Advanced Typography | Task 1

29/03/2021 - 26/04/2021 (Week 1 - Week 5)
Naim Zuki, (0346615) | Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media 
Advanced Typography
Task 1

LECTURES
    Lecture 1 | Typography Systems

Typographic Systems is a term that shares some values with the architectural term shape grammars. A shape grammar is a set of rules that apply in a step-by-step way to generate a set, or language, of designs. Shape grammars are both descriptive and generative. The rules of a shape grammar generate or compute designs, and the rules themselves are descriptions of the forms of the generated design (more on the hyperlink). Therefore, in Typography, there are eight major rules (or systems) that come with an infinite number of permutations. Those rules are axial, radial, dilatational, random, grid, modular, transitional, and bilateral.

The Axial System places elements of the design to the left or right of a single axis, this axis can be turned and rotated extensively, but there can never be more than one axis. The Radial System extends the elements from a focal point, unlike the axial system, the radial system can have multiple focal points within a design. The Dilatational System expands the elements from a central point in a circular fashion. The Random System appears to have no specific pattern or relationship (see also, Ordered Chaos). The Grid System follows the divisions of vertical and horizontal lines. The Transitional System is an informal system of layered banding. The Modular System constructs the non-objective elements in standardized units. Finally, the Bilateral System arranges the elements symmetrically on a single axis.


Fig. 1.0, 8 Different Typography Systems, (from upper left to bottom right) Axial, Radial, Dilatational, Random, Grid, Transitional, Modular, and Bilateral; (Images courtesy of Type 365)
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    Lecture 2 | Typographic Composition 

Typographic Composition refers to the textual arrangement in a given space. It is how the designer presents the information to the consumer. We as designers might want to appeal to the very familiar composition rules of Design Principles (i.e. Emphasis, Motion, Repetition, etc). Although some principles are easier to apply in typography than others, these abstract notions can be ambiguous and seem more relevant to imagery with their than the complex units of information that is typography. Therefore, the following are some examples of typographic composition techniques that provides a homogenous feel to a typographic design.

The Rule of Thirds is a composition rule that's derived from photography. Its concept is essentially to divide the frame (in our case that's the page, space, etc) into three horizontal and vertical segments; where the intersecting lines between the horizontal and vertical guides are used as focal points for the design. The Grid System (from typographic systems) has been used so much in typographic composition that it's now come to be termed as the Swiss (Modernist) Style of Typography that gives this system merit in its amount of permutations, hence making it such a pragmatic system for designers to structure their design. 

Conversely, Chaos is a composition technique that questions the Grid System by introducing asymmetry, randomness, repetition, dilatational, radicalism, and madness; all of which adds excitement and uniqueness to typographic design. Environmental Grid, on the other hand, is based on the exploration of an existing structure or numerous structures combined, creating a unique super-structure that emphasises curved and straight lines as visual stimuli. Forms & Movement is another exploration of the grid system, where objective and non-objective elements are composed in such a way that makes the flipping of the page (whether paper or screen) flows from one to the other, utilising visual connection as its key element in the entire spread. 

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    Lecture 4 | Designing Type

Type design in and of itself is nothing less of an art form. As a matter of fact, the very continuation of production of different fonts is clear evidence that type designer uses type design as a mean of artistic expression or fulfilment of responsibility to improve an existing font. Putting it that way, type design is a very human expression.


Fig. 1.01, Adrian Frutigen in Interlaken, 2004, (Image Courtesy of Jurgen Siebert)

Adrian Frutiger is a renowned twentieth-century Swiss graphic designer. His forte was typeface design and he is considered responsible for the advancement of typography into digital typography. Frutiger, one of his valued contributions to typography, is a sans serif typeface designed specifically for the newly built Charles de Gaulle International Airport in France. What's interesting about this typeface that we can use as a reference study is how clear-cut the purpose of the typeface is. Frutiger was instructed to create a new typeface that is clean, distinctive, and legible that is easy to read from both close-up and far away; it needed to be recognised even in poor light condition or when the reader is quickly moving past the typeface (eg. driving past signage). He took the instructions given to him and embedded the typeface's purpose into its creation, thus resulting in a highly functional and pleasing typeface.


