PICA WINTER 2016 / 338.03
A BRIEF COLLECTION OF THINGS I LEARNED IN TYPOGRAPHY II .
PICA WINTER 2016 / 338.03
Introduction This journal is made up of what I considered the most useful and memorable factoids, lectures, mistakes, lessons, answers, and opinions, during the Winter 2016 Typography II course, here, at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. I hoped to share this knowledge with you all, and sought to embed this journal with as much enthusiasm towards typography as I experience whenever I drool over my favorite books, magazines, websites, and product packagings. Habib Placencia Adissi
Chapter 01:
The Basics
Paragraphs Choosing the Right Typeface Why Typography Matters Project 1: Legibility
Paragraphs »» On average, line length should be 8-13 words. »» When working with a flush left or flush right paragraph, always correct and balance your rags. »» Tracking should never exceed less than -10. »» Always be mindful of line length, as it will affect the readability of a paragraph, whether it’s too long or too short. »» Leading should be 120%–145% of your point size. »» Take the time to customize your rags by using tracking or discretionary line breaks (“soft returns”). Aim for attractive rags without big gaps or holes. »» Avoid widows and orphans, at all costs. »» Customize hyphenation: Paragraph > Hyphenation (after first: 3 letters, before last: 3 letters and hyphen limit: 2). »» Never hyphenate across columns
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EXTRA VOCABULARY Small Caps: Only utilize if the typeface has true small caps built into it's family. Avoid fake small caps, for they are simply badly rendered. En Dash: Used when an author breaks the flow in a sentence with a thought. En Dash: Used to indicate the space between a time. Prime Marks: Only to be used for measurements such as feet or inches. Smart Quotation: The correct typographer's quotations, for they curl to the sentence or phrase. Dynamic Spelling: Edit > Spelling > Dynamic Spelling
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Exercise #1 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 considera tion would be helpful. Paul Watzlawick’s first axiom of com munication—“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 commu nicate”—puts it very succinctly. If you fail to consider the effect of your message on the recipient, you may inad vertently communicate that you do not care how your message may be received.
CHARTER 9/13
FIRA 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 considera tion would be helpful. Paul Watzlawick’s first axiom of com munication—“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. CHARTER 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. FIRA SANS 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 considera tion would be helpful. Paul Watzlawick’s first axiom of com munication—“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. CHARTER 9/14
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
FIRA SANS 9/14
legible, but if one really wants to communicate rather than simply display a heap of alphanumeric data, some considera
Without typography, one could argue, messages will still
tion would be helpful. Paul Watzlawick’s first axiom of com
be legible, but if one really wants to communicate rather
munication—“one cannot not communicate”—puts it very
than simply display a heap of alphanumeric data, some
succinctly. If you fail to consider the effect of your message
consideration would be helpful. Paul Watzlawick’s first
on the recipient, you may inadvertently communicate that
axiom of communication—“one cannot not communicate”—
you do not care how your message may be received. CHARTER 9/15
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,
FIRA SANS 9/15
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
Without typography, one could argue, messages will still be leg
communicate”—puts it very succinctly. If you fail to consider the
ible, but if one really wants to communicate rather than simply
effect of your message on the recipient, you may inadvertently com
display a heap of alphanumeric data, some consideration would
municate that you do not care how your message may be received.
be helpful. Paul Watzlawick’s first axiom of communication—“one
CHARTER 8/13
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 mes
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 Watzlaw ick’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. CHARTER 10/13
sage may be received. FIRA SANS 8/13
Without typography, one could argue, messages will still be legible, but if one really wants to commu nicate rather than simply display a heap of alphanu meric 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. FIRA SANS 10/13
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Habib Placencia Adissi
PICA // Winter 2016
POST CRITIQUE ENTRY: Fixing rags is something one will essentially have to always pay attention to, especially in cases where short line lengths or large point sizes are being utilized. It’s good to pay attention to the details, but at times, practicality will prove to outweight the guidelines. Leading proportions will vary by the body weight regardless of previous proportions attached to point size and leading.
“Leading will be best when the paragraph becomes an even grey while squinting your eyes.”
