For my future self in case I forget
ch. 1
ch. 2
ch. 3
ch. 4
ch. 5
For my future self in case I forget.
ch. 1
course outline
This is my second year as a design student in the YSDN program. This is also the third and final course I am taking on typography. My professor for this course is Adam Antoszek-Rallo. This book is my attempt at documenting all the things I learned from this course.
link counter
ch. 1
loop
r spu
Letterforms Letterforms are like the parts of a human body. When a letter form is missing, the whole letter can be read incorrectly. They also have distinct features that can easily be overlooked so I need to maintain a sharp eye. It is interesting to see
ascender
the different typeface families and their unique letterform styles.
serif
leg
spin e
descender letterforms
arm
J is for Julia
hair lin
e
ter m
ina l
ex ap
ear
crossbar
bowl
ch. 1
Bell Centennial
In the mid 1970s, an English typeface designer named Matthew Carter designed the typeface Bell Centennial to solve the problem of ink wells in mass produced texts. The optical corrections improved the ink swelling that would occur when small type was printed on ink absorbing newsprint. This typeface is best for printing tiny type.
bell centennial
A B C D E F
a b c d e f
1 2 3
G H I J K L
g h i j k l
4 5 6
M N O P Q
m n o p q
7 8 9
R S T U V W
r s t u v w
0
X Y Z
x y z
ch. 1
Serifs Old Style Heavily bracketed
Italic Handwritten quality
Transitional
Slab
Less soft than old style
Almost same width as stem
Modern
Sans Serif
Hairline serif
Terminal end
classifying type
Classifying Type Transitional Slight tilted axis Slight wider form Big thin to thick ratio Modern Veritcal axis Condensed form Highest thin to thick ratio
Old Style Tilted axis Balanced form Lowest thin to thick ratio
Remembering Important Concepts ch. 1
Ascender Height
Cap Line Cap
X-line X-height Baseline Descender Height Overhang
The Proportional Lining Effect: Your total is 459 dollars and 59 cents. Golly! That’s an expensive typeface! The Proportional Oldstyle Effect: Your total is 459 dollars and 59 cents. Oh what a beautiful looking number.
Folio’s typically go here,
Height
term definitions
now this is
Thomas the train thought that the closer the tracking, the faster he would chugachuga choo choo. But no, he eventually realized that tracking too close was uncomfortable, awkward and bumpy. He learned a very valuable lesson and decided never to track too close again. T h e n e x t d a y, T h o m a s t h e t r a i n made his tracking wider to make his ride more comfortable. But he made it too wide and again things got uncomfortable. Oh, Silly Thomas. Then, Julia helped Thomas the train improve his tracking. Thomas was so grateful that he gave Julia a free ride home.
or here,
or even here.
Remembering Important Concepts ch. 1
1 inch used as a standard unit of measure.
6 picas used for layouts becasue of its small unit of measure.
14 agates used for newspaper column lengths.
72 points used as a very precise and small unit of meausre.
measurements
Get a load of precision on this page.
ch. 1
project the first
And so the first project was given. I had to take found or made letters to create a word. The type had to describe the meaning and nature of the word. This project was challenging me to think beyond the obvious solutions that came first. I thought that the medium and the word should have a strong connection, but not one that was too obvious and shallow. I did not want a word that would directly imply the material the letters were made of. I wanted a deeper connection This was the inclass exercise I did with a
between the single word and the
group to get our mind set for this project.
medium that was clever and fun.
project 1
I guess it was pretty worth it to spend those strange afternoons staring up at clothes in my closet. Without those moments, I would not have been able to think about the many frills that the sleeves of my clothes made at this angle. You know what, type can pretty much be made from anything.
ch. 2
class notes
Professor Adam speaks very fast.
Capitals that Feel Good
ch. 2
A man named Jan Tschichold
I find that there is no scientific or
came up with a few standards to
mathematical rule to the practice
the use of capitals.
of good type setting. A lot of it has
IMG: http://www.linotype.com/609/ aboutthedesigner.html
to do with the “right feeling� that comes from a well balanced text setting. But is that ok to say?
capitals
When it comes to word spacing,
The line spacing of text should
the space between words should
be greater than the word spacing.
be as equal as the width of a
This ensures hierarchy.
capital “I� plus the letter spacing used for that letter.
Kerning
ch. 2
Looking at type set upside down can help you see the balance of the letter spacing differently.
name kerning
Same goes to type set on different angles. Letters become lines and negative space become forms.
