388.01 Type Journal by Ian Wilson by Ian Wilson

Typography Journal

“Like… maps?”

Introduction: The following is Ian Wilsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s documentation of ART 338, Typography II. The entries are in chronological order and the specific dates are provided per entry. Included in each entry are the activities that happened during that class meeting, activities include but are not limited to class discussions, notes taken during class, information on projects assigned, the process that was used to complete each objective, and the critiques that followed the submission of each project.

JAN 7 Readings Butterickâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Practical Typography: Typography in 10 Minutes Discussed are the five basic guiding rules of typography: Typographic quality of your document is largely determined by how the body text looks. Body text point size. For print it should be 10 to 12pt and for web it should be 15 to 25pt. Leading should be 120% to 145% of the point size. Line length should be 45 to 90 characters. Use professional typefaces or choose wisely when using system typefaces and never use New Times Roman or Arial

Butterickâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Practical Typography: Summary of Key Rules The four most important typographic choices you make in any document are point size, line spacing, line length, and font (passim), because those choices determine how the body text looks. Important rules to remember are:

Point size should be 10–12 points in printed documents, 15-25 pixels on the web. Line spacing should be 120–145% of the point size. The average line length should be 45–90 characters (including spaces). The easiest and most visible improvement you can make to your typography is to use a professional font. Avoid goofy fonts, monospaced fonts, and system fonts, especially times new roman and Arial. Yuck Gross Use curly quotation marks, not straight ones (see straight and curly quotes). Put only one space between sentences. Don’t use multiple word spaces or other whitespace characters in a row. Never use underlining, unless it’s a hyperlink. Use centered text sparingly. Use bold or italic as little as possible. All caps are fine for less than one line of text. If you don’t have real small caps, don’t use them at all.

Use 5–12% extra letter spacing with all caps and small caps. Kerning should always be turned on. Use first-line indents that are one to four times the point size of the text, or use 4–10 points of space between paragraphs but don’t use both. If you use justified text, also turn on hyphenation. Don’t confuse hyphens and dashes, and don’t use multiple hyphens as a dash. Don’t use ampersands frequently, unless included in a proper name. Ex: Smith & Wesson In a document longer than three pages, one exclamation point is plenty. Use proper trademark and copyright symbols—not alphabetic approximations. Put a non-breaking space after paragraph and section marks. Make ellipses using the proper character, not periods combined with spaces. Make sure apostrophes point downward. Make sure foot and inch marks are straight, not curly.

Butterickâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Practical Typography: Forward This short article discusses the two differing views on typography. One stating typography is mechanized writing and the other that typography is the letterforms, as well as their relationship to the page and other visual attributes.

Notes Point size: Measurement system for typographic characters that was originally developed for handset metal type, which was invented in 1450. Points v. Picas: 12 points = 1 inch v. 6 Picas = 1 inch (1p6 = 1 pica and 6 points) Factors to consider when choosing a point size: Typeface proportions. Length of text. Format for viewings. Audience. Content of text.

Screen v. Print: General body text point size should be larger when text will be read on screen. Print typically ranges from 9pt to 12pt. Screen is typically 14pt or larger. Workhorse typeface: Good regular weight. Robust proportions in regards to strong stroke, serif with mass, tall X-height. At least one bold weight with notable contrast. Italic. Very legible numerals. Economy â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it should be narrow enough to fit large amounts of copy into available space. Make it look better: Kern: set to metrics then manually kern if needed (common problem spots are diagonals followed by curve) ex: WO Leading: 120% to 145% of point size. Line length: 8 to 13 words is perfect.

Tracking: too close is hard to read and type that is small caps or all caps can handle more tracking than uppercase combined with lowercase. When adjusting tracking to get rid of widows or orphans, stay within -10 to 10. ALWAYS AVOID fake small caps. Only underline hyperlinks. Know your dashes: Hyphen: used if a word is too long for column length. Customize your hyphenation: work with at least 6 characters, after the first 3, before the last 3 and set the hyphenation limit to 2. En Dash: used to indicate duration. Em Dash: used to express a break in the flow of a sentence.

JAN 12 Readings Butterickâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Practical Typography: Why Typography Matters They inspect the influence of good and bad typography and how it can either help or greatly hinder the communica-

tion abilities of the written material. They use the horribly designed butterfly ballot as an example of bad typography since the layout caused confusion. It also talks about considering your reader, their abilities and their attention span.

