SWEET TASTE OF TYPE
INTRO FRESH AND SWEET This book is a sweet taste of everything I learned in Typography II this Winter quarter.
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LECTURE | TYPOGRAPHIC REFINEMENT AND DETAILS BUTTERICK’S PRACTICAL TYPOGRAPHY Typography in 10 Minutes Things to Remember (Key Rules) Why Typography Matters PROJECT 01 | MENU DESIGN
SCREEN VS. PRINT In general, body text point size should be
larger when the text will be read on screen Body text sizes in print will typically range from 9pt to 12pt.
Body text on screen should be 14pt or large
LECTURE | TYPOGRAPHIC REFINEMENT: THE DETAILS 12 points in 1 pica 6 picas in 1 inch 1p6 means 1 pica and 6 points Points and picas are a lot cleaner than inches, not dealing with decimal points
HOW DO YOU CHOOSE A POINT SIZE? It depends
Factors to consider: Typeface proportions and weight Length of text Format for viewing (printed on paper or viewed on screen or both) Audience / reader of the text Content of the text
LOOKING FOR A HARD WORKING TYPEFACE? A workhorse typeface has: A good regular weight Robust proportions At least one bold weight, with noticeable contrast to complement the text weight An italic version Very legible numerals Economy: it should be narrow enough to fit large amounts of copy into the available space
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AVOID FAKE SMALL CAPS Kerning Metrics defaults to font, optical is rearranged by the software Kerning set to Metrics:optimal setting Kern type at display sizes (larger sizes)
Customize leading It should be 120 –145% of the point size Example: leading 9/13pt : just right
Pay attention to line length: Too wide: if a line of text is too long the reader’s eye will have a hard time focusing on the text Optimal line length: 45–90 characters per line, or 2–3 lowercase alphabets 8–13 words per line on average!
Letter spacing matters! Adjust tracking with care For all caps you can track to 100
Know your dashes En dash- used to indicate duration Em dash- used to express a break in the flow of a sentence
HYPHENATION Customize hyphenation, not always practical to turn off hyphenation If designing a book don’t turn it off - will have an uneven rag
Hyphenation settings box: Words with at least 6 letters After first 3 letters Before last 3 Hyphen limit is 3 but change to 2 Usually don’t want to hyphenate capitalized words, turn it into a paragraph style like leading or anything else
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BUTTERICK’S PRACTICAL TYPOGRAPHY TYPOGRAPHY IN 10 MINUTES Typographic quality of your docum ent is determined largely by how the body text looks, so focus first on making the body text look good (find a strong, legible typeface and point size) Body text determined by four typographic choices: Point size is the size of the letters. In print, the most comfortable range for body text is 10–12 point. On the web, the range is 15– 25 pixels Line length is the horizontal width of the text block. Line length should be an average of 45– 90 characters per line.
THINGS TO REMEMBER ( KEY RULES) Use 5–12% extra letter-spacing with all caps and small caps. Use first-line indents that are one to four times the point size of the text, or use 4 –10 points of space between paragraphs. But don’t use both. Put a nonbreaking space after paragraph and section marks. Make ellipses using the proper character, not periods and spaces. Make sure apostrophes point downward. Make sure foot and inch marks are straight, not curly.
WHY TYPOGRAPHY MATTERS Typography is the visual component of the written word. Typography matters because it conserves reader attention. Good typogra phy can help your reader devote less attention to the mechanics of reading and more attention to your message. However, bad typography can dis tract your reader and undermine your message. Additionally, your ability to produce good typography greatly depends on how well you understand the goals of your text and has less to do with your taste or visual aesthetic.
LINE SPACING: the vertical distance between lines. It should be 120 –145% of the point size.
01 | MENU DESIGN DESCRIPTION Create two menus, one for Chez Panisse’s downstairs restaurant and one for the more informal cafÊ. These menus establish clear and logical hierarchy of information with paragraph styles in InDesign. The objective was to create two separate menus that are stylistically similar and go together cohesively.