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Typefaces CHOOSING A HARDWORKING TYPEFACE »» Make sure the Regular weight in the typeface family has a good body weight. »» For body text, robust proportions are preferred, and if possible a large x-height eases readability. »» Bold must contain a good contrast with the body typeface, and an italic version is a must-have. »» Make sure the typeface is economical, and is narrow enough to fit large amount of copy in a small amount of space. »» A display typeface is exactly that. »» Preferrably, choosing a typeface with four to six different weights is ideal for larger projects
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ON-SCREEN TYPEFACES »» X-height is a good indicator for a good onscreen typeface. Too low it’ll make for slower readability, and extremely high might have too little contrast. »» Too much contrast between the strokes, counters, etc, might not be the best suit for onscreen reading, especially for text copy. »» Simply because its a classic typeface, such as Futura or Mrs. Eaves, doesn’t mean it’ll be the most versatile for onscreen use, especially when it comes to smaller text size. »» Sometimes characters include some characters that are hard to differentiate, and depending on what is being set, it could lead to problems for legibility if certain characters are indistinguishable. »» Always be mindful of Numerals wherether they are lining numerals or Old Style numerals »» Finding alternatives to overused typefaces might help add some unique personalities to your text, and you can do so by finding similar traits to your classic favorites.
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Matthew Butterick's: "Why Typography Matters" KEY POINTS: »» Layout, hierarchy, typography, legibility, and common sense should be incorporated in the design of a work. »» Good typography can only benefit a work, and can help the reader be guided, and understand the text in an easier manner. »» “Typography isn't just the frosting on your cake.”
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MISTAKES FOUND: »» Too many weight changes, and no hierarchy, in the establishment of categories »» Not enough breathing room to allow the pacing of consideration for each candidate. »» Almost the entire ballot is entirely capitals, thus creating legibility problems for the reader »» The numbering is nonsensical, as they skip across the pages and point to mysterious places within the gutter of the buttefly ballot.
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Project 1: Legibility
Typesetting: PROJECT DESCRIPTION For this project, research as many rules, ideas, or principles about typography as you can find. After collection, consider the design and typesetting of your document in relation to the quotations and the following hierarchies. PARAMETERS TO CONSIDER: »» The prioritization of information, and what do you want people to read first? »» The contrast between the body text and the titles and subheadings should be easy enough but not bothersome to the eye. »» Depending on the length of your quotations, what composition is most visually interesting and economic for the amount of text you've acquired?
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FIRST SOLUTION:
Classic Rules of Typography For the designer in search of guidance
“Using a long measure makes it very hard for the eye to come back to the beginning of the next line of type, however if you do need to cope with a long line length, the legibility of the type can be helped by more leading between the lines.” Phil Cleaver
“Body height carries less importance when pairing typefaces since line spacing can be adjusted very easily and can be negative as well as positive. However glyph width is an important visual cue for successful typeface pairing, especially if you are looking at two faces that are going to be used together at a similar x-height.” Tony Seddon
What They Didn’t Teach You In Design School, 2014, Page 66
Type Teams: Perfect Typeface Combinations, 2015, Page 40
“Flush left, rag right alignment is often thought to be the most readable form of alignment. this alignment provides the reader with proportional spacing throughout the text lines and avoids the changes of spacing that can occur in justified text. The reader also has a vertical left edge to return to on the next line of type, which enhances the rhythm of reading.”
“When your text is set in a 12 pt medium roman, it should not be necessary to set the heads or titles in 24 pt bold italic capitals. When setting contrast to works with body text and headers…change one parameter at a time. For a balanced page, the weight should decrease slidghtly, not increase, as the size increases.”
Kimberly Elam
Grid systems: Principles of Organizing Type, page 99, 2004
“There are two basic kinds of numerals: aligning and old-style. Aligning numbers are the norm, but old style figures can add a lyrical quality to a design as the numbers move above and below the x-height datum lines.” David Gibson
The Wayfinding Handbook, 2009, Page 24
Robert Bringhurst
The Elements of Typographic Style 4th Edition, 2012, Page 60
“The larger the x-height is in relation to the cap height, the bigger the letters appear to be. In a field of text the greatest density occurs between the baseline and the x-height. ” Ellen Lupton
Thinking with Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors and Students, 2010, Page 37
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FINAL SOLUTION:
Classic Rules of Typography For the designer in search of guidance “The larger the x-height is in relation to the cap height, the bigger the letters appear to be. In a field of text the greatest density occurs between the baseline and the x-height”
“There are two basic kinds of numerals: aligning and old style. Aligning numbers are the norm, but old style figures can add a lyrical quality to a design as the numbers move above and below the x-height datum lines.”