Notes The ballot was confusing because a plethora of guiding elements were leading the eye to multiple spots where someone would check for their vote, which caused confusion as to write check mark spot corresponded to which candidate. Trixie’s resume is better than Violet’s because it doesn’t assault the eye with bulky typefaces, it has better visual hierarchy and doesn’t use grey bars or decorative and distracting bullet points. The Crystal Goblet essay is basically saying that good typography should be invisible. That it should support the context so well that is goes unnoticed. I think this article is partially right because I know that bad typography will stick out like a sore thumb but I think the personality of well matched typography helps to create the appropriate feel for the written material. So it is not invisible but works in tandem with the content.

CAN I QUOTE THAT? “When you undertake to use an historical typeface, take the trouble to learn the typographic idiom for which it was intended.” Robert Bringhurst, The Elements of Typographic Style, 2002, Page 99

“If the copy is short or easily recognizable, the typeface can be more ornate or decorative and still communicate.” James Craig, Designing With Type, 1980, Page 137

“When mixing typefaces on the same line, designers usually adjust the point size so that the x-heights align.” Ellen Lupton, Thinking With Type: a Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors & Students, 2010, Page 54

“Compositional stability is most readily achieved with the longest rectangle placed over the perimeter edge: top, bottom, left or right.” Kimberly Elam, Grid Systems: Principles of Organizing Type, 2004, Page 55

“Integrating letters and forms together by blending visual and verbal icons is a technique that often forces the viewer to take a second look.” Margo Berman, Street-Smart Advertising: How to Win the Battle of the Buzz, 2010, Page 55

Project 1 Typesetting: Rules of Typography 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.

I Guess So

“When you undertake to use an historical typeface, take the trouble to learn the typographic idiom for which it was intended.” —Robert Bringhurst, The Elements of Typographic Style, 2002, Page 99

I Guess So

“If the copy is short or easily recognizable, the typeface can be more ornate or decorative and still communicate.” —James Craig, Designing With Type, 1980, Page 137

“When mixing typefaces on the same line, designers usually adjust the point size so that the x-heights align.” —Ellen Lupton, Thinking With Type: a Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors & Students, 2010, Page 54

“If the copy is short or easily recognizable, the typeface can be more ornate or decorative and still communicate.” —James Craig, Designing With Type, 1980, Page 137

“Compositional stability is most readily achieved with the longest rectangle placed over the perimeter edge: top, bottom, left or right.” —Kimberly Elam, Grid Systems: Principles of Organizing Type, 2004, Page 55

“Integrating letters and forms together by blending visual and verbal icons is a technique that often forces the viewer to take a second look.” —Margo Berman, Street-Smart Advertising: How to Win the Battle of the Buzz, 2010, Page 55

JAN 14 Notes Today we turned in our first project which was to find some quotes that talked about rules of typography and organize them on a letter sized page in a way that was visually interesting to the viewer. My project was overall pretty good, except one of the quotes was a little disjointed from the rest and I could have increased the leading slightly for the tittle, no major revisions were needed though. Common Class Problems: Leading slightly tight or too loose. Typos in the quotes. Lack of hierarchy/separation of info in the attribution. Minor spacing issues. Name of person who said the quote lacks emphasis. Hierarchy of text is confusing â&#x20AC;&#x201D; parallel information is treated differently. Spatial arrangement of elements lacks organization and negative spaces are awkward.

JAN 19 Reading Butterickâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Practical Typography: Type Composition This chapter is about the non-alphabetical characters of the keyboard and their influence on good typography, these include trademarks, accent symbols, mathematical symbols and white spaces. Discussed in detail are: Straight and curly quotes. One space between sentences. Question marks and exclamation points. Semicolons and colons. Paragraph and section marks. Parentheses, brackets, and braces. Hyphens and dashes. Trademark & copyright symbols. Ampersands.

Ellipses. Signature lines. Apostrophes. Accented characters. Foot and inch marks. White-space characters. Word spaces. Non-breaking spaces. Tabs and tab stops. Hard line breaks. Carriage returns. Hard page breaks. Optional hyphens. Math symbols. Ligatures.

Notes Keyboard Shortcuts

Option + Hyphen

–

Option + Shift + Hyphen — Option + 8

•

Option + G

Option + R

Option + 2

™

Option + Semicolon … Tabs: command + shift + T Page numbers: InDesign > markers >page numbers We were assigned our second project today and things to consider for this assignment are line weight to show differences in who’s talking, to experiment with composition and the positioning of text, avoid breaking up the interview text with a lot of changes in text style and weight, don’t use wacky decorative typefaces and try to have a conservative layout.

JAN 21 Readings Butterickâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Practical Typography: Text Formatting Underlining hinder legibility and monospaced typefaces are hard to read. Kerning correctly enables for optimum legibility. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t italicize San Serif fonts for emphasis purpose since the contrast is so little, use bold instead. Tolerable system fonts: Avenir, Baskerville, Bell MT, California FB, Castilo, Century Schoolbook, Franklin Gothic, Garamond, Goudy Old Style, Hoefler Text and Optima Text formatting is everything that affects the appearance of the characters, which includes: Point size. Bold or italic. Small calls or all caps. Letterspacing. Kerning.

