Typography - Project 1
Chan Qian Hui (0334447)
Typography
Project 1 - Text formatting and Expression
LECTURE NOTES
Lecture 5 : Letters/ understanding letterforms
4/5/2019 (Week 5)
For this week's lecture, we were taught about letters and understanding letterforms. In the beginning, he showed us the letter "A" in Baskerville stroke. Although the letter suggests symmetry, but in fact it is not. Each letters have their unique details that may seem minor on it's own, but major when compared with another type font. Besides that, we were taught to take note that curved strokes such as the letter "S" must rise above median. This is because although mathematically it is the same size and aligned with the other letters, it will visually look smaller.
Mr Vinod also mentioned about the importance of contrast in typography especially when dealing with a large amount of text. Headlines should not just be really really big to create hierarchy of information, it could be simply : light - bold, condensed - extended and small - large.
10/5/2019 (week 6)
There was no lecture as Mr Vinod reviewed our blogs on that day. We then continued working on our project 1.
4/5/2019 (Week 5)
For this week's lecture, we were taught about letters and understanding letterforms. In the beginning, he showed us the letter "A" in Baskerville stroke. Although the letter suggests symmetry, but in fact it is not. Each letters have their unique details that may seem minor on it's own, but major when compared with another type font. Besides that, we were taught to take note that curved strokes such as the letter "S" must rise above median. This is because although mathematically it is the same size and aligned with the other letters, it will visually look smaller.
Mr Vinod also mentioned about the importance of contrast in typography especially when dealing with a large amount of text. Headlines should not just be really really big to create hierarchy of information, it could be simply : light - bold, condensed - extended and small - large.
10/5/2019 (week 6)
There was no lecture as Mr Vinod reviewed our blogs on that day. We then continued working on our project 1.
INSTRUCTION
PROJECT 1 - TEXT FORMATTING AND EXPRESSION
Week 5-6 : Designing an article layout
We were required to express a 2-page editoral spread using Adobe InDesign. The article given to us was : First Things First Manifesto 2000 http://www.eyemagazine.com/feature/article/first-things-first-manifesto-2000
However, there are a few conditions : Only a minimum of 2 pages is allowed, No images are allowed, Some minor graphical elements (line, shade, etc.) might be allowed.
Sketches :
We were required to express a 2-page editoral spread using Adobe InDesign. The article given to us was : First Things First Manifesto 2000 http://www.eyemagazine.com/feature/article/first-things-first-manifesto-2000
However, there are a few conditions : Only a minimum of 2 pages is allowed, No images are allowed, Some minor graphical elements (line, shade, etc.) might be allowed.
Sketches :
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| Fig 1.0 Sketches of layout planning |
Design of Layout A :
First Attempt :
When I started working, I designed the layout primarily focused on the title, First Things First. Initially I used 3 pages for my layout but Mr Vinod requested to change to 2 pages only. After showing to Mr Vinod, he said that I did not have a clear concept behind my design and I should redo it.
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| Fig 1.2 First attempt of layout design A |
Second Attempt :
I started reading more in depth about the article and understood more about the content. After that, I chose "change of direction" as my overall idea for my layout design. I choose to go for a more clean, simple and minimal design because I don't want the reader to get distracted by extra elements and only focus on the article.
The layout of the article moves from left to right, downwards, then right again. Following the normal direction of reading, this does not disturb the readability while still able to guide the eyes to change direction unconsciously.
Besides that, I decided to not use large capital letters for my headlines because I wanted to prove that headlines are not necessary big and capital letters as how people often perceives it. It can be small letters but still stand out as the headline.
It is a way to prove that graphic designers still have the ability to execute ideas without having to follow the standards set by the society.
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| Fig 1.3 Second attempt of layout design A (change of direction) |
I was pretty satisfied with the layout of the design because it achieved my idea "change of direction". But I realized that the body text was quite hard to read continuously because it was oddly tilted halfway through the article. So I made some changes to it.
Third Attempt :
During class, Mr Vinod asked us to cover our layout with boxes and look around at our classmates work. He gave comments to my layout and said I could align the spaces between the headlines and the body text to further increase the orderly manner of the layout.
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| Fig 1.4 Layout A covered with boxes |
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| Fig 1.5 Third attempt of layout design A (change of direction) |
After showing Mr Vinod my work, he advised me to change the heading to black instead of grey because of the amount of white space that I already have.