USEFUL TIPS Create consistent spacing between menu items. Use paragraph styles correctly, once you do so it makes things much easier. Main focus should be on hierarchy, making it as visually organized and legible as possible.
CHALLENGE Choosing a legible typeface that fit the style of the restaurant. Organizing the layout in an interesting manner. Treating the title of the restaurant and menu so it has presence and is elegant. Consistent spacing throughout the menu.
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Chez Panisse Restaurant Menu
Downstairs dinner menus for the week of December 31, 2017–January 6, 2018
Sunday, December 31 | $175 Réveillon Provençal Champagne et olives frites Pissaladière et mesclun Bourride à la Lulu Agneau grillé aux truffes noires Soufflé glacé au citron Bonbons Panisse
Monday, January 1 and Tuesday, January 2 Chez Panisse Restaurant & Café will be closed for the New Years Holiday.
Wednesday, January 3 | $100 Smoked Mendocino black cod, celery root, and Treviso salad with fried parsnips and crème fraîche Cannard Farm greens ravioli with wild mushrooms and Parmesan Spit-roasted Becker Lane Farm pork loin with juniper, sautéed Pink Lady apples, straw potato cake, and braised Belgian endive Crème caramel with Page mandarins and blood oranges
Thursday, January 4 | $100 Bay scallops with blood orange, golden beet, fennel, and chervil salad Comté cheese pudding-soufflé with leeks and savoy spinach Grilled breast and confit leg of Sonoma County duck with warm chicories, roasted root vegetables, and sweet tooth mushrooms Tarte Tatin
Friday, January 5 | $125 Warm vegetable and puntarelle salad with black truffle bagna cauda Manila clams and nettle risotto with crispy pancetta Paine Farm lamb roasted in the fireplace; with Béarnaise sauce, sautéed spinach and escarole, shoestring potatoes, and glazed carrots Page mandarin sherbet and candied blood orange ice cream meringata
Saturday, January 6 | $125 Leeks vinaigrette with steelhead roe, chervil cream, and watercress Tagliatelle with Dungeness crab, Meyer lemon, and coriander Grilled Stemple Creek Ranch grass-fed beef loin with black truffle butter, wild mushrooms, chard gratin, and new onion fritters Bitersweet chocolate fondant with blood orange sherbet and blood orange caramel
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Chez Panisse Café Menu
Dinner, Thursday, January 4, 2018
Menu du Jour | $32 Garden lettuces Pappardelle verdi with wild mushroom ragù alla chiantigiana Candied orange, cardamom, and pistachio ice cream bombe and pain d’amande
Appetizers Butter lettuce, orange, and fennel salad with citrus vinaigrette | $13 Sheep’s-milk ricotta with grilled bread, cardoons, and black truffle oil | $16 Marinated beet and cauliflower romanesco salad with mustard dressing | $12 Baked Andante Dairy goat cheese with garden lettuces | $14 Garden lettuces | $10 Pizzetta with tomato sauce, anchovy, capers, and hot pepper | $21 French lentil soup with sorrel, lemon, and crème fraîche | $10
Entrees Pappardelle verdi with wild mushroom ragù alla chiantigiana | $23 Fish and Dungeness crab cakes with chicories salad, Meyer lemon, potatoes, and aïoli | $34 Grilled chicken paillard with fried onions, carrots, lime, and curry butter | $27 Wood oven-roasted duck breast with butternut squash gratin, rocket, an sage | $31 Roasted pork loin with rosemary and fennel seed; with polenta, scarlet turnips, and salsa di oliva | $30 Pizza with wild nettles and ricotta | $22
Side orders A plate of olives or Spanish anchovies | $5 each
Dessert A bowl of Churchill Orchards Kishu tangerines and Flying Disc Ranch dates | $10 Niloufer’s cardamom cake with poached pear, pomegranate caramel and crème Chantilly | $12 Apple and candied Meyer lemon galette with huckleberry ice cream | $12 Mocha custard with crème Chantilly and walnut cookies | $12 Tangerine sherbet meringata with passionfruit coulis and Page mandarin | $12
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02 LECTURE | CHOOSING THE RIGHT TYPEFACE BUTTERICK’S PRACTICAL TYPOGRAPHY Type Composition Text Formatting PROJECT 02 | Resumé
TECHNICAL FACTORS TO CONSIDER
Does the font have a full character set Does the font have multiple weights and styles? Does the font have small caps? What is the format of the font?
