338.01 Type Journal by Blake Silva

TYPE LENDS A HAND blake silva type ii journal winter 2017

This type journal was designed by Blake Silva.

It is adapted from the content of Typography 2 at Cal Poly.

Typefaces used are Sofia Pro, Noto Serif and Black Diamond WINTER 2017

TYPE LENDS A HAND

blake silva

type ii journal

winter 2017

INTRO. this journal will act as an archive of all the information i pulled from typography 2 at cal poly. it is organized into weeks, with content from readings and essays assigned, lectures, and project takeaways. the goal is for my type journal to act not only as a testament to what i learned, but to be something i can reference when wanting / needing inspiration or to re-learn concepts. this quarter i grew as a designer, as a thinker and as a typographer.

enjoy!

TABLE OF WEEK 1

8

WEEK 2

16

WEEK 3

26

WEEK 4

34

WEEK 9 WEEK 10

68 72

WEEK 5

44

WEEK 6

48

WEEK 7

56

WEEK 8

60

WEEK

Butterick’s Practical Typography Typography in Ten Minutes, Summary of Key Rules and Forward

LECTURE Typographic Refinement The Details

EXERCISE Legibility and Readability Study

10

Butterick’s Practical Typography

READING

TYPOGRAPHY IN TEN MINUTES There are 5 rules.

1

start by making sure your document’s body text looks good, then worry about the rest. the next few steps are what the body text relies on.

2

use correct point size. comfortable print is 10–12pt. web is 15–25px. not all fonts are the same size at similar numbers.

3

adjust your leading (the vertical distance between lines). should be 120–145% of the point size. a lot of this is designer judgement.

4

notice line length. 45–90 characters or 2–3 alpha bets is standard. one inch margins in print will be too long and default in browsers will be too wide.

5

mind your font choice. improve your type by ignoring system fonts. professional fonts (usually purchased) improve design. never use times new roman or arial. ever.

SUMMARY OF KEY RULES Some take-aways: learn and apply the fundamentals of type and everything will be just fine.

11

Typographic Refinement: The Details 12

LECTURE Johann Gutenberg created measuring system for type in 1450. The point system was invented by Pierre Simon Fournier Le Jeune in 1737. The American system came later.

There are 2 units of measuring Points and picas if 1 inch = 6 picas, and 6 picas = 12 points, then math still sucks. these measurements are written as: 1p6 1 being the pica, 6 being the points

POINT SIZE FACTORS -

proportion and weight

-

length of text

-

audience and viewing format

-

screen vs. print work

HOW TO MAKE TYPE LOOK BETTER -

kern at display sizes

-

customize leading and tracking

-

know your dashes

-

avoid fake small caps

-

fix rags when practical

-

adjust hyphenation: 6, 3, 3, 2

-

avoid widows and orphans

-

check your spelling

Exercise

LEGIBILITY AND READABILITY STUDY Description: In this exercise, you will investigate and analyze text set in paragraph form (“body text” or “text blocks”). Using serif and sans serif text typefaces, you will create different versions of those settings by altering the leading and point size.

The legibility exercise was fun, i like to see different type in action. it was cool to get a sense of what i prefer as a designer when it comes to type and body text specifically.

13

Serif

Sans Serif

Without typography, one could argue, messages will still be legible, but if one really wants to communicate rather than simply display a heap of alphanumeric data, some consideration would be helpful. Paul Watzlawick’s first axiom of communication—“one cannot not communicate”—puts it very succinctly. If you fail to consider the effect of your message on the recipient, you may inadvertently communicate that you do not care how your message may be received.

Without typography, one could argue, messages w legible, but if one really wants to communicate rat display a heap of alphanumeric data, some conside be helpful. Paul Watzlawick’s first axiom of commu cannot not communicate”—puts it very succinctly consider the effect of your message on the recipie inadvertently communicate that you do not care h sage may be received.

BASKERVILLE, 9/13

GILL SANS, 9/13

Without typography, one could argue, messages will still be legible, but if one really wants to communicate rather than simply display a heap of alphanumeric data, some consideration would be helpful. Paul Watzlawick’s first axiom of communication—“one cannot not communicate”—puts it very succinctly. If you fail to consider the effect of your message on the recipient, you may inadvertently communicate that you do not care how your message may be received.