Headings. Color. Hierarchy. Alternate figures.

Notes It is good to keep a minimal number of fonts installed and to turn off crappy fonts when you are not using them, it also help to keep fonts organized by stylistic attributes. Factors to consider when choosing a typeface: Content: low long and what is it about. Audience: age of reader and demographic. Form and content: size of the page or screen, set size or will it vary (phone/tablet/ comp) and the distance of the material from the reader. Technical factors to consider: Does the font have a full character set, including punctuation and glyphs. Does the font have foreign accent characters. Does the font have multiple weights and styles.

Does the font have small caps. Is there a web version. Buying a font: When you buy a font, you are purchasing a license. The license grants the owner the right to use the typeface in a specific manner. Places to buy or get fonts: Google fonts. Lost Type. League of Movable Type. Font Squirrel. House Industries. My Fonts. Fonts.com (expensive) Font Managers Font ExplorerX pro. Suitcase Fusion.

WHY ARE THERE SO MANY STORIES OF THE HERO IN MY THOLOGY?

HER OE S

CAMPBELL 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. MOYERS 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, so that you may expand to a larger field of relationships. The ultimate dragon is within you, it is your ego clamping you down. I like what you say about the old myth of Theseus and Ariadne. Theseus says to Ariadne, “I’ll love you forever if you can show me a way to come out of the labyrinth.” So she gives him a ball of string, which he unwinds as he goes into the labyrinth, and then follows to find the way out. You say, “All he had was the string. That’s all you need.”

That’s all you need—an Ariadne thread. Sometimes we look for great wealth to save us, a great power to save us, or great ideas to save us, when all we need is that piece of string.

That’s not always easy to find. But it’s nice to have someone who can give you a clue. That’s the teacher’s job, to help you find your Ariadne thread. Like all heroes, the Buddha doesn’t show you the truth itself, he shows you the way to truth.

But it’s got to be your way, not his. The Buddha can’t tell you exactly how to get rid of your particular fears, for example. Different teachers may suggest exercises, but they may not be the ones to work for you. All a teacher can do is suggest. He is like a lighthouse that says, “There are rocks over here, steer clear. There is a channel, however, out there”. In all of these journeys of mythology, there’s a place everyone wishes to find. The Buddhists talk of Nirvana, and Jesus talks of peace, of the mansion with many rooms. Is that typical of the hero’s journey—that there’s a place to find?

The place to find is within yourself. I learned a little about this in athletics. The athlete who is in top form has a quiet place within himself, and it’s around this, somehow, that his action occurs…. There’s a center of quietness within, which has to be known and held. If you lose that center, you are in tension and begin to fall apart.

“I’ll love you forever if you can show me a way to come out of the labyrinth.” CA

B MP

•

Y MO

Project 2 Dialogue Using the dialogue provided, design a diptych that utilizes all of the text and emphasizes the fact there is more than one voice. Think about and utilize the various typographic families,and typographic hierarchies. Use color, and images to help support your design, but care must be taken to make sure your typography is flawless. Think about how all of the typographic elements influence our interpretation of the text it can influence the viewer’s reading of the text.

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

CAMPBELL 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?

“I’ll love you forever if you can show me a way to come out of the labyrinth.”

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?

CAMPBELL MOYERS

When I take that journey and go down there and slay those dragons, do I have to go alone?

That’s all you need—an Ariadne thread. Sometimes we look for great wealth to save us, a great power to save us, or great ideas to save us, when all we need is that piece of string.

ny ma so o in e r e er e th e h y ares of thgy? h W stori tholo my Moyers: Why are there so many stories of the hero in mythology?

Campbell: 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.

to it as you move back into your social world again. Moyers: 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”?

Campbell: My general formula for my students is “Follow your bliss.” Find where it is, and don’t be afraid to follow it. Moyers: Is it my work or my life?

Moyers: So in all of these cultures, whatever the local costume the hero might be wearing, what is the deed?

Campbell: 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. Moyers: 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?

Campbell: 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 O

Campbell: 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 Soand-so is doing.” Moyers: When I take that journey and go down there and slay those dragons, do I have to go alone?

Campbell: 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, so that you may expand to a larger field of relationships. The ultimate dragon is within you, it is your ego clamping you down. Moyers: I like what you say about the old myth of Theseus and Ariadne. Theseus says to Ariadne, “I’ll love you forever if you can show me a way to come out of the labyrinth.” So she gives him a ball of string, which he unwinds as he goes into the labyrinth, and then follows to find the way out. You say, “All he had was the string. That’s all you need.”

