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About this book Composition Letterforms Letterforms and words Letterforms, words and text Texture and positive / negative
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Composition is the organization or grouping of the different parts of a work of art so as to achieve a unified whole. Although typographic composition utilizes the same basic compositional concepts that are part of all visual arts, there are unique ways that typography relates to each of these concepts. By forming relationships between the elements, and incorporating visual concepts in abstract ways, a new and more open relationship with typography is achieved. Shown on the following pages, the exploration of typographic composition started with simple elements--three letterforms--and became a process of identifying abstract concepts as they became visualized. Additional elements were added each week, and new relationships evolved as we explored positive/negative and texture image use.
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Letterforms These compositions feature three letters from the alphabet, set in any of the following typefaces: Garamond, Times Roman, Century, Baskerville and/or Bodoni. By using size, scale, spacial relationships, bleeds and positioning as the variables, I created six compositions using only the three letterforms. The final compositions are 15cm x 15cm (standard format throughout).
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Letterforms and words
Keeping the three letters from the previous assignment, I have now included three words. The words do not have to have any particular meaning or association with each other. Each letter and word is set in one of the following typefaces: Garamond, Times Roman, Century, and/or Bodoni. Using only the three letters and three words, I created the following compositions.
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Letterforms, words and text
Starting with the same three letters and three words from the previous assignments, I am now adding some text. I am setting the text in one of the approved typefaces from before, adjusting the leading, column width, type size, etc. to achieve different results. As abstract compositions, it is not necessary that the text or other typographic elements be readable.
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Texture and positive/negative Positive/negative is the relationship between figure and ground. Texture is the ability to render type in ways other than just hard edge black and white. Combining these two allows me to define type in unusual and unique ways-challenging me to see it differently. Starting with the same three letters, three words and text used in the last assignments, I incorporated positive/negative and texture as major design components.
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This font book is made by Munus Leo Shih aka Shih You Cheng, based on the lesson of Graphic Design taught by Hsu, Tzu-Ching in 2017 at Tsing Hua University. The whole book is an experiment of Baskerville Old Face fonts, how a series of art could contain only three major alphabets, Q, R and U; three words, singularity, filiation and enchanting, and a paragraph of 100 words. Yet still, are appealing to the eye. The whole experiment focus on the shapes and the spaces created by those words, the meaning of words should be neglected. It is bold and playful, I enjoy it very much. Special thanks to all my great friends and classmates, and especially teacher Hsu. I appreciate all their compliments and suggestions, this book won't be finished without them. 20
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