Without typography, one could argue, messages w legible, but if one really wants to communicate rat display a heap of alphanumeric data, some conside be helpful. Paul Watzlawick’s first axiom of commu cannot not communicate”—puts it very succinctly consider the effect of your message on the recipie inadvertently communicate that you do not care h sage may be received.

BASKERVILLE, 9/12

GILL SANS, 9/12

Without typography, one could argue, messages will still be legible,

Without typography, one could argue, messages w

but if one really wants to communicate rather than simply display

legible, but if one really wants to communicate rat

a heap of alphanumeric data, some consideration would be

display a heap of alphanumeric data, some conside

helpful. Paul Watzlawick’s first axiom of communication—“one

be helpful. Paul Watzlawick’s first axiom of commu

cannot not communicate”—puts it very succinctly. If you fail to

cannot not communicate”—puts it very succinctly

consider the effect of your message on the recipient, you may

consider the effect of your message on the recipie

inadvertently communicate that you do not care how your mes-

inadvertently communicate that you do not care h

sage may be received.

sage may be received.

BASKERVILLE, 9/14

GILL SANS, 9/14

Without typography, one could argue, messages will still be legible,

Without typography, one could argue, messages w

but if one really wants to communicate rather than simply display

legible, but if one really wants to communicate rat

a heap of alphanumeric data, some consideration would be

display a heap of alphanumeric data, some conside

helpful. Paul Watzlawick’s first axiom of communication—“one

be helpful. Paul Watzlawick’s first axiom of commu

cannot not communicate”—puts it very succinctly. If you fail to

cannot not communicate”—puts it very succinctly

consider the effect of your message on the recipient, you may

consider the effect of your message on the recipie

inadvertently communicate that you do not care how your mes-

inadvertently communicate that you do not care h

sage may be received.

sage may be received.

BASKERVILLE, 9/15

GILL SANS, 9/15

Without typography, one could argue, messages will still be legible,

Without typography, one could argue, messages will still

but if one really wants to communicate rather than simply display a

if one really wants to communicate rather than simply d

14

just realized i used baskerville and gill sans. i’m pissed.

15

WEEK

Butterick’s Practical Typography Why Typography Matters

PROJECT Type Quotes

18

Butterick’s Practical Typography

READING

WHY TYPOGRAPHY MATTERS The Butterfly Ballot

The Butterfly Ballot is problematic for obvious reasons.

Bad type has bad consequences and vice versa. You will become better when you appreciate what type can do.

WHAT IS TYPE? Type is the visual component of the written word.

Being a good typographer is more about good skills than having ‘good taste’.

19

WHO IS TYPE FOR? Type is for the reader.

WRITER

READER

cares about you?

yes

no

interest in topic

high

low

attention span

long

short

persuadable?

no

yes

WHAT IS GOOD TYPE? -

good type is measured by how well it reinforces the meaning of the text & makes the text more effective

-

type is not a math problem with one correct answer; there are many good solutions

-

creating good type depends on how well you under stand the goals of the text

good type is subject just don’t suck.

20

tive.

21

TYPESETTING: RULES OF TYPOGRAPHY

Project 1

Description: For this project, you will research and document as many rules, ideas, or principles about typography as possible.

Your findings must be typeset on one side of an 8.5” × 11” piece of paper. A minimum of five examples must be presented on the page. Each entry must come from a different source, and each student must do their best to have unique entries.

22

Honestly, I was really confused at the start of this project. I didn’t understand what Charmaine meant by “experiment”. I went overboard and designed something that was a mess—it was hardly designed.

23

24

FINAL

It took some semi-harsh feedback on my messy design to get my butt in gear. I do think that I played it safe, but it is hard to reign in a sloppy design and not play it safe.

But I like my solution and it is different than what I normally lean toward in layout. I’d never want to hear someone say “sometimes you need to get bad type out of your system” again when they look at my work, so I am going to make that my motivation.

good design doesn’t have to be all over the place.

