noted typography ii a memoir
noted typography ii a memoir
art 388–01 || winter 2017 cal poly, san luis obispo nicole kim
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IN TR O
Typography II has been a journey. I’ve been challenged to go beyond making things I know are good, to create work that I’m proud of. In a sense, this class has been an open spice drawer; each project has brought opportunities to try new things and develop as a designer. I feel like type has always come pretty naturally to me, but through my college career I’ve been sitting in this 12-column Avenir Next Demi Bold shell. Looking forward to stepping out more and more as the days come. This memoir contains notable tidbits, food for thought, and ample reflection. It’s a record of how I’ve started to think more critically about type design and take note of important details, through reading and by doing. And it’s not over yet. The spice drawer is open but the hot sauce remains uncorked. Here’s to the adventure.
CO NT EN TS
week 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 week 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 week 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 week 4 .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 week 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 week 6 .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 week 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 week 8 .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 week 9 .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 week 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
1
READING + DISCUSSION: Practical Typography: Typography in Ten Minutes, Summary of Key Rules, Foreward ++ From Typography in Ten Minutes, it’s true that there are foundational basics to typography that can make anyone’s print material instantly look more professional. It was good to be reminded that the body text largely determines overall typographic quality. Interesting that for a "type in ten minutes" article, Butterick advises beginning typographers to disregard any programmed font and look elsewhere for better typefaces; I feel like searching for a good typeface takes more developed skill. ++ From Summary of Key Rules, there’s a lot of nitty gritty to consider with good typesetting, with special characters, proper usage of capitals, management of space on the page, and stewardship of styles and symbols ++ From the Foreward, I’m reminded that good typography is subjective, even down to what people define typography as. There aren’t necessarily absolutes when it comes to determining what separates good type from bad type, or anonymous type from characterized type.
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LECTURE Typographic Refinement: The Details ++ POINTS AND PICAS: two basic units for measurement in the contemporary American type measurement system. There are 12 points in 1 pica and 6 picas in 1 inch. ++ When choosing a typeface, consider typeface proportions and weight, the length of text, format for viewing, audience, and content. ++ Print body text will typically range from 9PT–12 PT; on screen body text should be 14PT+ ++ LEADING should be 120–145% of the point size ++ OPTIMAL LINE LENGTH is 45–90 characters per line, 2–3 consecutive lowercase alphabets, or about 8–13 WORDS PER LINE, on average. ++ Use true small caps, don’t fake them. ++ HYPHEN (-) splits words. EN DASH (–) indicates duration. EM DASH(—) expresses a break in sentence flow. ++ customize hyphenation settings to avoid tiny word fragments and too many consec. hyphens ++ use smart quotation marks; differentiate from dumb quotes and prime marks. ++ adjust rags with discretionary hyphens and soft line breaks ++ WIDOWS happen when the last line of a paragraph is too short. avoid.
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EXERCISE: LEGIBILITY This exercise was a good reminder that there are multiple factors which impact legibility, and it takes a proper combination of leading, point size, and typeface to acheive prime legibility.
Serif
Sans Serif
Without typography, one could argue, messages will still be legible, but if one really wants to communicate rather than simply display a heap of alphanumeric data, some consideration would be helpful. Paul Watzlawick’s first axiom of communication—“one cannot not communicate”—puts it very succinctly. If you fail to consider the effect of your message on the recipient, you may inadvertently communicate that you do not care how your message may be received.
Without typography, one could argue, messages will still be legible, but if one really wants to communicate rather than simply display a heap of alphanumeric data, some consideration would be helpful. Paul Watzlawick’s first axiom of communication—“one cannot not communicate”—puts it very succinctly. If you fail to consider the effect of your message on the recipient, you may inadvertently communicate that you do not care how your message may be received.
