338.03 Type Journal by Deric Shindledecker

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type2 Deric Shindledecker Winter 2016

[ journal]


designed by Deric Shindledecker cover artworks by Tobias Saul typfaces used Univers ITC Cheltenham Edmon Sans


introduction What follows is a journal that compiles summaries of coursework, lectures, assigned readings, project critiques, and their respective commentaries over the ten week period of Typography 2, Spring 2016. While some of the entries may seem brief, the impact that the material has had on me is not. My first typography class intimidated me. The details that accompany type seemed like a lot to handle at first, and I grew timid in exploring it at first. The rules of type felt overwhelming. However, over the past ten weeks my attitudes towards typography have changed. There was a lot of repeated material in this course, but this time around I seemed welcomed to it, rather than bound to it. As a natural illustrator, my interests have usually gravitated towards graphics, rather than type, but now I’m growing to appreciate typography as forms themselves, rather than just fonts in a program. Typography 2 has given me the tools to grow stronger as a designer, both in the classroom and in my own time. My work reflects this progress, especially in terms of creative process; over the quarter, my capabilities have grown from producing one spread to over thirty in a given time frame. This journal is not only for future factual reference, but is also self-inspiring— testimate to my ability to take on projects of such scale.

Type 2 | 2016

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WEEK ONE

the 8th of january

Type in Ten Minutes, Typographic Refinement: The Details, Legibility Exercise

Type in Ten Minutes

readings from Butterick’s Practical Typography

Key Points Body Text In print, the most com­fort­able rang is 10–12 point. On the web, the range is 15–25 pix­els.

Line Spac­i ng is the ver­ti­cal dis­tance be­tween lines. It should be 120–145% of the point size.

Line Length should be an av­er­age of 45–90 char­ac­ters per line (use your word-count func­tion) or 2–3 low­er­case al­pha­bets.

Font Choice The eas­ie­ st and most vis­i­ble im­prove­ment you can make to your ty­pog­ra­phy is to use a pro­fes­sional font.

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Typographic Refinement: The Details lecture

Point Size American measuring system picas & points

12 pts = 1 pica

6 picas = 1 inch

1 inch = 72 pts

Written as 1p6 (1 pica + 6 points)

How To Choose a Point Size? Consider typeface proportions and weight length of text format ( printed, on- screen, or both) audience/reader content of text

How to Choose a Good “Workhorse� Typeface? Workhorse qualities

good regular weight robust proportions at least 1 bold weight italic legible numerals economy of space

Legibility Exercise in-class exercise

The purpose of this exercise was to examine how changes in point size, leading, and typeface selection impact legibility. The same block of text was set with various combinations of point size and leading. Type 2 | 2016

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Legibility Exercise (cont.) in-class exercise

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 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.

BEMBO STD, 9/13

FRUTIGER LT STD, 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. BEMBO STD, 9/12

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. FRUTIGER LT STD, 9/12

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

Without typography, one could argue, messages will

would be helpful. Paul Watzlawick’s first axiom of communica-

still be legible, but if one really wants to communicate

tion —“one cannot not communicate”— puts it very succinctly.

rather than simply display a heap of alphanumeric data,

If you fail to consider the effect of your message on the recipient,

some consideration would be helpful. Paul Watzlawick’s

you may inadvertently communicate that you do not care how

first axiom of communication — “one cannot not com-

your message may be received.

municate”— puts it very succinctly. If you fail to consider

BEMBO STD, 9/14

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 will still be

FRUTIGER LT STD, 9/14

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 communica-

Without typography, one could argue, messages will

tion —“one cannot not communicate”— puts it very succinctly.

still be legible, but if one really wants to communicate

If you fail to consider the effect of your message on the recipient,

rather than simply display a heap of alphanumeric data,

you may inadvertently communicate that you do not care how

some consideration would be helpful. Paul Watzlawick’s

your message may be received.

first axiom of communication — “one cannot not com-

BEMBO STD, 9/15

municate”— 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

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

your message may be received. FRUTIGER LT STD, 9/15

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. BEMBO STD, 8/13

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

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. BEMBO STD, 10/13

message on the recipient, you may inadvertently communicate that you do not care how your message may be received. FRUTIGER LT STD, 8/13

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. FRUTIGER LT STD, 10/13

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Deric Shindledecker


WEEK TWO

the 13th

of january Why Typography Matters: The Butterfly Ballot

Why Typography Matters reading & lecture

Key Points Bad typography can have negative consequences. For example, the “butterfly ballot” used in elections for Palm Beach County, Florida was poorly designed, due to its back-and-forth style of reading, and thus made voting correctly difficult for some voters. The in class discussion focused on dissecting the flaws within the butterfly ballot’s original design (top), and also critiquing aspects of the new and improved design(bottom)—what worked and didn’t work. (See reverse side) Just as bad typography can have negative consequences, good typography can have positive consequences. Good type can help you en­gage read­ers, guide them, and ul­ti­mately per­suade them. Type 2 | 2016

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The Butterfly Ballot (cont.) reading & lecture

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WEEK TWO

the 15th

of january Final Crit: Project 1, Project 2 Introduced

Final Critique: Project 1

typesetting: rules and principles of typography

Critique Notes Needs to be as easy and as inviting to read as possible Look for a regular, book, or medium weight Watch for too short of line length Title needs strength/visual weight Author’s name needs to be prominent Don’t emphasize unimportant words Awkward Negative Space is bad.