LECTURE  |   CHOOSING THE RIGHT TYPEFACE DESIGN FACTORS TO CONSIDER: Content How long is the text? What is it about?
Audience What is the age of the reader? What is the demographic of the reader?
Format/ Context What is the size of the page/screen? Is the size set or will it vary? At what distance will the text be read?
Where do you get fonts and why are they so expensive? Fonts are expensive because creating one is very complex. Well crafted typefaces go through years of iteration and can often require huge teams. When you buy a font, you purchase a license. A font license grants the owner the right to use a typeface in a specific manner as outlined in the license.
As a designer, you need to ask: How much does this cost? Can I use this font for commercial work or just personal work? Can I use it online, or just in print?
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Some places to find fonts: League of Moveable Type Font Squirrel My fonts Fonts.com House Industries Fontspring
HOW TO INSTALL FONTS / WHERE DO FONTS LIVE ON MY COMPUTER? Font files live in different
places on your computer: User:~/Library/Fonts/ Each user has complete control over the fonts installed in their Home. Local:/Library/Fonts Any local user of the computer can use fonts installed in this folder. Network:/Network/Library/Fonts/ The Network folder is for fonts shared among all users of a local area network. System:/System/Library/Fonts/ Mac OS X requires fonts in this folder for system use and displays. They should not be manually altered or removed.
BUTTERICK’S PRACTICAL TYPOGRAPHY: TYPE COMPOSITION PICKING THE RIGHT CHARACTERS Curly quotes The quotation marks used in good typography. There are four curly quote characters: the opening single quote (‘), the closing single quote (’), the opening double quote (“), and the closing double quote (”). To make sure curly quotes are on you go to <Indesign> → < preferences> → < type> and make sure “Use typographer’s quotes” is checked
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Optional Hyphens The optional hyphen, also known as the soft hyphen, is usually invisible. The optional hyphen marks where a word should be hyphenated if the word lands at the end of a line. You can put multiple optional hyphens in a word.
BUTTERICK’S PRACTICAL TYPOGRAPHY: TEXT FORMATTING VISUAL APPEARANCE OF CHARACTERS Underline Never underline text. If you feel the urge to underline, use bold or italic instead. In special situat ions, like headings, you can also consider using all caps, small caps, or a change in point size.
Monospaced Fonts The characters in monospaced fonts share the same width. Don’t use monospaced fonts as body text as they are hard to read.
Headings Limit yourself to three levels of headings, but two is better. Readers should be able to orient themselves from the headings. With more than three levels, the information can become confusing.
ELLIPSIS: a sequence of three dots used to indicate an omission in quoted material. On a Mac: option + semicolon
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02 | ResumĂŠ DESCRIPTION Create a resumĂŠ that successfully showcases your typographic skills. Experimented with different ways of organizing information and utilizing paragraph and character styles to create a strong self- promotional piece.
USEFUL TIPS Use consistent spacing. Use proper paragraph styles, do not edit each line by hand. Use of one color can help information pop.
CHALLENGE Fitting all the information on one page without feeling cluttered. Organizing the layout in an interesting manner. Figuring out how best to treat the position title and work location.
