Type Design: Radical Innovations In Typography by Ben Hyland

BookPage 2 - In-print Page 3 - Book Contents Page 4 and 5 - Readability Page 6 and 7 - Legibility Page 8 and 9 - Breaking the Grid Page 10 and 11 - Pattern double spread Page 12 and 13 - Deconstructing the letter Page 14 and 15 - Palindrome Page 16 and 17 - Onomatopoeia Page 18 - Credits Page 19 - Bibliography

-Contents Type Design: Radical Innovations in Typography

3 1

Read-

Readability is related to how the type is arranged, or typeset, and therefore is controlled by the designer. Factors affecting type’s readability include: Type size: When setting text, the smaller the size, the more challenging it can be to read. This is especially true for seniors, children, and those with visual impairments. For these reasons, the demographics of your intended audience should be taken into consideration when deciding on a size for text. Type case: All cap settings for lengthy text are more challenging to read due to the lack of ascenders and descenders which contribute to character recognition, so stick to upper and lowercase when readability is of prime importance. Consider the demographics of your audience when selecting a type size

and case: smaller type is harder to read for many, including seniors,

children, and visually challenged individuals

line spacing reduces readability, as you can clearly see in this setting of

Expo Serif set in 18/18 point (left) and 18/23 point (right).

contrast between the type and the background ensure good readability.

Leading (line spacing): Tight line spacing impacts readability negatively. The amount needed to improve readability will depend on the size and design of a typeface as well as its x-height. Therefore, when ease of reading is of high importance, make sure there is enough line spacing to maximize readability, which in general is at least two to three points for print, and a bit more for smaller digital devices.Tight

Color, or contrast: Make sure there is enough color contrast between the type and its background, lest it becomes harder to read. This is important whether you are using black and white (and tints of the former) as well as color. When styling type for digital usage, besure to allow for variation from one device, platform, and settings to another, as they can vary dramatically in how they display color and contrast. High

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Type Design: Radical Innovations in Typography

Legi-

The legibility of a typeface is a product of its design, and relates to the ability to distinguish one glyph from another when reading. Factors contributing to a typeface’s legibility include the following: X-height: This term refers to the vertical scale of the lower-case in proportion to the caps. The taller the x-height, the more legible the typeface tends to be.

A more legible font primarily has a taller x-height than a short x-height, as

the reader can distinguish between caps and lower case easier.

condensed or extending will result in a greater degree of legibility.

A font in its thin or black weight will not have the same high degree of

legibility for a lengthy piece of text as book weight do.

The use of extreme stroke contrast can make it harder to read for small

settings, as the thin strokes can seem to disappear at smaller sizes and

at lower resolutions.

in some environments will appear to fill in.

Character width: The easiest type designs to read are those that have an ‘average’ overall width. Very condensed as well as extended designs are less legible, for example subheads and credits. When comparing texts a font that meets in the middle between being Weight: Extremely light and heavy weights are more difficult to read, so if legibility is your goal, stick to something in the middle.

Design traits: If the design of the typeface is too quirky or fussy it will reduce legibility. This might be acceptable for shorter texts, however it isn’t recommended for longer bodies of text. Stroke contrast: Extreme stroke contrast, that is, the ration of thick to thin strokes, can reduce legibility as well. An example being modern fonts such as Bodoni and Didot. Their thin strokes can appear so thin in print or on web that it can become challenging to read when used too small or for lots of text.

Counters: The smaller the counters (enclosed or semi-enclosed negative shapes) of a typeface, the more challenging it can be to read. This is worse when using smaller settings. Avoid this by knowing ahead of time how a particular typeface looks at the intended size and medium you want to work at. Lower setting loses its legibility as the counters start to get smaller, and

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Type Design: Radical Innovations in Typography

Breaking-

A grid is a structure for the arrangement of text and image on a page or screen. Similarly to scaffolding on a building, grids are formed primarily of vertical and horizontal guides that create columns for text and images. The grid should be used to aid the placement, order, hierarchy and structure of design elements, whether the design is for the printed page, online or even for environmental applications. Some of the most influential typographers and designers include that of Josef Müller-Brockmann, who understands and knew how “The Grid; It is an art that requires practice”.

Type Design: Radical Innovations in Typography

-the Grid

As typorgaphic designers grids can also be restrictive and counter to the freedom of design. Breaking the grid unlocks the hidden beauty it can contain. One designer who excersises this is Wolfgang Weingart, the ‘father’ of New Wave or ‘Swiss Punk Typography”

Sound waves travel through the outer ear, are modulated by the middle ear, and are transmitted to the well-established nerve in the inner ear. This informa nerve transmits information to the temporal lobe of the brain, where it is registered as sound. The blood supply of the ear differs according to each part of the ear. The outer ear is supplied by a number of arteries. The posterior auricular artery provides the majority of the blood supply.

