GET STOKED FOR STACKED Issue 1
Type Casting by Steven Brower
Back to the Basics! by John D. Berry
Grooming the Font by Robert Bringhurst
Cups on Cups on Cups Installation by Nicholas Droleski
FALL SUBMISSION 2014
S T A c K E D
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Editorial Staff
Letter from Publisher
Type Casting
Back to the Basics
Grooming The Font
Cups on Cups on Cups
Five Typography Artists Worth Following
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Table of Contents
Five Top Typography Tools
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Five New Best Free Fonts!
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How to Use Typography in a Market Managment Setting
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Ending Thought Porvoking Quote
GET STOKED FOR STACKED!
STACKED ISSUE 1 FALL 2014
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Editor and Designer Niko Droleski
904-555-3254 EagerBeaverEditing@gmail.com
Executive Editor Niko Droleski
904-555-3254 EagerBeaverEditing@gmail.com
Managing Editor Niko Droleski
904-555-3254 EagerBeaverEditing@gmail.com
Technology Editor Niko Droleski
904-555-3254 EagerBeaverEditing@gmail.com
Editor at Large Niko Droleski
904-555-3254 EagerBeaverEditing@gmail.com
Designer/ArtDirector Niko Droleski
904-555-3254 EagerBeaverEditing@gmail.com
Creative Consultant Niko Droleski
904-555-3254 EagerBeaverEditing@gmail.com
Production Director Niko Droleski
904-555-3254 EagerBeaverEditing@gmail.com
Assosciate Production Director Niko Droleski
904-555-3254 EagerBeaverEditing@gmail.com
Production Traffic Coordinator Niko Droleski
904-555-3254 EagerBeaverEditing@gmail.com
Web Developer Niko Droleski
904-555-3254 EagerBeaverEditing@gmail.com
Technology Administrator Niko Droleski
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904-555-3254 EagerBeaverEditing@gmail.com
Letter from Editor
Get stocked for the latest edition of Stacked magazine! Stacked magazine is all about the what’s up and down in the typography world. Whether it’s an installation or new type face that’s sweeping the nation. You can find all kinds of information stacked here. Typography is completely underappreciated and over looked. Someone should bring attention to the importance of typography. The solution to getting people to notice type, is a genius idea that grasps at the very idea of an object being completely over looked. The object itself is used only once and then tossed aside with no second consideration of what it could be used for, what could be made out of it. The object of course stacks above all the rest. I’m talking about cups. A group of Undergraduate Flagler College students created a massive type installation that would be sure to knock you socks off! This type of installation is perfect for grabbing peoples attention and holding it long enough for you to speak with them and give them information about the problem. When you have something that stacks together well enough that it gets people to stop and stare you know you can get at least a few minutes of their time to explain your plight. I believe this idea of creating type installations can be a revolutionary concept. To think if each college held an event to bring notice to something using typography more people would become extremely aware. More would be interested in how it works and what is needed to make typography stack high into the sky.
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Type Casting By Steven Brower, Associate Professor at Marywood University
Brief view into the life of a book-a-holic.
M
y first job in book design was
at New American Library, a publisher of
mass-market books. I was thrilled to be hired. It
was exactly where I wanted to be. I love the written word, and viewed this as my entrance into
a world I wanted to participate in. Little did I suspect at the time that mass-market books, also known as “pocket” books (they measure approxi-
mately 4”x7”, although I have yet to wear a pocket they fit comfortably into), were viewed in the dies
world as the tawdry stepchild of true literature
and design, gaudy and unsophisticated. I came to understand that this was due to the fact that
mass-market books, sold extensively in supermar-
kets and convenience stores, had more in common
with soap detergent and cereal boxes than with
their much more dignified older brother, the hardcover first edition book. Indeed, the level of
design of paperbacks was as slow to evolve as a
box of Cheerios.
On the other hand, hardcover books, as if dressed in evening attire, wore elegant and sophisticated
jackets. Next in line in terms of standing, in both
the literary and design worlds, was that trade
aisle. The tradition of mass-market covers had
paper edition, a misnomer that does not refer to a
more in common with, and, perhaps, for the most
rather, to the second edition of the hardcover, or
earlier decades, with their colorful titles and
specific audience within an area of work, but, first edition, that sports a paperbound cover. Trade
paperbacks usually utilize the same interior print-
ing as the hardcover, and are roughly the same size
part is the descendant of, pulp magazine covers of over-the-top illustrations, than that of its more stylish, larger, and more expensive cousins.
(generally, 6” x 9”).
What I Learned
Mass-market books were not so lucky. The interior
literature, I began in the “bullpen” of a mass-mar-
pages of the original edition were shrunk own,
So, when I made my entry into the elite world of
ket house. I believed I would be afforded a good
with no regard for the final type size or the eyes of
opportunity to learn something about type and
cheap paper stock, prone to yellowing over time.
employed more display typefaces in a year and a
the viewer. The interiors tended to be printed on The edges were often dyed to mask the different
grades of paper used. The covers were usually
quite loud, treated with a myriad of special effects (i.e., gold or silver foil, embossing and de-bossing,
spot lamination, die cuts, metallic and Day-Glo
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holography), all designed to jump out at you and
into your shopping cart as you walk down the
pantone colors, thermography, and
image. Indeed, in my short tenure there, I
half than I will in the rest of my lifetime. And, I abused type more than I ever dreamed possible.
There, type was always condensed or stretched so the height would be greater in a small format.
There, type was always condensed or stretched so
And so it went.
problem was that the face itself became distorted, as
new variations on old themes hung up on the wall.
the height would be greater in a small format. The if it was put on the inquisitionist rack, with the
very month, we were given five to
six titles we were responsible for, and every month, or a brief period I was assigned all the romance
horizontals remaining “thick” and the verticals
titles, which, themselves, were divided into subge-
and sent out to a typesetter, there was a standing
the conscious decision to create the very best
company
cursive type, but I would use better script and
thinning out.
ack then, when type was “spec d”
order at the type house to condense all type for our per cent. Sometimes, we would cut the
type and extend it by hand, which created less
distortion but still odd-looking faces.
Once, I was instructed by the art director to cut the serifs off a face, to suit his whim. It s a good thing there is no criminal prosecution for type abuse.
The art director usually commissioned the art for
nres (historical, regency, contemporary, etc). I made
romance covers around. Sure, I would use script and cursive type, so distinctive, elegant, and beautiful
that I, or anyone else, would recognize the difference
immediately. ( hen, six months after I left the job, I
went to view my achievements at the local
-Mart, I
could not pick out any of my designs from all the
rest on the bookracks.)
these tittles. Therefore, the job of the designers was
Soon after, I graduated to art director of a small
with these illustrations to create the package. It was
little of and had little confidence in, typography.
to find the “appropriate” type solutions that worked here that I learned my earliest lessons in the cliches
of typography. Mass-market paperbacks are divided
publishing house. The problem was, I still knew
owever, by this time, I knew I knew little about
typography. My solution, therefore, was to create
into different genres, distinct categories that define
images that contained the type as an integral part of
unspoken rules, handed down from generation to
avoiding the issue entirely. Thus began a series of
their audience and subject matter. Though they were generation, here is what I learned about type during my employ
the image, in a play on vernacular design, thereby
collaborations with talented illustrators and photographers, in which typography of the jacket was
incorporated as part of the illustration. Mystery books especially lent themselves well to this
endeavor. A nice thing about this approach is that it
has certain informality and familiarity with the
audience. It also made my job easier, because I did
not have to paste up much type for the cover (as one had to do back in the days of t-squares and wax),
since it was, for the most part, self-contained within the illustration. This may seem like laziness on my part, but hey, I was busy.
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Eventually, my eye began to develop, and my
simply calls attention to itself, detracting from,
awareness and appreciation of good typography
rather than adding to, the content of the piece. It
notice designers fall into, like utilizing a quirky
solution to the design problem at hand.
increased. I soon learned the pitfalls that most
novelty face does not equal creativity and usually calls attention to the wrong aspects of the
solution. The importance of good letterspacing
is no substitute for a well-reasoned conceptual
As a general rule, no more than two faces should
be utilized in any given design, usually the
becomes paramount. Finding the right combina-
combination of a serif face and a sans serif face.
mood of the material within was now my prima-
have reduced the list to five or six in each catego-
rendered letterform now moved me, to quote Eric
career:
tion of a serif and sans serif face to evoke the
ry concern. The beautify o the classically
Gill, as much “as any sculpture or painted
There are thousands to choose from, but I find I
ry that I have used as body text throughout my
Serif Bodoni
picture.” I developed an appreciation for the rules of typography
The Rules As I’ve said, it is a common mistake among
young designers to think a quirky novelty face equals creativity. If anything, for the viewer, it has
the opposite of the intended effect. Rather than being the total sum of individual expression, it
Caslon
Cheltenham Garamond
Sans Serif Franklin Gothic Futura
Gill Sans
News Gothic Trade Gothic
“As a general rule, no more than two faces should be utilized in any given design, usually the combination of a serif face and a sans serif face.”
You should never condense or extend type. As i stated, this leads to unwanted distortions. Much
care and consideration went into the design of
these faces, and they should be treated with respect. There are thousands of condensed faces
to choose from without resorting to the horizontal
and vertical scale functions.
Do not use text type as display. Even though the
computer will enlarge the top beyond the type
designer’s intention, this may result in distortions. Do not use display type as text. Often,
display type that looks great large can be difficult to read when small.