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RESUME 2017
TALYA RATUSNIK 818.515.7798 / tratusni@calpoly.edu / talyaratusnik.com
EDUCATION California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo, California BFA in Art and Design candidate; concentration in graphic design Expect graduation : June 2019 GPA: 3.650 SKILLS InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, photography, drawing, print-making LANGUAGES English, native speaker Spanish, fluent Hebrew, competent EXPERIENCE Creative Matters Agency Los Angeles, California June – September 2016 Graphic design intern Created postcards for Beit T’Shuva Thrift Shop, magazine cover for Tower, gala invitation, save the date for AFIM Health Takes the Lead Los Angeles, California Freelance graphic designer June 2016 Created the logo design for the nonprofit organization that is found on the website Silvia Benun Skincare Studio Tarzana, California July 2016 – present Freelance graphic designer Designed the logo, new client special flyer, and Valentine’s Day flyer
Portfolio and references available upon request.
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RESUME 2018 | NEW RESUME
TALYA RATUSNIK 818.515.7798 | tratusni@calpoly.edu | talyaratusnik.com
EDUCATION California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo, California BFA in Art and Design candidate; concentration in graphic design GPA: 3.66 | Expected graduation: June 2019
EXPERIENCE Freelance graphic designer | August – September 2017 Get Up and Dance | Los Angeles, California Designed the logo, flyers, stage banners, business cards, and smaller promotional material for the event, Get Up and Dance. Graphic design intern and production designer | July – August 2017 Berman Design Group | Santa Monica, California Logo design, market research, production, and digital illustration. Freelance graphic designer | July 2016 – present Slivia Benun Skincare Studio | Tarzana, California Logo design, promotional material layout and design. Graphic design intern | June – September 2016 Creative Matters Agency | Los Angeles, California Designed layouts for a magazine cover, spreads, postcards, invitations, and save the date cards. Freelance graphic designer | June 2016 Health Takes the Lead | Los Angeles, California Logo design for a nonprofit organization.
ORGANIZATIONS AND LEADERSHIP Graphic designer | September 2017 – present AIGA Cal Poly | San Luis Obispo, California Design posters, banners, and social media graphics for AIGA events. Orientation leader | April 2017 – September 2017 Week of Welcome Cal Poly | San Luis Obispo, California Thirty hours of training in the Spring followed by planning a week of orientation for incoming students.
DESIGN AND TECHNICAL SKILLS Digital illustration | Ability to create 2D vector-based digital illustrations using various tools in Adobe Illustrator and a drawing tablet. Page layout | Proficient at page layout and information hierarchy in InDesign. Photography | Proficient at retouching and color correction in Photoshop / Bridge. Brand identity | Strong visual storytelling capability and attention to typographic detail.
LANGUAGES English, native speaker | Spanish, fluent | Hebrew, competent
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03 BUTTERICK’S PRACTICAL TYPOGRAPHY Page Layout
READING | “TYPOGRAPHICA MEA CULPA, UNETHICAL DOWNLOADING” BY STEVEN HELLER READING | “MY TYPE DESIGN PHILOSOPHY” BY MARTIN MAJOOR READING | “A VIEW OF LATIN TYPOGRAPHY IN RELATIONSHIP TO THE WORLD” BY PETER BIL’AK PROJECT 03 | ELEMENTS OF STYLE
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BUTTERICK’S PRACTICAL TYPOGRAPHY: PAGE LAYOUT POSIT IONI NG AND REL AT IONSHIP OF TEXT AND OTHER ELEM ENTS ON THE PAGE Widow and Orphan Control When only the last line of the paragraph appears at the top of the next page, that line is called a widow. When only the first line of the paragraph appears at the bottom of the first page, that line is called an orphan. To prevent these you can making the tracking to -10 or break the prior line so that you are not left with an orphan.
Justified Text Justified text is spaced so the left and right sides of the text block both have a straight edge. The usual alternative to justified text is left-aligned text, which has a straight left edge and an uneven right edge. Compared to left-aligned text, justification gives text a cleaner, more formal look. When using justified text you must turn on hyphenation to avoid large white spaces.
New paragraph To start a new paragraph, use a first-line indent or consistent spacing
E MARGINS: margins of 1.5 – 2.0 inches
usually give you a comfortable line length.