ADOBE GARAMOND PRO, 9/13
UNIVERS LT STD, 9/13
Without typography, one could argue, messages will still be legible, but if one really wants to communicate rather than simply display a heap of alphanumeric data, some consideration would be helpful. Paul Watzlawick’s first axiom of communication—“one cannot not communicate”—puts it very succinctly. If you fail to consider the effect of your message on the recipient, you may inadvertently communicate that you do not care how your message may be received. ADOBE GARAMOND PRO, 9/12
Without typography, one could argue, messages will still be legible, but if one really wants to communicate rather than simply display a heap of alphanumeric data, some consideration would be helpful. Paul Watzlawick’s first axiom of communication—“one cannot not communicate”—puts it very succinctly. If you fail to consider the effect of your message on the recipient, you may inadvertently communicate that you do not care how your message may be received. UNIVERS LT STD, 9/12
Without typography, one could argue, messages will still be legible, but if one really wants to communicate rather than simply display a heap of alphanumeric data, some consideration would be helpful. Paul Watzlawick’s first axiom of communication—“one cannot not communicate”—puts it very succinctly. If you fail to consider the effect of your message on the recipient, you may inadvertently communicate that you do not care how your message may be received. ADOBE GARAMOND PRO, 9/14
Without typography, one could argue, messages will still be legible, but if one really wants to communicate rather than simply display a heap of alphanumeric data, some consideration would be helpful. Paul Watzlawick’s first axiom of communication—“one cannot not communicate”—puts it very succinctly. If you fail to consider the effect of your message on the recipient, you may inadvertently communicate that you do not care how your message may be received.
Without typography, one could argue, messages will still be legible,
UNIVERS LT STD, 9/14
but if one really wants to communicate rather than simply display a heap of alphanumeric data, some consideration would be helpful. Paul Watzlawick’s first axiom of communication—“one cannot not communicate”—puts it very succinctly. If you fail to consider the effect of your message on the recipient, you may inadvertently communicate that you do not care how your message may be received. ADOBE GARAMOND PRO, 9/15
Without typography, one could argue, messages will still be legible, but if one really wants to communicate rather than simply display a heap of alphanumeric data, some consideration would be helpful. Paul Watzlawick’s first axiom of communication—“one cannot not communicate”—puts it very succinctly. If you fail to consider the effect of your message on the recipient, you may inadvertently communicate that you do not care how your mes-
Without typography, one could argue, messages will still be legible, but
sage may be received.
if one really wants to communicate rather than simply display a heap of
UNIVERS LT STD, 9/15
alphanumeric data, some consideration would be helpful. Paul Watzlawick’s first axiom of communication—“one cannot not communicate”—puts it very succinctly. If you fail to consider the effect of your message on the
Without typography, one could argue, messages will still be legible,
recipient, you may inadvertently communicate that you do not care
but if one really wants to communicate rather than simply display a
how your message may be received.
heap of alphanumeric data, some consideration would be helpful. Paul
ADOBE GARAMOND PRO, 8/13
Watzlawick’s first axiom of communication—“one cannot not communicate”—puts it very succinctly. If you fail to consider the effect of your message on the recipient, you may inadvertently communicate that you
Without typography, one could argue, messages will still be legible, but if one really wants to communicate rather than simply display a heap of alphanumeric data, some consideration would be helpful. Paul Watzlawick’s first axiom of communication—“one cannot not communicate”—puts it very succinctly. If you fail to consider the effect of your message on the recipient, you may inadvertently communicate that you do not care how your message may be received. ADOBE GARAMOND PRO, 10/13
do not care how your message may be received. UNIVERS LT STD, 8/13
Without typography, one could argue, messages will still be legible, but if one really wants to communicate rather than simply display a heap of alphanumeric data, some consideration would be helpful. Paul Watzlawick’s first axiom of communication—“one cannot not communicate”—puts it very succinctly. If you fail to consider the effect of your message on the recipient, you may inadvertently communicate that you do not care how your message may be received. UNIVERS LT STD, 10/13
Nicole Kim
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READING + DISCUSSION Practical Typography: Why typography matters ++ Butterick writes that "Typography is the visual component of the written word," and it matters because it helps conserve the reader’s attention. ++ The butterfly ballot design was problematic typographically with its all caps, condensed, bold type, and tight leading—negatively impacting legibility. It’s unclear which bubble corresponds to its respective candidate, which could be easily amended by placing bubbles next to the name. Especially considering the greater audience of this ballot, the design was greatly flawed. ++ Between Violet and Trixie’s résumés, Violet’s is overly spread out, too graphic, and has an illogical hierarchy. Trixie’s looks intentional, has increased margins which make it appear more composed, and the year is emphasized, which is a nice hierarchical touch. ++ In her essay "The Crystal Goblet," Beatrice Warde argues typography should be invisible—a clear container for conveying content. Matthew Butterick disagrees with this because the nature of typography is visual, so it has to be seen in order to shape the content.