Moyers: Sometimes we look for great wealth to save us, a great power to save us, or great ideas to save us, when all we need is that piece of string.

Campbell: That’s not always easy to find. But it’s nice to have someone who can give you a clue. That’s the teacher’s job, to help you find your Ariadne thread. Moyers: Like all heroes, the Buddha doesn’t show you the truth itself, he shows you the way to truth.

Campbell: But it’s got to be your way, not his. The Buddha can’t tell you exactly how to get rid of your particular fears, for example. Different teachers may suggest exercises, but they may not be the ones to work for you. All a teacher can do is suggest. He is like a lighthouse that says, “There are rocks over here, steer clear. There is a channel, however, out there”. Moyers: In all of these journeys of mythology, there’s a place everyone wishes to find. The Buddhists talk of Nirvana, and Jesus talks of peace, of the mansion with many rooms. Is that typical of the hero’s journey - that there’s a place to find?

Campbell: The place to find is within yourself. I learned a little about this in athletics. The athlete who is in top form has a quiet place within himself, and it’s around this, somehow, that his action occurs…. There’s a center of quietness within, which has to be known and held. If you lose that center, you are in tension and begin to fall apart.

Campbell: That’s all you need— an Ariadne thread.

RO NY ES

JAN 26 Readings Butterickâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Practical Typography: Page Layout Page layout is the positioning of text and other elements on the page. Things to consider: Centered text Justified text First-line indents Space between paragraphs Line spacing Line length Page margins Body text Hyphenation Block quotations

Bulleted and numbered lists Tables Rules & borders Space above & below Widow and orphan control Keep lines together Keep with next paragraph Page break before Columns Line numbers Paragraph & character styles Maxims of page layout

Notes Todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s critique of Project Two, The Dialogue Project, we had to create a diptych piece and make a composition that would be interesting enough to provoke a viewer to read the interview. I thought I had created something legit but I got ahead of myself. Few people were as fond of the white space as I was but thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all good, school is about learning. To improve the piece, I will be increasing the size of

the title and elongating the image that resides on the left side. The placement of authors names was awkward and so that will be resolved and most likely incorporated into the image some how. Also, I need to remember to customize my hyphenation settings so that words are 3 letters or longer before they are able to be hyphenated. My leading was good though, so thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pretty awesome. Common Class Problems: Use smart quotes. Leading too tight. Hyphenation (no 2 letter chunks) Proper punctuation. Type is too big (body text) Reading order unclear. Spacing of the text lacks consistency/structure. Hierarchy is weak. Typos. Margins are too small. Book titles need to be are set in italics.

JAN 28 Readings “Family Planning or How Type Families Work” by Peter Bil’ak The key points for this essay on the history and definition of type families, type design parameters, and the possibilities of creating larger type systems are as follows: The earliest use of movable metal type; certain typefaces have included versions cut for specific point sizes. Claude Garamond’s type from the 1530s included 15 versions, each size was drawn, cut and cast separately; characters were designed specifically for the optical appearance of the printed text, with optimized letter widths and contrasts between the thick and thin parts of the letterforms. The idea of varying the weight of a single typeface probably happened in the mid-19th century. Heavy typefaces did exist before that time, but they were generally seen on their own and not in relationship to the regular (text) weight. The commercial pressures of the industrial revolution inspired the creation of different weights of typefaces. The idea was simple; to differentiate one text from another.

Type families now have a variety of widths (extended to compressed), weights (extra light to ultra), and optical size (text to headline). Each style must adhere to common principles governing the consistency of the type family. It is clear that individual members of the family need to share one or more attributes, and typographic history offers many examples of this; optical size, weight, width, stylistic differences (sans, serif and semi-serif), construction differences (formal and informal), are the most common parameters linking members of type families. We can also find less common relationships such as varying serif types, changing proportions of x-height, ascenders and descenders, or contextually-appropriate possibilities of different versions.

Notes InDesign Swag Paragraph styles: Leading, tabs, indents, space before/ after, hyphenation, rules above/below and some other cool stuff. Most styles in the document should be paragraph styles and named logically so that you will remember what correlates to what aspect of the layout and so that other designers can use your file. Styles can be based on previously established styles.

DON’T mess with advanced character settings

Space after paragraphs should be about half the leading. Hyphenation: Pay close attention to settings and set the limit to two and hyphenation should happen only after 3 or more characters. GREP Styles: uses code to do finite changes. Export Tagging: Exports styles for HTML and CSS Character Styles: Changes character attributes within a line of type that is already defined by a paragraph style. Use for bold, italic, run-in subheads, custom bullets and numbers. Don’t mess with the leading in this setting. Table Styles: Automate how table’s boarder and dividing lines and fills look. Cell Styles: Customize division within the table. Text inset, style of text within cell. Cell styling creates the look and feel of the table.