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READING | “TYPOGRAPHICA MEA CULPA, UNETHICAL DOWNLOADING” BY STEVEN HELLER Heller discusses how many designers are unaware that typeface software licenses are sold for use on specific, not unlimited numbers of CPUs. Designers must start respecting the license and copyright laws as design is an honorable profession. Type sharing is unethical as all font software is protected by copyright and some typeface designs are protected by patents, which provides foundries with legal recourse. Rudy Vanderlans, founder of Émigré Fonts said that “if you gave the font to someone else to carry through the designs, that means that they now have a free, illegally obtained copy on their computer. Most likely they will use it for another design job sometime in the future without remembering or being concerned where that font originally came from. It’s a scenario we come across nearly every single day.” Therefore, as designers, we must make a larger effort in abiding by the licenses and respecting our fellow designers.
READING | “MY TYPE DESIGN PHILOSOPHY” BY MARTIN MAJOOR Sans Serif Evolution
The first sans serif typeface was published around 1816 by William Caslon iv English type foundry. Later after that, Akzidenz Grotesk was published in 1998, by the German Behold type foundry in Berlin and it was a great success, soon imitated by several typefounders. Then, in 1928, Paul Renner designed Futura, that was not based on the letter-forms on which Akzidenz Grotesk was based; instead he started his drawings from scratch. In 1957, Univers, Helvetica and an abundance of lookalikes were published as a reaction to geometric typefaces like Futura. Majoor believed that mixing serif with sans serif typefaces only makes sense when they are both designed from the same basis or even from the same skeleton. He designed the typeface Scala in 1987, that was largely influenced by humanist typefaces like Bembo and by typefaces from the mid-18th century French typographer Pierre Simon Fournier. When designing both Scala and Scala Sans his motto became: “two typefaces, one form principle.” Scala was released in 1990 and Scala Sans was issued three years later; together they became extremely popular. Additionally, he created an in-between Sans called Telefont in 1993 for the Dutch national telephone book. Lastly, he created Seria and Seria Sans that could be used for literary books or for poetry and includes an extra-slanted italics for special uses.
READING | “A VIEW OF LATIN TYPOGRAPHY IN RELATIONSHIP TO THE WORLD” BY PETER BIL’AK This article comments on the misconceptions of western typography and how unfortunately Europe gets the most credit when it comes to type when long before, movable type was being used by the Chinese and the Koreans. Interestingly, Choe Yun-ui, a Korean civil minister, made the transition from wood to metal movable type around 1230AD. Many typography books are still Eurocentric or Latin-based typography, failing to discuss history prior. Fortunately, there are some authors that are giving credit to non-latin type such as Language, Culture, Type (2002) that acknowledges the fact that the English and Latin alphabet account for only a small segment of global communications today.
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03 | ELEMENTS OFF STYLE DESCRIPTION The Elements of Style is a classic reference book about grammar for students and conscientious writers. The focus of the book is on composition, the effective use of plain English, and the principles of composition most commonly violated. The objective was to typeset a section of the book in a contemporary style that is easy to read and increases the clarity of the grammar rules. After creating the section, the second phase of the project was to work in teams to create a series of booklets that share similar styles.
USEFUL TIPS Print Booklet Simple Way: Save file as a pdf, but click pages instead of spreads and print booklet using Adobe Acrobat. In the settings so that the margins are not off, you go to paper size and go manage custom settings. In the settings dialog you change each margin to .12 inches.
CHALLENGE Fitting all the information on page numbers divisible by four. Creating an interesting cover that can be used for all booklets.