25

WEEK

Butterick’s Practical Typography Type Composition Text Formatting

LECTURE Choosing Typefaces, Installing Fonts and Managing Fonts

28

Butterick’s Practical Typography

READING

TYPE COMPOSITION

¶ § ™ ® © ñ á

option + 7 option + 6 option + 2 option + r option + g option + n, n option + e, a

It is good to exercise proper usage of all symbols and proper markings as a typographer. However, a lot of the standards (like ellipses, dashes, etc.) are things I don’t need to include; it is redundant information.

29

TEXT FORMATTING

Butterick’s Practical Typography

Here are some design choices to consider…

30

underlined text

goofy fonts so fun!!

THIS IS A HEADER Do not underline text, it is misleading. Goofy fonts are generally not fun or cute. Also don’t use ‘cute’ as an adjective. Papyrus has become an untouchable. Don’t use ugly typefaces for display text and definitely adjust tracking as needed. It’s a header, not a sandwich. Try your best to avoid system fonts, they’re bad. Just don’t make ugly things.

one time i used papyrus to write an essay. i was 12.

31

Choosing Typefaces, Installing Fonts and Managing Fonts 32

LECTURE Consider content, audience and format when choosing a font. Pick a font that is a workhorse (lots of weights and styles).

PURCHASING FONTS You purchase a license when you purchase a font. Always read it.

Places to buy fonts -

google fonts

-

lost type co-op

-

league of moveable type

-

font squirrel

- fontspring -

house industries

- fonts.com Font Book is a free font manager you should utilize. You don’t have to, but it is a good way to keep track. You can make folders for projects and reduce clutter.

Love your fonts. Know where they came from. Take care of them.

i’m a thief.

33

WEEK

Butterick’s Practical Typography Page Layout Peter Bil’ak Family Planning, or how type families work

LECTURE Typesetting in InDesign Tools and Techniques

PROJECT A Dialogue

36

Butterick’s Practical Typography

READING

PAGE LAYOUT Centered Text

over-used. do so sparingly.

Justified Text

make sure hyphenation is on, don’t use if there are awkward spaces.

First-line Indents or Space Between paragraphs

NOT BOTH, ONE.

Widows & Orphans

a widow is the last line of a paragraph appearing at the top of a page, and orphans happen when the first line appears at the bottom of the page or there is a very short last line of a paragraph.

37

Family Planning Typesetting 38

ESSAY BY PETER BIL’AK Superfamilies are examples of typefaces that are immensely advancing. We are coming up with ground-breaking innovations in type that are changing everything.

Parameters of appearance: size, weight, width.

Adrian Frutiger changed the world of typefaces into the world of typeface systems.

Really large systems can be impractical, but versatile typefaces are good. to be a functioning type family, the weights and styles must share attributes, yet have differences.

LECTURE Tools to utilize -

paragraph styles

-

character styles

- tables -

cell styles

styles or die.

A DIALOGUE

Project 2

Description: Using the dialogue provided, you will design a diptych that utilizes all of the text and emphasizes the fact that there is more than one voice. Please consider all your choices and decisions carefully. Everything matters. Think about and utilize typographic hierarchy. You can use color, and images to help support your design, but care must be taken to make sure your typography is intentional and refined. Think about how all of the typographic elements influence our interpretation of the text and how you, as a designer, can influence the viewer’s reading of the text.

This project was fun. I wanted to incorporate both photo and design, because I feel that’s when my work sets itself apart. My concept was along the lines of the aspect of the dialogue that discussed a soul’s high adventure (to finding identity, slaying inner dragons).

39

My first draft felt on its way, but not quite fully developed.

40

I felt my design just needed to be worked in more experimental ways; I tried more bleeding images, and played with different solutions for cropped imagery as well as a new treatment of my emphasized quote.

41

what i changed for final crit: long vertical running title, changed title, made text pink for moyers, brought photos to edge of page (from no bleed to bleed)

c m t

charmaine had confusion in the area of the emphasized quote. maybe change ordering or what follows to show it’s moyer’s thought. she liked the story the photos told.

