TYPOGRAPHY EXERCISES
5 April 2019 - 3 May 2019 (week 01-04)
Ahmed Baahy Suhail (0333925)
Typography
Exercises
LECTURE NOTES
Lecture 01: Briefing
5 April 2019 (week 01)
In the first class of Typography, we were briefed on all the projects and exercises. Afterwards, Mr Vinod and Mr Shamsul told us in detail about all the requirements we need to fulfill in our blog. We spent the rest of the day being guided on how to use WordPress. It took some time to figure out how to maneuver through this platform since it is pretty new to most of us, even our lecturers. After we were done navigating through the blog setup, we were briefed on our first exercise and proceeded to sketch out some ideas. I also learnt something new by the end of the day which was the difference between calligraphy and lettering. Calligraphy is written out whereas Lettering is drawn out.
Lecture 02: Introduction to Typography
12 April 2019 (week 02)
Today's lecture began with Mr Vinod encouraging us to be critical designers and visual analysis. He stressed the importance of a designer to be able to write analyse and synthesis information as they are fundamental assets a designer must have in this modern era. He persuaded us to forget everything we have seen and use what we cannot see as the benchmark to make a difference. Mr Vinod also mentioned that he used to being analytical but now he is used to it. Next, he told us how important it is to get along with our seniors as it is a great opportunity to get inspired and learn new tips and tricks from them. We also learnt about the birth of typography and how it has developed from past to present. It evolved from scribes to calligraphy to typography. Something interesting I learnt was that before the digital age, the determinant factor of a persons educational background is in their ability/ inability to write well. Nest, we learnt about the differences of the important terminologies within typography, which are Font, Typeface and Type family.- Font - derived from the word ' Foundry, ' individual fonts that lie within a typeface
- Typeface - entire family of fonts that share the same characteristics
- Type family - many weights within typeface
After the break, we were told to use Blogspot instead of Wordpress and some students had difficulties figuring out how to make their blog so we spent some time creating a blogger and adding information to it. Finally, the lectures came around to give us feedback on our first exercise. After selecting the best ones, we proceeded to digitize these personalized fonts.
Lecture 03: Basics in Typography19 April 2019 (week 03)
This week, we were greeted with a huge chunk of information. Mr Vinod started off the class by describing all the terms that go into the letter forms and touched on their characteristics to help us better understand typography language.
Baseline - imaginary horizontal line that defines where the visual base of the basic letterforms
Median - imaginary horizontal line that defines where the x-height ends
X-height - height of the lower case x in a typeface
Lecture 03: Basics in Typography19 April 2019 (week 03)
This week, we were greeted with a huge chunk of information. Mr Vinod started off the class by describing all the terms that go into the letter forms and touched on their characteristics to help us better understand typography language.
Baseline - imaginary horizontal line that defines where the visual base of the basic letterforms
Median - imaginary horizontal line that defines where the x-height ends
X-height - height of the lower case x in a typeface
Helvetica is popular and widely used as it is legible and readable ( x height is large ).
Lexican - dictionary of words
Lexican - dictionary of words
- Stroke
- Apex / Vertex ( top = apex, bottom = vertex )
- Arm
- Ascender
- Barb
- Beak
- Bowl
- Bracket
- Cross bar
- Cross stroke
- Crotch
- Descender
- Ear
- Em / En
- Finial
- Leg
- Ligature - space that is created by combination of two or more letters
- Link
- Loop
- Serif
- Shoulder
- Spine
- Spur
- Stem
- Stress
- Swash
- Tail
- Terminal
Lecture 04: Development/ Timeline
26 April 2019 ( week 04 )
The class began with Mr Vinod prompting the fact that the information given in the presentation is derived from the perspective of western culture only. He warned that this is a commonality in the information that is shared today, which happens to overlook the brilliance of the Eastern culture. Not everything online is 100% accurate thus he stressed the importance of evaluating all inaccuracies ourselves and persuaded us to dig deeper into the world of typography.
In this week's lecture, we were taught about the history of type.We learnt that the mind grows through its' association from experiences. Another interesting thing I heard was that the tools used in early letterform development brought about the evolution of the serif font as the tools were tapered and unstable looking.Charlemagne- person who issued the edict to standardise all essential texts.
A fun piece of information I consumed today was that Gutenberg's typeface, the blackletter was very popular amongst Nazis , especially Hitler.
A quote by Michael Crischton was presented to us at the end of our lecture. "If you don’t know history than you don’t know anything.You are a leaf that doesn’t know it is part of a tree."
This was just another reminder to keep learning and researching about type history and to keep borrowing books.
