Typography - Project 1

10/10/18 - 17/10/18 (Week 7 - 8)
Azmina Fathima Haris (0337113)
Typography 
Project 1: Text Formatting & Expression

LECTURE NOTES

Lecture 7: Text Formatting
Week 7(10/10/18)

In this week's lecture we covered types of fonts, text formatting, tracking, texture, leading & line length and type expression book.

Types of fonts
- Serif: the font, which is commonly used for body text, is known after the little arms or feet that extend from the letter stroke. There are three subs categories - old style, modern and square serif.
- Sans Serif: these are simply fonts without serifs, usually with an even stroke weight. Sometimes, this can be harder to read, because when compared to serif fonts, there is little contrast between letterforms.
- Display: decorative fonts that are used as headline fonts to grab attention
- Script: like the name suggests, these are fonts designed to mimic handwriting, meaning the letters touch one another
- Text: these fonts are based on the hand-drawn letters made by early monks and these have an old-world feel to them. They are used for very specific purposes - in diplomas, important certificates or invitations.
- Mono-spaced: these fonts, like the same suggests are proportionally spaced with all letter taking up the same amount of space regardless of the actual letter - so "D" and "I" would take up the same amount of space.
- Dingbats: symbols that are used to enhance the design of the text or page.

Special styles for formatting text - underline, small caps & all caps, superscript, subscript, skew, strike-through, text-scaling, outline & shadow.

Tracking: Kerning and Letterspacing
Kerning refers to the automatic of the space between letters. Letterspacing, on the other hand, is to add space between letters and tracking is the addition or removal of spacing in a word or sentence.
There are three kinds of tracking - normal, loose and tight.
Uppercase letterforms are drawn to be able to stand on their own, but lowercase letterforms require the counter form so that the line of reading is maintained.

Formatting Text
- Flush left: formatting that closely resembles the asymmetrical appearance of handwriting, with each line starting at the same point but ending wherever the last word in the line does.
- Centered: this format is much more symmetrical and assigns equal weight upon to both ends of the line. This formatting can be used for smaller bodies of text. But as they create such strong shapes on a page, it's important to adjust the line breaks so that the text does not appear too ragged.
- Flush right: as opposed to left-aligned formatting, it places emphasis on the end of the line. It could be used for headlines.
- Justified: creates a symmetrical shape on the text by adjusting spacing between words and letters. Sometimes, this can cause 'rivers' which is which are gaps running through the body of text.

Fig. 1.1 Examples of alignments on text

Texture
Typefaces often tend to have different textures and each suit different messages.

Fig. 1.2 Various typefaces with different textures

Leading and Line length
When setting text type, the aim is to allow easy, prolonged reading.
- Type size of text should be large enough to be read easily at arm's length
- Leading should be adjusted so that text isn't set too tight; readers can lose place in text.
- Line length should be kept between 35-65 characters and with shorter lines requiring less leading and longer lines, more.

A type specimen book shows the samples of typefaces in different sizes as an accurate reference for the type, size, leading, line length, etc.


INSTRUCTIONS

PROJECT 1 (Week 7 -  8)

We started working on the project by figuring out the alignment and basic layout of the text on InDesign, taken from this article - http://www.eyemagazine.com/feature/article/first-things-first-manifesto-2000
We made separate copies of the file and tried out four kinds of alignment in each one so we could finalise on one that was best. We were asked to choose the typeface, number of columns and text formatting before proceeding.

Fig. 2.1 Top-left to bottom-right: centred, justify (left), flush left & flush right

Progress (Week 8)

In this week's class, once we chose our alignment and layouts, we started working on the composition and the type expression. I had trouble coming up with ideas so I experimented different compositions and layouts for the text. I also changed the cover multiple times as I had a hard time finding one that seemed to suit the content and theme.

Fig. 2.2  Initial attempts on the cover

Fig. 2.3 Final cover

Final outcome

Fig. 2.4 Final design of cover

Fig. 2.5 final design pages 2-3

Fig. 2.6 final design pages 4-5

Fig. 2.7 final design of back cover

Link to Google Drive - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oZHw2vMX8VKmWXTZxAcVNLXQ5-OMO3s9/view?usp=sharing

Fig. 2.8 Printed book cover

Fig. 2.9 printed book pages 2-3

Fig. 3.0 printed book cover 4-5

Fig. 3.1 Printed back cover

FEEDBACK

Week 7
General feedback: We were reminded to write our name, student ID and the date on the back of any printouts of the work we have done so far.
Specific feedback: After completing my text formatting and taking a copy of it, I was asked to revise some parts as the edges were too ragged.

Week 8
General feedback: Mr. Vinod went through the format of the e-portfolio again, about citing the sources of images (if we had taken them from websites), taking clear photos in good lighting (without any editing to the image) and about updating the further readings section as well.
Specific feedback: I was told I wasn't really expressing the content of the article and I should reread it to ensure that I have a better understanding of it.

REFLECTIONS

EXPERIENCES

Week 7: I found this class very exhausting - we had to lectures today to make up for the lack of it for the past few weeks and lots of things to take note of. Especially the whole process of formatting and picking a layout - there were many things to keep track of while kerning and adjusting the characters per line.

Week 8: I felt quite lost and hopeless - I couldn't understand the project and what we were expected to do. Especially considering the theme of the article we were asked to work on, I didn't know how much I would be able to express the content or where to draw a line when doing so.

OBSERVATIONS

Week 7: InDesign did not turn out to be as difficult as I thought it would be - I felt it was rather complicated when Mr. Vinod previously gave us a briefing and a quick tour of it but its only a matter of time before you learn how to navigate and learn the shortcuts.

Week 8: I found that rereading the article (a few times) helped me to understand and express it better. I also realised why our lecturers would have picked this instead of a story book like before.

FINDINGS

Week 7: I realised how big of a role text formatting and layouts played in the readability of the text and how complicated the whole process was - adjusting the kerning, the characters per line, the size and the overall consistency of formatting.

Week 8: I noticed how little time I had to complete the project and to try out the different options I had in mind.

FURTHER READING

Typography Workbook - A real-world Guide to Using Type in Graphic Design by Timothy Samara 

Book cover

Developing hieracrhy

The hierarchy of the information, is based on the level of importance the designer assigns to each part of the text. Importance ranks the parts that should be read first, second, third, and so on; it also refers to the distinction of function among the parts. There are a number of ways a designer can differentiate the separate text components within a design. One option is through spatial organisation - grouping related items together, or aligning them along an axis, establishes a sense of regularity to them. By shifting a specific item out of alignment, attention is called to it, and this difference of location alerts the viewer to its importance over the other elements. Typographic colour also plays an important role in establishing hierarchy. Changes in weight, texture or value, and rhythm also signify differences between elements, in addition to the differences implied by spatial separation. Those elements that appear to advance forward compete for attention, occupying the top level in the hierarchy. Smaller or lighter elements, which appear to recede, decrease in relative importance because they become less active. 

Example of a poster showing hierarchy of information

The Complete Typographer (Second Edition) by Will Hill

Book cover (source: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Typographer-Will-Hill/dp/0131344455)

As I felt it was rather relevant to what I was doing now, I decided to read more about selecting typefaces. This decision's influenced not only by how the typeface looks visually but also the value it delivers from the designer