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26 | SWEET TASTE OF TYPE
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Make the paragraph the unit of composition: one paragraph to each topic. If the subject on which you are writing is of slight extent, or if you intend to treat it very briefly, there may be no need of subdividing it into topics. Thus a brief description, a brief summary of a literary work, a brief account of a single incident, a narrative merely outlining an action, the setting forth of a single idea, any one of these is best written in a single paragraph. After the paragraph has been written, examine it to see whether subdivision will not improve it. Ordinarily, however, a subject requires subdivision into topics, each of which should be made the subject of a paragraph. The object of treating each topic in a paragraph by itself is, of course, to aid the reader. The beginning of each paragraph is a signal to him that a new step in the development of the subject has been reached. The extent of subdivision will vary with the length of the composition. For example, a short notice of a book or poem might consist of a single paragraph. One slightly longer might consist of two paragraphs: A. Account of the work. B. Critical discussion.
A report on a poem, written for a class in literature, might consist of seven paragraphs: A. B. C. D. E.
F. Wherein characteristic of the writer. G. Relationship to other works.
The contents of paragraphs C and D would vary with the poem. Usually, paragraph C would indicate the actual or imagined circumstances of the poem (the situation), if these call for explanation, and would then state the subject and outline its development. If the poem is a narrative in the third person throughout, paragraph C need contain no more than a concise summary of the action. Paragraph D would indicate the leading ideas and show how they are made prominent, or would indicate what points in the narrative are chiefly emphasized. A novel might be discussed under the heads: A. B. C. D.
Setting. Plot. Characters. Purpose.
An historical event might be discussed under the heads: A. What led up to the event. B. Account of the event. C. What the event led up to.
In treating either of these last two subjects, the writer would probably find it necessary to subdivide one or more of the topics here given. As a rule, single sentences should not be written or printed as paragraphs. An exception may be made of sentences of transition, indicating the relation between the parts of an exposition or argument. Frequent exceptions are also necessary in textbooks, guidebooks, and other works in which many topics are treated briefly. In dialogue, each speech, even if only a single word, is a paragraph by itself; that is, a new paragraph begins with each change of speaker. The application of this rule, when dialogue and narrative are combined, is best learned from examples in well-printed works of fiction.
Facts of composition and publication. Kind of poem; metrical form. Subject. Treatment of subject. For what chiefly remarkable
6 | ELEMENTS OF STYLE
Elementary Principles of Composition | 7
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04 LECTURE | TYPE ON SCREEN
READING | “LAVA — VOICE OF A MAGAZINE” BY PETER BIL’AK
READING | “ERIC GILL GOT IT WRONG; A RE-EVALUATION OF GILL SANS”BY BEN ARCHER READING | “BEAUTY AND UGLINESS IN TYPE DESIGN” BY PETER BIL’AK READING | “AN IDEA OF A TYPEFACE” BY KAI BERNAU PROJECT 04 | TYPE BOOK
TYPEFACE CO
thick and thin
LECTURE | TYPE ON SCREEN Mathew Carter designed Georgia and Verdana for the screen
ATTRIBUTES TO CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSING TYPE FOR THE SCREEN: X-height: High x-height is ideal Beware of extremes: if x-height is too high, there is less room for other distinctive characteristics
Character distinction: Differentiating between different characters is essential for on screen legibility
Special characters: Use typefaces that support different types of numbers, correct punctuation, and special characters
Optical Sizes A typeface with individual designs for different types of content
Pairing Typefaces: Look for distinction Don’t pair typefaces that are too similar Look for Harmony Ex: Bauer Bodoni and Helvetica Neue share same skeleton
ONTRAST: Amount of contrast between
n strokes of characters impacts legibility. SECTION 04 | 29
READING | “LAVA — VOICE OF A MAGAZINE” BY PETER BIL’AK The typeface Lava, was designed to bridge the digital and print editions of a newly designed magazine called Works That Work. Since the magazine would be read both in print and on screen, Lava was designed to perform optimally in both high and low resolution environments. In print, Lava has finely tuned proportions and refined details. Additionally, it has meticulous spacing that lets the reader forget about the typeface to focus on the meaning of the text.
