Advanced Typography / Task 1: Exercises

01/04/2022 - 29/04/2022 (Week 1 - Week 5)
Reagan Val Adelbert Mahadi / 0349177
Advanced Typography / Bachelor of Design in Creative Media
Task 1 / Exercises 1 & 2

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LECTURES

Week 1

On our first week in this module, Mr. Vinod explained to us the MIB and gave us a lecture about typographic systems.

Typographic Systems

• Axial
• Radial
• Dilatational
• Random
• Grid
• Modular
• Transitional
• Bilateral

Axial System

All elements are organized to the left or right of a single axis.

Fig. 1.1 Axial system

Radial System

All elements are extended from a point of focus.

Fig. 1.2 Radial system

Dilatational System

All elements expand from a central point in a circular fashion.

Fig. 1.3 Dilarional system

Random System

Elements appear to have no specific pattern or relationship.

Fig. 1.4 Random system

Grid System

A system of vertical and horizontal divisions.

Fig. 1.5 Grid system

Transitional System

An informational system of layered banding.

Fig. 1.6 Transitional system

Modular System

A series of non-objective elements that are constructed in standardized units.

Fig. 1.7 Modular system

Bilateral System

All text is arranged symmetrically on a single axis.

Fig. 1.8 Bilateral system

Week 2

In week 2, Mr. Vinod gave us feedback for our typographic system exercise. He also provided us with a lecture about typographic composition.

Principles of Design Composition

When we think about composition, we think about the dominant principles underpinning design composition, which are emphasis, isolation, repetition, symmetry and asymmetry, alignment, and perspective to name a few. 

However, these abstract notions seem ambiguous when it comes to translating them into typographic layouts or compositions. They seem more relevant to imagery than complex units of information that consist of different elements.

The Rule of Thirds

The rule of thirds is a photographic guide to composition, it basically suggests that a frame (space) can be divided into 3 columns and 3 rows. The intersecting lines are used as a guide to place the points of interest, within the given space.

Typographic Systems

Of the 8 systems, the most pragmatic and the most used system is the grid system, which is derived from the grided compositional structure of letterpress printing. It was further enhanced by what is now come to be termed the Swiss style of typography, with its foremost proponents being Josef Muller Brockmann, Jan Tschichold, Max Bill, and such.

In reaction to this very ordered approach to the typography of the modernist era, a group of younger designers began to question and challenge this nation of order. Thus was born the post-modernist era in typographical systems where chaos, randomness, and asymmetry were explored. Legibility and readability were relegated to the back seat however the bests examples seem to combine the two seamlessly. Its proponents include David Carson, Paula Scher, and Jonathan Barnbrook, to name a few.

There was a method to their madness. Order was replaced with apparent chaos but this chaos was exciting and 'new' for a generation that was being exposed to Punk anti-establishment thought and music. As such asymmetry, random, repetition, dilatational, and radial systems began to take root in the lexicon of designers.

Environmental Grid

This system is based on the exploration of an existing structure or numerous structures combined. An extraction of crucial lines both curved and straight is formed. The designer then organizes his information around this super-structure, which includes non-objective elements to create a unique and exciting mixture of texture and visual stimuli.

Form and Movement

This system is based on the exploration of an existing grid system. The placement of a form on a page, over many pages creates movement.

Week 3

For the third week, Mr. Vinod gave feedback on our progress for type and play 1. Mr. Vinod provided a lecture to us about context & creativity.

Handwriting

The first mechanically produced letterforms were designed to directly imitate handwriting. Handwriting would become the basis or standard for form, spacing, and conventions mechanical type would try and mimic. The shape and line of hand-drawn letterforms are influenced by the tools and materials used to make them. Sharpened bones, charcoal sticks, plant stems, brushes, feathers, and steel pens all contributed to the unique characteristics of the letterform.

Cuneiform c. 3000 B.C.E.

Cuneiform is the earliest system of actual writing, and it was used in a number of languages between the 34C. B.C.E. through the 1st century. They evolved from pictograms and were written from left to right.

Hieroglyphics

The Egyptian writing system is fused with the art of relief and craving. The system was a mixture of both rebus and phonetic characters. Hieroglyphic images have the potential to be used in three different ways:

1. As ideograms, to represent the things they actually depict
2. As determinatives to show that the signs preceding are meant as phonograms and to indicate the general idea of the word
3. As phonograms represent sounds that "spell out" individual words

Early Greek / 5th  C. B.C.E.

Built on the Egyptian logo consonant system, the Phoenicians developed a phonetic alphabet consisting of 22 letters. The Phoenicians system then was adopted by the Greeks who added the necessary vowels. Early Greek was comprised of only capital letters, written between two guidelines to organize them into horizontal rows. 