Lecture 05: Understanding Letter forms
Lecture 05: Understanding Letter forms
3 May 2019 ( week 05)
In this class, Mr Vinod narrowed and broke type down very closely and highlighted the many minimal yet, important details that we might have overlooked. It is the small details that differentiates one type face from the other and gives them their own attributes and characteristics. Sir also noted that even though lots of letter forms may seem symmetrical, in actuality, when deconstructed, they are not. Their stroke weights change and vary from each/ either side. Similarly, the X height of all letters may seem to be even however they are not. This is due to the fact that rounded letters either have to rise above the median or they must sink below the baseline thus in reality, the x height is never the same.
INSTRUCTIONS
EXERCISES
Week 01
Exercise 01 - Lettering
Our first exercise was to pick one of our personality types/traits and use that as inspiration for 10 possibilities of lettering using the name we prefer to be called. Since we had to select just one personality I decided on going with ' caring ' as I believe it represents who I am the best.
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| Fig. 1.1 Sketch 1 |
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| Fig. 1.2 Sketch 2 |
I began sketching out anything that came to mind as I was having artist block. After a couple tough sketched I began to start using curved edges as it goes hand in hand with my personality.
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| Fig. 1.3 Sketch 3 |
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| Fig. 1.4 Final sketch 1 |
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| Fig. 1.5 Final sketch 2 |
After, finalizing on one, we were tasked on digitizing the selected font.
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| Fig 1.6: Digitized ( Caring ) |
Next, Mr Vinod told us to convert our digitized fonts into animations. These gifs have to showcase elements of the personality we chose. Since mine is caring, the first thought that came to my head were hugs so I planned on making all the letters in my name come together and form one big hug.
I had some trouble making the letters fit together so Mr Vinod suggested creating a circle and arranging them within so it will be easier.
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| Fig. 1.7: Incorporating feedback provided. |
This is my first attempt. I just wanted to see the frames I made would look like as a gift just to test it out. After observing this it became aware that I needed to have more transitions since the gif was laggy and not smooth. I also didn't like how the letters came together.
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| Fig. 1.8: First attempt "caring" |
Second attempt is much better. I liked the pace of the letters in the first few frames and the transition is much more smoother compared to the first. However, near the end of the gif it became clear that I still had to make the part where everything comes together more natural and portray that cohesiveness.
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| Fig. 1.9: Second attempt "caring" |
I decided to add more frames to it and made the hug seem more real. I wanted to show a tight hug, thus the circle getting smaller at a point. I didn't want to cut it short and have it skip back to the beginning like in my previous attempts and so, made the hug open up so it loops without distruption.
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| Fig. 2.0: Screenshot of my Illustrator artboards. |
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Exercise 02 - Type Expression
For our second exercise, we had to digitize 6 out of 7 words given, using typefaces provided for us. The words were hungry, angry, levitate, bounce, freeze, faint and loop. I chose everything except levitate. The digitized version must be representative of that particular word.
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| Fig. 3.1: Ready for feedback |
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| Fig. 3.2: Revised & finalized. |
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| Fig. 3.3: Screenshot of changes ( after further feedback ). |
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| Fig. 3.4: Type Expression ( after feedback ) |
The next step was to animate the best one from the bunch. Hence, since I got lots of positive feedback for my "freeze" from my peers, I decided to proceed with that.
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| Fig. 3.5: Chosen type expression: FREEZE. |
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| Fig. 3.5: Screenshot of my Illustrator artboards for FREEZE |
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| Fig 3.6: Initial attempt "FREEZE". |
As you can see, this needed a lot of improvement hence I redid the artboards and decided to make it much quicker.
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| Fig. 3.7: Screenshot of my revised Illustrator artboards for FREEZE. |
I also made the ice stretched out to show them forming and I wanted them to look more like shards of ice rather than commas. This one turned out just as expected and I am very pleased with it.
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| Fig. 3.8: Final result "FREEZE". |
FEEDBACK
Week 01: No feedback since it is first week.
Week 02: The personality I chose was 'caring' and as I laid out my work for the lecturers to see and as soon as I said the word, Mr Shamsul pointed at my personal favorite from the 10. They both nodded and seemed to like that font. I asked Mr Vinod if I should go ahead with that one just to be sure so he said yes.
Week 02: The personality I chose was 'caring' and as I laid out my work for the lecturers to see and as soon as I said the word, Mr Shamsul pointed at my personal favorite from the 10. They both nodded and seemed to like that font. I asked Mr Vinod if I should go ahead with that one just to be sure so he said yes.
Week 03: For my animation, Mr Vinod suggested the idea of making my letters come together and instantly I thought of hugs. He also gave me another idea that was to make my letters revolve after coming together. I was struggling so I called for Mr Vinod and he came to my seat and showed me that if I added a circle first, then it would be much more easier to arrange the letters in unison. Another tip of advice was to find a middle ground. Lastly, he proposed that I could create the final frame and then work backwards, since I had a hard time finding the right arrangement so the letters can align nicely.
