TYPOGRAPHY | TASK 1 : EXERCISES
23. 09. 2024 - 28. 10.2024 (week 1 - week 6)
Meerabella Charles / 0368295
Typography / Bachelor's of Design (Honours) in Creative Media
Task 1 : Exercises
Table of Contents :
- Lectures
- Instructions
- Process Work ( Research, Ideation, Final Outcome )
- Feedback
- Reflection
- Further reading
Lectures :
Week 1 : Typo_1_Development
Typography/tʌɪˈpɒɡrəfi/ - the art or procedure of arranging type or processing data and printing from it.
Research in this module is very important, especially from our community.
Development and Timeline
1. Phoenicians way of writing = Writing from right to left, straight lines, and fragments of circles
2. Phoenicians to Roman = They altered their writing style to "Boustrophedon" (adjusting the letters from L to R followed by R to L, even inverting them).
3. Etruscan = exhibit certain characteristics of their strokes, such as a broadening of the stroke at start and finish and a shift in weight from vertical to horizontal.
Stone writings :
Figure 1.1 Figure 1.2
Handscript Timeline :
Figure 1.3
Lectures :
Week 2 : Typo_3_Text_P1
In Week 2 we learned about text and tracking
Text and tracking consists of kerning and letterspacing.
- Kerning - Spacing between letter
- Tracking - Make the words same size
- Leading - Space between sentences
Figure 2.1
Figure 2.2
Lectures :
Week 3 : Typo_4_Text_P2
Indicating paragraphs
- ¶ (Pilcrow ) A holdover from medieval manuscripts seldom use today.
Example of pilcrows in a paragraph .
Figure 3.1
Example of the 'line space' (leading*) between the paragraphs.
- makes the paragraph look clean and neat
Figure 3.2
Widows and Orphans
-A widow is a short line left alone at the end of a column of a text
-Orphan is a short line of type left alone at the start of new column.
Figure 3.3
Highlighting text
Figure 3.4
Lectures :
Week 4 : Typo_5_Understanding
- Understanding Letterforms
- BASKERVILLE: uppercase A may look symmetrical but...
- has two different stroke weight
- UNIVERS: uppercase A may look symmetrical but...
- different width of strokes (left thinner than right)
- both Baskerville and Univers are harmonious and expressive
- may contribute to dynamic
- lowercase 'a' HELVETICA vs. UNIVERS
- how stems finish and meets the bowls can reveal a difference between these two fonts
- maintaining x-height
Figure 4.1
Lectures :
Week 5: Typo_6_Screen & Print
Print Type vs. Screen Type
- Type for print: intended for reading
- designers ensure text is smooth/flowing/pleasant to read
- good typeface: Caslon, Garamond, Baskerville etc – elegant and intellectual but highly readable at a small size
- versatile, easy-to-digest classic typeface
- Type for screen: optimised and modified to enhance readability and performance onscreen
- including change in x-height, letterforms, open counters, thin strokes/serifs, stroke contrast, curves, angles
- typefaces designed specifically for screen: Verdana, Georgia
- important adjustment: more open spacing
- changes may improve character recognition and overall readability
- in screens including the web, e-books, e-readers, mobile devices
Instructions : (Module Information )
Process work & Ideation (Inspirations)
These are my journey of completing my Task 1.
We were tasked to create type expression for 4 words
- cry
- swirl
- climb
- sleep
Figure 5.1 Figure 5.2 Figure 5.3
Figure 5.4 Figure 5.5 Figure 5.6
(Ideation) - Initial sketches
He approved cry, sleep and climb.
I had to redo swirl in my final sketch
Figure 6.1
Finalised sketches
Figure 6.2
Digitisation
I digitalised mine in one go and Mr. Max was okay with it. I used 4 fonts which are
- Itc New Baskerville Std
- Itc Garamond Std
- Univers LT Std 85 Extra Black
- Gill Sans Bold Italic
Figure 6. 3
Animation and process
I chose to animate cry because i personally feel cry gives more potential and justice to the word
animating the word cry in illustrator
Figure 6.4
convert the Jpeg files to photoshop and create timeline animation and viola -
Figure 6.5
final animation (Figure 6.6)
Text Formatting
Kerning and Tracking
-we are required to type our own names using the ten different typefaces with varying fonts provided to improve the text appearance to look better and neat.
jpeg (7.1)
png (Figure 7.2)
Layouts (I am Helvetica)
In this task , Mr. Max handed out a word document and we were tasked to create 6 different layouts trying multiple creative composition.
(Figure 7.3 & 7.4) Process work.
Info on the layout word size
HEAD LINE
Typeface: Bembo Std
Font/s: Bembo Std Bold
Type Size/s: 72 pt
Leading: 36 pt
Paragraph spacing: 0
BODY
Typeface: Bembo Std
Font/s: Bembo Std
Type Size/s: 9 pt
Leading: 11 pt
Paragraph spacing: 11 pt
Characters per-line: 57
Alignment: left justified
Margins: 123 mm top, 26 mm left + right + bottom
Columns: 2
Gutter: 10 mm
Compilation of the 6 layouts i did
FINAL WORK
PDF VERSION
JPEG VERSION
FEEDBACK
Week 1 :Briefing on the module, setting up eportfolio, choosing 4 words.
Week 2 : Intro on the use of tool box in illustrator, sketches of our words and getting approval/changes on it.
Week 3 : Finalised all my sketches and starting to digitalise all my words on illustrator.
Week 4 : After digitalising it, we just got feedbacks from Mr. Max and he helped me improve and also changed my climbing word because mine had too much element.
Week 5 : We did text formatting and did 6 layouts to get approval from Sir and did some minor changes also briefing of task 2.
REFLECTION
Experience
Working on this task was both exciting and challenging, as it gave me the chance to dive deeper into digital design and explore three Adobe software tools—Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign—all in one project. This process allowed me to enhance my design skills while gaining familiarity with these industry-standard tools.
The structured weekly tasks and checkpoints were invaluable in helping me improve my time management and maintain consistency, diligence, and discipline. I’m especially grateful for the guidance provided by our mentors, whose detailed instructions and constructive feedback made the learning journey smoother.
Observations
Through this experience, I noticed that my peers have diverse approaches to design. Some can generate ideas and execute them quickly, while I tend to take a more deliberate path, focusing on reasoning and thoughtful decision-making. This contrast has inspired me to work on improving my design speed without compromising quality.
Findings
This task taught me how to explore unique concepts and translate them into tangible designs. I realised that even subtle adjustments can make a significant impact. Beyond typography, I learned new skills like creating blogs and animations, which expanded my understanding of creative media. As someone who values clarity and structure, I found joy in learning the foundational rules of typography and how they can guide limitless creative expression.
FUTHER READING
This book serves as an introduction to typography and is often used as a resource for students and professionals in design. It explores the foundations of typography, such as type anatomy, spacing, alignment, and grid systems, while encouraging readers to think critically about how typography impacts communication and design.
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