—Ellen Lupton
—David Gibson
Thinking with Type: A Critical Guide for Designer, 2010, Page 37
The Wayfinding Handbook, 2009, Page 24
“Body height carries less importance when pairing typefaces since line spacing can be adjusted very easily and can be negative as well as positive. However glyph width is an important visual cue for successful typeface pairing, especially if you are looking at two faces that are going to be used together at a similar x-height.”
“Using a long measure makes it very hard for the eye to come back to the beginning of the next line of type, however if you do need to cope with a long line length, the legibility of the type can be helped by more leading between the lines.”
—Tony Seddon
—Phil Cleaver
Type Teams: Perfect Typeface Combinations, 2015, Page 40
What They Didn’t Teach You In Design School, 2014, Page 66
“Flush left, rag right alignment is often thought to be the most readable form of alignment. this alignment provides the reader with proportional spacing throughout the text lines and avoids the changes of spacing that can occur in justified text. The reader also has a vertical left edge to return to on the next line of type, which enhances the rhythm of reading.”
“When your text is set in a 12 pt medium roman, it should not be necessary to set the heads or titles in 24 pt bold italic capitals. When setting contrast to works with body text and headers…change one parameter at a time. For a balanced page, the weight should decrease slidghtly, not increase, as the size increases.”
—Kimberly Elam
—Robert Bringhurst
Grid Systems: Principles of Organizing Type, page 99, 2004
The Elements of Typographic Style 4th Edition, 2012, Page 60
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POST CRITIQUE ENTRY: Grabbing, engaging, and sustaining a reader's experience on your document should be the first priority on your book窶馬o pun intended. Learning how to break up large amounts of text can be a way of helping the reader ease into reading extensively. Things I changed from the first solution to the final were the title size, the margin width, the text weight difference between each category of text, and the paragraph treatments. Overall, the initial reaction and sensation to the piece improved dramatically by the shift in these parameters, and good type treatment once again proved in only improving a work of body text, into a desirable one.
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Chapter 02:
Implementation
InDesign Styles Project 2: A Dialogue Grid by Ellen Lupton Project 3: E.O.S.
InDesign Styles ABOUT USING STYLES: »» Styles can help ease the production of large documents as they categorize and implement settings according to the user's definitions. »» Name your styles the purpose of the style. »» Styles overall help set order to your work.
PARAGRAPH STYLES Affect paragraph attributes: leading, tabs, indents, space before and after, rules below or above. »» Pay attention to parent attributes, as your style might affect by what it is based on »» First line indent is dependent on primary Indent, not on the text box, although you can never indent outside of the text box itself.
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CHARACTER STYLES Used for styling text only within a paragraph. »» Especially useful for a repeated use for a text that may work independent from different paragraph styles, i.e. colored text, italics, bold, etc.
TABLE STYLES Used for styling multiple tables within a document. The style is able to define: »» the outside border of the table »» the dividing line in the table »» the space below and above the table »» the fills or fields in the table.
CELL STYLES Helpful for styling individual cells within a table.
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Project 2: A Dialogue
Assigning Voice: PROJECT DESCRIPTION For this project, we were tasked with developing an interesting composition that would engage readers and acknowledge the understanding of an interview between two speakers. PARAMETERS TO CONSIDER: »» Creating a clear distinction between the two speakers without having the reader do too much work. »» Demonstrate an understanding of good typographic rules when setting text. »» Considering the content of the subject matter when selecting the typeface, the imagery and composition. »» Make sure to break up the text as long amounts of reading may discourage the audience to read at all.
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FIRST SOLUTION:
In 1988, Robert Moyers produced an interview with prolific writer Joseph Campbell about the concept of the hero and the realities of myth embedded in today’s culture. This discussion based on Campbell’s book the Hero with a Thousand Faces continues on being a source of inspiration for many readers, artists and even filmmakers such as George Lucas.
W
hy are there so many stories of the hero in mythology?
Because that’s what’s worth writing about. Even in popular novels, the main character is a hero or heroine who has found or done something beyond the normal range of achievement and experience. A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.
So in all of these cultures, whatever the local costume the hero might be wearing, what is the deed? Well, there are two types of deed. One is the physical deed, in which the hero performs a courageous act in battle or saves a life. The other kind is the spiritual deed, in which the hero learns to experience the supernormal range of human spiritual life and then comes back with a message.
