Typography - Task 2: Typographic Exploration and Communication

May 03, 2022

Typography - Task 2: Typographic Exploration and Communication

03.05.2022 - 10.05.2022 / Week 6 - Week 7
Tow Wan Tian / 0343765
Typography / Bachelor of Education / School of Education
Task 2 / Typographic Exploration and Communication

LECTURES

Week 6

Different Mediums
1. Screen vs. Print
Type for Print
Primarily, type was designed and intended for reading in print. It is the designer's job to ensure that the text is smooth, flowing and pleasant to read. Garamond, Baskerville, Caslon and many other good typefaces are commonly used for print. Good typefaces share common characteristics such as being elegant, intellectual and highly readable even when set at small font sizes.

Type for Screen

Typefaces that have neutrality and versatility are easy to digest and allow typesetting to be easy. Types intended for web use are often optimised and modified to enhance readability and performance in a variety of digital environments. The modifications may include a taller x-height, reducing ascender and descender, wider letterforms, more open counters, heavier thin strokes and serifs, reducing stroke contrast, modified curves and angles, as well as allowing more spacing for typefaces intended for smaller sizes. Types for screens used to be limited by the resolution of the screen; however, that is not the case anymore as resolutions have been significantly improved throughout the years. Nevertheless, there are types that are designed specifically for screens.

Hyperactive Link/Hyperlink
It refers to a word, phrase or image that you can click on to jump to a new document or a new section within the current document. Text hyperlinks are normally blue and underlined by default. When you move the cursor over a hyperlink, the arrow should change to a small hand pointing at the link.

Font Size for Screen
16 px text on a screen is about the same size as text printed in a book; this accounts for reading distance. Typically text in books is set at 10 pt due to the fact we often read books up close. If one were to read at arm's length, 12 pt would be better (about the same size as 16 px on screens)

System Fonts for Screen/Web Safe Fonts
Web-safe fonts: Open Sans, Lato, Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman, Times, Courier New, Courier, Verdana, Georgia, Palatino, Garamond.

Pixel Differential between Devices
The text seen on screens such as phones, PCs, tablets and TVs differs in proportions due to the difference in sized pixels.

2. Static vs. Motion
Static typography
Static typography has minimal characteristics in expressing words. Traditional characteristics such as bold and italic offer only a fraction of the expressive potential of dynamics properties.

Motion typography
Type is often overlaid onto music videos and advertisements, often set in motion following the rhythm of a soundtrack. Film title credits present typographic information and is brought to life through animation. In title sequences, typography must prepare the audience for the film by evoking certain moods. Motion graphics, especially brand identities have increasingly contained animated types. The expressiveness of typography helps establish the tone of associated content and express a set of brand values.

Week 7

All lectures are completed from Week 1 to Week 6.

INSTRUCTIONS

Task 2: Typographic Exploration and Communication

For Task 2, we were required to design a two-page editorial spread using the texts given. We should utilise the pieces of knowledge and know-how gained from previous learnings to complete this task. We were allowed to use Adobe Illustrator to create the heading (should there be a need) and Adobe InDesign for the composition and formatting of text.

Process Demonstration (Tutorial video)

Identify and understand the contextual content of the text with the page
Create thumbnail sketches and experiment with different layouts
After creating a layout, block out the text to understand the use of negative space and grey areas. Pay attention to the balance of negative space and grey area.

Sketches
After reading through the three articles, I chose to work with the article titled 'The Impact of Bauhaus on Modern Culture'. In terms of the type expression of the heading, I emphasised the word 'impact' by enlarging it until it reaches the edges of the page.

Figure 1. Sketch #1 for the type expression of the heading. Week 6 (5/5/2022)

Figure 1.1 Sketch #2 for the layout of the editorial page. Week 6 (5/5/2022)

Digitalisation

Figure 1.2 Attempt #1 for the heading. Week 6 (6/5/2022)

Figure 1.3 Attempt #3 for the heading. Week 6 (6/5/2022)

The digitalisation was done in Adobe Illustrator. The final outcome is exported as a JPEG file and then placed in the spread in Adobe InDesign. I preferred the design of Attempt #2 because of the natural visual flow of the heading and the alignment of the lead-in text. Therefore, I decided to apply the design in the spread and moved on to formatting the body text.

During my research on the Bauhaus, I found out that it inspired the creation of a typeface named after 'Bauhaus' as well. The typeface adopts san-serif letterforms and geometrical elements. With that in mind, I opted to use san-serif typefaces for the heading, the lead-in text and body text.

Figure 1.4 My attempt at creating the spread. Week 6 (7/5/2022)

Final Submission for Task 2 - Typographic Exploration and Communication

Figure 1.5 A screen capture of the final outcome of Task 2 - Typographic Exploration and Communication with the guides, the baseline grid and hidden characters. Week 7 (10/5/2022)

Figure 1.6 Final submission for Task 2 - Typographic Exploration and Communication (JPEG). Week 7 (10/5/2022)

Figure 1.7 Final submission for Task 2 - Typographic Exploration and Communication (PDF). Week 7 (10/5/2022)

Details

Heading

Font: Univers LT Std

Typeface: Ultra Condensed (impact), Roman (the, of, Bauhaus, on modern culture)

Lead-in Text

Font: Univers LT Std

Typeface: Roman

Font size: 41.84 pt

Leading: 50.2 pt (auto)

Paragraph Spacing: 50.2 pt (auto)

Average characters per line: -

Alignment: Right Alignment

Margins: -

Columns: -

Gutter (for columns): -

Body Text

Font: Futura Std

Typeface: Book

Font size: 9 pt

Leading: 11 pt

Paragraph Spacing: 11 pt

Average characters per line: 56 characters

Alignment: Left Justified

Margins: 12.7 mm (top and bottom), 11 mm (left and right)

Columns: 4

Gutter (for columns): 5 mm

FEEDBACK

Week 6

General Feedback: No feedback due to not having classes during public holidays.
Specific Feedback: No feedback due to not having classes during public holidays.

Week 7

General Feedback: The example of documenting the feedback is already provided. Do pay more attention and strictly adhere to it. Try not to make any careless mistakes anymore. Do not delete the feedback in red. Good ideas should leave enough 'hints' for viewers to make the connection between the visual and the message, allowing them to have ample opportunities to engage with the idea.
Specific Feedback: Very neat. You have expressed the word 'impact' effectively. The work shows that you have a good understanding of the alignment of text (lead-in text is aligned to the bottom edge of the body text). Good sense of balance in terms of space. Good enough to submit.

REFLECTION

Experience
This task allowed me to further develop my learning of idea visualisation, type expression, text formatting and layout. I had to constantly remind myself of the good rule of thumb for text formatting in order to produce work that is visually and contextually engaging for the viewers. Usually, I would require myself to produce at least three to four ideas/sketches before deciding on one. However, I struggled a lot this time and could only come up with one. I am glad the idea and design still turned out well, however, I would continue coaching myself to explore more in future projects.

Observation
Previously, I have learned to prioritise the readability and legibility of text and I could see myself adopting this mindset while formatting the text. I observed that my style of design tends to be simple and somewhat plain.

Findings
While working on this task, I gained a better understanding of the importance of good text alignment and the balance of the grey area and negative space to the overall structure and stability of a design. Based on the general feedback by Mr Vinod, I learned that we should leave ample 'hints' and 'blanks' in a design to allow viewers to make the necessary connections between the visuals and message. This encourages viewer engagement with the design and helps to increase the value of the design. Furthermore, I hope to see myself experiment more in terms of ideation and visual arrangements and create bolder designs while maintaining a good level of text readability.

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TOW WAN TIAN (0342765)