Typography - Project 1

3/5/2019 - 17/5/2019 (Week 5 - Week 7) 
Thaqif Syarafuddin(0331337)
Typography
Project 1 : (Text Formatting and Expression)

Lecture Notes

Lecture 5 : Letters/Understanding letterforms
3/5/2019 (Week 5)
This weeks lecture discuses about little details and differences in letters. Some uppercase letter forms suggest that it is symmetrical but in fact it is not. The designers takes meticulous care when creating these types that are both internally harmonious and individually expressive. Mr Vinod shows the differences between Helvetica and Univers which looks similar but it has little differences. He then discuses that curved lowercase letter forms must rise above the median or sink below the baseline in order to appear to be the same size as the vertical and horizontal strokes or the other letter forms. These little details are done to make it visually look inline or perfect. What i learned from this lecture is that we as designers must look at things in more detail and always ask "why does this design look good?". One way of understanding letter forms is to examine them in close detail and breaking it up into 4 parts. Moreover, we learned about contrast which is the basic principles of Graphic Design and most powerful factor in design.

"On the streets, you look at girls [or boys]. I look at type." - Hannes von Döhren

Lecture 6 : (No Lecture)
10/5/2019 (Week 6)
This week there was no lecture as we were to finish project 1.

Lecture 7 : Text (p1)
17/5/2019 (Week 7)
This week, we were lectured about the formatting of text. The reduction of space between the letters are called kerning. Kerning is done to make the reader feel "comfortable" when reading a block of text. Also we learned about ragging of a block of text after it is aligned. Too tight or too loose of letter spacing might not make the word readable. Mr Vinod gave advice not to justify the text as it will create rivers which are spaces in body text or uneven color in body text. He also said that good design has subliminal effects and different types suits different message. He then showed us a wedding invitation card with 2 different typefaces to discuss the comparison.

Holy Trinity for a block of text : Type size, leading, line length

Type size : 8-12
Leading : pt size + (3 or 4)
Line length : 40-60 characters

"The devil is in the details." - Jane Jacobs


Instructions



Project 1

Week 5
This week we were task to design and express an article using Adobe InDesign. The title of the article is "First Things First Manifesto 2000". Before doing the design, Mr Vinod teaches us the basic tools of InDesign. This was a really challenging task for me because the title of the article is a whole sentence and it wasn't as literal as words like "bounce" or "faint". I took quite a long time in developing an idea.



Fig. 1.0 : 1st attempt


This was my first attempt in doing the design. I showed this work to Mr Vinod and Mr Shamsul but they didn't really like it because it was not expressing the title of the article.




Fig. 1.1 : 2nd attempt


Mr Vinod and Mr Shamsul asked me to keep the first attempt and try to make a new one. So I tried to add the number 1 in the design but it didn't really work out so I kept the 2nd attempt and try for another one. (The above image is a spread of the design, and I didn't like it hence why the page on the right is blank/incomplete.)


Week 6
Fig. 1.2: new idea v1

Fig. 1.3 : new idea v2

Fig. 1.4 : new idea v3

Fig. 1.5 : new idea v4

This week I continued doing the article design but it was so difficult in making a few new designs.

Week 7
This is my final product or the final piece of this project. I took a few previous designs and merge some components together to achieve this layout.


Fig. 1.6 : final piece

Below is the PDF format of the final piece.



Feedback

Week 5:
Mr Vinod and Mr Shamsul didn't really like my design. They said that it didn't really show or express "First things First" so they ask me to keep this design first and make a new one.

Week 6:
Mr Vinod said my blog was horrendous and it was not acceptable. He pointed out that my MIB was not for public viewing and asked me to just copy the exact format from the example blog.

Week 7:
Mr Vinod and Mr Shamsul said that my layout was good but the space/whitespaces needs to be properly spaced or consistent. Also, general feedback given is that the images in the e-blogs need to be captioned with proper description.


Reflection

Experience :
In week 5, the lecture for today is about small details in types which has its reason. Also, today I got the opportunity to design using Adobe InDesign which was my first time using it. Week 6;Mr Vinod said that my blog was horrendous and I should just copy the exact format from the example blog. He also pointed out that my MIB was not in public view. Week 7;We were ask to preview our work to the whole class and stand behind a page layout that we personally liked.

Observation :
Week 5; the lecture for today made me realize that the small details in types means a lot. Week 6; I was struggling to complete my project 1. Week 7; People have their own take and taste on what they like.

Findings :
Week 5; This makes me appreciate the little details that the designer put in their work. Week 6; I learned that one must always follow the format of something (the blog) in order for it to be easily read by others. I should not have tinker or alter the format to be "original" because if something is not wrong then just follow it. Week 7; I noticed that making an analysis of something is not that easy.


Further Reading

What is typography? by David Jury
3/5/2019 (Week 5)

Fig. 2.0 : What is typography? by David Jury
This book discusses about the general idea of typography but also some in depth factors that designers should know of. Typography is ubiquitous and inescapable, reading things is an activity that occurs everyday of our lives. Typography has been associated with design and in particular the printing industry. The word "typography" is increasingly used to refer to the arrangement of any written material and is certainly no longer restricted  to the work of a typographer.

Typography and writing have quite naturally always been closely entwined : typography being the discipline and professional practice that mediates between the contents of the message and the receiving readership.Therefore, to understand the grammar of typography, one must also gain a knowledge and understanding of language and how it is adapted to function in various social context.


Mastering Type by Denise Bosler
10/5/2019 - 17/5/2019 (Week 6 - Week7)

Fig. 2.1 : Mastering Type by Denise Bosler
One of the topics that are discussed in this book is "Typeface Design". There are times when the perfect typeface for a design cannot be found or when a designer wants the creative freedom to express oneself through typography or when a client has dictated a proprietary look for his design. This is when the designer can opt to create an original set of lettering.

Before creating the new typeface, questions shall be answered : 

why is the type needed?
will the type be used for text,headline or both?
will the type appear on the printed page or on screen?
what letters, symbols and numbers will the typeface need?
what feeling does the type need to project?
what form does the type need to take-serif, sand serif, script or display?


The answers to this question will determine the kind of typeface to be created. Many beginning type designers start with familiar forms such as their own handwriting. For designers beyond familiar forms, inspiration is key to developing the perfect look.Inspiration is everywhere. A great way to begin is by looking at things that project the same feeling as the intended typeface.

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