The Second Project
ch. 2
I was excited for this
I had to mix typefaces to express
second project. I saw
a phrase. I tried to express the
it coming from seeing
feeling you get when you say
past work the upper
“Happy Belated Birthday� to
year students did.
someone. It is not the best feeling.
project 2
Having completed this project, I have greater respect for typographers and lettering artists out there. The painstaking process of using the pen tool point by point and setting curves to create the perfect balance was much harder and more time consuming than I thought.
I am definitely going to use this when I miss a friend’s birthday. I think I will purposely miss one for the sake of using this.
ch. 2
project 2
WELCO WELCO THE M THE M OF THE OF THE
OME TO OME TO MIDDLE MIDDLE E BOOK E BOOK Thanks, you may now proceed.
Useful Illustrator Short Cuts The second project taught me to benefits of short cuts. These are new short cuts I fell in love with. They are now embedded into my mind whenever I am using Illustrator.
Hide edges
zoom
outline
zoom out
outline
hide the
view
bounding box
ch. 2
convert
pen tool
anchor
short cuts
point
preferences
add an anchor point
join points
delete an anchor point
I cannot imagine the process designers had to go through before they could type and create layouts on the computer. It was not possible for them to use any kind of short cut to undo and redo their steps. Every move they made was a confident dare.
Resume & Interview Tips Professor Adam gave a lecture about how we should treat our resumes and the attitude we should have towards interviews. It helped to know that these tips were coming from a designer currently active in the field. I learned that as a designer it is expected of me to treat everything thoughtfully, even to the way I respond to questions.
ch. 3
Thinking about job searching made me nervous. All the effort I have been putting into my work was done out of joy and curiosity. As I see how these skills are what I will rely on to make a living, it gives me a different perspective on what I should focus on. I should pursue to learn skills that I want to use in the design field that will contribute for good in society. But how do I determine what is good? Will I know from experience?
Printing & Colour Settings I Really Ought to Know
ch. 3
printing
Despite the complicated process of printing that often leaves great room for unexplainable error, I should not complain. Mister Gutenberg had it much harder.
Syntax, Franklin Gothic, Officina & Frutiger
x-line
Syntax
Frutiger
Franklin
Officina
Gothic
Sans
ch. 3
I think I am a Syntax kind of girl. I am more on the quiet side, but not too quiet and shy either. The medium width and relatively low x-line suggest those characteristics. Well, there are those days when I am a little louder than usual. During those times I guess you could say I am a Franklin Gothic kind of girl.
g g G G g g G G 5
4
5
4
6
6
The Syntax typeface has the highest thin to thick ratio. 5
Franklin Gothic has the second highest thin to thick ratio.
4
4
3
6
6
And lastly Offincina Sans
In third comes Frutiger
To find the thin to thick ratio of a typeface,
compare the thinnest portion
to the
thickest portion
sans serif
Baskerville, Goudy, Garamond, Caslon & Joanna
g G 6
4
6
Baskerville
Gg 6
3
6
5
ch. 3
Goudy
g G 5
3
6
Garamond
mo nd Pla n
et G
ara
dy ou et G Pla n
Pla n
et B
ask e
rvi
lle
The rise of the planet of apexes.
g G 5
3
5
Caslon
g G 5
3
5
serif
Joanna
A careful observation at the serif’s tapering, perpendicular, or expanding form can easily identify the typeface it belongs to. Other unique characteristics also help to identify typefaces, like the ear of a lowercase “g”. Paying attention to serifs of letters is like concentrating on the legs of ants. Like how typographers can identify a typeface by the look of a serif, myrmecologists can probably
a ann et Jo Plan
Plan
et C
aslo
n
identify an ant species from glancing at an ant’s leg. Just an assumption.
Connect the Dots Great precision at connecting the dots by the number will result in the formation of three letters in the Joanna typeface. Upon completion you will also know why you are the bomb.