The words may have been in rows but the direction of reading was not yet fixed. Greek was often read in a format known as boustrophedon or "as the ox plows". One row would read left to right and then switch from right to left.

Roman Uncials

By the 4th century, Roman letters were becoming more rounded, the curved form allowed for fewer strokes and could be written faster.

English Half Uncials, 8th C.

In England, the uncial evolved into a more slanted and condensed form. While English and Irish uncials evolved, writing on the European continent devolved considerably and needed a reformer. Luckily it came in the Carolingian Handwriting Reform.

Emperor Charlemagne 8 C. CE

After the fall of the Roman Empire, the end of a central advanced culture resulted in general illiteracy and a breakdown of handwriting into diverse regional systems. For 300 years the knowledge of writing was kept alive mainly in the remote outposts of religious cloisters and retreats.

Carolingian Minuscule

The Carolingian minuscule was used for all legacy and literary works to unify communication between the various regions of the expanding European empire. The Carolingian minuscule was as important a development as the standard Roman capital.

Black Letter 12-15 C. CE

Gothic was the culminating artistic expression of the middle ages, occurring roughly from 1200 to 1500. The term Gothic originated with the Italians who used it to refer to rude or barbaric cultures north of the Italian Alps.

The Gothic spirit took hold in France, Germany, and England where it was manifested through unhindered upward striving: the vertical supplanted horizontals as the dominant line in architecture; the pointed arch replaced the round arch of the Romans; the almond shape, or mandorla, was preferred. Gothic writing forms reflected this aesthetic. Blackletter is characterized by tight spacing and condensed lettering. Evenly spaced verticals dominated the letterform. Condensing line spacing and letter spacing reduced the number of costly materials in book production.

The Italian Renaissance

As the Gothic spirit reached its apex in the other areas of western Europe, Humanists revived the culture of antiquity. The renaissance embrace of ancient Greek and Roman culture spurred a creative wave through Italian art, architecture, literature, and letterform design. 

The Humanists admired the Carolingian script, which had clear open handwriting. Humanists named the newly rediscovered letterforms Antica. The renaissance analysis of form that was being applied to art and architecture was directed toward letterform, resulting in a more perfect or rationalized letter.

Movable Type 11 C. - 14 C.

Printing (woodblock) had already been practiced in China, Korea, and Japan (Dharani Sutra, AD 750). The earliest known printed book (AD 868) is the Diamond Sutra: 16' scroll with the world's first printed illustration.

In late 14 C. several decades before the earliest printing in Europe, the Koreans establish a foundry to cast movable type in bronze, allowing the dismantling and resetting of text.

Eastern Developments in Handwriting

Fig. 2.1 Evolution of Middle Eastern Alphabets

Fig. 2.2 Evolution of the Chinese Script

Fig. 2.3 Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) Script

Fig. 2.4 The Brahmi Script

The Brahmi script is the earliest writing system developed in India after the Indus script. It is one of the most influential writing systems, all modern Indian scripts and several hundred scripts found in Southeast and East Asia are derived from Brahmi.

The oldest writing systems present in SEA were Indian scripts. The most important would be Pallava, a South Indian script originally used for writing Sanskrit and Tamil. Palava was highly influential, but it wasn't the only Indian script in use in the Malay Archipelago. Another was Pra-Nagari, an early form of the Nagari script, used in India for writing Sanskrit.

Indonesia's most important historical script is Kawi. Based on Nagari, but indigenous to Java. The interesting thing about Kawi is that it was the script used for contact with other kingdoms. Kawi became the basis of other scripts in both Indonesia and the Philippines.

Ancient kingdoms in the Malay Peninsula would have been using both Indian scripts and Kawi to write the old Malay language. 

Indonesia Historical Writing Systems

Fig. 2.5 Rencong Script

Fig. 2.6 Rejang Script from South Sumatra

Fig. 2.7 Batak Script

Fig. 2.8 Bugis Script

Fig. 2.9 Javanese Script

Jawi, an Arabic-based Alphabet

Ancient Hindu societies in both South and South East Asia were classist and often caste-based. The lower classes were generally illiterate. When traders engaged in missionary work, they would have taught Jawi to people that might otherwise not have learned to read and write. This allowed it to spread among the upper and middle-class in the trading post.

In modern Malaysia, Jawi is of greater importance because it's the script used for all our famous works of literature. Every hikayat and Malay charm book is written in Jawi. Unlike Indonesia, we don't have a huge wealth of pre-Jawi inscriptions and writings.

