A
TABLE OF CONTENTS
a........................................................................................History
b................................................................................ Typeface
c........................................................................... Anatomy
d.................................................................. Copyfitting
e...................................................................... Noun
f ���������������������������������������������������������������� Verb
g......................................................Adjective
h........................................ Simultaneity
i................................ Letter as Image
j ��������������������������������Resonance
k ����������������������������Biography
a
A “A” is the first letter and a vowel in the basic modern Latin alphabet. It is similar to the Ancient Greek letter Alpha, from which it was derived. “A” can be traced to a pictogram of an ox head in Egyptian hieroglyphics or the Proto–Sinaitic alphabet. When the Ancient Greeks adopted the alphabet, they had no use for the glottal stop that the letter had denoted in Phoenician and other Semitic languages—so they used the sign to represent the vowel /a/, and kept its name with a minor change (alpha). In the earliest Greek inscriptions after the Greek Dark Ages, dating back to 8th century BC, the letter rests upon its side, but in the Greek alphabet of later times it generally resembles the modern capital letter. Many local varieties can be distinguished by the shortening of one leg or by the angle at which the cross line is set. The Etruscans brought the Greek alphabet to their civilization in the Italian Peninsula and left the letter unchanged. The Romans later adopted the Etruscan alphabet to write the Latin language and the resulting letter was preserved in the modern alphabet used to write many languages including English.
α
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ITC AMERICANA RICHARD ISABELL 1965
AMERICANA
TYPEFACE
b
Americana was designed by Richard Isbell in Nineteen Sixty–Five, Americana was inspired by the upcoming U.S. Bicentennial. The most distinguishing feature of Americana is its extremely large x–height. The letter proportions are very wide, with very short ascenders as well as the descenders. Americana works well for short texts, such as headlines. The broad width of the characters makes it necessary to set a longer line length.
a– ascender The part of lowercase letters (such as k, b, and d) that ascends above the x–height of the other lowercase letters in a face.
b– stem The vertical stokes that make up the main part of most characters containing straight lines—the letter ‘O’ does not contain a stem.
c– descender The part of lowercase letters (such as y, p, and q) that descends below the baseline of the other lowercase letters in a font face. In some typefaces, the uppercase J and the Q also descend below the baseline.
d– serif A small stroke, placed at the end of the main strokes of letter– forms. Typefaces with serifs are called serif typefaces, and for the faces without, sans serif typefaces. See the renowned Typeface Classification Guide.
e– shoulder In letterpress type, the level of metal upon which the relief letter sits on a piece of type. The shoulder provides support in letterpress printing for kerns that project from adjacent pieces.
α
f– terminal
In typography, the terminal is a type of curve. Many sources consider a terminal to be just the end (straight or curved) of any stroke that doesn’t include a serif (which can include serif fonts, such as the little stroke at the end of “n” as shown).
g– counter
The white space that is enclosed by a letter–form, whether wholly enclosed (as in “d” or “o”) or partially (as in “c” or “m”).
c
c
d
e f
ANATOMY
g
lpha
b
a
8pt / 24 pt x 22p
Bauer Bodoni LT
78 Words
Copyfitting is adjusting the font size, letter spacing, word spacing, and/or line spacing to make a text–matter fit into its designated, or the available, space. Leading, the vertical distance from the baseline of one line to the baseline of the next Originally a strip of metal was used between line of type. The word comes from lead strips that were put between set lines. When type was set by hand in printing presses, slugs or strips of lead (reglets) of appropriate thicknesses were inserted between lines of type to add vertical space, to fill the available space on the page. Text set “solid” (no leading) appears cramped, with ascenders almost touching descenders from the previous line. The lack of white space between lines makes it difficult for the eye to track from one line to the next, and hampers readability.
COPYFITTING
printing presses, slugs or strips of lead (reglets) of appropriate thicknesses were
from lead strips that were put between set lines. When type was set by hand in
next Originally a strip of metal was used between line of type. The word comes
Leading, the vertical distance from the baseline of one line to the baseline of the
spacing to make a text–matter fit into its designated, or the available, space.
