date: Futura Std (Heavy Oblique)

I think composition is beautiful, and after I referenced many works, I wanted to try a simple design.

Fig. 2.2 Axial 2 Attempt (5/10/2024)

After this, I make some changes.

I change the subtitle color for make the theme more obvious.

Fig. 2.3 Radial Attempt (26/9/2024)

Radial

Font Used

: Univers LT Std (Light Ultra Condensed, Light Condensed Oblique, Bold Condensed Oblique, Light Oblique)

I added cyan to some of the more important titles to make it easier for people to see the key points. I used lines to distinguish the titles from other details.

Fig. 2.4 Dilatational Attempt  (3/10/2024)

Dilatational

Font Used

Upper left circle: ITC Garamond Std (Book Narrow)

PUNK: Gill Sans Std (Bold Italic)

Lower right circle: Gill Sans Std (Regular)

I added red to some of the more important titles to make it easier for people to see the key points including topics. I also added shapes to guide the reader in the reading direction.

Fig. 2.5 Random Attempt (3/10/2024)

Random

I used a lot of fonts to create this layout and it looks confusing.

Fig. 2.6 Random Attempt (3/10/2024)

Because I was not very satisfied with the previous design, so I re-conceived the idea and made this new work.

Fig. 2.7 Grid Attempt (3/10/2024)

Grid

Font Used

: Futura Std (Medium, Heavy Oblique ,Medium Oblique)

I was a little satisfied with the layout. When I placed the content, it felt a bit empty, so I added some lines to enrich the visuals.

Fig. 2.8 Grid 2 Attempt (3/10/2024)

Then after listening to my friend's advice, I decided to remove the extra lines. I didn't need lines to distinguish the title from the content, so I just used some lines to put next to the date.

Fig. 2.9 Transitional Attempt  (3/10/2024)

Transitional

Font Used

: Bodoni Std (Book Italic, Bold Condensed, Roman)

24 25: Gill Sans Std (Bold Italic)

According to the transition requirements, I used wavy text to create this work. In the same way, I put important words in color or made them larger.

Fig. 2.10 Transitional 2 Attempt (3/10/2024)

I rethink the gradient from top to bottom from large to small fonts, but I’m still confused. Is it possible?

Fig. 2.11 Bialteral Attempt (3/10/2024)

Bilateral
Font Used

left: Futura Std (Light Condensed)

left date: Futura Std (Medium Condensed)

right: Futura Std (Bold Condensed)

I first enlarge the title on the right, and then add some content on the left, on one axis.

Fig. 2.12 Modular Attempt (3/10/2024)

Modular

Font Used

: Futura Std (Medium Condensed, Light Condensed, Heavy)

I filled the boxes with color to make them blocky and added a mild color combination to make the reader feel comfortable.

Final Task 1 - Exercise 1: Typographic System

After Mr Vinod's feedback, I changed my work again. It was a long process, but I think these suggestions are very practical and make sense.

Fig. 2.13 Final Axial System (3/10/2024)

Fig. 2.14 Final Bilateral System (3/10/2024)

Fig. 2.15 Final Dilatational System (3/10/2024)

Fig. 2.16 Final Grid System (3/10/2024)

Fig. 2.17 Final Modular System (3/10/2024)

Fig. 2.18 Final Radial System (3/10/2024)

Fig. 2.19 Final Random System (3/10/2024)

Fig. 2.20 Final Transitional System (3/10/2024)

Fig. 2.21  Final Exercise 1 Typographic Systems PDF (3/10/2024)

Fig. 2.22 Final Exercise 1 Typographic Systems PDF with grid (3/10/2024)

Task 1 - Exercise 2: Type and Play 

We need to select a picture and then draw out the strokes that may be hidden in the picture.

First, I put the image into Photoshop to adjust its clarity and add more obvious special effects to help me complete the task of tracing.

Fig. 3.1 Original image (3/10/2024)

Fig. 3.2 Extracted image (3/10/2024)

So I get V Y F L X

I chose Papyrus as my reference font.

Fig. 3.3 Reference font (Papyrus) (8/10/2024)

I compare the reference font with the font I extracted.

Fig. 3.4 Reference font and extracted pattern(Papyrus) (8/10/2024)

Let me first assume that my font height is approximately 39.50 and the width is 34. Then adjust my font according to this size.I was very nervous when I handed in this assignment because I didn't know what kind of evaluation Mr Vinod would give me, but luckily my assignment was fine. Mr Vinod just said "goodjob" and I was already very happy hahahaha.