FEB 2 Readings Grid, Thinking with Type by Ellen Lupton Grids can be simple or complex, specific or generic, tightly defined or loosely interpreted. The chapter also talks about the importance of grids in guiding a designer to where they should place their elements, as well as how it can bring unity and consistency to the compositional elements.

Using Layout Grids Effectively by Designer Insights There are two main types of grid layouts, landscape and vertical. There are two organizations, which are even number of columns and odd number of columns. The article stresses that you must always use grids for all design projects, leave room for the binding method, be aware of the rule of thirds, and the golden ratio.

“Typographica Mea Culpa, Unethical Downloading” by Steven Heller Steven Heller describes the guilty revelation experienced when he learned that typeface software licenses are sold for use on specific, not unlimited numbers of CPUs. He calls for the ethical treatment of type designers. He also comments on how designers tend to give other designers typefaces, and that half of the designers doing this don’t even realize the legal issues that they are causing. He attributes this to some designers not caring and some designers established before the digital age are simply unaware of the issues that they are making. He also calls attention to the need for designers to not just give away the typefaces they have bought to clients and that the licensing issues need to be explained more and upheld when dealing with clients.

Notes Modular grids can be a great way to create rhythm through out a layout. Baseline grids have many small lines that run throughout and the line will support the baseline of the intended text. All leading has to be disable by a common number, can’t cheat and have partial numbers (ex: 13.4) This style of grids will help bring rhythm and maintain hierarchy in text heavy materials. Larger text

will take up multiple lines but will still hear to a specific baseline. In order to develop you have to know how many lines you want per page. Whole grid devised from the leading of the body text. Know your binding type. Glues will take up the first 1/4 inch but will not lay flat s the first 1/2inch should be considered non-usable space. For spiral bindings the first 3/8 inch should be considered non-usable. Don’t steal fonts, don’t give fonts away, convert to .EPS when sending to printing facility.

FEB 5 Readings “My Type Design Philosophy” by Martin Majoor The article starts off with a discussion about the headache of mixing typefaces. He states that is it perfectly acceptable to mix serif with san serif typefaces but some combinations are a better match. Of those that are unacceptable he lists Garamond with Univers and Bodoni with Gill Sans. Then the article takes a closer look at typefaces like Futura, Akzidenz Grotesk, and Univers. Univers is given recogni-

tions for having a family that consists of so many different weights. Martin Majoor also talks about how he wanted to design a san serif typeface that had lowercase numbers, an idea that had not yet been executed with exception of Paul Renner’s Futura. He also talks in length about his typeface creations, specifically Scala, Telefont and Seria. He wraps up the article with his philosophy of type which is “Shake hands and work together in harmony.”

Notes Elements of Style booklet critique: I felt really good about my booklet but I still learned a few things that didn’t apply to my book but are good to know. For example, never use grey type because it look like the printer made a mistake. Also, if there is a book title in a passage and that passage is already italicized then you can put the book title in bold. Italics can also be harder to read so long texts should not be in italics.

FEB 9 Readings “A View of Latin Typography in Relationship to the World” by Peter Bil’ak This article was a short essay on the general misconceptions of western typography, and the appropriateness of Euro-centric type terminology.” Gutenberg invented movable type printing in 1436 however, it was more likely created in China around 1040 AD by Bi Sheng. This type was made with wood and made smoother imprints. They made the move from wood to metal in 1230 AD. Even today, typography as a discipline continues to be plagued by a Euro-centric bias. If any of the major typography reference books are to be believed, the development of typography has generally been limited to Western Europe. However, this history is only made up of Latin-based typography. Most of the existing typographic classification systems also apply exclusively to Latin type. Those typefaces that are not Latin type are called “Orientals”. Recent changes in technology such as the introduction of the Unicode system and OpenType font format have inspired type designers to consider the previously

overlooked domain of “non-Latin” typography. Hopefully this new realization and appreciation for “non-Latin” typography will influence the creation of new typefaces that can then either be integrated into western typography or into both western typography and the culture form which the influence originated.

Notes We looked as some non-western typefaces and origins, which was pretty cool since Euro-centric typography has dominated a large majority of the things I see.

Elementary Rules of Usage 1. Form the possessive singular of nouns with ’s. Follow this rule whatever the final consonant. Thus write, 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.

Group Version

Project 3 Elements of Style Booklet The Elements of Style is a classic grammatical reference book 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, written in 1918, is quirky, and, at times, a little archaic. The 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, Elementary and each student will be Rules of Usage 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.

1. Form the possessive singular of nouns with ’s.

Follow this rule whatever the final consonant. Thus write, 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.

