Typography/ Task 2 Typographic Expression & Communication

31/10/2023- 7/11/2023 (Week 06 — Week 07)

Kim Seoyoon/ 0357755

GCD 60104/ Typography/ Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media / Taylor's University

Task 02/ Typographic Expression & Communication (Text Formatting and Expression)

LECTURES

Week 06: Typo_6_Screen & Print

Lecture 07: Typo_6_Screen & Print— Typography in Different Medium

Typography was treated as a living only when the paper was reached; no additional changes were made after publication was printed. Whereas, typography in modern days, not only on paper but exists on a multitude of screens. As changes in typesetting are made on the browser, our experiences of typography today have also changed depending on the page rendering.

Typography today is subject to the variability of a browser such as:

operating system
system fonts
screen/ device
viewport etc

1. Print Type vs Screen Type

a) Type for Print

Initially, typography was designed for the purpose of reading from print. A designer's job is to ensure the text is smooth, flowing, and pleasant to read.

Due to their characteristics of being elegance, intellectual, and highly readable when set in small font sizes, Caslon, Garamond, and Baskerville are known to be the most common typeface used for print.

b) Type for Screen

Typefaces specifically for use on screen are optimized and modified to enhance readability and performance in various digital environments. The modifications include:

Increased X-height/ reduced ascenders & descenders
Wider letterforms
Open Counters
Heavier thin strokes & serifs
Reduced stroke contrast
Modified curves & angles

The above factors are used to improve character recognition and overall readability in a non-print environment such as web, e-books, e-readers, and mobile devices. This means that leading in typography for screen can vary according to the size of the space given— typography intended for smaller screen sizes has more open spacing.

Examples of typefaces that are specifically designed for Screen are Verdana and Georgia.

c) Hyperactive Link/ Hyperlink

A hyperlink can be a word, phrase, or image that navigates you to a new document/ section when clicked. Hyperlink exists in many places over the screen and is usually blue and underlined by default.

d) Font size for Screen

16-pixel text on a screen is about the same size as text printed on a book/ magazine. Texts are usually set at about 10 points according to the reading distance. At least 12 points is suitable for reading at arm's length which is similar in size to 16 pixels on most screens.

Font sizes between 20 - 24 are good for screen reading.

e) System Fonts for Screen/ Web Safe Fonts

Examples of Web Safe Fonts include Open Sans, Lato, Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman, Times, Courier New, Courier, Verdana, Georgia, Palatino, and Garamond

f) Pixel Differential between Devices

Text on screen differs in proportion due to the texts being set with different-sized pixels. 100 pixels on a laptop has a huge difference from 100 pixels on a 60" HDTV.

Fig 1.1 Example of pixel difference between devices, Week 6 (31/10/2023)

2. Static vs Motion

a) Static Typography

Static typography has minimal characteristics in expressing words. Found in billboards, posters, magazines, and flyers, all forms of static typography have a wide range of purposes.

b) Motion Typography

Temporal media offer typographers opportunities to “dramatize” type, for letterforms to become “fluid” and “kinetic” (Woolman and Bellantoni, 1999).

Motion typography brings typographic information through animation. For example, type overlaid onto music videos and advertisements are set in motion according to the rhythm of a soundtrack.

INSTRUCTIONS

Module Information Booklet

Task 02 Typographic Expression and communication (20%)

Timeframe: Week 06- Week 07 (Deadline Week 08)

Editorial Layout using the skills gained from Task 1 Exercises.

Submission should have one layout with grid/ one layout without grid

Begin with the initial sketch - digitize- start with type expression (one keyword from the headline) (200*200 illustrator) - proceed with the text formatting on Adobe InDesign- keep in mind the details in spacing when formatting text(hierarchy of info -> headline-> text layout)/ make sure the headline and the text layout are aligned (create associations)

Export in jpeg- select spreads - select range- 300 ppi- greyscale

Export in pdf- high quality- range 7-8- visible guides and grids- file- export pdf- jpg

Concept Research—Inspirations and References

I selected the text titled A Code to Build on and Live By to be my content for this task, and I started researching the main concept of my design and gathering photos of inspirations/ references for type expression design.

According to the Oxford Languages Dictionary on Google, there are various definitions of Code, which I selected two main points to begin my concept development in this task.

Below are the definitions of Code that I have selected:

"A system of words, letters, figures, or symbols used to represent others, especially for the purposes of secrecy."
"A phrase or concept used to represent another in an indirect way."

As shown above, the meaning of code is not only about systemic coding but also a phrase that represents different things. A Code to Build on and Live By introduces the principles of a designer, in which I thought that the word "code" in this situation could lead the designers to the idea of principles.

Fig 2.1.1 Binary Code, Week 5 (24/10/2023)

Fig 2.1.2 Reference Photos for inspiration, Week 5 (24/10/2023)

Sketches— Type Expression

Taking inspiration from the photos above, I decided to combine the design ideas that I collected from my research. My initial intention of the type expression was to utilize the positive and negative space to create a contrast that highlights the word "code".

Here are my first two sketches of type expression:

Fig 2.2 Type Expression Sketch 1, Week 5 (24/10/2023)

Fig 2.3 Type Expression Sketch 2, Week 5 (24/10/2023)

Because I went straight onto Adobe InDesign to explore type expression in task 2, my design layouts were rather messy-looking with low readability.