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READING | “ERIC GILL GOT IT WRONG; A RE-EVALUATION OF GILL SANS” BY BEN ARCHER Ben Archer critiques the typeface Gill Sans, the Helvetica of England, for being far more flawed than the typeface it was based upon, Johnston, created by Edward Johnston. It is a “flawed masterpiece” as its range of weights appear darker and not evenly distributed. The typeface lacks consistency and rhythm, making it confusing and difficult to read. For example, one of the major problems is that Gill’s deleted the foot serif for the lowercase ‘I’ making the numeral 1, uppercase ‘I’ and the lowercase ‘I’ all look identical. Additionally, the lowercase ‘y’ was designed with a straight descending tail, which makes the character appear unbalanced. Similarly, the overdrawn arms of ‘a’ and ‘r’ lack rhythm and are not an improvement from Johnston’s letter-forms.
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READING | “BEAUTY AND UGLINESS IN TYPE DESIGN” BY PETER BIL’AK Peter Bil’ak creates a typeface called Karloff, that shows just how closely related beauty and ugliness are in type design. Beauty in terms of type design can be defined by four principles: regularity, clarity, good taste and charm. Typefaces such as Bodoni and Didot are some of the most beautiful in existence for their delicate and classy appeal. The typeface called Italian, is frowned upon and “ugly”, as it is a reversed-contrast typeface in which the strokes that are thick in classical models are thin and vice versa, making it highly illegible and strange. Taking both the beautiful and the ugly of these typefaces, he created Karloff that connects the high contrast Modern type of Bodoni and Didot with the monstrous Italians.
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READING | “AN IDEA OF A TYPEFACE” BY KAI BERNAU Kai Bernau describes his attempt to create a totally neutral typeface called Neutral, that “is free of all connotations or associations that could distract a reader from the text”(Bernau). Interestingly, in the end, he realizes that because neutrality is determined by the expectations and norms of a group of people, his Neutral typeface is only absolutely neutral for just himself since it is difficult to get all people to agree on any one decision.
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04 | TYPE BOOK DESCRIPTION Create a section of a visual book about typefaces. Each student was assigned a typeface to research and analyze. The class collaborated on the overall design of the book by establishing the grid plan and text styles for the book. Each designer contributed one section and was responsible for the layout of their section, and the designs for the cover, table of contents, introductory essay, divider pages, bibliography, and back cover. This project helped increase understanding of page layout and the importance of using a grid to develop a visual design that is used for the screen.
USEFUL TIPS Go big with the layout design. Focus on making the entire book look cohesive. Balance text with images and proofread.
CHALLENGE Difficult to display multiple images on a spread. Creating gallery pieces for the given typeface. Making divider pages feel cohesive with all the different spreads.
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HISTORY RICHARD NEUTRA
Portrait of famous architect, Richard Neutra. Source from Vienayyo.com.
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Neutraface Slab was a project created in 2009 by House Industries in collaboration with type designers Christian Schwartz, Kai Bernau and Susana Carvalho. It is a less geometric typeface in comparison to the original Neutraface sans-serif family that was released in 2001. Neutraface was an “ambitious project to design the most typographically complete geometric sans serif family ever” (Christian Schwartz). This type family was based on the “geometric minimalist lettering that architect Richard J. Neutra (1892-1970) used on his commercial and residential buildings” (House Industries). Richard J. Neutra is one of modernism’s most important architects. His work was a “blend of art, landscape and practical comfort” and his work represented the idea of “biorealism” which is the inherent relationship between man and nature (Michelle Holder). While the typeface was based off of Neutra’s work, Christian Schwartz did not have many samples of the lettering used on his buildings to use as a reference, so much of the design was based on interpretation. In addition, there were no references for the lowercase, so the letters were drawn from scratch while referencing Futura, Nobel, and Tempo (Christian Schwartz). After a year of working and consulting with Neutra’s son, Dion Neutra and studying the archive photography of Julius Shulman, the typeface was created and became very popular (Michelle Holder).