Individual Version

FEB 11 Notes Final critique for the group version of Elements Of Style. Our cover was pretty obnoxious with color and I cant say I liked our layout and typeface choices very much but the rest of the group thought the decisions they were making were good so sometimes you just got to go with the flow.

FEB 18 Readings “Lava – Voice of a Magazine” by Peter Bil’ak Explains the story behind the typeface Lava. It was created by Peter Biľak who wanted to design a typeface that was a modified versions of Gill Sans, Plantin and Trade Gothic. Lava was turned into the voice of the magazine. The typeface was designed for both print and screen.

The First Thing I Ever Designed: Elana Schlenker and “Gratuitous” Type Magazine Discusses how designer Elana Schlenker created Gratuitous Type Magazine. She wanted to create a new magazine that had a more international perspective and aesthetic. She focused on sketching and trial & error until she came up with her final designs for the interior of the magazine. Trust in yourself and your abilities. You know what’s in your mind, and it might take a while to realize it in precisely the way you’ve imagined it, but trust in your instincts and give yourself the time you need to get it right.

Notes Discussed possible zine topics and the categories within popular magazines (culture, trends, lifestyle, advice column, gallery, history, letter form the editor) Broke into groups of 4 to 5 to discuss which categories we should use in the zine and what articles we would like to use. From the critique of our initial ideas I learned that titles should be significantly larger when they are for a feature article. Also, when including pictures within the article, the layout is significantly more dynamic if the picture is cutout and not in a square like shape.

FEB 19 Tad Carpenter Tad Carpenter seemed like a really cool and relaxed guy that enjoys what he does. I think showing clients color pallets and logo variations is a standard for the industry but he has a good point that you should also show clients support art to help them visualize how effective the colors and mark will actually be in creating a personality for the company. A few other main points that I took away from his lecture is the importance of understanding the brand and how consumers will bring the product into their life. It is also very important to show your client that you are passionate about your ideas and their company. I really like that he stressed doing â&#x20AC;&#x153;Passion Projectsâ&#x20AC;? and how those can frequently turn into actual jobs.

FEB 23 Readings “Eric Gill Got it Wrong; a Re-evaluation of Gill Sans” by Ben Archer Gill Sans is the Helvetica of England; ubiquitous, utilitarian and yet also quite specific in its ability to point to our notions of time and place. Gill Sans was created to be an updated version of the typeface Johnston. Many have claimed that Gills Sans’ Q, R, a, g and t all have unique designs that make them stand out on their own. However, there are some that believe that Gills Sans character shapes are much worse than those of Johnston. Students should be urged to approach Gill Sans with caution; it is a hard typeface to use well without making considerable effort.

Notes The focused on and discussed how to determine is a typeface is good or not. We looked into the little details that separate the good from the bad. Some of these details are things like the shape and angle of terminals, ambiguity between lowercased L, uppercase I and the number 1 and how well the differing weights still relate back to the family.

FEB 25 Readings “Beauty and Ugliness in Type Design” by Peter Bil’ak Examines the idea of a conceptual typeface. Looked at the most beautiful typefaces (Bodoni, Didot) and the ugliest ones (Italian) and tried to figure out a way to perfectly mesh the two. The goal of the project is to show how closely related beauty and ugliness are.

Notes Today we discussed how to organize the type magazine project. We worked in small groups to come up with categories that we would put individual articles under to bring more organization to the magazine. The class ended up deciding that each student should be able to name their own categories. We also cut come of the articles from the publication to make the magazine topics cohesive.

MARCH 1 Readings â&#x20AC;&#x153;An Idea of a Typefaceâ&#x20AC;? by Kai Bernau Aware that there is no such thing as total neutrality, Neutral typeface explores how the absence of stylistic associations will keep the reader from being distracted and help them focus on the content of the text. Neutral uses design principles to examine timelessness, archetypes and neutrality in graphic design, and specifically in type design. Neutrality to be an elusive and ambiguous quality. Neutrality can be regarded as an auxiliary construction that lets us describe things and events that appear free of connotations to a specific social and cultural group at a specific point in time. A typeface is both a tool for designing, and a tool for reading. The fewer distracting details there are, the more invisible the typeface, and the clearer the text becomes.

A Typeface Designed to Revive the Endangered Cherokee Language The Cherokee are the largest Native American tribe in the United States. However, they only a few typefaces designed for their Cherokee Language and these typefaces were so poorly designed and lacked basic features such as bold or italics. Designer Mark Jamra was moved by the need for a typeface that would help preserve a nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s language and culture, and began by adapting a Latin typeface he already had in the works. Jamra studied the language and named his typeface Phoreus Cherokee which means the carrier of Cherokee in Greek. This serif face is a harmonious mix of closed and open shapes, straight strokes, and playful curves. It also works on English language websites

Notes Working really hard on the magazine project.