Does your study of mythology lead you to conclude that a single human quest, a standard pattern of human aspiration and thought, constitutes for all mankind something that we have in common, whether we lived a million years ago or will live a thousand years from now? There’s a certain type of myth which one might call the vision quest, going in quest of a boon, a vision, which has the same form in every mythology. That is the thing that I tried to present in the first book I wrote, The Hero With a Thousand Faces. All these different mythologies give us the same essential quest. You leave the world that you’re in and go into a depth or into a distance or up to a height. There you come to what was missing in your consciousness in the world you formerly inhabited. Then comes the problem either of staying with that, and letting the world drop off, or returning with that boon and trying to hold on to it as you move back into your social world again.
How do I slay that dragon in me? What’s the journey each of us has to make, what you call “the soul’s high adventure”? My general formula for my students is “Follow your bliss.” Find where it is, and don’t be afraid to follow it.
Is it my work or my life? If the work that you’re doing is the work that you chose to do because you are enjoying it, that’s it. But if you think, “Oh, no! I couldn’t do that!” that’s the dragon locking you in. “No, no, I couldn’t be a writer,” or “No, no, I couldn’t possibly do what So-and-so is doing.”
When I take that journey and go down there and slay those dragons, do I have to go alone? If you have someone who can help you, that’s fine, too. But, ultimately, the last deed has to be done by oneself. Psychologically, the dragon is one’s own binding of oneself to one’s ego. We’re captured in our own dragon cage. The problem of the psychiatrist is to disintegrate that dragon, break him up, sow that you may expand to a larger field of relationships. The ultimate dragon is within you, it is your ego clamping you down.
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FINAL SOLUTION:
Is it my work or my life?
If the work that you’re doing is the wor ing it, that’s it. But if you think, “Oh, no you in. “No, no, I couldn’t be a writer,” so is doing.”
When I take that journey and go dragons, do I have to go alone?
If you have someone who can help you has to be done by oneself. Psychologica to one’s ego. We’re captured in our own is to disintegrate that dragon, break him
of relationships. The ultimate dragon is
An in-depth interview with prolific writer, Joseph Campbell, as led by Bill Moyers.
I like what you say about the old seus says to Ariadne, “I’ll love yo to come out of the labyrinth.” S he unwinds as he goes into the way out. You say, “All he had w That’s all you need—an Ariadne
Why are there so many stories of the hero in mythology? Because that’s what’s worth writing about. Even in popular novels, the main character is a hero or heroine who has found or done something beyond the normal range of achievement and experience. A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.
Sometimes we lo us, or great ideas
That’s not always ea That’s the teacher’s j
So in all of these cultures, whatever the local costume the hero might be wearing, what is the deed? Well, there are two types of deed. One is the physical deed, in which the hero performs a courageous act in battle or saves a life. The other kind is the spiritual deed, in which the hero learns to experience the supernormal range of human spiritual life and then comes back with a message.
Does your study of mythology lead you to conclude that a single human quest, a standard pattern of human aspiration and thought, constitutes for all mankind something that we have in common, whether we lived a million years ago or will live a thousand years from now?
Like all heroes, th shows you the w
But it’s got to be you of your particular fea they may not be the a lighthouse that say however, out there”.
There’s a certain type of myth which one might call the vision quest, going in quest of a boon, a vision, which has the same form in every mythology. That is the thing that I tried to present in the first book I wrote, The Hero With a Thousand Faces. All these different mythologies give us the same essential quest. You leave the world that you’re in and go into a depth or into a distance or up to a height. There you come to what was missing in your consciousness in the world you formerly inhabited. Then comes the problem either of staying with that, and letting the world drop off, or returning with that boon and trying to hold on to it as you move back into your social world again.
In all of these jou wishes to find. Th of the mansion w —that there’s a p
How do I slay that dragon in me? What’s the journey each of us has to make, what you call “the soul’s high adventure”?
The place to find is w lete who is in top for how, that his action known and held. If y
My general formula for my students is “Follow your bliss.” Find where it is, and don’t be afraid to follow it.
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PICA // Winter 2016
POST CRITIQUE ENTRY: This was an enriching project to undertake for I learned a lot during the process. As one can observe a lot of the layour and concept changed between the first and final solution. For one, the type treatment got a lot cleaner, and easy to follow. The text was broken up by space, columns, or a pullquote. One definite lesson I learned from this project was that paragraph's either need one space hard return or an indent and not both. Also, this was a good project to implement some more abstract concepts such as the illustrations, where at first were rather literal of the interview, and later became more narrativedriven, much like the dialogue itself. Another hard lesson I faced, was really having to consider color, value, and intensity, and just exactly how it affects readability, hierarchy and quality of text. This color consideration must especially be paid attention if the output document will be a printed one.
