Typography Fundamentals Process Book by jilliankerrinstorres

F T Typography Fundamentals

by Jillian Kerrins-Torres

introduction The making of this process book was a way to develop a broad understanding of contemporary typography and how to make informed and efficient typographic design decisions. In each project we were challenged to do research, comparative study, and produce multiple iterations of designs in order to develop our designs more fully while considering the requirements of that project. We designed pieces of varying formats and styles for both print and digital delivery. Designs in this book were created by Jillian Lam, a student of the UC Berkeley Extension Graphic Design Program.

contents 1

Intro

11 Project 3:

Typesetting Exercise 1, 2, 3, 4

3 Project 1:

Prototype Postcard

27 Project 4:

Type Classification Posters

Project 2:

Pamphlet

prototype postcards 3

Project 1: Prototype Postcards

project 1: prototypes: creating / recreating letterforms postcard objective: To design more accessible and unique postcards for adults between 20-30 years of age to share with the public - both hard copy and digitally. Create a unique card that can be proudly displayed by focusing on typography, page layout, color and concept by selecting 9 characters from an existing typeface and reconstructing them to convey emotion and great design process: I researched a variety of different fonts to find the direction I wanted to move in. It was important to me that I use this as an opportunity to explore a typeface that I would normally not be drawn to. Based on my findings, my concept combined the reconstruction of the Baskerville font, layout and color to convey a sense of whimsy within a typically more formal font. The demographic this would be targeted to would be 30-40 year old people who are more drawn to thinner and sculpted lines. solution: I wanted to keep the overall character of the font intact, yet explore adding more juxtaposition between thicker and thinner strokes of the font. I also wanted to experiment with the shape of the serif, making it more angular. It was challenging to use these same rules for all the letters I chose, but ultimately, I feel like they all work well together.

Project 1: Prototype Postcards

type anatomy pamphlet

Project 2: Type Anatomy Pamphlet

project 2: type anatomy / infographic pamphlet objective: Introduce type terminology via an infographic with a focus on the target audience. Identify the structural aspects of type. Label the different kinds of strokes, junctions & negative spaces used to create letterforms. Identify a variety of differently shaped terminals and serifs. Increase awareness of letterforms and glyphs. Gain layout skills: hierarchy, negative space, focal point, color, and impact. process: For this project, I started with the development of the theme and color story. The number of anatomical parts of type and I wanted to create a calm and soothing mentally headspace for the target audience to intake this information and not be overwhelmed. The target audience for this would be mid-20s to mid-30s type enthusiasts. From this, I decided to go with an ocean, coastal theme keeping my colors in a cool palette. After that I spend time going through different serif fonts filtering ones that appealed to me visually. I was hoping to find a serif font that was easily legible with not too much decoration. I landed on Charter. This font interested me due to the clean forms and it looked like a slightly more modern serif font. It was easy to read and had clean lines. After that, it was all about laying out the pieces of copy and information that was planning on including which were a title page, little blurb about Charter, and the 26 type descriptors. solution: The design problem was solved using a variety of elements of design. I wanted to use color to help highlight the different anatomical parts of type. Laying out words in a larger font, I used thin hairlines to direct the audience to the different descriptors. The way I laid the words out was meant to help give the brochure a little more movement. I didn’t want the copy to lay out on the page in a straight line. It was challenging to balance all the descriptors across the different words I was using to illustrate them, but I managed to make it work out in the end. Project 2: Type Anatomy Pamphlet

Project 2: Type Anatomy Pamphlet

typesetting exercises 1, 2, 3, 4

Project 3: Typesetting Exercises 1, 2, 3, 4

project 3: typesetting exercises 1, 2, 3, 4 objectives: Understand typesetting rules. Demonstrate accurate and aesthetically pleasing typesetting. Recognize how different type treatments and alignments require unique handling of type. process: This was an extremely challenging process for me. Initially the amount of exercises was a bit overwhelming for me and it took me some time to get started. Once I started, I was still quite a bit overwhelmed since there are so many difference design choices to be made at every step of these exercises. I found myself doing and then redoing multiple pages and not being happy with how they were turning out. It was truly an experience in patience to see it through to the end. I spent a lot of time zooming in and out to try to see from different perspectives and adjusting. A lot of adjustments in this process, but in the end I’m glad that I stuck it through and made it to the end! solution: I wanted to use these exercises truly as exercises on different aspects of typesetting. I tried to follow the directions to the best of my ability while giving myself some space to experiment and work on areas that were newer for me. I wanted to try and create layouts that were aesthetically pleasing and made sense in hierarchy of elements. A big part of the solution was really digging into the exercise prompts and thinking about the design choices that I wanted to make.

Project 3: Typesetting Exercises 1, 2, 3, 4

Project 3: Typesetting Exercises 1, 2

Project 3: Typesetting Exercise 3

Project 3: Typesetting Exercise 4

type classification posters

Project 4: Type Classification Posters

project 4: type classification posters objectives: to research the various periods and design from its influence; to visually communicate the evolution of type; to practice the principles of typography that we have studied process: The beginning of this project was enjoyable for me – picking out different typefaces to concentrate on. However, once I started sketching and thinking about how to lay out all the elements required of the project, it got a lot more challenging. I struggled to find a direction to go in for my posters which was the most discouraging part of the process, not being able to figure out what I wanted to do. I ended up going through many iterations before deciding to go with a simpler approach. By utilizing the grid system, I wanted to highlight the different elements of the typefaces. solution: To work past the challenging moments, I tried to just lay out all the pieces of information that I needed to include on the posters. It helped to be able to move around the different elements on the page digitally to be able to see what it would actually look like. I ended up going with a simpler design that was more a classic feel reminiscent of what you might see in a magazine. Although truthfully, I might still play around with potentially adding color because I feel like my posters might be too plain. I’m not sure if I missed the objective of the assignment with how I decided to lay out my posters.

Project 4: Type Classification Posters

designer jillian lam

instructor

victoria arriola

typeface avenir, rockwell, didot

school uc berkeley extension

program graphic design

course

typography fundamentals

F T Typography Fundamentals

Typography Fundamentals Process Book

Articles inside

Project

3

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