The ear is the organ of hearing and, in mammals, balance. In mammals, the ear is usually described as having three parts—the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. The outer ear consists of the pinna and the ear canal. Since the outer ear is the only visible portion of the ear in most animals, the word "ear" often refers to the external part alone.

s The middle ear includes the tympanic cavity and the three ossicles. The inner ear sits in the bony labyrinth, and contains structures which are key to several senses: the semicircular canals, which enable balance and eye tracking when moving; the utricle and saccule, which enable balance when stationary; and the cochlea, which enables hearing. The ears of vertebrates are placed somewhat symmetrically on either side of the head, an arrangement that aids sound localisation.

Type Design: Radical Innovations in Typography

DeconstructDeconstruction is an approach to understanding the relationship between text and meaning. It was originated by the philosopher Jacques Derrida (1930–2004), who conducted readings of texts looking for things that run counter to their intended meaning or structural unity. The purpose of deconstruction is to show that the usage of language in a given text, and language as a whole, is irreducibly complex, unstable, or impossible. Many debates in continental philosophy surrounding ontology, epistemology, ethics, aesthetics, hermeneutics, and philosophy of language refer to Derrida’s observations. Since the 1980s, these observations have inspired a range of theoretical enterprises in the humanities, including the disciplines of law, anthropology, historiography, linguistics, sociolinguistics, psychoanalysis, LGBT studies, and feminism. Deconstruction also inspired de-constructivism in architecture and remains important within art, music, and literary criticism.

Deconstruction is a heavy topic in graphic design. You apply the verb everywhere in creative work. It could simply be the action of adjusting the kerning of a paragraph of text, or as complex as taking into account readability with the chaos of a design. Deconstruction could be breaking something down to carefully and logically to find its fundamental component, rather than destroying or confusing an idea. Finding the balance between the two and understanding the destruction of the letter is important as a designer and typographer.

An example of understanding the meaning of deconstructing the letter can be viewed to the left. The overlapping of the layer confuses and destructs the original piece.

-ing the Letter Type Design: Radical Innovations in Typography

PalinA palindrome is a word, line, verse, number, sentence, etc., reading the same backward as forward. Two examples being; ‘Madam’, and ‘I’m Adam or Poor Dan is in a droop’. Punctuation and spaces between the words or lettering is allowed. There are a number of different palindromes, including character by character, name palindromes, word palindromes, and number palindromes. The longest single-word palindrome in the English language is the onomatopoeic ‘tattarrattat’ according to the Oxford English Dictionary, said by James Joyce in Ulysses (1922), meaning a knock on the door. The concept of a palindrome is simple, and that example may support this, however there are many palindromes which are complex with some not appearing to be when first read.

Bellow are a list of palindrome examples giving an interesting insight into this wordplay; Single word;

Mulitple word;

- Anna - Boob - Civic - Hannah - Kayak - Level - Noon - Racecar - Radar - Redivider - Refer - Rotator - Rotor - Stats - Wow

- Amore Roma - Don’t nod. - I did, did I? - My gym - Red rum, sir, is murder - Step on no pets - Top spot - Was it a cat I saw? - Eva, can I see bees in a cave? - No lemon, no melon - Mason, no, Sam - Taco Cat - Olson is in Oslo

One of the most complex and well known palindromes is the Sator Square, created by French writer Georges Perec. Inside the square reads ‘Sator arepo tenet opera rotas’, which can be read in every direction (vertical and horizontal). The sentence translates to “The farmer Arepo has as works wheels a plough”. This doesn’t make complete sense once translated into English, however it doesn’t take away the complexity and art of the palindrome.

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Type Design: Radical Innovations in Typography

OnomaOnomatopoeia is the formation of a word from a sound associated with what it’s named. Two examples; cuckoo and sizzle. It comes from the Greek words ‘onoma’ meaning “name” and ‘poiein’ meaning “to make,”. The word literally means “to make a name (or sound)”. Onomatopoeia can be a verb as well as a noun, examples such as ‘slap’ is the doing word for hitting someone on the skin/the action of, as well as the sound it produces. We can now decipher different stories to each word, and create a visual representation one that has no sound until read. ‘Can we create images with literal meanings by focusing on the “onomatopoeia” concept in a visual sense as opposed to something we can hear? The definition we know of the onomatopoeia is what we say is what we hear, but what if what we say is what we see?’ - Annie Majin. Onomatopoeia examples; - bloop - splash - spray - squirt - drip - drizzle - growl - gurgle - murmur - belch - blurt - clunk - jiggle - thud

Acrostic - Suffix

Ballistic Numskull Rouleau Goon Pick

-topoeia Type Design: Radical Innovations in Typography

CreProducer - Benjamin Hyland Author - Teal Triggs Illustrations - Benjamin Hyland Research - Benjamin Hyland Editing - Benjamin Hyland Materials - Gmund Bier Wizum, Fabriano Red, Trace Art - Benjamin Hyland Type - Helvetica Supervision - Benjamin Hyland Printing - UCA printing Crafting - Benjamin Hyland Publisher - Laurence King Subscription and Marketing executive - Benjamin Hyland Commercial Manager - Benjamin Hyland Bookshop Distributor - Benjamin Hyland

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Type Design: Radical Innovations in Typography