Week 04:
General Feedback: Mr Vinod gave us three specific rules. First being to not delete other people's feedback. Next, here said not to change the typeface of the text that is there in the feedback form. Lastly, he told us not to delete the red text. When we were getting ready to present our digitized versions of the six words, we were reminded to think about the composition of the words in the 80 by 80 box. Before the end of the class, Mr Vinod told the class to manage time and diligence. He also encouraged us to be more prepared next time and said that we are not at stage we should be at, in this moment in time.
Specific Feedback: Mr Vinod was pleased with all the words except faint, angry and hungry. He said faint seems to be falling but I clarified that I wanted to show lightheadedness. He advised that I can portray this in a better way and to figure it out. Regarding angry, I created a composition to make it as if the words were placed in the shape of a tilted eyebrow however Mr Vinod did not see it. Thus, he instructed me to make it more clear and noticeable. Hungry just did not look like hungry so they told me to start over. I first made some changes to angry and got that one approved by Mr Vinod. However, later when I went to Mr Shamsul regarding my revised versions of the other letters, he did not seem to like angry. When I showed him my hungry, he encouraged me to ask the seniors that were sitting nearby. They all told me it was not quite right and so I went back, fixed it and got it finally approved. I still had angry and faint to fine tune but since everyone started animating, Mr Shamsul suggested on choosing on of the better ones and start animating.
Week 05: Mr Vinod came around and he told me my animation is nice and that it works. He wondered why the ice was as long as I made it so I said I wanted it to show ice shards. Lastly he just asked me about the shape of the ice so I reminded him that they are commas so he said it is fine.
Week 04:
General Feedback: Mr Vinod gave us three specific rules. First being to not delete other people's feedback. Next, here said not to change the typeface of the text that is there in the feedback form. Lastly, he told us not to delete the red text. When we were getting ready to present our digitized versions of the six words, we were reminded to think about the composition of the words in the 80 by 80 box. Before the end of the class, Mr Vinod told the class to manage time and diligence. He also encouraged us to be more prepared next time and said that we are not at stage we should be at, in this moment in time.
Specific Feedback: Mr Vinod was pleased with all the words except faint, angry and hungry. He said faint seems to be falling but I clarified that I wanted to show lightheadedness. He advised that I can portray this in a better way and to figure it out. Regarding angry, I created a composition to make it as if the words were placed in the shape of a tilted eyebrow however Mr Vinod did not see it. Thus, he instructed me to make it more clear and noticeable. Hungry just did not look like hungry so they told me to start over. I first made some changes to angry and got that one approved by Mr Vinod. However, later when I went to Mr Shamsul regarding my revised versions of the other letters, he did not seem to like angry. When I showed him my hungry, he encouraged me to ask the seniors that were sitting nearby. They all told me it was not quite right and so I went back, fixed it and got it finally approved. I still had angry and faint to fine tune but since everyone started animating, Mr Shamsul suggested on choosing on of the better ones and start animating.
Week 05: Mr Vinod came around and he told me my animation is nice and that it works. He wondered why the ice was as long as I made it so I said I wanted it to show ice shards. Lastly he just asked me about the shape of the ice so I reminded him that they are commas so he said it is fine.
REFLECTION
Experience
Week 01: Feeling a bit nervous but also optimistic about the start of this class.
Week 02: I had a difficult time figuring out a personality. I am someone who struggles with personal reflection and thus I cannot pinpoint my qualities and personalities with such ease. So I decided to ask around and I got a number of personalities that they see in me. These were caring, quiet, introverted, goofy and funny. This exercise took longer than expected just because I am super indecisive and thus I didnt pick on one for a while but finally I realized that 'caring' reflects me the best as everyone tells me I am a kind-hearted person and I only want the best for everyone around me. After choosing on one type of personality I proceeded to sketch out as many styles of font I could think of. This turned out to be very challenging as I have always been bad with fonts and I have never attempted to explore different font styles and so it was a whole new experience. I managed to gather up 10 fonts in the end but I am not happy with most of them as I did not know how to convey caring into a font itself however I feel that this is a good first attempt.
Week 03: Class was tough. I had a very hard time getting myself to grasp the animation and make my letters come together nicely. I spent nearly the whole day figuring out how to do it and I was getting stressed seeing how fast others were working compared to me.
Week 04: Stressful as usual. I found myself running behind the class yet again as I could not get some of my words approved even after improving them. Thus I used up most of class trying to get the words right but struggle to execute it to the expected standard.
Week 05: Today was pretty overwhelming since we got out first project. Also, we are using inDesign which is very new to me thus I felt confused yet eager to figure out this new addition to my design life. Took me a while to fully grasp the article provided and I was feeling impatient as the time went on. I spent most of the whole period attempting sketches based around the word "first" since I did not know how to incorporate the meaning into the headline.