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Final Critique: Project 1 (cont.) typesetting: rules and principles of typography

type tips Typography Workbook: A Real-World Guide to Using Type in Graphic Design, Pg. 9

The Elements of Typographic Style, Pg. 11

thoughts from the experts

Timothy Samara “Typography is a perfect balance between shapes, images, and significations.”

Robert Bringhurst “Typography is the craft of endowing human language with a durable visual form.”

Butterick’s Practical Typography

Matthew Butterick

“Bad typography can distract your readerand undermine your message.” 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People, Pg. 42

Susan M. Weinschenk, Ph.D. “Make sure your content is worth reading. In the end, it all boils down to whether or not the text on the page is of interest to your audience.”

Thinking with Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, & Students, Pg. 219

Ellen Lupton “No job is too small. A graphic designer can set out to change the world one business card at a time—as long as it is the business card of a really interesting person.”

Introduction: Project 2 diaglogue project

Project 2: A Dialogue is introduced. The main goal of this next project is to be able to effectively establish two voices with typography in an interview between Bill Moyers and John Campbell. Typeface studies and sketches due next class, Wednesday the 20th.

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WEEK THREE

the 20th

of january

Project 2: Types Studies, Work Day

Project 2: A Dialogue type studies

BILL MOYERS JOSEPH CAMPBELL BILL MOYERS JOSEPH CAMPBELL

A Talk With Myth Master

A Talk With Myth Master

Joseph Campbell A Talk With Myth Master

Joseph Campbell

Joseph Campbell

A Talk With Myth Master

Joseph Campbell

BILL

MOYERS

BILL MOYERS: JOSEPH CAMPBELL:

A Talk With Myth Master

A Talk With Myth Master

Joseph Campbell

Joseph Campbell

JOSEPH CAMPBELL

MOYERS

A Talk With Myth Master

Joseph Campbell

Why are there so many stories of the hero in mythology?

MOYERS

CAMPBELL Because that’s what’s worth Why are there so many stories of the hero in mythology? writing about. Why are there so many stories of the hero in mythology?

MOYERS

Why are there so many stories of the hero in mythology?

MOYERS

Why are there so many stories of the hero in mythology?

MOYERS

CAMPBELL Because that’s what’s worth writing about. CAMPBELL Because that’s what’s worth writing about. CAMPBELL

Because that’s what’s worth writing about.

MOYERS

CAMPBELL

Because that’s what’s worth writing about.

JOSEPH CAMPBELL

CAMPBELL

Because that’s what’s worth writing about.

CAMPBELL

Because that’s what’s worth writing about.

BILL

Type 2 | 2016

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WEEK THREE

the 22nd of january

Choosing Typefaces, Understanding Fonts, Project 2: Comps

Choosing & Understanding Typefaces lecture

Choosing Fonts Technical Factors Full Character Set Foreign accent characters and glyphs Multiple weights and styles Small Caps Format WebFont versions

Understanding Fonts When you buy a font, you purchase a license (use is granted as outlined in the license).

Need to ask Can I use in commercial work? 12

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How much does this cost? Can I use online, or just in print?


Project 2: A Dialogue comps

First draft of Project 2: A Dialogue. Comments larger images larger title larger heading elements need more interaction needs speaker names

Type 2 | 2016

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WEEK THREE

the 27th of january

Final Crit: Project 2, Project 3 Introduced

Final Critique: Project 2 a dialogue

Dialogue project critiqued. Project 3: The Elements of Style group project introduced. Plans for paragraph and character styles due by next class.

Common Issues leading

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line length reading order rags and hyphenation too dense


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WEEK FOUR

the 29th of january

Typesetting in Design, Revised Dialogue Project, Elements of Style

Typesetting in Design lecture

Paragraph Styles Most styles in a document will be Paragraph Styles

Controls Paragraph level attributes (leading, indents, tabs, rules, hyphenation)

General Settings Advanced Character Formats Paragraph Rules Keep Options Hyphenation Span Columns Drop Caps & Nested Styles Export Tagging 16

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Character Styles Styling Text withing Paragraphs (bold text, italic text, run-in subheads, bullets)

Similar Options as Paragraph Styles, but fewer

Revisions

project 2: a dialogue Revisions were allowed after Tuesday’s critique of Project 2: A Dialogue. Revisions were looked at and briefly critiqued, and turned in at the end of class.