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CHRISTIAN SCHWARTZ Born in 1977, Christian Schwartz is a type designer and typography consultant based in New York City. He is a partner in the type foundry, Commercial Type with London-based designer Paul Barnes. He has created many typefaces with different designers such as Orange Italic and Neutraface Family and has released fonts with Village, FontFont, and digital type pioneers Emigre. Many of his typefaces have been important designs for publications, including the US edition of Esquire, The New York Times, Roger Black’s redesign of the Houston Chronicle, and the extensive Guardian Egyptian family, with Paul Barnes, for The Guardian’s dramatic new look in 2005 (Christian Schwartz).
KAI BERNAU AND SUSANA CARVALHO
House Industries logo from the House Industries website.
House Industries worked with type designers Christian Schwartz, Kai Bernau and Susana Carvalho to create the modern typeface, Neutraface Slab.These designers come from different and unique backgrounds and pursued similar careers around the world. House Industries, the type foundry and design studio, was founded in 1993 in Wilmington, Delaware by Andy Cruz and Rich Roat. Their work is both hand drawn and digital as their approach is “rooted in drawing, painting, and lettering” which are “traditional techniques that give [their] work a warmth and soul” while creating digital fonts that additionally, boost communication in the world (House Industries).
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Kai Bernau was born in 1978 and studied graphic design at the University of Applied Sciences Schwäbisch Gmünd in Germany. He lives and works in The Hague, Netherlands, where he is a co-founder of Atelier Carvalho Bernau (Commercial Type). In 2005, he and his wife, Susana Carvalho formed Atelier Carvalho Bernau, which develops book and editorial design, typography, typeface design, web and interaction design (Atelier Carvalho Bernau). Susana Carvalho was born in 1979 and has a BA in Communication Design from the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Lisbon. In addition to forming Atelier Carvalho Bernau with her husband Kai, she teaches graphic design at the Bachelor course at the Royal Academy of Arts ( KABK) in the Hague (Commercial Type).
BIO
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The letterforms vary greatly throughout the family, as Neutraface has differing weights in which the thickness of the stroke drastically changes. However, most letterforms can be characterized as “open and unobtrusive” and there are both sharp angles and rounded curves mimicking the beauty of architecture and the modern work of Richard Neutra (House Industries). The original Neutraface was designed for distinctive titles and headlines,however, to create a more universal, highly legible typeface, a text version of Neutraface was later created. To increase legibility, this version has a larger x-height and an increase in stroke width. Neutraface Slab however, is better suited for longer headlines in limited spaces (House Industries). Neutraface Slab can be characterized as lacking thick to thin contrast. The line thickness remains constant creating bold, modern letterforms. The forms are simple and linear, bringing a sense of warmth to the viewer’s eye (House Industries). In analyzing particular letterforms, the “C” has a pointed terminal instead of a serif terminal. Additionally, the middle arm of the uppercase letterforms “F”and “E”, lack serifs as well. The counters and open counters are very spacious as the forms of the letters are precisely curved to create a warm, inviting letterform. In comparing Neutraface with Neturaface Slab, Neutraface has larger counters and the arm of the “E” and the crossbar on the “A” are lower down creating more open, white space. This is also seen in the bolder weights such as the display titles. Lastly, Neutraface has a display drafting typeface, whereas Neutraface slab has a stencil typeface. The drafting letters are very loose and expressive, whereas the stencil letterforms are uniform and geometric.
Architecture 1
2
3
4
1 Large and open counters
2 Thin to thick contrast in the arm 3 Large, open aperture
5
6
4 thin to thick contrast in the arc
5 Serif on top terminal, no serif on bottom terminal 6 Round proportions, shorter x-height compared to the ascenders and descenders
EA
Large counters, creates open white space
Serif Terminal
no serif
VISUAL ANALYSIS
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Spread in Neutraface Slab Lookbook created by House Industries.
GALLERY SECTION 04 | 37
TALYA RATUSNIK TYPOGRAPHY II WINTER 2018 TYPEFACES USED UNIVERS LT STD