Fig. 1.02, The Five Things You Should Know About Matthew Carter, (Image Courtesy of Jack Newsham)

Matthew Carter is the son of Harry Carter, Royal Designer for Industry, contemporary British type designer and ultimate craftsman. Carter trained as a punchcutter at Enschede by Paul Radisch, responsible for Crosfield's typographic program in the early 1960s, Mergenthaler Linotype's house designer 1965-1981. Much like Frutiger's success in creating a font that adheres to its purpose, Carter is also well known for creating fonts that address specific technical challenges. For example, he designed Verdana (1996) for Microsoft with the purpose of the font to be extremely legible even at very small sizes on the screen, the font also has to exhibit characteristics derived from the pixel rather than the pen. The result is a typeface that, when examined closely, has hints of "grey" that is called Hints Of Verdana.


Fig. 1.03, Edward Johnston, 1902, (Image Courtesy of Wikipedia)

Edward Johnston is the creator of the iconic London "Underground" typeface, which would later be known as "Johnston Sans" (1916). The fascinating thing about Johnston's typeface that sets it apart from the rest is its harmonious combination between the modern and the traditional. The modern comes from the elegant and simple outlook of the sans serif typeface, while the traditional came from Edward's use of the classical Roman capitals for the proportions of his typeface. 


Fig. 1.04, Celebrating 100-Years Of London Underground's Iconic Font, (Image courtesy of TypeRoom)

The General Process of Type Design usually covers five steps. The first is Research, where the designer must understand type history, anatomy, conventions, terminologies, side-bearing, metrics, hinting, and so forth to ensure that the design adheres optimally to the purpose of creation. Next is Sketching, whether digital or traditional, sketching gives the designer an opportunity to record ideas before further developing them. Then comes Digitisation, where the sketches are refined into proper form and counter-forms in software such as FontLab and Adobe Illustrator. After that, Testing the typeface for refinement and correction comes crucial in developing a readable and legible typeface. Finally, Deploying a completed typeface would mean that the teething problems will become more obvious, thus the task of revision doesn't end upon deployment. 
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INSTRUCTIONS


Module Information Booklet: Advanced Typography
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    Task 1A | Typographic Systems

For our first exercise of the semester, we're tasked to create a design for each typographical systems with a given set of information. The information given includes an event title, the event organiser, the event schedule, the names of the speakers, and finally the venue. 

Thankfully prior to the semester, I received requests to design some posters for friends and family, so starting this exercise was easier than I thought. I chose the title Russian Constructivism and Graphic Design and began toying with the axial system. I wanted to keep everything in accordance with the title; so I emphasised the colour red, bold diagonal lines, and heavy typefaces.


Fig. 1.01, Axial System First Draft, 29/03/2021

After that, I started designing with the other systems while trying to keep the same Russian Constructivism style. Since I was new to most of the systems, I reached out to friends and family for their opinions on my designs before editing them further. Through that, my designs are more focused on readability and function rather than experimental concepts.


Fig. 1.02, Axial System Progression, 01/04/2021 - 02/04/2021


Fig. 1.03, Radial System Progression, 01/04/2021 - 05/04/2021


Fig. 1.04, Dilatational System Progression, 05/04/2021

Fig. 1.05, Grid System Progression, 05/04/2021

Fig. 1.06, Modular System Progression, 05/04/2021

Fig. 1.07, Transitional System, 05/04/2021


Fig. 1.08, Random System, 05/04/2021


Fig. 1.09, Bilateral System, 05/04/2021

After the peer feedback session in class, I re-designed the axial, radial, dilatational, and random systems accordingly. I designed them to enable better readability as well as to adhere better to the respective systems. Although for the radial system, I was enthralled by Sajiya Mir's work in class, so I had to try my hand at the colour theme (considering the colours were similar) and it turned out extremely well.