MARCH 3 Notes The class broke into small groups to review each others magazines. Mine needed more breathing room so I increased the leading and space between title and body text.

MARCH 8 Notes The class had a pre-critique of our magazine project. Solutions to common problems seen were make covers pop and have personality, letter to editor needs the editors name, footers needed the name of the publication and date, bold lead-in tittles were needed for feature articles, and that the article authors name should go by the title of the article, not at the end. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m really glad I was able to have my work in progress reviewed because there were some grammatical and punctuation errors that I had become blind to. I also needed to clean up and deemphasize the references for each article, as well as add more scale to article titles.

A Style All Its Own

People are used to seeing graffiti art in public spaces, after all, that’s what makes it graffiti. However, after years of gaining recognition by the art community, graffiti art has been shown in various galleries in New York and London, and artists are often commissioned to do legal murals and other work for art shows.

Like all other artistic forms, graffiti has experienced movements or changes in style. From the first tag scribbled on a subway train to the large, complex mural on a billboard, the movement has experienced change. The tools and the means have changed as well. Markers were traded in for spray paint, and stencils and stickers were introduced to make pieces easier to execute in a hurry.

as Sotheby’s in London. Despite his anounifyingsuch old nymity, the British artist has gained tremendous popularity. Celebrities such as Angelina and new Jolie and Brad Pitt have purchased his work for a hefty price.

Recognition by the art world and inclusion in

galleries and auctions is one way that graffiti The evolution art is legitimized as “real” art. In addition, this of surf culture exposure has helped the graffiti movement to become launched into the rest of the world. typography

The messages have also evolved. Graffiti has always been somewhat political, but it has come a long way from simply tagging one’s name to parodying world leaders to make a statement. This is further proof that graffiti is a form of art and not just a result of random acts of vandalism. The graffiti community moves in different directions and the resultant artwork moves with it. ✌

Issue #3 | March 2016

Bj Betts’ insight into hand lettering

WHO IS JON CONTINO?

1. What would you choose for breakfast? A. Warm Croissant with Tea B. Eggs, Bacon, and Toast C. Eggs Benedict D. Black Coffee

7. What’s your favorite color? A. Lavender B. Turquoise C. Indigo D. Red

2. If you could only bring 1 item on a plane, what would it be? A. Journal B. Your phone C. Headphones D. Snack and a neck pillow

8. Where is your dream vacation destination? A. Paris B. Australia C. Taiwan D. New York

3. Pick your favorite song: A. Hello by Adele B. Blank Space by Taylor Swift C. Hotline Bling by Drake D. Me Myself & I by G-Eazy

9. What genre of music can you usually be found listening to? A. Jazz B. Country C. Alternative D. Classic Rock

4. Where do you fall in your family’s birth order? A. Only child B. Middle C. Youngest D. Oldest

10. What type of dog would you adopt? A. I’m more of a cat person B. Yellow lab C. Rescue from a shelter D. Great Dane

5. How often do you swear? A. Never B. Sometimes C. Often, but I can control myself D. F*** if i know

11. What is your favorite fruit? A. Raspberry B. Tangerine C. Avocado D. Apple

6. If you could instantly master 1 instrument, what would it be? A. Piano B. Guitar C. Drums D.Singer

Answers on page 39

Cover

One Page Quiz

JON CONTINO Typography Spotlight Don’t call this ADC Young Guns winner a “letterer”

he first week of ADC and Monotype’s Typography Month has been cruising along, giving love to the type addicts and lettering geeks within the ADC community (we know there's a lot of you!)

Type Tidbits

Just like last year’s Photography Month and Illustration Month, ADC Typography Month features a daily Typography Spotlight, highlighting ADC Members and Young Guns who love working with words and letters. Some of the names are already famous within the design community, while others will be new for you to discover, but all of them are card-carrying ADC Members from around the world. The next designer to step into the Typography Spotlight definitely falls into the “already famous within the design community”: the ‘New Yawk’ alphastructaesthetitologist and ADC Young Guns 9 winner. Where did your interest in typography begin? It’s generally not something kids in kindergarten aspire to be. When did you discover that you could actually make a living out of it? You laugh now, but in kindergarten, that is exactly what I was doing. I had an intense obsession with sports branding and movie posters from before I even started any type of schooling, and would literally sit on the floor and draw

Letterform: Issue 3 | Spotlight

One of the most famous graffiti artists,

Louise Banksy, Fili has had his work shown in galleries

Which typeface are you?