Do not stack type. The result is odd-looking
spacing that looks as if it is about to tumble on top of itself. The thinness of the letter I is no match for
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the heft of an O sitting on top of it. As always, there are ways to achieve stacking successfully,
the main text is not reading against the background, because of a neutral tone or an image that varies in tone from dark to light. The handed-down wisdom is: If you need a drop shadow to make it read, the piece isn’t working. These solid drop shadows always look artificial, since, in reality, there is no such thing as a solid drop shadow. there should be a better solution to readability. Perhaps the background or the color of the type can be adjusted. Perhaps the type should be paneled or outline. There are an infinite number of possible variations. If you must use a solid drop shadow, it should never be a color. Have you ever seen a shadow in life that is blue, yellow, or green It should certainly never be white. hy would a shadow be 00 percent lighter than what is, in theory, casting the shadow hite shadows create a hole in the background, and draw the eye to the shadow, and not where you want it to go: the text.
but this requires care. Also, as I noted, much care should be given to letterspacing the characters of each word. This is not as simple as it seems. The computer settings for type are rife with inconsistencies that need to be corrected optically. Certain combinations of letterforms are more difficult to adjust than others. It is paramount that even optical (as opposed to actual) spacing is achieved, regardless of the openness or closeness of the kerning. It helps if you view the setting upside down, or backwards on a light box or sun-filled window, or squint at the copy to achieve satisfactory spacing. I would caution you in the judicious use of drop shadows. Shadows these days can be rendered easily in programs such as Adobe’s Photoshop and Illustrator, and convincingly, too. The problem is, it is so easily done that it is overdone. Thus, the wholesale usage of soft drop shadows has become the typographic equivalent of clip art. Viewers know they have seen it before. Rather than being evocative, it mainly evokes the program it was created in. Hard drop shadows, ones that are q00 percent of a color, are easily achieved in Quark and placed behind the main text. This method is generally employed when the main text is not reading against the background, because of a neutral tone or an
image that varies in tone from dark to light. The handed-down wisdom but this requires care. Also, as I noted, much care should be given to letterspacing the characters of each word. This is not as simple as it seems. The computer settings for type are rife with inconsistencies that need to be corrected optically. Certain combinations of letterforms are more difficult to adjust than others. It is paramount that even optical (as opposed to actual) spacing is achieved, regardless of the openness or closeness of the kerning. It helps if you view the setting upside down, or backwards on a light box or sun-filled window, or squint at the copy to achieve satisfactory spacing. I would caution you in the judicious use of drop shadows. Shadows these days can be rendered easily in programs such as Adobe’s Photoshop and Illustrator, and convincingly, too. The problem is, it is so easily done that it is overdone. Thus, the wholesale usage of soft drop shadows has become the typographic equivalent of clip art. Viewers know they have seen it before. Rather than being evocative, it mainly evokes the program it was created in. Hard drop shadows, ones that are q00 percent of a color, are easily achieved in Quark and placed behind the main text. This method is generally employed when a
ustified text looks more formal than flush left, rag right. Most books are set justified, while magazines are often flush left, rag right. Centered copy will appear more relaxed than asymmetrical copy. arge blocks of centered type can create odd-looking shapes that detract from the copy contained within. Another thing to consider is the point size and width of body copy. The tendency in recent times is to make type smaller and smaller, regardless of the intended audience. However, the whole purpose of text is that it be read. A magazine covering contemporary music is different from the magazine for The American Association of Retired Persons. It is also common today to see very wide columns of text, with the copy set at a small point size. The problem is that a very wide column is hard to read because it forces the eye to move back and forth, tiring the reader. On the other hand, a very narrow measure also is objectionable, because the phrases and words are too cut up, with the eye jumping from line to line. e, as readers, do not read letter by letter, or even word by word, but, rather, phrase by phrase. A consensus favors an average of ten to twelve words per
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line.
Breaking the Rules
Lastly, too much leading between lines also
Of course, there are always exceptions to the
makes the reader work too hard jumping from
within one design, particularly when you employ
another begins. The audience should always be
oped with the wood type settings of the
the audience—not the whim of the designer, or
myriad of faces, is that influenced by the Futurist
and ease with which a piece is read. As Eric Gill
century. As Robert N. Jones stated in an article in
for the reader to discener where one lie ends and
paramount in the designer’s approach, and it is
even the client—that defines the level of difficulty
said in 1931, “A book is primarily a thing to be
read.”
A final consideration is the size of the type. As a
rule of thumb, mass-market books tend to be 8
a broadside-style type solution, a style that devel-
nineteenth century. Another style, utilizing a
and Dada movements of the early twentieth
the May 1960 issue of Print magazine: “It is my
belief that there has never been a typeface that is so badly designed that it could not be handsomely and effectively used in the hands of the right … designer.” Of course, this was before the novelty
point for reasons of space. A clothbound book,
type explosion that took place later that decade,
to 12 point range. Oversized art books employ
computer. Still, Jeffery Keedy, a contemporary
more.
Emigre, concurs: “good designers can make use
magazine, or newspaper usually falls into the 9.5
larger sizes—generally, 14 point to 18 point or
Choosing the right typeface for your design can
be time-consuming. There are thousands to
choose from. Questions abound. Is the face legible
at the setting I want? Does it evoke what I want it
and, again, after the advent of the Macintosh
type designer whose work appears regularly in of almost anything. The typeface is the point of
departure, not the destination.” Note the caveat
“almost.” Still, bad use of good type is much less desirable than good use of bad type.
to evoke? Is it appropriate to the subject matter?
When I first began in publishing, a coworker
mine used Clarendon in a self-promotion piece, I
the appropriate face. “If you get a book on
There are no easy answers. When a student of
questioned why he chose a face that has 1950s connotations, mainly in connection with the Reid
Miles’ Blue Note album covers. He answered,
decided to let me in on the “secrets” of picking
Lincoln to design,” he advised,” look up an
appropriate typeface in the index of the type specimen book.” He proceeded to do so. “Ah,
“Because I thought it was cool.” I lectured him
here we go—‘Log Cabin!’” While, on the extreme-
“coolness.” Later, I relayed the incident to
method, it’s a good general rule of what not to do.
profusely on selecting type simply based on its
Seymour Chwast, of the legendary Pushpin
Group (formerly Pushpin Studios). He observed
that Clarendon is actually a Victorian face, which
he and his peers revived as young designers in the 1950s. When I asked him why they chose to
bring this arcane face back to life, he replied
“Because we thought it was cool.”
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rules. An infinite number of faces can be used
line to line, while too little leading makes it hard
ly rare occasion, I have found this to be a useful
Steven Bower Bower began his career as a football commentator and presenter (September 1991 – May 1996) with Radio City (Liverpool) where he presented all sports bulletins on the Sony award winning Breakfast show (Monday to Friday), as well as sports shows from studio and stadiums including pre-match and post-match interviews, with full match commentary on Liverpool, Everton and Tranmere Rovers matches (including FA and League Cup finals plus European competitions). In May 1996, Bower was appointed Head of Sport at Piccadilly Radio (Manchester), the youngest Sports Editor in the UK in Independent Radio responsible for all sports output including the flagship Saturday afternoon show between 1pm and 6pm. He presented every sports programme, mostly live from the stadium, including full match commentary on all Manchester United (including all the Champions League), Manchester City and Bolton Wanderers matches, as well as providing coverage of all England matches home and away. In addition, he gave coverage of Euro96 for Independent Radio news, while in 1998, he gave full match commentary on all England and Scotland matches during the World Cup for the entire EMAP radio network @StevenBrowerDesign.com
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Back to The Basics
By John D. Berry, Editor and Typographer
Stopping Sloppy Typography...
T
here’s a billboard along the freeway in San Francisco that’s entirely typographic, and very simple. Against a bright blue background, white letters spell out a single short line, set in quotation marks: “Are you lookin' at me?” The style of the letters is traditional, with serifs; it looks like a line of dialogue, which is exactly what it’s supposed to look like. Since this is a billboard, and the text is the entire message of the billboard, it’s a witty comment on the fact that you are looking at “me” —that is, the message on the billboard—as you drive past. But, as my partner and I drove past and spotted this billboard for the first time, we both simultaneously voiced the same response: “No, I’m looking at your apostrophe!” The quotation marks around the sentence are real quotation marks, which blend in with the style of the lettering—“typographers’ quotes,” as they’re sometimes called—but the apostrophe at the end of “lookin’” is, disconcertingly, a single “typewriter quote,” a straight up-and-down line with a rounded top and a teardrop tail at the bottom. To anyone with any sensitivity to the shapes of letters, whether they know the terms of typesetting or not, this straight apostrophe is like a fart in a symphony—boorish, crude, out of place, and distracting. The normal quotation marks at the beginning and end of the sentence just serve to make the loud “blat!” of the apostrophe stand out. If that had been the purpose of thebillboard, it would have been very effective. But unless the billboards along Highway 101 have become the scene of an exercise in typographic irony, it’s just a big ol’ mistake. Really big, and right out there in plain sight.
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“No, I’m looking at your apostrophe!”
The Devil Is In the Details
This may be a particularly large-scale example, but it’s not unusual. Too much of the signage and printed matter that we read—and that we, if we’re designers or typographers, create—is riddled with mistakes like this. It seems that an amazing number of people responsible for creating graphic matter are incapable of noticing when they get the type wrong. This should not be so. These fine points ought to be covered in every basic class in typography, and basic typography ought to be part of the education of every graphic designer. But clearly, this isn’t the case—or else a lot of designers skipped that part of the class, or have simply forgotten what they once learned about type. Or, they naively believe the software they use will do the job for them. Maybe it’s time for a nationwide—no, worldwide—program of remedial courses in using type.