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PROJECT 1 Typesetting: Rules and Principles of Typography ++ I was really challenged to leave my comfort zone with this project; it took a few tries to break out of the structured composition i started with in order to make something more dynamic and engaging. ++ You can get a lot of mileage out of a typeface with a big font family. This one in particular (Filson Soft) allowed me to create a varied composition with only one typeface. ++ Bigger body type makes uglier rags.
versions 1 (above) + 2 (right)
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final version
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3
READING + DISCUSSION Practical Typography: Type Composition, Text Formatting ++ SEMICOLONS combine two sentences in place of a conjunction, or separate list elements with internal commas. COLONS connect the introduction of an idea and its completion. ++ AMPERSANDS are halfway between a ligature and a contraction. The more formal the document, the more sparingly they should be used. don’t over ampersand. ++ ELLIPSES option+semicolon. Don’t use three periods in a row ++ NONBREAKING SPACES option+shift+spacebar, aka type glue. ++ New things from Type Composition: ampersands are informal; use the glyph for ellipses, not three periods; use nonbreaking spaces to keep things together that need to stay together. I’ll be using the keyboard combination I learned for proper ellipses. ++ From Text Formatting, fonts are an important part of typography, but there’s much more to typography than fonts. Buterick has interesting opinions on system fonts, but a few of his points are good to keep in mind when choosing a system font (i.e., many have been optimized for screen legibility, not print). ++ LINING FIGURES are the most common. Top and bottom of the art 388–01 | 17
figures line up. Preferred to use with all caps text, because they are the closest to cap heigh.t ++ OLDSTYLE FIGURES are designed after lowercase letters. They have varying heights, some descend below the baseline, some ascend above the cap height. ++ TABULAR & PROPORTIONAL FIGURES are set on a fixed width, so every figure occupies the same amount of horizontal space. Not preferred for body text, but useful for vertically aligned columns in grids of numbers. ++ mixing fonts is never a requirement, but an option. Mix fonts that are visibly different; font mixing is most successful when each font has a consistent role in the document.
LECTURE Choosing Typefaces and Understanding Fonts ++ Consider content, audience, format/context, and other technical factors: full character set, multiple weights/styles when choosing a typeface/font. ++ Fonts are expensive because creating a font is complex. A typeface is design & technology, and somebody put in a lot of labor to make everything work. Consider them. Read the license you purchased.
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Resources ++ GOOGLE FONTS ++ LOST TYPE CO-OP ++ LEAGE OF MOVEABLE TYPE ++ FONT SQUIRREL ++ FONTSPRING (similar licenses for commercial use) ++ HOUSE INDUSTRIES ($$$) ++ MY FONTS ++ FONTS.COM
Management ++ FONT BOOK: create font sets, resolve font conflicts, deactivate fonts, create library sets to open fonts in place, automatic activation. CONS: doesn’t allow you to link from different locations, favors the system fonts, conflict resolution sometimes removes fonts ++ In general: have the minimum number of fonts installed. Use sets to keep fonts organized and categorized. ++ For more robust font management: Font Explorer X Pro, Suitcase Fusion 6
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4
READING + DISCUSSION Practical Typography: Page Layout ++ Something Butterick writes in this section stood out, "white space is almost as important as the type on the page." When considering page layout, it’s crucial to consider all of the typographic details, but also how the combination of those work in tandem with the overall composition. The way type engages with white space is key in a successful page layout.