Elements of Style work day

After the lecture, today was a work day to continue laying out our individual Elements of Style booklets.

Type 2 | 2016

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WEEK FIVE

the 3rd of february

Understanding Grids, Elements of Style Comps

First Comps

project 3: the elements of style First version of individual The Elements of Style booklets due at beginning of class.

1

THE ELEMENTS OF ST YLE

Form the possessive singular of nouns with ’s

Follow this rule whatever the final consonant. Thus write, Charles’s friend

[ SECTION I: ELEMENTARY RULES OF USAGE ]

Burns’s poems

the witch’s malice

This is the usage of the United States Government Printing Office and of the Oxford University Press. Exceptions are the possessives of ancient proper names in -es and -is, the possessive Jesus’, and such forms as for conscience’ sake, for righteousness’ sake. But such forms as Achilles’ heel, Moses’ laws, Isis’ temple are commonly replaced by the heel of Achilles

the laws of Moses

the temple of Isis

WILLIAM STRU NK , JR . NEW YORK 1918

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The pronominal possessives hers, its, theirs, yours, and oneself have no apostrophe.

Type 2 | 2016

2 In a series of three or more terms with a single conjunction, use a comma after each term except the last 4

The Elements of Style


WEEK FIVE

the 5th of february

The Elements of Style: Part 1 Critique

Critique: Project 3 EOS (individual sections)

1 Form the possessive singular of nouns with ’s

Follow this rule whatever the final consonant. Thus write,

TH E E L E M E NT S of S T Y L E

Charles’s friend Burns’s poems the witch’s malice

This is the usage of the United States Government Printing Office and of the Oxford University Press. Exceptions are the possessives of ancient proper names in -es and -is, the possessive Jesus’, and such forms as for conscience’ sake, for righteousness’ sake. But such forms as Achilles’ heel, Moses’ laws, Isis’ temple are commonly replaced by the heel of Achilles the laws of Moses the temple of Isis

The pronominal possessives hers, its, theirs, yours, and oneself have no apostrophe.

[ SECTION I ]

ELEMENTARY RULES of USAGE 4

The Elements of Style

Type 2 | 2016

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WEEK SIX

the 10th of february

A View of Latin Typography […], Elements of Style Groups

A View of Latin Typography […] readings from article by Peter Bil’ak

This article was about the Westernization of our views regarding typography. It discussed how, as Americans, we incorrectly accredit Gutenberg as the creator of the modern printing, however, it was in fact created in China some 400 years earlier. We need to “de-Euro” our ideas about type, as there are dozens of other languages that need font making.

Group Assignments project 3: the elements of style

Today, we were also put into our group assignments for the EOS project. We worked with our groups during class in order to prepare the final group booklets by Friday.

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WEEK SIX

the 12th of february

Final Crit: EOS Project 4 Introduced

Final Crit: Project 3 EOS group sections

William Strunk, Jr.

THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE ยง 01 / Elementary Rules of Usage

INTRODUCTION This book is intended for use in English courses in which the practice of composition is combined with the study of literature. It aims to give in brief space the principal requirements of plain English style. It aims to lighten the task of instructor and student by concentrating attention (in Chapters II and III) on a few essentials, the rules of usage and principles of composition most commonly violated. The numbers of the sections may be used as references in correcting manuscript. The book covers only a small portion of the field of English style, but the experience of its writer has been that once past the essentials, students profit most by individual instruction based on the problems of their own work, and that each instructor has his own body of theory, which he prefers to that offered by any textbook.

New York 1918

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Final Crit: Project 3 (cont.) EOS group sections

01

ONE

Form the possessive singular of nouns with ’s

Follow this rule whatever the final consonant. Thus write, Charles’s friend Burns’s poems

ELEMENTARY

the witch’s malice

RULES OF USAGE

This is the usage of the United States Government Printing Office and of the Oxford University Press. Exceptions are the possessives of ancient proper names in -es and -is, the possessive Jesus’, and such forms as for conscience’ sake, for righteousness’ sake. But such forms as Achilles’ heel, Moses’ laws, Isis’ temple are commonly replaced by the heel of Achilles the laws of Moses the temple of Isis

The pronominal possessives hers, its, theirs, yours, and oneself have no apostrophe.

5

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6 The Elements of Style


WEEK SEVEN

the 17th

of february

Zine Planning

Brainstorming project 4: type zine

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WEEK EIGHT

the 26th of february

Finalize Zine Content Finalize Grid Plan

Finalize Content project 4: type zine

This week, all content for Project 4: Type Zine was finalized, allowing us to start creating a book map layout for next week. While we have been experimenting with grid thus far, the book map will be a basic layout that includes images as well. This is used to help get an idea of how many spread will ultimately be needed in the final zine.