Week 03: Class was tough. I had a very hard time getting myself to grasp the animation and make my letters come together nicely. I spent nearly the whole day figuring out how to do it and I was getting stressed seeing how fast others were working compared to me.
Week 04: Stressful as usual. I found myself running behind the class yet again as I could not get some of my words approved even after improving them. Thus I used up most of class trying to get the words right but struggle to execute it to the expected standard.
Week 05: Today was pretty overwhelming since we got out first project. Also, we are using inDesign which is very new to me thus I felt confused yet eager to figure out this new addition to my design life. Took me a while to fully grasp the article provided and I was feeling impatient as the time went on. I spent most of the whole period attempting sketches based around the word "first" since I did not know how to incorporate the meaning into the headline.
Observation
Week 01: Mr Vinod isn't as bad as everyone makes him out to be.
Week 02: I noticed that I can draw nice styles and that I am not as bad as I thought I was at lettering.
Week 03: I need to learn how to write notes quick and grasp all the information as it is a very fast paced lecture and my brain cannot consume everything at once.
Week 04:I recognized that my focus was drifting and I was spacing out frequently, trying to pull myself back to the class.
Week 05: I cant keep up with writing down my notes thus I must either record or type out the information being given on my phone, that way I can go back and listen to the recording or not have to get confused looking at my quick and messy handwriting.
Week 05: I cant keep up with writing down my notes thus I must either record or type out the information being given on my phone, that way I can go back and listen to the recording or not have to get confused looking at my quick and messy handwriting.
Findings
Week 01: I found that to overcome artist block I needed to be messy and sketch out as many different possibilities as I could think of and that ultimately I will find something worth while and visually pleasing.
Week 02: I should bring a mouse so I can work faster and since it will be more convenient rather than trying to awkwardly click on the touch pad.
Week 03: I noticed that I have to be patient and that I can overcome any thing with patience and trial and error.
Week 03: I noticed that I have to be patient and that I can overcome any thing with patience and trial and error.
Week 04: To overcome my constant confusion, I must read through the terminologies so I can understand the lecture better.
Week 05: I found that I was sketching my ideas aimlessly and that I must think each moment I put pencil on paper.
Week 05: I found that I was sketching my ideas aimlessly and that I must think each moment I put pencil on paper.
FURTHER READING
Design: Type: A seductive collection of alluring type designs: Paul Burgess/ Burge Agency
Week 1-2
FURTHER READING
Design: Type: A seductive collection of alluring type designs: Paul Burgess/ Burge Agency
Week 1-2
Week 1-2
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| Fig. 4.1: Design: Type |
This visual book showcasing a curated collection of around 600 designs taught me the importance of appreciating and studying all off the talented designers and exquisite designs from all around the world. Each flip of a page sparked inspiration and allowed me to understand the different styles of type that exist in this world. These are minimal, ragged, free-form and traditional type. I also learnt that the quality is most important. It's all about the quality of font and the application. Another takeaway from this are the rules of typography. Rule #1 is simply just to follow all the rules to do with typography carefully and rule #2 is to get used to being empathetic with your audience and apply typography with diligence and caution.
New Typographic Design: Compiled and edited by Roger Fawcett-Tang: Introduction and essays by David Jury
Week 3
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| Fig. 4.2: New Typographic Design |
I am now aware of who Giambattista Bodoni is, and how influential he is to the world of typography. Apparently, he was the first to use type for a bigger purpose other than readability. He brought about a whole new meaning to type appearance and challenged the norm. Implementing aesthetic elements and considering to be more than just of use for readabilty is what he is most recognized for. However, traditional printers criticized him since he we went against their beliefs. Bodoni's impact preceded a whole new evolution of type foundries and people started using a different application for typography. These fresh new typefaces were associated with the names fads, freaks and fancies as they disrespected the traditional mannerisms of type. As time passed by, more and more people got inspired by Bodoni and saw his true intentions and thus, aesthetics in type is highly appreciated and used in modern day.
Typographic Design: Form and Communication: Fourth Edition: Rob Carter, Ben Day, Philip Meggs
Week 4
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| Fig. 4.3: Typographic Design: Form and Communication |
The evolution of typography and typographic designs is clearly portrayed in a visual timeline, starting from the ancient area up to halfway point of the fifteenth century. Then there is a second timeline which revolves around the lengthy era of the handset/ hand press metal types. Next, the third timeline covers the start of new type forms within the Industrial Revolution and nineteenth century. Lastly, the fourth timeline, revealed as the twentieth century, portrays the new purpose of type which flaunts aesthetics and a deeper meaning, applying aesthetic considerations to type forms to fill the demand for functional communication.
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