Family planning, or how type families work, Peter Bil’ak ++ This article gives a comprehensive analysis and history of type families, type design parameters, and the possibilities of creating larger type systems today. It’s interesting to consider the history of type families and the changing reasons as to why they exist/what purposes they serve.
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LECTURE Typesetting in InDesign ++ PARAGRAPH STYLES have more specifiable attributes (e.g., leading, tabs, indents, space before & after, hyphenation & justification settings, rules above and below). Most styles in your document will be paragraph styles. ++ DON’T TYPE IN ALL CAPS, properly style your text ++ SPAN COLUMNS allows variation on number of columns within a single textbox. ++ CHARACTER STYLES are used for styling text attributes within a paragraph (e.g., bold text, italic text, run-in subheads, custom bullets or numbers). They don’t control leading, space around, or indents. ++ TABLE STYLES are used for styling multiple tables within a document (outside border, dividing lines, space above and below the table, fills of fields in the table). ++ CELL STYLES are used for styling individual cells, or rectangular divisions of the table (define the borders around the cell, how text is positioned within the cell, style of the text within the cell, fill color).
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PROJECT 2 A Dialogue ++ I still feel like I played it pretty safe with this one, was definitely daunted by space and the sheer physical surface area of the final output. version 1
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PROJECT 2, CONT'D A Dialogue ++ Better resolve the red tangle in the upper left corner so it's not as distracting, it holds a lot of weight. ++ Work more with the photo in the background so it's more of an intentional visual component, less of a texture. The figure in the photo is somewhere between lost and distracting.
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5
READING + DISCUSSION Using Layout Grids Effectively, Designers Insights: ++ Grids provide a way to incorporate variety while maintaining a consistent visual foundation, and help things make sense
Typographica Mea Culpa, Unethical Downloading; Steven Heller: ++ Steven Heller calls for the ethical treatment of type designers, i.e. respect for their copyrights. He argues we must consider the licensing agreements that come with typefaces for utmost consideration of type designers
My Type Design Philosophy, Martin Major: ++ A type designer must know how a typeface behaves in different circumstances ++ mixing serif and sans serif: only makes sense when the seriffed typeface and the sans are designed form the same basis/skeleton. Sans serif designs should become full partners of seriffed designs. ++ Major developed new typefaces for nuanced reasons and with specific influences
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PROJECT 3, PART 1 Elements of Style ++ The lists are distinct enough with the indent and bold treatment alone, no need for a physical bullet. ++ Increase bottom margin for folio ++ Refine negative space
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6
READING + DISCUSSION “A View of Latin Typography in Relationship to the World” by Peter Bil’ak ++ There are forgotten parallel histories of type outside Europe—both China and Korea developed movable type systems centuries before Europe. ++ Type’s Euro-centric bias carries into the present, as some common type terminology is inappropriate for typefaces which didn’t evolve in Western Europe (e.g. “Greek Roman”). ++ The Solid Form of Language, by Robert Bringhurst, proposes a new classification system of the world’s various written languages and scripts, to promote inclusivity in typography, and consider the whole history of humanity. ++ It’s interesting to think about how Euro-centrism affects even typographic history and contemporary type systems, and how non-western cultures are excluded even in the most subtle ways in most existing modern systems. I’m excited to see where the expansion of typography takes design and culture in the near and distant future.
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PROJECT 3, PART 2 Elements of Style ++ Experiencing a group design project in this capacity was personally challenging, but still valuable. ++ We found that it was easier to just pick something and go with it, then make nuanced changes from there, rather than seeking a perfect compromise/combination of all three of our booklets. ++ Learned to use margins and space well and find a consistent visual language, especially with the challenging nature of the content (lists and tables).
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READING + DISCUSSION “Lava—Voice of a Magazine” by Peter Bil’ak ++ Bil’ak’s approach for his typeface, Lava, was to find a strong voice for a magazine by creating a typeface that becomes an integral part of its identity. With multiple platforms, the typeface (Lava) is the sole constant characteristic and identifying component of the magazine. In his process, Bil’ak crafted a custom workhorse typeface that has character and isn’t meant to be generic.