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Final Art 338.03 Zine Content Everyday Type: ● Why Hand­Lettering is Making a Comeback ○ Erica ● The Revival of America’s Hand­painted Sign Industry ○ Justin ● Tats and Type ○ Mike History/Culture: ● Five Typographers ○ Katie ● Harir: Reducing Noise in Arabic Script, found, original ○ Kaitlin, Julie ● The evolution of the ampersand/&, found ○ Monike ● Type in Film found ○ Doug, Deric ● [optional] Olympic Games typography 1996–2014, found ○ Dylan Resources: ● Top 5 Type Instagrams or Blogs to follow [use one or the other] ● Designers with go­to fonts found ○ Rachel ● Free fonts that don’t suck found ○ Shania Entertainment/Fun Stuff/Offbeat/Activities/Extras/Interactive/Feed: ●

[optional] Type quiz, what typeface are you?, original ○ Michelle

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WEEK NINE

the 4th of march

Type Zine

First Full Layout project 4: type zine

This week we worked on filling in the type zine with all final content, now that all final content has been uploaded. Once doing so, we continued to play with images and text throughout, being careful not to get caught up on one or two specific spreads. I struggled with this throughout the entire project. Several times I found myself spending too much time on the most developed spreads, while tending to forget about all other, less interesting spreads.

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WEEK TEN

the 9th of march

Type Zine Preliminary Critique

Preliminary Critique project 4: type zine

This was the class before the deadline for Project 4: Type Zine, and we held a preliminary critique. I was nervous to have my work displayed on-screen at this point, because there were still a handful of spreads that I had not laid out yet and I felt very behind. However, I was not the only one, and I was reassured by comments on my bold headlines and nicely legible body text. While I oftentimes consider not attending critiques whenever I feel too far behind, I always appreciate it when I force myself to go in the end, as getting feedback on any piece of my work in progress is incredibly helpful (and even more so when I can get inspiration from peers).

Type 2 | 2016

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WEEK TEN

the 11th of march

Final Critique: Type Zine

Final Critique: Project 4 type zine

Today was finally the critique of the dreaded type zine. In all honesty, the project was not that bad. It was just unlike any other project that I’ve encountered recently in terms of the amount of content. Ultimately, I am pleased with my type mag. The first couple of spreads are a little undeveloped in my opinion, but this is because I worked on these last. I’ve also learned to never work back to front while bookmaking, because it became a huge pain in my ass. I coined the magazine ‘the poor man’s type mag’ because I felt like that ultimately summed up what I was trying to accomplish: clean, simple, and reliable in terms of readability (and also its free).

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MARCH 2016

THE POOR MAN’S

TYPE MAG

No. 1 TODAY’S TOP 5 TYPE IN FILM TATTOO TYPE FREE FONTS THAT DONT SUCK

& OTHER STUFF cover art by Craig Ward

Type 2 | 2016

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Final Critique: Project 4 (cont.) type zine

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR What is typography? Why does it matter? How does it impact our lives?

The Merriam-Webster definition of “typography” is: “the work of producing printed pages from written material” or “the style, arrangement, or appearance of printed letters on a page.” How those letters, words, and sentences are styled and arranged affects how they are perceived. Good typography clarifies content, establishes hierarchy, and presents information in a manner that makes it easier to read, and, therefore, to understand. Typography is also intertwined with our daily lives—we encounter type in everything from the products we buy, the signage around us, the books we read, the news we consume, and the directions we follow. Typography can be beautiful, functional, persuasive, and inviting. It can also fail, especially when there is a disconnect between how the type looks and what the text says. This debut issue of Oblique Magazine was conceptualized and created by students in Art 338: Typography II at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo during winter quarter 2016. Students selected all topics included in this issue and the content ranges from the current hand-lettering revival, to lettering in tattoos, to the challenges of creating an Arabic script font, to type in popular film posters. The eclectic nature of this content reflects the diverse interests of the students in the class and the many ways in which we encounter typography in the everyday.

Charmaine Martinez March 2016 2

OBLIQUE MAGAZINE

INK

a collection of type in tattoos

Photo Accredited to LETTERROOM

MARCH 2016

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52

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OBLIQUE MAGAZINE


DESIGNERS WITH

GO-TO’S

BY

ADAM WELCH

Chip Kidd ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR,

Knopf

Blender 2003 TYPEFACE FROM GESTALTEN

I’ve been using it a lot over the past few years (and yes, I bought the license to it before doing so) because it has a classic sans-serif presence that feels fresh, due to almost undetectable quirks in the characters that have curved edges.

the professionals

MARCH 2016

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