Fig. 3.5  All in one (9/10/2024)

This is the process of evolution of my writing, Mr Vinod said it is necessary.I used Illustrator's pen tool to slowly modify the pattern I extracted, and recorded the process.

Fig. 3.6 Refining Process (9/10/2024)

Final Outcome

Fig. 3.7 Original image (9/10/2024)

Fig. 3.8 Extracted image (9/10/2024)

Fig. 3.9 Refining Process (9/10/2024)

Fig. 3.10 Extracted Letterforms baseline (9/10/2024)

Fig. 3.11 Reference Font (9/10/2024)

Fig. 3.12 Final Letterform (9/10/2024)

Fig. 3.13 Final original extraction upper and final letterforms bottom (9/10/2024)

Exercise 2 — Type & Play Part 2

We need to design a 1024px square poster using the extracted font we created.

My idea is to make the same poster as Marvel, and then put the fonts I extracted into the poster for design

Fig 4.1 Design poster process (13/10/2024)

Final Outcome

Add the Marvel logo and make my center font transparent. Add some details below such as author, release date and playback specs.

Fig. 4.2 Poster (15/10/2024)

Fig. 4.3 Final Poster PDF (16/10/2024)

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FEEDBACK

Week 2

Specific Feedback: My axial system space is not used well, leaving too much blank space. The upper and lower circles of my Radial artwork do not have a coherent feel. My Random creations don’t look messy enough. The title of my Grid work looks too bold, Mr Vinod said it is not necessary. My transitional works don’t have the feeling of decreasing downwards. There are no obvious blocks in my Modular works.

Week 3

General Feedback: Points will be deducted next week for those who do not enter Google feedback.

Specific Feedback: Good job at Extracted Letterforms.

Week 4

General Feedback: We need to start task 2.

Specific Feedback: Good job at Poster.

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REFLECTION

Experience

I have never done a similar assignment in the past. From the beginning, we needed to make eight different system layouts in Indesign. When Mr Vinod gave me feedback, I learned that almost all the system layouts needed to be redone. I felt frustrated. But when it came to the second exercise of extracting fonts and poster design, Mr Vinod's feedback said that I was doing a good job, which made me feel very happy. At that time, I was still afraid that I would need to redo it.

Observations

When Mr Vinod gave feedback to others, I observed that many people were actually very imaginative, their works were different from others, and they had their own style. Also, on Facebook, I observed that the works of other classmates were great. I often listened to Mr Vinod's comments to others and compared my own works with others.

Findings

I learned eight different types of layout systems. Many works include these eight systems in their layout, as well as a good way to create typesetting with blank space. The font extraction exercise was also very interesting. Each of the characters we found was different, depending on our imagination, and then we adjusted them appropriately to be close to the reference font.

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 FURTHER READING 

Fig. 5.1 A Type Primer_2nd Ed_by John Kane

Fig. 5.2 A Type Primer_2nd Ed_by John Kane (pg 46)

With the rapid growth of the personal computer industry, designers have the tools they need to design, layout, and draw projects at their fingertips, without having to rely on vendors. In 1990, many font stores also began to offer digital fonts exclusively. In 2000, the position of typesetter had disappeared.

Fig. 5.3 A Type Primer_2nd Ed_by John Kane (pg 73)

There are two approaches here that are not useful for any serious communication, the image above: a unique font (Mistral) that makes it difficult for readers to read the content. Pictured below: a regular font (Trajan), all caps. No need to modify text.

Fig. 5.4 A Type Primer_2nd Ed_by John Kane (pg 126)

Fig. 5.5  A Type Primer_2nd Ed_by John Kane (pg 127)

Here is a simple way to highlight content in a text column. In the first example the font is highlighted in italics and in the second example it is highlighted in bold. In terms of "color", the contrast created by bold fonts is more obvious. In the third example, a sans-serif bald font (Univers 75) is used for greater contrast. In the last example, the actual color changes from black to red.

Fig. 5.6  A Type Primer_2nd Ed_by John Kane (pg 128)

Fig. 5.7  A Type Primer_2nd Ed_by John Kane (pg 129)

Displaying type by placing it in a colored field, maintaining a consistent left word axis aids reading without defeating the purpose of highlighting. If fields are aligned with text margins and type indented, like the second and fourth examples, reading will suffer.