WEEK

READING Designers Insights Using Layout Grids Effectively Steven Heller Typographica Mea Culpa, Unethical Downloading

46

Steven Heller

Using Grids

Always use a layout grid for design projects.

No exceptions, it creates consistency and harmony.

Things to know -

think about margins if you are binding. work with type accordingly if you’re designing for booklet print

-

rule of thirds: split image/canvas into thirds (9 equal sections) and place the subject where the lines intersect

Don’t be afraid to break the grid.

A compelling reflection on a designer’s conviction after realizing fonts and typefaces come with licenses. Design is supposed to be honorable, and having good ethics is so important. You could be guilty of copyright infringement and not even know because you chose to not read the license that comes with a font you bought. Just because you paid doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want with it. We are unethical in our entitlement.

47

WEEK

READING Peter Bil’ak A View of Latin Typography in Relationship to the World

PROJECT Elements of Style Booklet

50

ESSAY BY PETER BIL’AK

Latin Type

Gutenberg invented movable type but everyone leaves out that he did so in Europe.

Even china had invented movable type in 1040 AD by Bi Sheng. Type is plagued by a Eurocentric bias. Most type classifications and foundries are European and anything outside of Latin-type is considered ‘non-Latin’ and has a negative connotation. New possibilities and projects are developing that are very exciting; interest in Arabic, Cyrillic, Greek and Indic scripts have come to the surface. I think it is culturally exclusive to completely leave out a demographic, if you will, of typographic history.

51

Project 3

ELEMENTS OF STYLE BOOKLET

52

Description: The Elements of Style is a classic reference book about grammar for students and conscientious writers. The focus of the book is on composition, the effective use of plain English, and the principles of composition most commonly violated. The text is full of examples and comparisons, which necessitates the effective use of indents and shifts in typographic style. The text, originally written in 1918, is quirky and, many times, archaic. Your job is to develop a design that would appeal to high school and college-aged students. We will be breaking up the text into smaller sections, and each student will be assigned a portion of the text to be used in the creation of a small reference booklet. The second phase of the project will require you to work in teams to create a single related series of booklets.

PHASE ONE Personal booklet I’m really happy with how my booklet turned out. I printed on specialty brown paper from Neenah and tried to stretch my comfort zone a bit in the design. I could experiment with bigger margins, and maybe a new solution for tables.

53

PHASE TWO Collab booklet Tiffanie and I worked really well together. Our inside designs really meshed well and our creative outlooks were very compatible. We came up with a very solid middle ground between our designs and used her cut out idea for the cover. There was positive feedback all around on the two as a pair.

FINAL

my cover ripped the day after crit.

55

WEEK

READING Peter Bil’ak Lava—Voice of a Magazine AIGA The First Thing I Ever Designed Elena Schlenker and “Gratuitous Type” Magazine

58

Lava

ESSAY BY PETER BIL’AK Bil’ak created Lava, a typeface for his magazine ‘Works that Work’ to give it an identity that was consistent and recognizable no matter what form people bought it in. When he hired designers to design the magazine as it became a large project, the only specification was Lava. It was designed for magazine use, but has transcended far beyond that original intent. Anything can happen when you commit to perfecting it and putting work into it.

AIGA

ELENA SCHLENKER READING The article opens with a quote by Elena about pursuing what she loves before thinking about money. so dope. I have never thought of a magazine issue as being something to use to sell yourself as a designer or as a major portfolio piece. It’s inspiring to read about a designer who just went for something because she wanted to and ended up launching herself into a career.

59

WEEK

READING Ben Archer Erik Gill got it wrong; a re-evaluation of Gill Sans Peter Bil’ak Beauty and Ugliness in Type Design

LECTURE Typography on Screen

EXERCISE Grid Analysis

62

Eval of Gill Sans

ESSAY BY BEN ARCHER This describes Gill Sans as the Helvetica of England. It is terrible…the difference between the letter ‘g’ as the weights differ, is even as major as starting as double story, then ending not. I find it funny that this essay almost glorifies the monotype version of gill sans that existed before, because the writer hates what it has become so much.