Copyfitting is adjusting the font size, letter spacing, word spacing, and/or line
d
8pt / 11.3 pt x 22p
Bauer Bodoni LT
140 Words
A decrease in leading equals an increase in word count
NOUN
AIRPLANE A fixed–wing aircraft, typically called an aeroplane, airplane or just plane, is an aircraft capable of flight using forward motion that generates lift as the wing moves through the air. Planes include jet engine and propeller driven vehicles propelled forward by thrust, as well as unpowered aircraft (such as gliders), which use thermals, or warm–air pockets to inherit lift. Fixed–wing aircraft are distinct from ornithopters in which lift is generated by flapping wings and rotary–wing aircraft in which wings rotate about a fixed mast. Most fixed–wing aircraft are flown by a pilot on board the aircraft, but some are designed to be remotely or computer controlled.
e
A V
IA
TE
The airplane made its very first appearance in the 1st World War where pilots would aviate bombs to their targets. By the 2nd World War, huge technological advancements in planes had been made, and both light and heavy aircraft were developed. It wasn’t until the end of the 2nd World War that commercial aviation was developed. Airplanes would continue to be developed well into the 21st century and would be marked with the fall of the twin towers. To aviate is to pilot or fly an airplane—or an unidentified flying object. Aviate used in a sentence, “Osama Bin Laden used his terrorists to aviate two airplanes into the twin towers.”
VERB The earliest attempts at flight were through simple means. Kites and gliders were some of the earliest man–made objects used to aviate mankind to the heavens. Leonardo da Vinci is most famous for attempting to aviate himself into the skies in the 15th century. In the 17th and 18th century, gases lighter than air were discovered. This led to man aviating himself through use of balloons. This was all fine and dandy until it was discovered that hydrogen was quite explosive and should not be used in balloons that carry people. However, by early 20th century, advancements in engine technology and aerodynamics finally put powered flight into motion.
f
DJECTIVE
A
AIRBORNE g
Airborne Pathogen—Any type of organism that causes disease that spreads throughout the environment via the air. Indoor climates are very favourable to the survival and transmission of contagious pathogens as well as fungi and bacteria. Airborne pathogens are generally the most favourable way to start zombie apocalypses. Less dangerous airborne pathogens may include dust and pollen. These airborne pathogens will not turn you into a zombie. Airborne human being—Any person that has launched himself into the sky through use of flying apparatus or machine. The most common ways to become airborne are through the use of gliders, balloons, or airplanes. One may also become airborne after jumping out of a plane. This should only be done with a parachute or may result in death. Airborne used in a sentence, “The Resident Evil series was started by some stupid idiot who released an airborne pathogen in Raccoon City and initiated the first zombie apocalypse.”
A SIM
ITY
ANE ULT
h
Existing, occurring, and or operating at the exact same time—concurrent simultaneous movements—simultaneous translation. The juxtaposition of type and image is a prime example of simultaneity. Through the use of simultaneity in images, it can be dynamic, powerful, dramatic and exciting—through the use of angles, cropping, presentation, and composition. Graphic support elements such as shapes, patterns, lines, all assist in establishing better visual hierarchy.
Air.
G
G
NGEL
i
Letter as Image is a hybrid form of design where the letter–form is used to create the image and vice versa. Letter as image was first introduced in Futurist publications from the years 1912–1916. These publications were collaborations between poets and visual artists. The futurists built this new visual language that would maximize the iconic force of the written word. Their work would blur the iconic and semantic role of the letter with that of the image.
Using resonance in graphic design is to create a lasting image or impression stick to the viewer’s mind. This huge body of text is also part of design however will have zero resonance due to the fact that no one reads big long boring body paragraphs of long factual information. Stimulating visuals will often create visual resonance and be more memorable than long bodies of text. However, absurd factual information will also tend to resonate in one’s memory.
j
RESONANCE
CHRIS I am clinically insane and anything I say is a total lie. I constantly have nervous breakdowns trying to measure the leading in the many lines of text. I dream of serifs and ascenders at night. All my socks are left justified and my t–shirts are flush right for that simultaneous bilateral asymmetry. I stroke my counters at night wondering when my teardrop terminals will juxtapose down my face.
k Yolanda I love cute things and I hate Chris. My dream is one day I can change Chris to a Hello Kitty and cut Chris like piece of bread.
Eh?
A