“The First Thing I Ever Designed: Elana Schlenker and Gratuitous Type Magazine” by Madeleine Morey ++ Gratuitous Type is an independent magazine, and selfdefined “journal of typographic smut”. The magazine provided a launchpad for Schlenker’s career as a young designer; a way to connect with other artists through gathering information for her publication and show off her skills as a type designer. Gratuitous Type is proof passion projects can deeply affect a designer’s trajectory for good
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READING + DISCUSSION “Eric Gill got it wrong; a re-evaluation of Gill Sans” by Ben Archer ++ This article engages in an evaluation and critique of Gill Sans, which Archer describes as the Helvetica of England; it’s a typographic national monument, but flawed masterpiece. Eric Gill looked to Johnston for influence, but his typeface became an overly dependent and watered down knockoff of the typeface. Gill Sans lacks variation, consistency, and originality, and it’s interesting to see its details exposed. ++ I’m learning that a typeface isn’t necessarily prime just because it is widely used and well known. It’s good to think critically about typefaces I choose and have at least some reason for using them.
“Beauty and Ugliness in Type design” Peter Bil’ak ++ Conceptual type “…typefaces whose principal design feature was not related to aesthetic considerations or legibility, but some underlying non-typographical idea.” Bil’ak concludes true conceptual typography does not exist, but attempted to combine beauty and ugliness to create a conceptual typeface. The result is relatively neutral and balanced in weight and character. art 388–01 | 37
LECTURE Typography on Screen ++ When choosing type for the screen: consider typeface contrast and x-height—higher x heights are generally more legible (esp. for screen) ++ Beware of extremes: if x-height is too high, it’s hard to distinguish b/t other distinctive characteristics ++ Character distinction: differentiation between different characters is important for on screen legibility (1 I l) ++ Optical sizes: a typeface with individual designs for different types of content (designed to be used bigger/smaller/etc) ++ Find alternatives: avoid overused typefaces that begin to look generic
Strategies for Pairing Typefaces: ++ Look for distinction: avoiding pairing typefaces that are too similar (in feel, size, weight, formality) ++ Look for harmony: find typefaces with inherent visual relationships in their structure ++ Create pairings within a family.
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EXERCISE: GRID ANALYSIS ++ For this exercise, we closely analyzed two different spreads from the same publication—one half spread and one full spread—and discussed their relationship to one another. ++ It was a good challenge to look at a physical print and determine the underlying grid structure; even though there were three and four columns of text, the spreads adhered to a more complex grid.
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READING + DISCUSSION 7 Striking Design Pairings ++ This article features excerpts from Graphic: 500 Designs that Matter, paring designs from various places in the world and points in time which draw connections between disparate work. These pairings are a unique commentary that nothing is new under the sun, yet confirming the uniqueness of the individual artist.
“An Idea of a typeface” Kai Bernau ++ Kai Bernau discusses his quest to create a neutral typeface. He ultimately found neutrality to be an elusive, ambiguous quality, and had to define for himself what it meant for a typeface to be truly neutral. It’s interesting to think anything made by human hands cannot be fully without fingerprints.
A Typeface Designed to Revive the Endangered Cherokee Language ++ Type designer Mark Jamra created Phoreus Cherokee, a typeface designed to help preserve a nation’s language and culture. Jamra took extra measures to not just remake the existing Cherokee typefaces but do further linguistic research to create a contemporary and distinguished typeface.
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PROJECT 4 Seek + Find: A Magazine about Typography, Design, Activism and Social Justice ++ Passion met project with this zine. It was exciting as my concept took shape, handmade and charismatic, in combination with the layout skills I’d developed through the quarter and my vision for hand-lettered anchors throughout. My handlettering has been a caged bird with class projects, but I’m glad I set it free for this one in particular. It really allowed the concept to be full and complete. ++ I learned to find a happy and practical medium between a spacious layout, type for screen, and the amount of content we were working with. ++ They aren’t kidding when they say do things you like. It makes a lot of work feel like a lot less.
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noted designed by nicole kim with freight sans pro