Automated Errors
As my own small gesture toward improvement, I’ll point out a couple of the more obvious problems—in the hope that maybe, maybe, they’ll become slightly less commonplace, at least for awhile. Typewriter quotes and straight apostrophes are actually on the wane, thanks to word-processing programs and page-layout programs that offer the option of automatically changing them to typographers’ quotes on the fly. (I’m not sure what has made the phenomenon I spotted on that
billboard so common, but I’ve noticed a lot of examples recently of text where the double quotation marks are correct but the apostrophes are straight.) But those same automatic typesetting routines have created another almost universal mistake:where an apostrophe at the beginning of a word appears backwards, as a single open quotation mark.You see this in abbreviated dates(’99, ’01) and in colloquial spellings, like ‘em for them.. The program can turn straight quotes into typographers’ quotes automatically, making any quotation mark at the start of a word into an open quote, and any quotation mark at the end of a word into a closed quote, but it has no way of telling that the apostrophe at the beginning of ‘em isn’t supposed to be a single open quote, so it changes it into one. The only way to catch this is to make the correction by hand—every time.
Anemic Type
The other rude noise that has become common in the symphony hall is fake small caps. Small caps are a wonderful thing, very useful and some-times elegant; fake small caps are a distraction and an abomination.
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Fake caps are what you get when you use a program’s “small caps” command. The software just shrinks the full-size capital letters down by a predetermined percentage—which gives you a bunch of small, spindly looking caps all huddled together in the middle of the text. If the design calls for caps and small caps—that is, small caps for the word but a full cap for the first letter—it’s even worse, since the full-size caps draw attention to themselves because they look so much heavier than the smaller caps next to them. (If you’re using caps and small caps to spell out an acronym, this might make sense; in that case, you might want the initial caps to stand out. Otherwise, it’s silly. (And—here comes that word again—distracting). If it weren’t for a single exception, I’d advise everyone to just forget about the “small caps” command—forget it ever existed, and never, ever, touch it again. (The exception is Adobe INDesign, which is smart enough to find the real small caps in an OpenType font that includes them, and use them when the “Small caps” command is invoked. Unfortunately, InDesign isn’t smart enough, or independent enough, to say “No, thanks,” when you invoke “small caps” in a font that doesn’t actually have any. It just goes ahead and makes those familiar old fake
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small caps.) You don’t really need small caps at all, in most typesetting situations; small caps are a typographic refinement, not a crutch. If you’re going to use them, use real small caps: properly designed letters with the form of caps, but usually a little wider, only as tall as the x-height or a little taller, and with stroke weights that match the weight of the lowercase and the full caps of the same typeface. Make sure you’re using a typeface that has true small caps, if you want small caps. Letterspace them a little, and set them slightly loose, the same way you would (or at least should) with a word in all caps; it makes the word much more readable.
Pay Attention, Now
There are plenty of other bits of remedial typesetting that we ought to study, but those will do for now. The obvious corollary to all this is, to produce well-typeset words, whether in a single phrase on a billboard or several pages of text, you have to pay attention. Proofread. Proofread again. Don’t trust the defaults of any program you use. Look at good typesetting and figure out how it was done, then do it yourself. Don’t be sloppy. Aim for the best. Words to live by, I suppose. And, certainly, words to set type by.
John D Berry John Berry usually describes himself as an editor & typographer — reflecting his care for both the meaning of words and how they are presented. He is Honorary President of ATypI (Association Typographique Internationale) and the former editor and publisher of U&lc (Upper & lower case). He writes, speaks, and consults extensively on typography, and he has won numerous awards for his book designs. He has written and edited several books, including Language culture type: international type design in the age of Unicode (ATypI/Graphis, 2002), Contemporary newspaper design: shaping the news in the digital age (Mark Batty Publisher, 2004), and U&lc: influencing design & typography (Batty, 2005). He has been a program manager on the Fonts team at Microsoft, where he established improved typographic standards for Windows and other Microsoft products. He is Director of the Scripta Typographic Institute. He teaches typography and design at Cornish College of the Arts. He lives in Seattle with the writer Eileen Gunn. @JohnDBerry.com
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Grooming The Font By Robert Bringhurst, Author, Typorgrapher, and 2013’s Officer of The Order of Canada
Good Typogrpahy Begins with Meaningful Marks
W
riting begins with the making of meaningful marks. That is to say, leaving the traces of mean-
ingful gestures. Typography begins with arranging meaningful marks that are already made. In that respect, the practice of typography is like playing the piano - an instrument quite different from the human voice. On the piano, the notes are already fixed, although their order, duration and amplitude are not. The notes are fixed but they can be endlessly rearranged, into meaningful music or meaningless noise. Pianos, however, need to be tuned. The same is true of afonts. To put this in more literary terms, fonts need to be edited just as carefully as texts do - and may need to be re-edited, like texts, when their circumstances change. The editing of fonts, like the editing of texts, begins before their birth and never ends. You may prefer to entrust the editing of your fonts, like the tuning of your piano, to a professional. If you are the editor of a magazine or the manager of a publishing house, that is probably the best way to proceed. But devoted typographers, like lutenists and guitarists, often feel that they themselves must tune the instruments they play.
Legal Considerations Check the license before tuning a digital font Digital fonts are usually licensed to the user, not sold outright, and the license terms vary. Some manufacturers claim to believe that improving a font produced by them is an infringement of their rights. No one believes that tuning a piano or pumping up the tires of a car infringes on the rights of the manufacturer - and this is true no matter what has been rented, leased, or purchased. Printing type was treated the same way from Bí Sheng’s time until the 1980s. Generally speaking, metal type and prototype are treated that way still. In the digital realm, where the font is wholly intangible, those older notions of
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ownership are under pressure to change.
The linotype Library’s standard font license says that “You may modify the Font-Software to satisfy your design requirements.” FontShop’s standard license has a similar provision: “You do have the right to modify and alter Font Software for your customary personal and business use, but not for resale or further distribution.” Adobe’s and Agfa Monotype’s licenses contain no such provision. Monotype’s says instead that “You may not alter Font Software for the purpose of adding any functionality….. You agree not to adapt, modify, alter, translate, convert, or otherwise change the Font Software….” If your license forbids improving the font itself, the only legal way to tune it is through a software override the kerning table built into the font. This is the least elegant way to do it, but a multitude of errors in fitting and kerning can be masked, if need be, by this means.
ETHICAL & AESTHETIC CONSIDERATIONS If it ain’t broke….. Any part of the font can be tuned - lettershapes, character set, character encoding, fitting and sidebearings, kerning table, hinting, and, in an OpenType font, the rules governing character substitution. What doesn’t need tuning or fixing shouldn’t be touched. If you want to revise the font just for the sake of revising it, you might do better to design your own instead. And if you hack up someone else’s font for practice, like a biology student cutting up a frog,you might cremate or bury the results. If the font is out of tune, fix it once and for all. One way to refine the typography of a text is to work your way through it line by line, putting space in here, removing it there, and repositioning errang characters one by one. But if these refinements are made to the font itself, you will never need to make them again. They are done for good.
Respect the text first of all, the letterforms second, the type designer
third, the foundry fourth.
The needs of the text should take precedence over the layout of the font, the integrity of the letterforms over the ego of the designer, the artistic
sensibility of the designer over the foundry’s desire for profit, and the founder’s craft over a good deal else.
“Respect the text first of all, the letterforms second, the type designer third, the foundry fourth.”