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“Grid” by Ellen Lupton ABOUT USING GRIDS: »» A grid is the framework that allows for arranging content within the space of the page. It is the foundation of all digital images and marks and is not a rigid formula, but rather a flexible structure.
THE GOLDEN RATIO This so-called perfect ratio, can be an effective way of laying out pages, however expect a very classical tone and look to the document due to these proportions.
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SINGLE-COLUMN GRID This sort of grid happens to be the most simple, as it consists of a single column of text surrounded by margins. Some programs default these grids to be mirrored, however, margins may always be readjusted for more asymmetrical layouts. This column in particular might be suited best for books or pages with mostly only text.
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MULTI-COLUMN GRID Similar foundation to a one-column grid, a multi-column grid is simply more than one column divided by a gutter, and surrounded by margins. This type of grid however, adds for a more flexible experience for both the reader and designer, as different zones become created for different arrangements and hierarchies.
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MODULAR GRID This kind of grid, is one that divides the page with guides both horizontally and vertically. It's commonly used for magazine or large scale projects as it very useful for setting both type and image.
THE HANGLINE IN A GRID A hangline is a useful tool that can be implemented into a grid, as it characterized as a section set up on the top section of the page for different sets of media, and hierarchy.
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Project 3: Elements of Style
Redesign: E.O.S. PROJECT DESCRIPTION This project prompted to redesign a section of the undisputed book by William Strunk Jr., into a suitable design for high school students, while still pertraining to its content. Though, the first portion of the assignment was for an individual to complete, the second portion was a group project in charge of designing a cohesive identity for all three volumes. PARAMETERS TO CONSIDER: »» Creating a design that made sense out of the information yet was appealing to the reader. »» Setting up clear hierarchies for rules, body text, or miscellanous categories. »» Coming up with a workable grid and styling system, in order to be able to translate the redesign into other sections of the book.
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FIRST SOLUTION (Individual Part):
02 WILLIAM STRUNK JR.
ELEMENTARY PRINCIPLES OF COMPOSITION
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FINAL SOLUTION (Individual Part):
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POST-CRITIQUE ENTRY: This was a very challenging project, for it required a lot of different information and type of content to be sorted through and set up into a system that succesfully worked throughout the book. As one can tell by comparing the two versions, rule hierarchy was quite necessary in the first, and a system for determining correct and wrong answers still had to be worked out. The first version marked the wrong answers using italics, and eventually this proved problematic as italics for book titles and other reasons, were unrealized due to the exact choice in type slant. Another major change to the first version, was the implementation of only one type family for the entire body copy, save for the headlines, which I kept as sans serif. One criticism I received was perhaps the omission of much flair or visual engagement to the page, as well as the suggestion to expand margins furhter Overall, this assignment taught me a great deal on how to get comfortable with InDesign, and actually putting styling, the grid, and different toolsets into applied use.
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TEAM SOLUTION: (In collaboration with Michelle Lin and Kristen Meadows.)
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POST-CRITIQUE ENTRY: For the final portion of this project, we teamed up with two other designers and created a cohesive style and system that we were able to translate into the three different volumes. Something I needed to implement in my previous project, but was able to stat from new in this one, and thus implement, were larger margins. This extension in the negative space allowed for better pacing and quality of readability, as it made the text seem smaller in quantity, and less tedious. A design strategy we also implemented for all books were large indented spaces for the examples, and again the incorporation of only one body text for the body copy. The entirety of our visual language consisted of these retro forms, reminiscent of 1970's, which we chose to embrace by our choice of only serif type families, and desaturated, earthy colors. A thing to improve on for the next project that I learned after critique was perhaps the further inquiry into how the design solution and visual language could be expanded into further details of publications and extraneous materials.