Fig. 1.10, Axial System Progression 06/04/2021


Fig. 1.11, Radial System Progression 08/04/2021


Fig. 1.12, Dilatational System Progression, 08/04/2021


Fig. 1.13, Random system Progression, 08/04/2021

Fig. 1.14, Typography Systems, Final Submission, 07/04/2021
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    Task 1B | Type & Play Part 1

Task 2A Part 1 is an exercise where the students are instructed to create a font based on the students' chosen texture image. The steps that we're required to take after choosing our image is analysing, dissecting, and identifying potential letterforms within the dissected image. The forms would be explored and ultimately digitised in a process of iteration that requires the letterforms to go from being crude to refine. 


Fig. 2.0, Carved Geometric Pattern on Wood, (Image Courtesy of Shutterstock)

For my type & play letterforms, I've decided to extract my letters from this image of a rattan texture. The diagonal lines, geometry, and overlapping motif make it an interesting subject to explore for my letters. I started by line tracing the texture on Photoshop using the brush tool to analyse the texture thoroughly, finding where the wood overlaps and where it separates. Then I began by dissecting the letterforms. I ended up identifying nine letterforms in total.


Fig. 2.01, Traced Wood Texture, 12/04/2021 


Fig. 2.02, C, 12/04/2021


Fig. 2.03, E, 12/04/2021


Fig. 2.04, F, 12/04/2021


Fig. 2.05, H, 12/04/2021


Fig. 2.06, I, 12/04/2021


Fig. 2.07, L, 12/04/2021


Fig. 2.08, A, 12/04/2021


Fig. 2.09, T, 12/04/2021


Fig. 2.10, Y, 12/04/2021

I then exported these sketches onto Adobe Illustrator for refinement and testing. I imagined the nature of the letterforms to be sans serif given the geometric structure of the wooden texture, so I began by using the pen tool to trace the letters and begin my iteration process.


Fig. 2.11, Extracted Letterforms, 12/04/2021


Fig. 2.12, First Iteration, 12/04/2021




Fig. 2.13, Second Iteration, 12/04/2021

During the feedback session in class, my classmates pointed out that the letters E, A and Y felt quite out of place. So they suggested that I make my letters more consistent and refine the edges to give it a refined final look. 

Taking their feedback in, I decided to play around with diagonal lines and implemented roman capitals in the construction of my letters for consistency.


Fig. 2.14, Third Iteration, 16/042021


Fig. 2.15, Fourth Iteration, 16/042021


Fig. 2.16, Fifth Iteration, 20/042021


Fig. 2.17, A, 16/04/2021


Fig. 2.18, H, 16/04/2021


Fig. 2.19, F, 16/04/2021


Fig. 2.20, E, 16/04/2021


Fig. 2.21, Y, 16/04/2021


Fig. 2.22, Complete Progression, 16/04/2021


Fig. 2.23, First and Final Iteration comparisons, 26/04/2021

Fig. 2.24, Type & Play Part 1 Final Submission, 26/04/2021

    Task 1B | Type & Play Part 2

In this exercise, students are tasked to combine a visual with a letter/word/sentence of their choosing. The objective is to enhance the selected visual. The text must be woven into a symbiotic relationship with the image. I began the exercise with a few sketches for idea generation.


Fig, 3.0, Experimentation, 19/04/2021


Fig. 3.1 Experimentations, 20/04/2021 - 26/04/2021


Fig. 3.2, Progression, 26/04/2021 - 30/04/2021


Fig. 3.3, Final Edit, 30/04/2021

Fig, 3.4, Type & Play Pt. 2 Final Edit, 30/04/2
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FEEDBACKS

Week 1 

Specific feedback: 
My design was quite appealing to my classmates and they complimented the composition of my work. Although, they mentioned that the body text I've used was too small to read and suggested i use a different font. 

General Feedback: 
Mr. Vinod's general feedback centred around a few things. One was the use of extreme diagonal lines that reduces the readability of a text. Next, he commented on the misuse of extreme contrast of colouring one side of the page a solid colour while the other is blank. Finally, he noted that we all should do a little more research on how the systems work in order for us to use them properly. 