Keep on fixing. Check every text you set to see where improvements can be made. Then
return to the font and make them. Little by little, you and the instru-
ment - the font, that is - will fuse, and the type you set will start
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Digital type can be printed in three dimensions, using zinc or polymer plates, and metal type can be printed flat, from photos or scans of the letterpress proofs. Usually, however, metal type is printed in three dimensions and digital type is printed in two. Two-dimensional type can be printed more cleanly and sharply than three-dimensional type, but the gain in sharpness rarely equals what is lost in depth and texture. A digital page is therefor apt to look anemic next to a page printed directly from handset metal. This imbalance can be addressed by going deeper into two dimensions. Digital type is capable of refinements of spacing and kerning beyond those attainable in metal, and the primary means of achieving this refinement is the kerning table. Always check the side bearings of figures and letters before you edit the kerning table. Sideb earrings can be checked quickly for errors by disabling kerning and setting characters, at ample size, in pairs: 11223344 … qqwweerrttyy…. If the spacing within the pairs appears to vary, or if it appears consistently cramped or loose, the sidebarings probably need to be changed. The function of a kerning table is to achieve what perfect side bearings cannot. A thorough check of the kerning table therefore involves checking all feasible permutations of characters: 1213141516 … qwqeqrqtqyquqiqoqp … (a(s(d(f(g(h(j(k(l
…
)a)s)d)f)g
…
-1-2-3-4-5
…
TqTwTeTrTtTyTuTiToTp … and so on. This will take several hours for a standard ISO font. For a full pan-European font, it will take several days. Class-based kerning (now a standard capability of font editing software) can be used to speed the process. In class-based kerning, similar letters, such as a á â ä å ã _ _ _, are treated as one and kerned alike. This is an excellent way to begin when you are kerning a large font, but not a way to finish. The combinations Ta and Tä, and Tï, il, and íl, i) and ï), are likely to require different treatment. Kerning sequences such as Tp, Tt and f( may seem to you absurd, but they can and do occur in legitimate text. (Tpg is the name of a town in the mountains of Dagestan,
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near the southern tip of the Russian Federation; Ttanuu is an near the southern tip of the Russian Federation; Ttanuu is an important historical site on the British Columbia coast; sequencimportant historical site on the British Columbia coast; sequences such as y = f(x) occur routinely in mathematics.) If you know es such as y = f(x) occur routinely in mathematics.) If you know what texts you wish to set with a given font, and know that what texts you wish to set with a given font, and know that comcombinations such as these will never occur, you can certainly binations such as these will never occur, you can certainly omit omit them from the table. But if you are preparing a font for them from the table. But if you are preparing a font for general general use, even in a single language, remember that it should use, even in a single language, remember that it should accomaccommodate the occasional foreign phrase and the names of modate the occasional foreign phrase and the names of real real and fictional people, places and things. These can involve and fictional people, places and things. These can involve some some unusual combinations. (A few additional examples: unusual combinations. (A few additional examples: McTavish, McTavish, FitzWilliam, O’Quinn, dogfish, jack o’-lantern, FitzWilliam, O’Quinn, dogfish, jack o’-lantern, Hallowe’een.) Hallowe’een.) It is also wise to check the font by running a test file - a specially It is also wise to check the font by running a test file - a specially written text designed to hunt out missing or malformed characwritten text designed to hunt out missing or malformed characters and kerning pairs that are either too tight or too loose. On ters and kerning pairs that are either too tight or too loose. On pages 204-205 is a short example of such a test file, showing the pages 204-205 is a short example of such a test file, showing the difference between an ungroomed font and a groomed one. difference between an ungroomed font and a groomed one. It is nothing unusual for a well-groomed ISO font (which might It is nothing unusual for a well-groomed ISO font (which might contain around two hundred working characters) to have a kerncontain around two hundred working characters) to have a ing table listing a thousand pairs. Kerning instructions for large kerning table listing a thousand pairs. Kerning instructions for OpenType fonts are usually stored in a different form, but if large OpenType fonts are usually stored in a different form, but converted to tabular from, the kerning data for a pan-European if converted to tabular from, the kerning data for a pan-EuropeLatin font may easily reach 30,000 pairs. For a well-groomed an Latin font may easily reach 30,000 pairs. For a well-groomed Latin-Greek-Cyrillic font, decompiling the kerning instructions Latin-Greek-Cyrillic font, decompiling the kerning instructions can generate a table of 150,00 pairs. Remember, though, that the can generate a table of 150,00 pairs. Remember, though, that the number isn’t what counts. What matters is the intelligence and number isn’t what counts. What matters is the intelligence and style of the kerning. Remember too that there is no such thing as style of the kerning. Remember too that there is no such thing as a font whose kerning cannot be improved. a font whose kerning cannot be improved. Check the kerning of the word space. Check the kerning of the word space. The word space - that invisible blank box - is the most common The word space - that invisible blank box - is the most common character in almost every text. It is normally kerned against character in almost every text. It is normally kerned against sloping and undercut glyphs: quotation marks, apostrophe, the sloping and undercut glyphs: quotation marks, apostrophe, the letters A, T, V, W, Y, and often to the numerals 1, 3, 5. It is not, letters A, T, V, W, Y, and often to the numerals 1, 3, 5. It is not, however, normally kerned more than a hair either to or away however, normally kerned more than a hair either to or away from a preceding lowercase f in either roman or italic. from a preceding lowercase f in either roman or italic. A cautionary example. Most of the Monotype digital revivals A cautionary example. Most of the Monotype digital revivals I I have tested over the years have serious flaws in the kerning have tested over the years have serious flaws in the kerning tables. tables.
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One problem in particular recurs in Monotype Baskerville, Centaur &
An extra space that large is a prefabricated typographic
Arrighi, Dante,in Fournier, Gill Sans,in Poliphilus & Baskerville, Blado, Van Dijck and An error one that snorts of disbelief and One problem particular recurs Monotype Centaur extra -space thatwould large isbring a prefabricated typographic other masterworks i n the Monotype ollection. These a reVan w ell-tried error instantaneous correction Morison, Bruce & Arrighi, Dante, Fournier, Gill Sans,c Poliphilus & Blado, - one that would bring from snortsStanley of disbelief and instanfaces f superb esign - yet in the defiance o f tradition, t he m aker’s Rogers, Jan vanfrom Krimpen, Eric Gill andBruce othersRogers, on whose Dijcko and otherdmasterworks Monotype collection. These are taneous correction Stanley Morison, Jan kerning tables c all for a large space ( as uch a s of M/4) t o be added theothers Monotype heritage is built. But well-tried faces of superb design - yet inm defiance tradition, the vanexpertise Krimpen,and Ericgenius Gill and on whose expertise and whenever the f is followed byfor a word space. large to white genius it is the an easy error to fix for anyone maker’s kerning tables call a large spaceThe (as result muchisasaM/4) Monotype heritage is built. equipped But it is anwith easythe error blotch a fterwhenever e very w ord i n f by unless a mspace. ark ofThe punctuation requisite tool:equipped a digital font be added the fending is followed a word result is to fix for anyone witheditor. the requisite tool: a digital intervenes. a large white blotch after every word ending in f unless a mark of punctuation intervenes.
Is it east of the sun and moon Is itwest eastofofthethe sun— or isand it west of the moon west of the moon — or and of the sun?moon is iteast west of the
and east of the sun?
font editor.
HINTING
HINTING (If the font looks poor at low resolutions, check the hinting.) (If the font looks poor at low resolutions, check the hinting.) Digital hints important chiefly of how Digital hints are are important chiefly for for the the sakesake of how the the
Monotype digital Van Dijck, before and after editing the kerning table. typetype on screen. Broadly speaking, hints of willwill looklook on screen. Broadly speaking, hints are are of two As issued, the kerning 127and units (thousandths an em) in kinds: twogeneric kinds: generic hints thattoapply to the as aand whole Monotype digital Vantable Dijck,adds before after editing the of kerning hints that apply the font as afont whole the roman, and 2 28 n the italic, etween letter f and t he w and specific hints applicable only to individual charactable. As issued, thei kerning tableb adds 127t he units (thousandths oford specific hints applicable only to individual characters. Many space. The table 6 units in the roman, the none in the italic. fonts ters. fonts are sold and feware fonts an em) in corrected the roman, andadds 228 in the italic, between letter f and areMany sold unhinted, and unhinted, few fonts indeed soldindeed with Other, l ess space. drasticThe r efinements, h aveadds also 6b een ade the kerning hints arethat sold with hints that cannot be improved the word corrected table unitsmin thet oroman, cannot be improved table in italic. the second noneused in the Other,two lesslines. drastic refinements, have also been made to the kerning table used in the second two lines.
Manual hinting is tedious in the extreme, good Manual hinting is tedious in the extreme, butbut anyany good font
Professional typographers may argue about whether the added space editor fontofeditor recent vintage will include for recentofvintage will include routinesroutines for automated should be zero,typographers or ten, or even 25 thousandths of an em.the Butadded there is no hinting. automated routines are usually enough to Professional may argue about whether These hinting. routines These are usually enough to make a poorly professional d ispute whether be o n the of an hinted make a poorly hinted texton font more(In legible on screen. (In space should be zero,about or ten, or evenit25should thousandths of anorder em. But text font more legible screen. the long run, the eight quarter of an em. thereorisano professional dispute about whether it should be on the order of an eight or a quarter of an em.
the long run, the solution is high-resolution screens,of solution is high-resolution screens, making the hinting making the hinting of tiny fontssizes.) irrelevant except at tiny fonts irrelevant except at sizes.)
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Naming Conventions NAMING CONVENTIONS The presumption of common law is that inherited The presumption of common law is that inherited designs, like designs, like inherited texts, belong in the public inherited texts, belong in the public domain. New designs (or in domain. New designs (or in the USA, the software in the USA, the software in which they are enshrined) are protected which they are enshrined) are protected for a certain for a certain term by copyright; theof names of the designs are also term by copyright; the names the designs are also normally protected byby trademark legislation. The names normally protected trademark legislation. Theare often better protected, in fact, because infringements on the names are often better protected, in fact, because infringements on the rights conferred by a trademark rights conferred by a trademark are often much easier to prove are often much easier to prove than infringements of than infringements of copyright. Nevertheless there are times copyright. Nevertheless therewith are the times when a typogwhen a typographer must tinker names manufacturers rapher must tinker with the names manufacturers give give to their digital fonts. to their digital fonts. Text fonts are generally sold in families, which may include a Text fonts are generally sold in families, which may smorgasbord of weights and Mostvariations. editing and Most include a smorgasbord of variations. weights and typesetting takes asoftware narrower,takes more stereotypical editing andsoftware typesetting a narrower,view. It recognizes only the nuclear of roman,only italic,the boldnuclear and more stereotypical view. family It recognizes family of roman, italic, bold and bold italic. Keyboard bold italic. Keyboard shortcuts make it easy to switch from one shortcuts it and easythetoswitch switch from one to are another to anothermake of these, codes employed generic. ofInstead these,ofand the switch codes employed are generic. saying “Switch to such and such a font at such and Instead of saying “Switch to such and such a font at such a size,” they say, for instance, “Switch to this font’s italic such and such a size,” they say, for instance, “Switch counterpart, whatever that may be.” This convention makes the to this font’s italic counterpart, whatever that may be.” instructions transferable. You can change the face and size of a This convention makes the instructions transferable. whole andand the roman, and bold should all You canparagraph change or thefileface size ofitalic a whole paraconvert in fontshould names can graph orcorrectly. file andThe theslightest roman,inconsistency italic and bold all prevent correctly. this trick from working - and not all manufacturers convert The slightest inconsistency in font names can prevent this tritck from working andthenot name their fonts according to the same conventions. For allfonts manufacturers name their fonts according toand thethe to be linked, their family names must be identical same conventions. For totobethelinked, their font names must abide by the rulesfonts known operating system family names must be identical and the font names and software in use. must abide by rules known to the operating system and software in use. If, for example, you install Martin Majoor’s Scala or Scala Sans tIf, for example, you install Martin Majoor’s Scala or (issued by FontShop) onFontShop) a PC, you will that you the italic Scala Sans (issued by onfind a PC, willand find the roman are unlinked. areare superbly designed fonts, that the italic and the These roman unlinked. These are handsomely kerned and fully equipped with the requisite text superbly designed fonts, handsomely kerned and fully equipped with the requisite text figures and small caps figures and small caps - almost everything in a digital font - should almostbeeverything a digital should - but - but the PC in versions mustfont be placed in abe font editor the PC versions must be placed in a font editor and and renamed in order to make them work as expected. renamed in order to make them work as expected.