Ms. Hsin Yin suggested that I should explore further the negative and positive spaces in my design, so I came up with one final sketch for my type expression that can also reflect my concept idea in type expression.

Fig 2.4 Type Expression Sketch 3 (Final), Week 6 (31/10/2023)

I used a black background which works as a negative space representing the void. The pathways spreading from the word "code" in a lighter tone are used to introduce the rest of the letters of the headline, representing the idea of the points being introduced in the content leading the designer to gain a better knowledge of the principles.

From the systemic coding perspective, referring to the 0 and 1 numbers in binary coding, I replaced the letter "O" with the number 0, and the letter "I" with the number 1. The letter "C" is replaced with the bracket symbol of "<", which resembles the appearance of the letter "C.

Digitization and Development Process

a) Process on Type Expression—A code to build on and live by

To begin the digitization process, I used Adobe Illustrator for type expression design.

I mostly used Futura as my typeface for headlines, however, I wanted to use a double-storey lowercase letter "a" as intended in my sketch, therefore I used Univers specifically on "a".

I also used a line tool to measure the distances between letterforms in "T0 BU1LD 0N AND L1VE BY" to maintain the stable spaces between letters.

Fig 3.1 Type Expression Variations, Week 6 (31/10/2023)

Fig 3.2 Type Expression Final Design, Week 6 (31/10/2023)

For my final selection, I decided to go with a dark grey colour as the shadow and lighter grey as the title for "To build on and live by", as the letters are more readable in the first design.

b) Process on Text Formatting

After completing my type expression design, I moved on to text formatting layout design. I separated the introduction and body paragraphs to increase readability as well as to show clearer points of the overall content. The negative space (empty space) around the introduction paragraph lets the reader to take a pause and have their own thoughts before reading the entire content. I also used a bold italic font on each heading to emphasize the main points being delivered through the text.

Fig 4.1 Text Formatting Adjustments 1, Week 6 (31/10/2023)

Fig 4.2 Task 2 Draft Layout, Week 6 (31/10/2023)

After making adjustments to the general text formatting, I decided to increase the font size of each heading so that it is easier for readers to recognize and grasp the main points of the content.

Fig 4.3 Text Formatting Adjustments 2, Week 6 (31/10/2023)

I also noticed that there are occurrences of orphans in one of my text paragraphs (photo below), so I increased the number of columns so that the text box is stretched out.

Fig 4.4 Text Formatting Adjustments 3, Week 6 (31/10/2023)

Final Outcome of Editorial Layout

Fig 3.1 Task 2 Final Outcome (JPEG), Week 6 (31/10/2023)

Fig 3.2 Task 2 Final Outcome (PDF), Week 6 (31/10/2023)

Fig 3.3 Task 2 Final Outcome with Grid/ Baseline (JPEG), Week 6 (31/10/2023)

Fig 3.4 Task 2 Final Outcome with Grid/ Baseline (PDF), Week 6 (31/10/2023)

HEAD
Font/s: Univers LT Std Bold (a)/ Futura Extra Bold Condensed (<0DE)/ Futura Bold Condensed (T0 BU1LD 0N AND L1VE BY)/ Gill Sans Std Italic (Headline)

Leading: -
Type Size/s: 288pt (a)/ 119pt (<0DE)/ 83pt (T0 BU1LD 0N AND L1VE BY)/ 10pt (Headline)
Leading: -
Paragraph spacing: -

BODY
Font/s: Gill Sans Std Regular (Body Text)/ Gill Sans Std Bold Italic (Heading)
Type Size/s: 9pt (Body Text)/ 12pt (Heading)
Leading: 11.5pt (Body Text)/ 13.5pt (Heading)
Paragraph spacing: 11.5pt
Characters per-line: 60
Alignment: Justify with last line aligned left

Margins: 12.7 mm top, 12.7 mm left + 12.7 mm right + 12.7 mm bottom

Columns: 4
Gutter: 4.223 mm

FEEDBACK

Week 06

Specific Feedback: Try utilizing the negative and positive space more in type expression.

General Feedback: Avoid orphans—make sure the paragraph does not leave a single word at the end.

Week 07

Specific Feedback: Make sure InDesign settings are right so that the preview tone matches the tone in the exported file. (Greyscale) Complete the e-portfolio for task 2 by next week.

General Feedback: Update feedback on the weekly feedback sheet to avoid mark deductions. Never apply Italic font to a body text as italics are usually used to highlight certain words or sentences.

REFLECTION

Experience

Throughout completing the second task, I was able to learn and develop my senses in terms of the application of creative design thinking skills to my editorial layout design so that the overall piece looks more interesting to the reader's eye. I also learned that paying great attention is important when it comes to the adjustments in text formatting for better readability. As this task required the combined use of Adobe Illustrator and InDesign, I learned to use the settings in preferences better compared to the first time using both software and got to familiarize myself with it.

Observations

While completing this task, I learned that viewing/ reading the overall layout design and text from a reader's perspective helps me enhance the readability in terms of the placement of the texts and discovering what would be the most interesting design appearance to the readers when first seeing my work.

Findings

I learned that the placement of the headline plays a huge role in a way that the reader can get a better grasp on understanding the overall content, as the direction of reading usually follows from the left top to the bottom right.

Kim Seoyoon (Johanna) 0357755

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