Letterform: Issue 3 | Form

FORM

A Nod from the Art Crowd

Feature Article

Project 4 Type Zine In this project, you will be creating a digital magazine. The theme of the magazine is: Typography and the Everyday. 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.

style design has always been a favorite of mine, so I just kind of put my spin on that. I do however love a good turn-of-the-century print ad though. I can’t deny that from seeping into my work.

My mother and grandmother got me hooked on calligraphy at a really young age as well, so I just enjoyed drawing letters. I can even remember old sketchbooks that had various stylized “alphabets” for pages and pages. Just me drawing letters in all different ways.

“I hate the term ‘letterer.’ It might as well be ‘letterererererer.’ I always thought it sounded lazy and awkward. I refuse to refer to myself with that term.”

As for making a living, I’m not quite sure. When I started working professionally at 14 years old, it still didn’t dawn on me that it could be a career. It was a part time job doing something I liked for cash. I don’t think it was until college when I realized that all of my projects could gang up and become a yearly salary.

Everything starts on paper first. I draw rough concepts in a sketchbook, I start fine-tuning on paper, and I finalize on paper. Once I’m happy with the work, I bring it into the computer to clean it up and digitize it. Sometimes it’s vector and sometimes it’s not, but typically this is more of the icing on the cake than anything else.

How much of your ability is self-taught versus through schooling? Everything I know from a technical aspect is self-taught. My mother and grandmother had a big part in supplying the tools, buying me books, and taking me to exhibits at a young age. Everything after that was just the lack of control over my obsession with design. How would you best describe your style? How did you foster that style? Do you tend to lean towards one type of lettering? I’ve always been kind of sloppy when it comes to drawing anything. I’m not a tight, technical artist by any means. I’ve always embraced the idea of raw concept through art, but the designer in me is dedicated to organizing and compartmentalizing all of that stuff. One of my professors in college called my style “organized chaos” and I always thought that fit me well. When you actually look at my work it might not come across that way, but in my head that’s how I see it. Clean, minimal, Swiss-

Walk us through your usual type design process.

What is your favorite ‘practical’ font, one for everyday use?

What other artistic passions do you have? Where else do you find inspiration?

The funny this is that I’ve been lettering everything for so long, that I kind of stopped using fonts for everyday use. When I designed the Standard Memorandum, I had to choose a font that I thought I could use every day and never get sick of, and that font is Columbia Titling by Typetanic Fonts. It’s the perfect amount of slab, history, and style all rolled into one insanely flexible typeface.

Anything that has to do with design in general. I’ve been designing men’s clothes for years now. I’ve also started getting into interior design with my wife and photography for her brand, Past Lives. Anything you can put a creative spin on is something I enjoy. At this point in my life, I learned that you don’t have to apply different styles to different mediums just because you’re not proficient. I’ve become really comfortable with the type of artist I am and the style I gravitate towards, so anything creative I put my hands on will generally have the same approach as something I letter or illustrate.

Do you have a favorite letter of the alphabet when it comes to experimenting with design? That’s a great question. My initial thought is probably an uppercase R. There’s just so much you can do with it. It can get out of hand pretty quickly actually. Who wins in a fight: serif or sans serif? Serif. Always. So much style, so much class. The obvious difference between an illustrator and a letter or typographer is that the latter works mainly with words and letters. Name a not-so-obvious difference between the artforms, one that certainly applies to you. I honestly can’t tell the difference between my illustration and lettering work. I think I’m the guy that walks the line right down the middle. When I draw an object or I draw a letter, I’m approaching it in exactly the same fashion. To me, there is no difference between lettering and illustration because the processes and goals are exactly the same. Tell a story using pictures, and to me, an illustrated word is just as much a picture as anything else. There’s certainly another side to that argument, but from my point of view, it’s all one in the same. The second I try to separate it is the second I become someone else. I mean honestly, alphabets started as pictures of things anyway, right? How is that any different?

Which professionals do you look up to the most in the typography/lettering world? Oh man, there are so many. Of course the Herb Lubalins and Doyald Youngs of the world are a no brainer, but I’ll spare everyone the history lesson and name a few contemporary artists instead. Kimou Meyer, Todd Radom, Michael Doret, Ken Barber, Andy Cruz, Aaron Horkey, Benny Gold and Parra.

Letterform: Issue 3 | Spotlight

monograms and logos all day. Come to think of it, I don’t know if I even knew how to read or write yet, but I loved the shapes and was constantly tracing and trying to copy things that grabbed my attention.

Feature Article’s Additional Spread

MARCH 10 Notes Each person presented their magazine on a projector and gave a quick talk to explain the choices they made. The class as a whole, including myself, needed to be more professional when talking about their work. I think a big issue was that everyone was really tired, burnt out, and was afraid of talking too long and having the classmates not be happy with them.