Week 2 

Specific feedback: 
The hierarchy of information in every page was done properly; adheres to the requirements of the exercise. In some of the designs, the introduction of colours are redundant; the weightage of certain elements does not need the introduction of colours. My interpretation of the axial system doesn't conform to the definition of the definition of the system. Axial system has not more than one axis. My work for the bilateral system can be labeled as multilateral system. This can only be accptible given that the function makes sense. 

General Feedback: 
To create proper borders of each artwork, create borders for each pages with a 0.5 stroke width. Colour is only introduced to enhance a design, not for decorative purposes. Make sure to question if any non-objective elements have purpose and if the purpose is clear. Update portfolio. For typefaces that doesn't have small capitals, reduce the font size by 0.5 percent to add unity and harmony to a design. Tweak leading, kerning, and leading to taste. Make sure to differentiate between progress pictures and final submission in portfolio. 

Week 3 

Specific Feedback: 
First impression, they loved the interpretation of typefaces. It looked well refined and developed. Although, the letters A and Y are quite unrefined, it doesn't look clear as the letters they were. They suggested I experiment with the stroke lengths. The width and height of the letters are quite inconsistent. My blog was pretty empty and should be updated. 

Geenral Feedback: 
Notes on our blogs must be up to date. the more detailed the refining process, the better the outcome will be. Although we would want to refine our fonts as much as possible, too much refinement could lead to the font losing it's original qualities. So we might want to take a step back and look at the font as a whole before deciding the final outcome. 

Week 4 

Specific Feedback 
My peers loved how the letterforms turned out, they prefer the latest rendition the best. They questioned the letter Y, which looks too much like an X and prompted me to try again so it looks like an X. Mr Vinod complimented my work well, however, he commented that the spacing I added for diagonal lines was too small. He explained that these spaces are usually measured in comparison with the letters' stroke width. 

General Feedback 
Although doing as many renditions as possible is a meritable effort, we might want to take a step back to review our work as a whole and question if the latest work is better than the previous works. Always question whether our current letterforms maintain certain attributes and qualities that the original tracing does.

Week 5
Specific Feedback
They looked through my work and couldn't really see where I was coming from with my type and play ideas. Although there is a connection between the word and the picture, it's not well incorporated enough to presenta concrete idea. 

General Feedback
The better examples picked out from class often overlaps elements of the image onto the type the students included in the exercise. Balance between the type and image needs to be highly considered when putting togehter the composition.
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REFLECTIONS

Week 1

Entering class hearing Mr Vinod's voice more cheerful than before was a good start to the semester. This week's introduction class was pretty chill at first but of course, no typography class finishes without any form of exercise. However, I was really excited about the new peer review system. I could see my classmates were awkward and reluctant/shy when giving their opinions but at the end of the day, the experience was way better than previously and I walked away with more thorough feedback on my work that I can work on instantly after finishing class.  

Week 2

Right as the first week ended I could already feel the pressure of this module weigh on me. Eight final designs by the second Monday? I need to make sure I have enough coffee in my house if I'm gonna make it through the following 12 weeks. Nonetheless, although my progress is slow due to personal projects I have at the side (which I'm trying to finalise so I can focus more in class), the exercise itself was a really insightful look into how typography can be expressed. I'm obviously more in love with the Axial and Radial systems, the Random System was expectedly hard to wrap my head around but every other system were pretty straight forward.

Week 3
Resubmerging ourselves into type design was really nostalgic. I find that I had to revisit my old notes as well as external sources to refresh my mind on the construction of a font. I was initially pretty lost with what I texture I wanted to choose, but seeing the examples shown in class gave a better idea of what to look for to create an expected outcome for the exercise.

Completing Typographic Systems felt really refreshing. Although I struggled to keep but, by the end of the exercise I felt like I was regaining momentum in InDesign and Typography as a whole. 
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FURTHER READINGS



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