This is really just an essay picking apart the typeface. Although the essay feels like Archer is just bitching non-stop about Gill Sans, I see it as a heeded warning to young designers.

throwback to when i used gill sans for my legibility study.

63

Beauty and Ugly Type on Screen 64

ESSAY BY PETER BIL’AK Beauty and ugliness are closely related. many people consider high-contrast type to be beautiful (like Bodoni and Didot). But it is interesting to find an ugly typeface made to catch attention in comparison to a beautiful one.

LECTURE A list of attributes and tips to consider when choosing type for screen viewing -

type contrast

reading shouldn’t be a challenge. stroke contrast impacts legibility. (bodoni vs. chapparal)

- x-height

tall height is better for interface and wayfinding. (futura vs. core rhino)

-

beware of extremes

if the x-height gets too tall, things like ‘n’, ‘h’, ‘d’ can become hard to distinguish (itc garamond vs. century gothic)

-

special characters

strive to pick typefaces that support numbers, punctu ation, special characters or language flexibility and versatility

-

finding alternatives

try to avoid over-using typefaces that are prevalent on the web. just find something similar (helvetica vs. museo sans)

65

GRID ANALYSIS

Exercise

Description: In this exercise, you will work in a team to analyze magazine layout grids.

66

It was interesting to think about grids mathematically. Regarding columns, I liked exploring other designer’s solutions to creating something visually stimulating and out of the ordinary. I like to see what I think of as successful when observing other peoples’ work.

It is a good habit to analyze how images and graphic elements relate to the grid.

ANALYZE THE GRID

ANNAMARI JAAKSI, NICOLE KIM, BLAKE SILVA

1. Is there a relationship between the grids of the two different layouts?

There is not a relationship between the grids of the two layouts. The first single page has greater margins than the spread. It is also a 3-column versus a 2-column layout.

2. Is there a mathematical relationship between the different columns on the page? a. The single page has seven columns, with three balanced text columns b. The spread is divided up into 16 columns, with bodytext taking up 8 columns to create what looks like a 2 column layout.

3. Do you think the grid is comprised of columns or modules?

a. single page

They both have columns.

4. How do images relate to the grid? a. The single page has an image that works both as a background and as a graphic element. The image occupies the whole space, so it doesn’t break the grid. b. The images do not break the grid, but on the left page they do interfere with the text column.

5. Do any elements break the grid? a. The title and a caption both break the grid. b. Nothing breaks the grid.

b. spread

67

WEEK

READING 7 Striking Design Pairings Kai Bernau An Idea of a Typeface A Typeface Designed to Revive the Endangered Cherokee Language

70

Pairings Idea of Type

AN ESSAY BY KAI BERNAU

Revive

7 STRIKING DESIGN PAIRINGS It’s interesting to see that design really can be subjective. I saw similarities in a few of the examples, and some I did not. But it is incredible to see that even despite context and geography, design can evoke the same thing.

Neutrality in a typeface reduces distraction and helps the reader focus on content. Thus came the creation of ‘Neutral’. It is provoking to think about personal definitions of neutrality; I wouldn’t know where to start designing a typeface in that category. You have to think about what forms create distinguishable letters. The fewer distractions, the more invisible something is. And the more invisible, the more neutral.

TYPE TO REVIVE A LANGUAGE Design is influential, and when things become more accessible, more people take interest in them.

71

WEEK

PROJECT Type Zine

74

week 10 never again.

Project 4

TYPE ZINE Description: In this project, you will be creating a digital magazine. The theme of the magazine is: Typography, Design, Activism and Social Justice (this is the theme, not the title).

Students in the class will be responsible for collecting and creating all the assets for the magazine, including: text, illustrations, and photographs. All found images and text (articles, interviews, etc.) must be properly credited. Include author bylines and captions for all images.

75

FINAL SPREADS 76

FINAL COVER

77

TYPE TAKE-AWAYS 1

I am not a bad designer.

2

Experimental is unique to you.

3

Designing meaningful things is satisfying.

S it’s been fun, cheers.