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Robert Bringhurst OC is a Canadian poet, typographer and Robert Bringhurs
author. Bringhurst has translated substantial works from Robert Bringhurst OC is a Canadian poet, typographer and Haida and Navajo, as well as classical Greek and Arabic. He author. Bringhurst has translated substantial works from Haida as of well as classicalStyle Greek– and Arabic.book He wroteand TheNavajo, Elements Typographic a reference wrote The Elements of Typographic Style – a reference book of of typefaces, glyphs the visual geometric arrangetypefaces, glyphs and and the visual and and geometric arrangement ofment type.ofHe wasHe named an Officer of the Order Canada type. was named an Officer of theof Order of in June 2013. He lives on Quadra Island, near Campbell River, Canada in June 2013. He lives on170 Quadra Island, near British Columbia (approximately km northwest of Vancouver) with his wife Jan Zwicky, a poet and philosopher. Campbell River, British Columbia (approximately 170Born km in Los Angeles, California, he was raised in Utah, Montana, northwestAlberta, of Vancouver) withColumbia. his wife Jan Zwicky, astudied poet Wyoming, and British Bringhurst architecture, linguistics, and physics at MIT, and comparative and philosopher. Born in Los Angeles, California, he was literature and philosophy at the University of Utah. He holds a raised BA from University, and a MFA in creative writing in Indiana Utah, Montana, Wyoming, Alberta, and British from the University of British Columbia. In 2006, he was also Columbia. BringhurstDoctorate studied architecture, linguistics, and awarded an Honorary from the University of the Fraser Valley. physics at MIT, and comparative literature and philosophy at Bringhurst taught literature, art history and history of typogthe University Utah. He holds a BA from Indiana Univerraphy at several of universities and held fellowships from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Social Sciences and Humansity, and a MFA in creative writing from the University of ities Research Council of Canada, the American Philosophical Britishand Columbia. In 2006, heFoundation. was also awarded an Honorary Society, the Guggenheim Doctorate from the University of the Fraser Valley. @RobertBringhurst.com Bringhurst taught literature, art history and history of typography at several universities and held fellowships from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the American Philosophical Society, and the Guggenheim Foundation.
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“Cups on Cups on Cups!” Typographic Installation by Nicholas Droleski, Graphic Designer and Animator • • • • •
Creative Solution Seeker: Niko Droleski Volunteer Coordinator for Supportive Stacking: Chandler Powell Spokes Person, Head Communications Leader: Chelsea Reppin Photo Director & Head Photographer: Anabel Anderson Videographer & Dynamic Vision Director: Charlie Reign
Project Brief Situation: Everyday people walk through life unaware of the creative solutions taking place around them. Every aspect of their life is already being affected by a simple artistic difference that is has been implemented for thousands of years. I am not painting but rather, the art of Typography. People disregard type everyday, not taking notice to the beautiful fonts surrounding them. Or worse people will butcher type, and cast it into a stereotypical pile to be used in the wrong context. There needs to be an awareness brought to type. Investigation: Research started with pouring over the painful thought of how under appreciated typography was in this modern age. With humans interacting with type every second of there life and never stopping to think how thankful they should be. As the team began to consider possible object to create a greater solution to bringing attention to type, one item began to stand out the most. The average everyday plastic cup that we toss aside can be equated with type in several ways. Insight: The insights gained from my investigation and research fueled the concept. It was decided to venture further into the idea of these cups that are thrown aside and overlooked just like typography is everyday.
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Idea: My ideas centered on the desire to raise awareness of Typography in the community and downtown St. Augustine, Florida. I accomplished this with two particleboards and seventy five hundred, five ounce plastic cups. These two things added with hot glue allowed us to create a very large, and dynamic installation to grab the attention of the people. The idea is typography is everywhere en life but it has been compartmentalized, placed in sections where it belongs and doesn’t belong. Similar to our cups, they are found in the trash or in kitchen cabinets. Once e gathered the cups together and began to place them on top of each other they became something bigger then what they use to be. The cups took new meaning upon themselves as the stacks grew larger and more prominent. Using the absence of cups we were able to even create the focal point of the letters for people to notice our word of choice.
Budget As this was a class project, I was responsible for any monies spent to create the deliverables. • • • •
7500 5oz Plastic Cups: $150 Hot Glue: $25 2 Particleboards: $16 Labor: Pro bono
Research
Research was key to gaining insight, which in turn led to many good ideas. My research started in the middle of the fall 2012 semester in Design3. This stage of the project was focused on awareness, and I spent my time hitting the books and the internet to see what I could find. What I found shocked me. What brought the homeless issue front and center for me was the reality of the homeless living in cars, abandoned buildings and, of course, the streets. The research also uncovered some things about my own community. For example, Mecklenburg County has the largest population of homeless in the state, and even more disturbing was the fact that a person working full time at minimum wage supporting a family of four cannot afford the rent on a one-bedroom apartment in any county in North Carolina. The research from Design3 got me wondering: Where were these people that worked and tried to do their part to earn a living?
I met with Mrs. Miller in February of 2013 and was given a tour of the facilities. I also met with one of the residents, and was able to have an open and frank discussion with her, which not only helped me understand what McCreesh Place is and does, but also helped me better understand the problem of homelessness in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County.
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McCreesh Place was the dream of Reverend Gene McCreesh from St. Peter’s Catholic Church. It is a facility that offers affordable housing to alleviate homelessness, providing housing for 90 disabled men and offering supportive services. The facility is located on North Davidson Street in Charlotte and if you just happened to drive by, you would probably think it was just a regular apartment complex. On the day I visited, a retired nurse was volunteering her time by giving the residents a check-up. I also met with a gentleman named Frank Robinson, who was kind enough to show us his apartment and tell us his story. He told us what McCreesh meant to him and where he would be without it—that is, on
having more conversations with the men of McCreesh Place to really try to understand the lack of resources and options that puts one in the position of homelessness. My conversation with Mrs. Miller, who has worked with the homeless for the last seven years, was a real eye-opener for me. It was refreshing to see solutions that really work and help get these men off the streets but get them sober, mentally and physically healthy, and back on their feet with paying jobs and supportive services that keep them on track. The policy side of homelessness was a part of the puzzle that I had not thought about until meeting Mrs. Miller; she explained that if the policymakers really put it first on the agenda, that we could end homelessness. However, we make decisions like building a new baseball park downtown instead of finding the money to build another McCreesh place, perhaps for women and families this time. When I asked what ways I could help with my awareness
project (Should I look for action or awareness?) her reply was one of simple logic: “Trey, once you make them aware, then you can ask for the action. Let’s make them aware of the solutions, and then ask them for the action.” After that initial visit I began finding insight into how to bring awareness of McCreesh Place as a solution. I returned several times just to play Monopoly and talk about current affairs, getting a feel for how receptive the guys would be to the idea of me asking questions and taking pictures. I mentioned before this was a challenge, and I am glad they were all very forthcoming, honest and nice. I began returning with snacks and would do video interviews with three or four guys per visit, at first using my phone and then with a camera and tripod. A highlight was showing up on choir night and videotaping Dr. Thomas Moore visiting not only with the residents but the staff that sing in the choir. The final piece of my research was making full use of the information provided to me at the aplacetoliveagain.org website—the main website for Supportive Housing Communities which run McCreesh Place. I encouraged everyone to visit the site to learn more about McCreesh Place, the topic of affordable housing and, of course, how you can volunteer and help bring an end to homelessness.
Strategy
My ideas centered on the desire to .
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raise awareness was to use our connection with the school to snag a prime location on St. George Street in downtown St. Augustine Using a location that was associated with the school would allow us to use a familiar landmark to bring people in and have them inquire about our installation. That way they wouldn’t get confused and believe us to be some random street performers. Once we knew people were aware that we were in relation to the college and an actual part of the Art Walk we were able to start connecting with them and telling them about our installation. Using the cups as a draw in and the handout cards and a tool for explaining it was easier to open peoples eyes to the world of typography instead of just explaining every last detail. The design on the cards were a huge help in explain the idea behind our piece and how not focusing on what’s around you can lead to people not noticing the beauty in front of them.