Final Attempt :
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| Fig 1.6 Work progress of Layout Design A (change of direction) |
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| Fig 1.7 Final layout design (change of direction) |
Design of layout B :
For design B, I used the same idea as design A which is "change of direction" but using a different way to execute my idea. Instead of moving the whole article from left to right, I'm moving it from top to bottom.
The change of direction happens when the layout text shifts from right to left while reading downwards. This does not disturb the readibility of the article while still able to convey the message behind the idea.
First Attempt :
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| Fig 1.8 First attempt of layout design B (change of direction) |
Second Attempt :
I realized that although my first design does show the idea "change of direction", the visual communication wasn't very clear and obvious enough. So I added a line which follows the change of direction of the body text to further enhance the design.
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| Fig 1.9 Second attempt of layout design B (change of direction) |
Final Attempt :
I shifted the manifesto 2000 to align together with the line so all of the body text is continuous and consistent throughout the article.
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| Fig 1.10 Work progress of layout design B (change of direction) |
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| Fig 1.11 Final attempt of layout design B (change of direction) |
Design of layout C :
For design C, I wanted to emphasis on "first" so I designed the article so it looks like a Roman number 1 "I". While for the cover page I kept it minimal and using contrast to still makes it pop as a headline. Initially I used 4 pages for the layout design but Mr Vinod requested us to change to 2 pages only later on.
First Attempt :
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| Fig 1.12 First attempt of layout design C (Idea : First) |
Final Attempt :
I changed the font to 9pt and also maintained the design of letter "I" for the body text. I shifted the headline to the left so it could catch the reader's attention first and then guide the readers eye downwards to the body text.
I changed the font to 9pt and also maintained the design of letter "I" for the body text. I shifted the headline to the left so it could catch the reader's attention first and then guide the readers eye downwards to the body text.
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| Fig 1.13 Work progress of layout design C (Idea : First) |
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| Fig 1.14 Final attempt of layout design C (Idea : First) |
Final chosen layout design :
The final layout design I chose is Design A (idea : change of direction) because it is clean, simple and it conveys the idea and message of the article.
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| Fig 1.15 Final chosen layout design (Idea : Change of Direction) |
Readjustment of final composition :
After the project was done, I wanted to readjust the alignment of the body text, so I went back and adjusted it again so it is more neat and consistent.
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| Fig 1.15 Final Adjusted Layout (Idea : Change of Direction) |
FEEDBACK
Week 5 :
General Feedback :
Mr Vinod told us to read the article first before jumping straight into work. He also told us to be objective and know what we want to achieve through our design. Besides that, Mr Vinod also told us that our blogs will be reviewed next week.
Specific Feedback :
Mr Vinod asked what was my idea behind my design and he said it was more of an explanation than an idea. He told me to restart a new one and make sure my idea is clear first.
Week 6 :
General Feedback :
Mr Vinod said that our e-portfolios should have a default background (white), not black, grey or other colours to make it easier to read. Mr Vinod also reminded us to put our personality details in every caption of the pictures because the readers would know about the content of blog. Mr Vinod warned us that if our e-portfolio fails to meet the standard, we will fail our module.
Specific Feedback :
Mr Vinod said that the size of the thumbnail picture for my e-portfolio should be changed as it will push the content of my blog downwards. Besides that, he told me to ensure that spaces between line breaks and every paragraph should be consistent. For my project 1 feedback, he commented that the words could be change so that there is a change in direction. Not just that, I should be careful of my letter spacing and kerning.
Week 7 (final feedback) :
General Feedback :
Mr Vinod told us to ensure that the personality name is written down on every caption for each picture in the e-portfolio. Mr Vinod told us to make sure that the spacing between each boxes of text to create clean alignment.
Specific Feedback :
Mr Vinod commented that I should improve more on the spaces between the headlines and my textboxes as it has different width and how he would check for consistency is by checking the starting point of the text. He also said I could increase the letter spacing for the names and change the headline to black colour to contrast the white spaces.
A few good points that I have from my work is that my layout shows order which moves from left to right, downwards then right again. This is because of the sizes of my text boxes which changed according to movement and the placement of my headline which follows the body text as well. Besides that, the layout seems harmonious due to the white spaces.