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Chapter 03:
Culmination
Brief Overview of Type Articles Type Zine Managing Fonts
A Brief Overview of Type Articles MY TYPE DESIGN PHILOSOPHY BY MARTIN MAJOOR This article remained a particular one in my mind by the way Majoor held strongly to his beliefs about what is good and bad typography. He believed one could not be a good designer at all if oen couldn't set body text, as it is the core of most documents. This legitimacy in belief from just designing into an implementation of the design of a font as popular as Scala and Scala Sans is quite inspiring. A VIEW OF LATIN TYPOGRAPHY IN RELATION TO THE WORLD I found this article especially interesting because it made clear the importance of a giant chunk of letterforms which have gone over my head during most if not all of my design education. It was great to read a critical view of our own typographic history and seeing somebody is willing to combat the Westernized notion of the industry.
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LAVA—VOICE OF A MAGAZINE I really liked this article because I appreciated knowing somebody took on such a contemporary problem of creating a medium-specific typeface, as our technology's interfaces are constantly in flux. I was most interested in the aspect of creating a typeface entirely for the identity of a publication, as it proves the most fundamental of changes to certain forms can have a lasting impact. ERIC GILL GOT IT WRONG: A RE-EVALUATION OF GILL SANS I always had a feeling there was something about Gill Sans that just didn't seem right. I knew it was popular in media, but always had some skepticism to its forms. This article supported these weary feelings and utilized some pretty concrete evidence to do so. I personally found the typeface Gill Sans was based off of, Johnston, so much more attractive, and felt that the argument of ambiguous letterforms is a pretty strong on against this typeface. AN IDEA OF A TYPEFACE Can a typeface really be neutral, as to avoid all connotations and expressions? This article and author tackled this question head on as he attempted to create a font that did just that. Ultimately, what the author concludes after creating his attempt at such a typeface is that because human decisions are utilized for the creation, a sort of fingerprint would inevitably be placed on the typeface itself, and thus communicated to the reader.
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Project 4: Type Zine
Type Zine PROJECT DESCRIPTION The culmination of all we had learned was put to the test during this project as the students of the course were asked to gather content based on typography, and create a cohesive magazine with a certain perspective that yet communicated utilizing good typographic languages and rules. PARAMETERS TO CONSIDER: »» Creating a consistent look to the magazine that wasn't lost from article to article »» Being able to handle the appropriate amount of pacing as it was dictated by both the content and the design aesthetic. »» Coming up with a workable grid and styling system, in order to be able to translate a harmonious look and feel to the magazine »» Allowing this magazine to be read online and abiding to constraints placed on On-Screen viewing.
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INSPIRATION:
GRAPHIC ELEMENTS:
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PROCESS:
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FINAL PRODUCT:
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FINAL PRODUCT:
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POST-CRITIQUE ENTRY: This was most definitely my favoriter project, as it incroporated a lot of freedoms and contents which I'm passionate about. At first it was really intimidating trying to put together such a diverse range of articles into a cohesive publication, however, the best design solution for me to wrap my head around, was creating an identity for this spring debut volume. Once I had developed a concept and visual language for the magazine, the biggest challenge was attempting to tackle each article according to their subject matter. Perhaps the biggest challenge within this parameter was attempting to switch things up throughout the magazine while still remaining within the same identity. Perhaps this is where my shortcomings were as not only did I learn that column width should be consistent throughout each article, but even at the end of the day I felt my overall aesthetic was still a bit scattered. Mostly, however, what I mostly took away from this assignment was that ideas and a true acknowledgement of the problem at hand, should be the driving force for each piece of design.
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Managing Fonts UTILIZING FONT MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS: »» There exists font management programs such as Font Book, FontExplorer, Font Agent Pro, etc. that allow you to categorize, disable, and organize your fonts for a more efficent experience as a designer. »» These programs also allow you to create library sets in order to keep fonts organized by category »» Essentially you want the minimum amount of fonts turned on for maximum productivity.
PURCHASING A LICENSE A license is practically permission that is allowed to you by the designer that sets up parameters for what you are allowed to utilize the font for. »» One must be careful when utilizing fonts for any commercial purposes, multiple machines, or giving them away. For, improper use of a license is technically illegal and damaging to the design industry.
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WHERE TO ATTAIN FONTS? Nowadays, there are various and many font licensing and typeface design firms that sell and distribute licenses and typefaces for the public, either for money or sometimes even for free. These are a few sites where you might get lucky. »» Google Fonts »» Losttype.com »» theleagueofmovabletype.com »» fontsquirrel.com »» houseind.com »» myfonts.com
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PUBLICATION DESIGNED BY Habib Placencia Adissi TYPEFACES USED: Roboto Slab Fira Sans WINTER 2016
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