Challenges
“Solution seeker” is something I have named myself; I love the challenge of developing a creative solution to a challenge. I have always felt there are never problems, just challenges that need a more creative solution than normal. During this project, like all designers, I had challenges arise. However, I was able to persevere and find alternative solutions to these issues. For example, Our project at one point was all put together and we had no way of
.transporting it effectively. Until we figured a way to trans-
port it on the bed of my truck, while I sat inside the bed of the truck and held the wooden boards full of cups, to the bed with extension cords while we drove to our location. The second major challenge was finding out we had 2500 5oz cups and accidently ordered 5000 more 7oz cups. This was a problem because it would cause a drastic change in the cups highest and cancel out the wave affect we were creating with the cups. To make the wave even we simply used the 5oz cups as a base layer using all 2500 cups we created a foundation to place the 7oz cups on equally to create a smooth and level base. Using the base we were able to create a wave effect with equal placing of the cups so no part was larger then another or did not flow properly.
Effectiveness
We believe based on the reactions and conversations held with the people of St. Augustine on that day that we had a very positive effect on people’s knowledge of typography. Several people stopped and stared wondering what we spelled with the cups. They knew it wasn’t a bird, a plane, or superman, it was the materialistic expression of how overlooked typography is in every day life. Hopefully people walked away not only with the card about our project but an appreciation for type, and a new look on what is written in front of them.
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A Crash Course in Typography: The Basics of Type By Cameron Chapman
It’s Typography could be considered the most important part of any design. It's
definitely among the most important important elements elements of of any any design design project. project.And And yet yet it's ften tthe he part part of ofaadesign designthat’s that'sleft leftfor forlast, l ast, r barely considered at all. it’s ooften orobarely considered at all. DeDesigners often i ntimidated by typography, which can r in esult in btypoland signers areare often intimidated by typography, which can result bland typographical design or a d esigner always one o r twotypefaces "reliable"in graphical design or a designer always using oneusing or two “reliable” typefaces in their designs. [fblike] This aims If you're their designs. [fblike] This series aims toseries change that.toIfchange you’re that. intimidated by intimidated or even quite sure then where to start, then typography,by or typography, even just aren’t quitejust surearen't where to start, read on. We’ll read We'lltypographic break downtheory typographic theorystarting and practice, starting the breakon. down and practice, with the basicswith (so that basics (so that everyone starts on the same page).In this part, we'll talk about everyone starts on the same page).In this part, we’ll talk about the basics of the basics o f typographic theory, including t he d ifferent k inds o f typefaces typographic theory, including different how otype(and how t ypefaces and f ontsthediffer), a s kinds well aof s typefaces the basic (and anatomy f a faces and fonts differ), as well as the basic anatomy of a typeface. And each typeface. And each part will also offer more resources for delving deeper into part will also offer more resources for delving deeper into typography. typography. thethe terms “typeface” andand “font” interchangeably. But But A lot lot ofofpeople p eopleuse use terms "typeface" "font" interchangeably. they’re two two very very distinct distinct things. things. Before Before we get started talking about typograthey're phy, let's typeface is is aaset setof oftypographical typographicalsymbols symbols let’s get our terms straight.A typeface and characters. It’s It's the letters, numbers, numbers, and and other othercharacters charactersthat thatlet letus usput put words words on on paper paper (or (or screen). screen). A Afont, font, on on the the other otherhand, hand,isistraditionally traditionallydefined defined as complete character character set setwithin withinaatypeface, typeface,often oftenofofa particular a particular size and as aa complete size and style. style. Fonts Fonts are are also also specific specific computer computer files files that that contain contain all all the the characters characters and and glyphs ithin aa typeface.When t ypeface.Whenmost mostofous f us talk about "fonts", w e're r eally glyphs w within talk about “fonts”, we’re really talking about typefaces, or type families (which are groups of typefaces with talking about typefaces, or type families (which are groups of typefaces with related designs). related designs).
There are a number of different ways to classify typefaces and type families. There number of different ways to by classify typefaces types ans-serif, families. The m are ost acommon classifications a re technical style:and s erif, The most common classifications are by technical style: serif, sans-serif, script, script, d isplay, and s o on. Typefaces a re also classified by other technical display, and sosuch on. Typefaces are alsovclassified by other specifications, a s proportional s. m onospaced, o rtechnical by morespecificafluid and interpretational definitions,vs. such as the moodorthey create. tions, such as proportional monospaced, by more fluid and interpretat
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5 Typography Artists Worth Following By Stuart
When expressed in artistic and inventive ways, typography moves away from being simply words W
arranged for print and becomes inspiring and exciting forms ofmoves design.away In this article wesimply look atwords 5 of the hen expressed in artistic and inventive ways, typography from being arranged for print and becomes inspiring and exciting forms of design. In this article we look at 5 of the best typography artists and their work. best typography artists and their work.
Christopher Wool Christopher Wool An American typography artist living and working in New York City, Christopher Wool uses a wide
An American typography artist living and working in New York City, Christopher Wool uses a wide range of techniques and style in his works. He is, however, best known in the typographic world for his range of techniques and style in his works. He is, however, best known in the typographic world for his striking, large-scale paintings of black-stenciled type on white canvas backgrounds. These pieces often striking, large-scale paintings of black-stenciled type on white canvas backgrounds. These pieces often have phrases with the words abbreviated, disrupted and in grid format, making it slightly more difficult have phrases with the words abbreviated, disrupted and in grid format, making it slightly more difficult for the viewer to perceive and make sense of the piece as a whole. Some are also rather enigmatic, one for for the viewer to perceive and make sense of the piece as a whole. example, which simply says ‘The Harder You Look, The Harder You Look’. These paintings are the most Some are also rather enigmatic, one for example, which simply says ‘The Harder You Look, The Harder iconic of his These influential careerare and instantly and career highlyand popular. You Look’. paintings theare most iconic recognizable of his influential are instantly recognizable and highly popular.
Craig Ward Craig Ward This British born typography artist and designer is extremely talented when it comes to creating atten-
This British born typography artistan and designer is extremely when it comes to creating tion-grabbing letterforms. He uses extensive range of mediatalented and equipment, generating stunning outattention-grabbing letterforms. Heambitious uses an extensive media and generating comes and effects. One of his most pieces isrange titled of ‘You Blow Meequipment, Away’ which he collaborated stunning outcomes effects. One of his mosttoambitious pieces is titled ‘Youprinted Blow Me Away’ which he with kinetic still-life and photographer Jason Tozer create. With the type screen onto sheets of glass, collaborated withobjects kinetic through still-life photographer Jason Tozerthe to scenes create. at With the type screen they fired various them and photographed various stages. Theprinted results onto were sheets of glass, fired various objects through them and photographed the scenes at various stages. both unique andthey incredible. The results both unique incredible. Ward is also were well known for hisand piece titled ‘Bad Typography Is Everywhere’ which highlights in a visualWard is also known piece Typography Is Everywhere’ which highlights in agood. ly clever way well the fact that for thehis world is titled so full‘Bad of bad typography that people often don’t notice the visually clever way the fact that the world is so full of bad typography that people often don’t notice the good.
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Stefan Sagniester Stefan Sagmeister
Stefan Sagmeister, of design firm Sagmeister & Walsh, is a New York based, Austrian graphic Stefan Sagmeister, of design firm Sagmeister & Walsh, is a New York based, Austrian graphic designer and typography artist who is very well known for his album cover design and has a designer and typography artist who is very well known for his album cover design and has a reputation for producing really interesting and evocative work. Typography features heavily in reputation for producing really interesting and evocative work. Typography features heavily his work and he uses a broad range of approaches to achieve his designs. Alongside his in his work and he uses a broad range of approaches to achieve his designs. Alongside his cliclient-based work he conducts personally driven projects such as the ongoing ’20 Things I Have ent-based work he conducts personally driven projects such as the ongoing ’20 Things I Have Learned in My Life So Far’ which includes his real-world typographic compositions named Learned in My Life So Far’ which includes his real-world typographic compositions named ‘Trying to Look Good Limits My Life’. This consists of 5 separate pieces spelling out the words of ‘Trying to Look Good Limits My Life’. This consists of 5 separate pieces spelling out the words the sentence using natural and industrial materials arranged in 5 different environments. This of the sentence using natural and industrial materials arranged in 5 different environments. maxim is also applied to a leather belt with the words created using punched out holes that also This maxim is also applied to a leather belt with the words created using punched out holes serve as the belt holes. This project represents the dilemma Sagmeister faces in his work whereby that also serve as the belt holes. This project represents the dilemma Sagmeister faces in his he always strives to be nice to people and loves to avoid conflict in life which somewhat relates to work whereby he always strives to be nice to people and loves to avoid conflict in life which a fear of rejection. This, he feels, closes doors and limits what he does. somewhat relates to a fear of rejection. This, he feels, closes doors and limits what he does.