General Feedback :
Mr Vinod told us to read the article first before jumping straight into work. He also told us to be objective and know what we want to achieve through our design. Besides that, Mr Vinod also told us that our blogs will be reviewed next week.
Specific Feedback :
Mr Vinod asked what was my idea behind my design and he said it was more of an explanation than an idea. He told me to restart a new one and make sure my idea is clear first.
Week 6 :
General Feedback :
Mr Vinod said that our e-portfolios should have a default background (white), not black, grey or other colours to make it easier to read. Mr Vinod also reminded us to put our personality details in every caption of the pictures because the readers would know about the content of blog. Mr Vinod warned us that if our e-portfolio fails to meet the standard, we will fail our module.
Specific Feedback :
Mr Vinod said that the size of the thumbnail picture for my e-portfolio should be changed as it will push the content of my blog downwards. Besides that, he told me to ensure that spaces between line breaks and every paragraph should be consistent. For my project 1 feedback, he commented that the words could be change so that there is a change in direction. Not just that, I should be careful of my letter spacing and kerning.
Week 7 (final feedback) :
General Feedback :
Mr Vinod told us to ensure that the personality name is written down on every caption for each picture in the e-portfolio. Mr Vinod told us to make sure that the spacing between each boxes of text to create clean alignment.
Specific Feedback :
Mr Vinod commented that I should improve more on the spaces between the headlines and my textboxes as it has different width and how he would check for consistency is by checking the starting point of the text. He also said I could increase the letter spacing for the names and change the headline to black colour to contrast the white spaces.
A few good points that I have from my work is that my layout shows order which moves from left to right, downwards then right again. This is because of the sizes of my text boxes which changed according to movement and the placement of my headline which follows the body text as well. Besides that, the layout seems harmonious due to the white spaces.
REFLECTION
Week 5 :
- Experience - It was a exciting class because we have started working on our very first project and on top of that we need to learn how to use Adobe InDesign. I was quite annoyed because I had to jump straight into working with Adobe InDesign even though there was a lot of things that I was still unfamiliar and confused with in Adobe InDesign. I felt that I was lost because I didn't knew what to take note of when designing a layout for article, I lacked the knowledge needed to design an layout for article and I needed a few samples to set as guide for me.
- Observation - I realized that I wasn't very used to using Adobe InDesign and I'm also not familiar with margins and alignment. I realized that I was ignoring the margin and columns even though it was set to help us align the text, and not just me, a few of my classmates were doing the same thing as well.
- Findings - I found out that it is important for us to have a theme or idea behind our design so we have a direction in our design progress. I found out that I was focusing on just decorating and making the headline pretty and I should have focused on the entire article. I realized that we should take note that what's important is the content, not the headline, so our design should always relate back to the content to portray the message from the article.
- Experience - It was a pretty stressful because our blogs were being reviewed on that day. I was quite bothered by the margin and columns although it was supposed to help us to keep aligned because I had to take time to adjust the margin and columns again and again depending on how I am going to design my layout.
- Observation - I noticed that many people designed their article really complicated with different negative and positive spaces, lines and shapes and alignments. I also noticed that most of my classmates did not take the consideration of readability more seriously, they were more focused on finding ways to design a pretty looking layout but discarded the importance of the reader's readability of the body text.
- Findings - I found out that ideas are not always obvious or in your face, it is subtle but if you can question it, you can visualize it. I found out that what is important is not just the heading, but also the overall composition and placement of my body text and heading. It is important to make use of the margin and columns to make sure that the lines are aligned but not eye ball it yourself.
FURTHER READING
Typography : Form and Communication by Ben Day, Philip B. Meggs, and Rob Carter
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| Fig 2.0 Typography : Form and Communication |
This is a great book for reading as it teaches quite a lot of information about typography in details such as the anatomy of typography, syntax and communication, legibility, the typographic grid and etc.
One interesting thing I learnt from the book is The Typographic Grid. According to the book, A grid is a skeletal framework used by designers to organize information within a spatial field. It is a system characterized by the dualities of freedom and constraint, simplicity and complexity. It provides strategy for composing text and other visual information in two or three dimensional space, including of printed materials, film, computer screens, built environments and typographic installations.
When used effectively, typographic grids provide form and space with propotional harmony and aesthetic beauty. The final result is clearer and more accessible communication.
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