Week 4

In week 4, Mr. Vinod gave feedback on our type and play 1 exercise. Mr. Vinod also provided us with a lecture about designing types.

The general process of type design:

1. Research
2. Sketching
3. Digitization
4. Testing
5. Deploy

Research

When creating type, type history, type anatomy, and type conventions must be understood. We should also know terminologies, side-bearing, metrics, hinting and etc. It is then important to determine the type's purpose or what it would be used for, what different applications it will be used in such as whether the typeface is for school busser or airport signage, etc. We should also examine existing fonts that are presently being used for inspiration/ideas/reference/context/usage pattern/etc.

Sketching

Designers sketch with traditional toolsets or even digital toolsets. Both methods have positives and negatives.

Digitization

There are professional softwares such as FontLab and Glyphs. Designers also use Adobe Illustrator to design or craft the letterforms and then introduce them into the specialized font apps.

Testing

Testing is an important component in the design thinking process. The results of the testing is part of the process of refining and correcting aspects of the typeface. Prototyping is also part of the testing process and leads to important feedback. 

Deploy

Even after deploying a completed typeface there are always teething problems that did not come to the fore during the prototyping and testing phase. Thus, the task of revision doesn't end upon deployment.

Typeface Construction

Roman capital: the grid consists of a square and inside it a circle that just touches the lines of the square in four places. Within the square, there is also a rectangle. This rectangle is three-quarters the size of the square and is positioned in the center of the square.

Using grids can facilitate the construction of a letterform and is a possible method to build/create/design letterforms

Construction and Consideration

Depending on their form and construction, the 26 characters of the alphabet can be arranged into groups, whereby a distinction is made between a group for the capitals and a group for lowercase letters.

Many different forms and constructions must be taken into account when designing a new type. An important visual correction is the extension of curved forms past the baseline and the cap line. This also applies to vertical alignment between curved and straight forms.

A visual correction is also required for the distance between letters. It is not possible to simply place letters next to each other with equal spacing between them. The letters must be altered to a uniform 'visual' white space. This means that the white space between the letters should appear the same. This is called 'fitting' the type.

Week 5

For the fifth week, Mr. Vinod reviewed our type and play 2 and gave feedback to the class. Mr. Vinod prepared to us a lecture about perception and organization.

Perception is "the way in which something is regarded, understood, or interpreted". Perception in typography deals with the visual navigation and interpretation of the reader via contrast, form, and organization of the content. Content can be textual, visual, graphical, or in the form of color. 

Contrast / Size

A contrast of size provides a point to which the reader's attention is drawn.

Fig 3.1 Contrast in Size

Contrast / Weight

Weight describes how bold type can stand out in the middle of lighter type of the same style.

Fig. 3.2 Contrast in Weight

Contrast / Form

The contrast of form is the distinction between a capital letter and its lowercase equivalent, or a roman letter and its italic variant, condensed and expanded versions of the typeface are also included under the contrast of form.

Fig. 3.3 Contrast in Form

Contrast / Structure

Structure means the different letterforms of different kinds of typefaces. For example, a monoline sans serif and a traditional serif, or an italic and a blackletter.

Fig. 3.4 Contrast in Structure

Contrast / Texture

Texture refers to the way of the lines of type to look as a whole up close and from a distance. This depends partly on the letterform themselves and partly on how they're arranged.

Fig. 3.5 Contrast in Texture

Contrast / Direction

Contrast in direction is the opposite between vertical and horizontal, and the angles between. Turning one word on its side can have a dramatic effect on a layout. Text blocks also have their vertical or horizontal aspects of direction. Mixing wide blocks of long lines with tall columns of short line can also create a contrast.

Fig. 3.6 Contrast in Direction

Contrast / Color

The use of color is suggested that a second color is often less emphatic in values than plain black on white. Therefore its important to give thought to which elements need to be emphasized and to pay attention to the tonal values of the colors that are used.

Fig. 3.7 Contrast in Color

Form

Form refers to the overall look and feel of the elements that make up the typographic composition. Its the part that plays a role in visual impact and first impressions.

Originating from the Greek words "typos" (forms) and "graphis" (writing), typographic means to write in accordance with form. Typography can be seen as having two functions:

1. To represent a concept
   
2. To do so in a visual form

Displaying type as form provides a sense of letterforms' unique characteristics and abstract presentation.

When a typeface is perceived as a form, it no longer reads as a letter because it has been manipulated by distortion, texture, enlargement, and has been extruded into a space.

Organization / Gestalt

Gestalt is a German word meaning the way a thing has been "placed" or "put together". Gestalt Psychology is an attempt to understand the laws behind the ability to acquire and maintain meaningful perceptions.