Alex Trochut Barcelona based Trochut is renowned for his extremely intricate and detailed typographic design work. Alex Trochut Inspired by his Grandfather’s modularfor typographic andintricate ornament creation in the design 40s, he work. has deBarcelona based Trochut is renowned his extremely andsystem detailed typographic veloped unique and elegant style and typographic worked for clients such as system Nike and Coca-Cola. Inspiredaby his Grandfather’s modular and ornament creation in theOne 40s, of he his hasbetter-known is a series of designs ‘Lorem Ipsum’. These all feature the words ‘Lorem developedpersonal a uniqueprojects and elegant style and workedtitled: for clients such as Nike and Coca-Cola. Ipsum Dolor Sit Amet’ in tubular style strokes. He makes use of objects which are of aThese tubular shape such One of his better-known personal projects is a series of designs titled: ‘Lorem Ipsum’. all feature the as pens,‘Lorem pencilsIpsum and squeezed as creams and sauces intricately weaves and are intertwines the words Dolor Sitliquids Amet’ such in tubular style strokes. He and makes use of objects which of a strokes createsuch the as complicated yetand visually pleasing effects tubulartoshape pens, pencils squeezed liquids suchhe asachieves. creams and sauces and intricately weaves and intertwines the strokes to create the complicated yet visually pleasing effects he achieves.
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Wim Crouwel Wim Crouwel
WimCrouwel CrouwelisisaaDutch Dutchgraphic graphicdesigner designerand andtypographic typographicartist Wim artistwell-known most well-known his typeface calledAlphabet’ ‘New most for his for typeface designdesign called ‘New Alphabet’ which in he1967. created 1967. The typeface wasindesigned which he created Theintypeface was designed such a in such a wayit to make it the represent the limitations of the way to make represent limitations of the cathode ray tube cathode rayused tubeintechnology used inequipment. early typesetting equiptechnology early typesetting This technolment. This technology the process of recreating type ogy limited the process limited of recreating type and so the typeface and so the typeface Crouwel created is only entirely madelines, up of45 Crouwel created is entirely made up of straight only straight lines, 45angles. degree This and 90-degree angles. This makes degree and 90-degree makes it fairly hard to read it fairly hard readcriticism which was thethe main criticism from the which was thetomain from design community at the design community at the time of itsdesigned creation,with however it was time of its creation, however it was aesthetic and designed with and aesthetic and theory in mind was theory in mind was never intended to beand used as anever functionintended to due be used a functioning due to itsit is very ing typeface to itsasillegibility. As atypeface display typeface illegibility. As a display it is very impressive,and especialimpressive, especially ontypeface bold coloured backgrounds, readly on bold coloured backgrounds, and challenge, reading it which provides you it ing it provides you with an interesting makes with an interesting challenge, makes it somewhat somewhat interactive as well aswhich attractive interactive as well as attractive.
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5 Top Typography Tools and Resources By Grace Smith
Typography is the foundation of design on the web. Back in 2006, designer and founder
of iA Oliver Reichenstein even went so far as to proclaim "web design is 95% typography."
It's imperative, then, to have a thorough, grounded education in optimizing and utilizing typography to create a balanced, harmonious, accessible hierarchy of content, when working on the web.
1. Typekit
Founded in 2008, Typekit offers a library of fonts, from old classics to new favorites, which can be used on the web. Built around web standards, it's a subscription-based library of hosted, high-quality fonts to use on websites. Typekit is also actively integrating its service into other platforms, such as WordPress. The attention to detail and flexibility of Typekit is impressive, as you add fonts to your site, you can customize how they're applied before publishing any changes. The kit editor lets you apply your fonts to CSS classes, IDs or any HTML tag in your markup. You can also add font names directly to the font stacks in your stylesheet, with advanced control over how fonts are loaded on the page and updated in real time. The browsing interface is well organized. You can look through every font's weight and style, and see multiple samples at all sizes against different colored backgrounds.
2. Typecast
Recently acquired by Monotype, Typecast provides a platform to quickly style type in the browser and check for readability, rendering and beauty as you work. There are over 23,000 web fonts to pick from, meaning you can easily create a web-ready type system with real content. You can access web fonts from Typekit, Fontdeck, Google Web Fonts and Monotype's Fonts.com. Being able to compare fonts side by side on full-length text without having to create screenshots, assemble comps or hand-code CSS is a huge plus. You can style a typeface in precise detail as you design, and standards-compliant code is produced behind the scenes. Styles can be set for font size, line spacing and coloring, along with OpenType features such as small caps, fractions, ligatures, lining and swash characters. As you work, Typecast generates production-ready HTML and CSS code, which can then be exported.
3. Typesetter
Typetester was launched back in 2005, and is still a useful tool today. It's an application for comparing fonts for the screen, providing quick previews of selected typefaces and their common parameters, such as leading and tracking. It also generates CSS on the fly. Most major web fonts and platforms are available to choose from, including Windows and Apple Mac defaults, as well as Google Web Fonts. You can select multiple fonts on one page and then see the differences between them (by viewing them side by side) and preview how they look in Regular, Bold, Italic, Bold-Italic, Uppercase and Small Caps. It's simple to use and you can supply your own text or just use the dummy Latin text. Additionally, you can specify a font of your own from your computer, as long as Typetester can read it. Customize the column settings with adjustments for size, leading edge, alignment, word space, and text and background colors.
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Type Chart 4. TypeChart
Flip through, preview and compare web typography while retrieving the CSS, with Flip through, preview compare web typography while retrieving the CSS, with Typechart. Y ou c an band rowse typographic styles, download t he CSS, c ompare Typechart.(ClearType) You can browse typographic styles, download the Each CSS, style compare Windows Windows rendering with Apple Font rendering. corresponds (ClearType) with Apple Font rendering. Each with a with a "stylerendering ID" to annotate prototypes and retrieve thestyle CSS corresponds while coding. A range “style annotate prototypes and retrieve CSS while coding.Georgia, A range Lucida of web of webID” safetofonts are available, including Arial,the Helvetica, Cambria, safe fontsLucida are available, includingTrebuchet Arial, Helvetica, Cambria, Georgia, Lucida Grande, Grande, Sans Unicode, MS a nd V erdana. You can c hoose the Lucida Sans Unicode, Trebuchet MSUppercase) and Verdana. You can choose the emphasis (Noremphasis (Normal, Bold, Italics and as well as the font size (small to extra mal, Bold, Italics and Uppercase) as well as the font size (small to extra large). large). Once you’ve you've selected your typeface, typeface, emphasis emphasis and andsize, size,clicking clicking“Get "GetCSS” CSS" shows showsaa panel with the CSS code, which you can copy and paste into your own stylesheet.
5. Fontdeck 5. Fontdeck
Fontdeck is an elegant elegant web web font fontsolution solutionyou youcan canuse usetotopreview previewfonts fontsononyour your site, using real site, using real text. As Fontdeck hosts the font font files, files, visitors visitors will willalways alwayssee seethe thelatest latestand andbest bestversions versionsofofthe the fonts. The extensive catalogue catalogue of of professionally professionallydesigned designedfonts, fonts,including includingnumerous numerousfoundries foundries and type a few lines type designers, designers, is isimpressive. impressive.It's It’sstraightforward straightforwardtotouse useand andimplement, implement,with withjust just a few of required CSS toCSS display text intext the in typeface. A free A WordPress pluginplugin is available to download, lines of required to display the typeface. free WordPress is available to which makes it easy to add custom fonts to your WordPress-powered website. You can also use download, which makes it easy to add custom fonts to your WordPress-powered website. You Fontdeck with Squarespace and Cargo Collective. can also use Fontdeck with Squarespace and Cargo Collective. It works IE5 and up, along with works on on all all modern modernbrowsers browsersthat thatsupport supportCSS CSS"@font-face," “@font-face,”including including IE5 and up, along mobile and tablet devices. with mobile and tablet devices.
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The 5 New Best Free Fonts By Arunshory M.
Typography is an important aspect of web and graphic design because good use of the typeface makes your design superior. Although finding the right font can often be a challenge. Typography is an important aspect of web and graphic design because good use of the typeface makes your design superior. Although finding the right font can often be a If you’re l ooking f or a h igh-quality t ypeface to s pice u p design p rojects, t his challenge. post should be an excellent resource for you. We have rinsed and analyzed to present you with elegant andtypeface miscellaneous selection of free fonts which can If you’re looking foran a high-quality to spice up design projects, this post should be an seamlessly integrated anyhave design, including sans-serif, display, serifanand be excellent resource for into you. We rinsed and analyzed to present you with scripts.and miscellaneous selection of free fonts which can be seamlessly integrated into elegant any design, including sans-serif, display, serif and scripts. Here we have collected the new best free fonts and found in a variety of styles for you to use in yourthe design. Thefree fontfonts library beinused on your webfor projects; Here we have collected new best and can found a variety of styles you to most these fonts allow for commercial use. please be sure to check use in of your design. The font library can be used on However, your web projects; most of these fonts the terms. allow for commercial use. However, please be sure to check the terms.
1. Look Up 1. Look Up Look Up free font is a playful type with a homeLookfeel, U pand free ontlittle i s arrows a playful t ype wofith a made it fhas at the edge home-made feel, and it has little arrows at the each letter. The font allows you to create a lot ofedge of each letter. The allows you to create a lot of great things such asfont magazines, posters, printings, great things t-shirts etc. such as magazines, posters, printings, t-shirts etc.
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2. Campton 2. Campton Campton is a simple sans serif with a Campton is a simple sans serif with geometric skeleton. It tries to find its a geometric skeleton. It tries to find niche in the field of anonymous typefaces its n iche in t he field o f anonymous by combining simplicity with a subtle typefaces by combining simplicity friendliness. The font is perfectly suited with a s ubtle friendliness. The f ont for graphic design application ranging is perfectly suited for graphic design from editorial and corporate design via application ranging f rom editorial web and interaction design through to and c orporate design via web and product design. interaction design through t o product design.