1
2
5 3
6
4
1 21
18
20
17
10
9 8
19
2 3
20 13
7
ch. 3
15 14
16
11
12
18
13
17
19
14
15 16
1 7 6
3
8 5
10
2
5
6
8
7
4
9 18
20
17
10
9
19
fun
4
15 12
11
14
16
11
12 13
Then Came the Third Project This was one of those projects where I was given the freedom to use illustration. Feeling confident about my illustration skills, I was really looking forward to pouring my guts out for this booklet. Making it about a musician I like was a plus to enjoying this project. However, having this freedom to interpretively represent a musician was harder than I thought. Too much freedom got me stuck in the initial stage of the process because I wanted to perfect everything too much from the beginning. I am still not sure why I was not able to just go with the flow with a simple satisfying idea for this booklet. Gosh, this small eight page booklet destroyed me. Nevertheless, I still had fun.
ch. 3
I believe that Michael Kiwanuka is a great soul musician.
project 3
Thoughts About the Booklet
ch. 3
I was surprised by the outcome of this embossing technique. It looks like the letter “K� has magnetic fields drawing in all energy forces of the type animalia.
project 3
I learned to treat bodies of text as images that would balance with the photographs and the negative space existing between them. I wonder what Kiwaunuka would say about this booklet I made about him.
ch. 3
project 3
This is my interpretation of Home Again. Deal with it.
Those Gritty Rules
These are some of the rules that educated and experienced typographers faithfully practice and cringe at when broken. Upon following these rules, expect great respect from all members of the small yet specialized world of typographers and lettering artists.
1 Apostrophes
‘’
6 Indenting
Can be used when it belongs to
Do not use in the first paragraph.
someone or something, and when referring to a year.
2 Caps ABC
7 Hyphen -
When using an acronym that is not
A punctuation to join words or
universally familiar, set it in capitals.
separate the syllables of a word.
3 Small Caps abc
8 En-dash –
If the acronym is a popular term, it is
Shows a range between numbers.
okay to set it in small caps.
ch. 4
4 Italics & Roman
ii
Use italics or roman styles to
9 Em-dash — Indicates a pause in the dialogue.
indicate a different level within a body of text.
5 Figures vs. #
10 Ellipsis …
When using a high number (usually
Used to indicate an intentional
10 or higher) type it in digits rather
omission of a word in a sentence.
than figures.
Example 4
6
1
In Middle Earth, Gollum sold Smeagol’s 9 2 5 collection of 5482 PCs—which took him 9 five years to collect—to afford his next 6 high-budget film. Gollum expected the 10 film to be screened the following year… 10
…but the film was screened thousands of years later in the second millenia 8 3 (’01–’03) when cg technology excelled.
typesetting
Crystal Goblet Manifesto
So this is my attempt at screwing things up with type. By screwing up I mean making the reader notice that there are lines on the paper that are actually letters that are actually words that actually mean something. I am making the reader try to read. By making the reader try to read, I have already lost the quality of communication. It is like how ch. 4
an incandescent lightbulb spends most of its energy on emitting heat rather than light. It is inefficient, which is intolerable in this fast-paced society we live in today. Sure, designers in the Victorian era got away with the irrational use of ornaments and hoardings of obnoxious posters that mutely screamed for attention. But that was the past, before the Internet era and the universal dominance of smartphones the size of pita sandwiches we can barely fit into our denim pockets. Our attention span does not have time to stare up and down a wall or aisle to read and understand advertisements. Messages need to be delivered in an instant, faster than the data our phones can offer. IMG: http://www.german-toasting-glasses.com/pewter_goblets/gsks60103.html
N
ow this is my attempt at creating invisible print. No, this does not mean
Y
ou want to get a hold of your readers by making the reading experience effortless
the letters actually become invisible. This is
and apparent. This does not require text
about allowing readers to receive a message
settings that scream for attention but points
effortlessly without having to try to read. This
of guidance that are emphasized to lead the
is like lighting a room with sunlight where
readers throughout the text. Think of this
crystal
people do not have to turn anything on in
as providing check-points for the readers to
goblet
order to see. They just need to open their
follow. This skill is not something I have not
eyes. This practice is best for long text, like
come close to mastering, but hopefully with
in a text book, novel, and editorial article.
experience I will become great at it.
IMG: http://www.crateandbarrel.com/oregon-16-oz.-light-white-wine-glass/s437517
The Fourth and Final Project
ch. 4
You are holding the fourth project right now.
This book turned out to be much longer than I anticipated for. However, there are still a lot more personal things I learned throughout the course that I was not able to include. I guess all I am trying to do here is remember the good and tough moments because I am not going to be a student forever. Being a student is comfotable because you can look forward to the future and dream about it, which leaves little room for regrets.
project 4
Now on to the final chapter.
ch. 5
more to come
ch. 5
more to come
ch. 5
more to come
ch. 1
ch. 2
ch. 3
ch. 4
ch. 5