The Gestalt psychologists, especially Max Wertheimer, developed a number of "laws" that predict how perceptual grouping occurs under a variety of circumstances.

Gestalt Principles of Grouping

1. Law of Similarity
2. Law of Proximity
3. Law of Closure
4. Law of Continuation
5. Law of Symmetry
6. Law of Simplicity
   

Fig. 3.8 Gestalt Principles of Grouping

Law of Similarity

The Law of similarity is the gestalt grouping law that states that elements that are similar to each other tend to be perceived as a unified group. Similarity can refer to any number of features, including color, orientation, size, or indeed motion.

Law of Proximity

The Law of proximity is the gestalt grouping law that states elements that are close together tend to be perceived as a unified group. This straightforward law states that items close to each other tend to be grouped together, whereas items further apart are less likely to be grouped together.

Law of Closure

The Law of closure refers to the mind's tendency to see complete figures or forms even if a picture is incomplete, partially hidden by other objects, or if part of the information needed to make a complete picture in our minds is missing.

Law of Continuation

Law of continuation holds that humans tend to perceive each of two or more objects as different, singular, and uninterrupted object even when they intersect. The alignment of objects or forms plays a major role in this principle to take effect.

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INSTRUCTIONS



Task 1: Exercise 1 - Typographic Systems

For this task, we are required to create the 8 systems mentioned during the lecture. We are required to use this content:

The Design School,

Taylor’s University

All Ripped Up: Punk Influences on Design

or

The ABCs of Bauhaus Design Theory

or

Russian Constructivism and Graphic Design

Open Public Lectures:

June 24, 2021

Lew Pik Svonn, 9AM-10AM

Ezrena Mohd., 10AM-11AM

Suzy Sulaiman, 11AM-12PM

June 25, 2021

Lim Whay Yin, 9AM-10AM

Fahmi Reza, 10AM-11AM

William Harald-Wong, 11AM-12PM

Lecture Theatre 12

I decided to pick "The ABCs of Bauhaus Design Theory" and started working it on InDesign.

Fig. 4.1 Typographic systems progress (07/04/2022)

Fig. 4.2 Bilateral (07/04/2022)

Fig. 4.3 Modular (07/04/2022)

Fig. 4.4 Random (07/04/2022)

Fig. 4.5 Dilatational (07/04/2022)

Fig. 4.6 Grid (07/04/2022)

Fig. 4.7 Transitional (07/04/2022)

Fig. 4.8 Radial (07/04/2022)

Fig. 4.9 Axial (07/04/2022)

Fig. 4.10 Typographic systems draft 1 (14/04/2022)

After hearing feedback from Mr. Vinod, I had to make changes to the systems.

I made changes to the radial system by shifting them a bit more to the center to avoid the uneven negative spaces.

Fig. 4.11 Radial amendments (14/04/2022)

I also made the same changes for transitional and adjusted my grid system. I made the text in the grid system all left-aligned.

Fig. 4.12 Transitional and grid amendments (14/04/2022)

I also changed the position of my dilatational system and made my random system more exaggerated.

Fig. 4.13 Dilatational and random amendments (14/04/2022)

I made a whole new design for my bilateral system.

Fig. 4.14 Bilateral amendments (14/04/2022)

Fig. 4.15 Typographic systems amended (14/04/2022)

Final Typographic Systems

Fig. 5.1 Final Typographic System Axial - JPEG (14/04/2022)

Fig. 5.2 Final Typographic System Radial - JPEG (14/04/2022)

Fig. 5.3 Final Typographic System Transitional - JPEG (14/04/2022)

Fig. 5.4 Final Typographic System Grid - JPEG (14/04/2022)

Fig. 5.5 Final Typographic System Dilatational - JPEG (14/04/2022)

Fig. 5.6 Final Typographic System Random - JPEG (14/04/2022)

Fig. 5.7 Final Typographic System Modular - JPEG (14/04/2022)

Fig. 5.8 Final Typographic System Bilateral - JPEG (14/04/2022)

Fig. 5.9 Final Typographic System - PDF (14/04/2022)


Fig. 5.10 Final Typographic System with Grid - PDF (14/04/2022)

Type & Play: Part 1

For this exercise, we are required to make a selection of images between man-made objects or structures, and nature. We will be analyzing, dissecting, and identifying potential letterforms within the dissected image. The forms would be explored and ultimately digitized.

So I surfed the internet to find images that I can use for this exercise.

Fig. 6.1 Untidied wires

I found a lot of letters from the image and traced them all.