3. Baron 3. Baron
Baron is a free uppercase display typeface inspired is a free uppercase byBaron the classic sans serif fontdisplay familiestypeface becauseinspired it’s by the classic s ans s erifand f ontweights. familiesItbisecause it’s many alternative options perfectly manyfor alternative options and It isfree perfectsuited posters, logotypes andweights. headlines, for ly suited for and posters, logotypes and headlines, free both personal commercial use. for both personal and commercial use.
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4. Mohave 4. Mohave Mohave s all display caps d isplay typefacMohave is allicaps typefaces, with es, with smooth height and dynamic smooth height and dynamic glyph. The glyph. The typeface is designed for typeface is designed for large point’s setpoint’s c ontains ting,large contains threesetting, weights, regular,three semi r egular, semi bold, and bold,weights, and bold. bold.
5. Margot 5. Mohave Margot is vibrant, cheerful, perfectly suited i s vibrant, c heerful perfectly for aMargot great variety of typographical purpossuited for a great variety typographies. It is free and the Margot isof designed by calGomez. purposes. It is free and the Margot is Adria designed by Adriá Gómez..
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How to Use Typography in Your Marketing Design By Sara-Ruth Wolkiewicz Content Marketing and Social Media Specialist
When it comes to design, online marketers used to leave that “mumbo jumbo” to graphic designers. However, there is a growing number of marketers who like to think of themselves hen itsouls comes t odon’t design, marketers used to leave their t hat knowledge “mumbo j umbo” to as brave who needonline any graphic designers because and keen graphic However, is a is growing of marketers who like to think of a sense fordesigners. the “design mumbothere jumbo” enough.number Now, there is nothing wrong with being themselves as brave souls who don’t need any graphic designers because their knowlbrave soul! But it’s good to know your basics to make sure you improve your brand instead edge and keen the “design mumbo jumbo” there is nothing of hurting it.Aresense you afor marketer who likes to focus justisonenough. contentNow, placement, colors, and wrong w ith being a b rave s oul! But it’s g ood to know your basics to m ake sure you logos? Well, I have news for you – it is time you take on typography too! improve your brand instead of hurting it.Are you a marketer who likes to focus just on content placement, colors, and logos? Well, I have news for you – it is time you take on Typography is frequently underestimated by people, as they do not realize how important typography too! the texts’ actual look and placement is when it comes to understanding the content it portrays. It is pretty obvious that our reading comprehension is better when our eyes don’t have Typography is frequently underestimated by people, as they do not realize how importto focus on insanely romantic, artistic, and hard to decipher lettering. In fact, there is a whole ant the texts’ actual look and placement is when it comes to understanding the content it science behind what kind of typefaces work better under different conditions – but first, the portrays. I t is p retty obvious t hat our reading comprehension is b etter when our e yes basics in order to understand the science. don’t have to focus on insanely romantic, artistic, and hard to decipher lettering. In fact, there is a whole science behind what kind of typefaces work better under different conditions but first, basics in order to understand the science. The–basics ofthe basics
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The basicsvs. ofFont basics Typeface
You might be used to telling everyone that “this Comic Sans font is not as cool as Helvetica”, but you’re actually wrong. No, not because Comic Sans is cool (let me underline that – it is Typeface vs. Font not cool, don’t use Comic Sans.. ever!)that but “this because what you’re is aastypeface. You might be used to telling everyone Comic Sans fontdescribing is not as cool Helveti-
ca”, but you’re actually wrong. No, not because Comic Sans is cool (let me underline that a typeface is theComic actualSans.. creative works font family, you will. Garamond –Essentially, it is not c ool, don’t use e ver!) b utorbecause whatifyou’re describing i s aof Helvetica are typefaces as they define the respective creative works. However, if you were to typeface. say “Times New Roman, bold, 17pt” – you would be describing a font. Essentially, a typeface is the actual creative works or font family, if you will. Garamond of Nowadaysare thetypefaces two are pretty much interchangeable, usedHowever, to matter iwhen Helvetica a s they define the respectivehowever c reativethis works. f youa letteringtopress was stillNew in use since bold, you had to pick entirebe family (typeface) and than define were say “Times Roman, 17pt” – youanwould describing a font. each specific letter (font) in that family and how it is to look within the printed text. Nowadays the two are pretty much interchangeable, however this used to matter when a lettering press was still in use since you had to pick an entire family (typeface) and than Serif vs. Sans Serif define each specific letter (font) in that family and how it is to look within the printed text. These two beautiful words define the more artistic, archaic lettering with strokes (serif), and
the more Serif vs.simple Sanslettering Serif with the french sans (without) in front of serif.
These two beautiful words define the more artistic, archaic lettering with strokes (serif), and the more simple lettering with the french sans (without) in front of serif.
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Serif typefaces include those like Times New Roman or Garamond, and these are used in print. This is because serifs (the little strokes) help the brain distinguish between letters with ease. If you are going to read a long text, you want your eyes to be able to focus on the context and you want them to move through the words as fast as possible. Once the brain eliminates obstacles, such as distinguishing between letters, you can saccade away with ease! According to a great infographic, which closes in on the battle between serif and sans serif, printed works have a resolution of about 1000 dpi (dots per inch), whereas computers are at about 100 dpi (Even Apple’s retina has a resolution of only 300 dpi). This means that as far as the web goes – sans serif typefaces like Arial or Helvetica are much easier to read.
The basics of text layout
My dear marketer, now that you know that it serves you best to use sans serif in your online marketing, and that fonts refer to specific letter conditions, it is time that you learn the spacing lingo. Whether you are creating headlines for your new blog post, getting text together for a banner, landing page, or even a newsletter, you have to make sure your kerning, tracking, and leading is down right perfect. Kerning sounds like a scary monster but it is actually your best friend! This specific word refers to the actual spacing between letters. It doesn’t look good when some fonts are too close together, while others are spaced far apart: You want to make sure that the kerning is right in all your words. Sometimes a typeface makes strange things happen and the space between an uppercase and lowercase font is bigger than between two alike sizes. In this case you simply have to change the kerning between the two to make your word simply look better. Tracking comes in handy when you want to think about how longer sentences or more complicated words will look. Why? Because tracking is the horizontal length between letters (..but isn’t that kerning? nope!)
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When thinking about tracking, you think of readability. Words that are too close together (or just letters alone in one word) might make it harder for
your readers to understand your message. As we are using sans-serif, it could even make it hard to distinguish between some of the fonts! Leading which refers to the space between baselines (paths). When you’re thinking of how you want a whole paragraph to look, you have to think of leading. If your sentences are spaced too far apart, they will be hard to read, if they are too close together, they too will be difficult to read. Where is the golden middle? This is because you don’t want the descender line (the very bottom line where for instance ‘g’ is in golden) or baseline (font path) to be too close to your ascender line (the very top line). In layman’s terms – your leading should always be around 120% – 145% of the point size.
The emotions behind a typeface
According to Jost Hochuli the reception of everything written – including typography – takes place in two ways: firstly, in the act of reading itself, that is the conversion in the brain of the perceived succession of the letters, and secondly as a (most unconscious) visual perception, that triggers
what you choose, try to go with sans-serif, online readers will appreciate that you’ve taken their eyes into account ;) Here is a list of font families that will make any text look great:
1. The familiar: Arial Verdana Trebuchet Verdana Helvetica 2. The free: Novecento (A personal favorite, but don’t use it in long texts!) Roboto Lato Open Sans (Might be too condensed, but all that takes is changing the tracking, right?) Campton 3. The premium: associations with what has previously been seen and arouses feelings. For instance, in a study done by Errol Morris in which the same text was presented to people, where the text itself was shown in different font families. Once the text was read, those people were asked whether they agreed with the statement in the text or not. What was interesting, but not at all surprising, was that readers that were given a sample in Comic Sans were more likely to disagree. That shows us that once we have some sort of a mindset in our head about a certain typeface, it’s hard to get it out and it provokes us emotionally (in the case of Comic Sans – negatively). Which it is worth our time to peek at various websites and how they look in order to see just what we feel, think, and notice looking at their typography. Take an hour of your day and devote it to looking at what brands similar to you are doing when it comes to design. Research what is popular, what works, what doesn’t, and don’t be afraid to change something.
What do I choose? Well, that depends on the tone that you’re going for (more formal, more hipster, more simple), but no matter
Futura Gotham Sterk Calluna Sans Museo Sans Rounded 4. The decorative (best for headlines): Pacifico Lovelo Penna Lobster Simplifica Of course the list could go on and on, but these are just a few to get you started and with which you could never go wrong. Also, don’t be afraid to try something different! For even more inspiration, check out the various typefaces that Awwwards listed (100 free fonts for 2014), a great site for free inspiration! A/B testing will come in handy too. Google Fonts is also a popular place to start, in fact some of our very own Landing Page Creator 2.0 fonts came from that very market. Typography is a beautiful art to master, because any text that welcomes and indulges our eyes and makes us want what’s behind the content. Take what you knew, what you now have learned, and go on look over your very own content, headlines, and even newsletters. You might just be surprised how different you will now see everything. We also love to know what you think! Let us know what your favorite typeface is and why.
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“I want to make beautiful things, even if nobody cares, as opposed to ugly things. That’s my intent.” - Saul Bass