Fig. 6.2 Tracing the letters from wires (14/04/2022)

After tracing the letters, I picked 4 different letters (A, D, X, and P) and used future std light condensed as my reference.

Fig. 6.3 Refining the letterforms (14/04/2022)

After getting feedback from Mr. Vinod, I will be doing more refining on my letterforms.

Fig. 6.4 Ammending letterforms (22/04/2022)

I rounded the end of the strokes so that it implies the feature of wires. I shorten the extension from the cross-section as well.

Fig. 6.5 Using the brush tool for reference (28/04/2022)

I used the pen tool for reference so that the thickness of the letterforms is the same as each other. So I drew the rest of the letterforms using the same thickness of the brush.

Fig. 6.6 Drawing A, D, and X with the brush (28/04/2022)

Fig. 6.7 Using pen tool for A, D, and X (28/04/2022)

Fig. 6.8 Letterforms evolution (28/04/2022)

Final Type & Play: Part 1

Fig. 7.1 Final Type & Play 1 "A" - JPEG (28/04/2022)

Fig. 7.2 Final Type & Play 1 "D" - JPEG (28/04/2022)

Fig. 7.3 Final Type & Play 1 "X" - JPEG (28/04/2022)

Fig. 7.4 Final Type & Play 1 "P" - JPEG (28/04/2022)

Fig. 7.5 Final Type & Play 1 - JPEG (28/04/2022)

Fig. 7.6 Final Type & Play 1 Letters - PDF (28/04/2022)

Fig. 7.7 Final Type & Play 1 - PDF (28/04/2022)

Type & Play: Part 2

For this exercise, we are required to combine a visual with a letter/word/sentence of our own choosing. The objective is to enhance/support the interplay between the letter/word/sentence and the selected visual. The text must be woven into a symbiotic relationship with the image.

So I surfed the internet to find some images that I like.

Fig. 8.1 Zombies

I found this image interesting and planned on using this for the exercise. The word that I will be adding is "swarm".

Fig. 8.2 Type & Play "SWARM" (28/04/2022)

I used blur effect on the letters and used Futura Std Book as my font.

After getting feedback from Mr. Vinod, I decided to change my work by using a different effect.

Fig. 8.3 Surreal Photography by Gabriel Isak

Fig. 8.4 Work progress (05/05/2022)

I used the same font for the work and used the smudge tool to dissolve my words so that they look like they are getting blown by the wind. 

Final Type & Play: Part 2

Fig. 9.1 Final Type and Play 2 - JPEG (05/05/2022)

Fig. 9.2 Final Type and Play 2 - PDF (05/05/2022)

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FEEDBACK

Week 2
General Feedback: Don't use light colors because they may not be visible
Specific Feedback: Too many things going on in the grid system needed to be reworked. The space in the dilatational system is not very well organized. The random system is nice but could be a little bit more exaggerated. Too many going on in bilateral, just stick in a single line.

Week 3
General Feedback: Use a reference to complete the type and play exercise.

Week 4
General Feedback: The letterforms should be consistent.
Specific Feedback: The letter P is nice. The thickness of the strokes is not consistent, need to introduce consistency in the thickness of the strokes. Recreate the strokes using a pen tool then introduce with very few thick and think strokes if I want to. For the edge of the stroke, instead of going flat Mr. Vinod suggested making it rounded but not so much and don't extend it too far from the cross-section because too much isn't good.

Week 5
General Feedback: Make sure the words are correlating to the image.
Specific Feedback: Mr. Vinod said that my work isn't working out.

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REFLECTIONS

Experience
When I was doing the typographic system exercise, I feel like doing the old exercises again when I was studying in the first semester. There is some stuff that I forgot in InDesign but luckily Mr. Vinod made a video about it so I guess it goes pretty well. The first exercise took some time to make and it requires so much time to think about how I wanted to make it so I couldn't say if it was easy. Nevertheless, the exercise was quite fun and I pretty much enjoyed it when I finished making them. Type and play exercises were also very fun. I enjoyed making them and seeing the last product made me feel relieved.

Observations
I observed that typography has a lot of history that holds a very important role til this day. I also observed that design principles are also found in typography (they resonate with each other). 

Findings
I found out that typography can exist anywhere and can be used everywhere. Design principles are also used in typography which is very important so that the viewers can enjoy them.

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FURTHER READING

Fig. 10.1 Typographic Systems by Kimberly Elam

By reading this book, I get to understand more about typographic systems.

Fig. 10.2 Axial systems study

I get to learn more about axial systems, radial systems, dilatational systems, and many else.

Fig. 10.3 Dilatational systems study