31 August 2022 - 21 September 2022 / Week 01 - Week 04
Lim Wei Xian / 0342559
Typography / Bachelor's of Mass Communication (HONS) (Advertising and Brand Management) / Taylor's University
Task 1: Exercise 1 & 2
LECTURESWeek 1 | Lecture 1 (Typographic Systems)
As the first class falls on Malaysia's National Day (Holiday), Mr Vinod made announcements in our Facebook group on what is needed to be done. We were told to go through the lecture videos, as well as the instructions for our exercises for this module.
Below are some notes from the lecture video.
Typographic Systems: Understanding of systems of visual organisation. There are 8 systems and these systems expand the visual language of typographic communication and invite the reader into the text.
Axial System: All elements are organised to the left or right of a single axis.
Figure 1.1 Example of an Axial System
Radial System: All elements are extended from a point of focus.
Figure 1.2 Example of a Radial System
Dilatational System: All elements expand from a central point in a circular fashion.
Figure 1.3 Example of a Dilatational System
Random System: Elements appear to have no specific pattern or relationship.
Figure 1.4 Example of a Random System
Grid System: A system of vertical and horizontal divisions.
Figure 1.5 Example of a Grid System
Transitional System: An informal system of layered banding.
Figure 1.6 Example of a Transitional System
Modular System: A series of non-objective elements that are constructed in as standardised units.
Figure 1.7 Example of a Modular System
Bilateral System: All text is arranged symmetrically on a single axis.
Figure 1.8 Example of a Bilateral System
Week 2 | Lecture 2 (Typographic Compositions)
Notes:
Typographic Systems: Arrangement of textual information in a given space.
Figure 1.9 Example of Emphasis
The Rule of Thirds: Dividing 3 columns and 3 rows in a frame. Intersecting lines are guides to points of interest.
Figure 1.10 The Rule of Thirds
Environmental Grid: Based on the exploration of an existing structure or numerous structures combined.
Figure 1.11 An example of Environmental Grid: Key lines are created within the image, and it only remains the elements by discarding off the objects/ image
Form and Movement: The placement of a form (irrespective of what it is) on a page, over many pages creates movement. Whether the page is paper or screen is irrelevant.
Figure 1.12 An example of Movement
Week 3 | Lecture 3 (Context & Creativity)
Cuneiform (c. 3000 B.C.E.): Earliest system of actual writing. Its distinctive wedge form was the result of pressing the blunt end of a reed stylus into wet clay tablets.
Figure 1.13 Cuneiform
Hieroglyphics (2613 - 2160 B.C.E.): The Egyptian writing system is fused with the art of relief carving. System was a mixture of both rebus and phonetic characters.
- Ideograms to represent the things they actually depict.
- Determinatives to show that the signs preceding are meant as phonograms and to indicate the general idea of the word.
- Phonograms to represent sounds that "spell out" individual words.
Figure 1.14 Hieroglyphics
Early Greek (5th C. B.C.E.): Early Greek letters were drawn freehand and had no serifs. In time, the strokes grew thicker, the aperture lessened, and serifs appeared.
Roman Uncials: By the 4th century Roman letters were becoming more rounded, the curved form allowed for less strokes and could be written faster.
English Half Uncials (8th C.): Evolved into a more slanted and condensed form.
Carolingian Minuscule: Capitals were at the start of the sentence, spaces between words and punctuation. It became important for it where it was the pattern for the Humanistic writing of the 15th century.
Black Letter (12 - 15 C. C.E.): Characterised by tight spacing and condensed lettering. Evenly spaced verticals dominated the letterform. Condensing line spacing and letter spacing reduced the amount of costly materials in book production.
The Italian Renaissance: Humanist named the newly rediscovered letterform 'Antica'. The renaissance analysis of form that was being applied to art and architecture was directed toward letterform – resulting in a more perfect or rationalised letter.
Movable Type (11 C. - 14 C.): The innovation pioneered in China, but succeeded in Korea. Koreans established a foundry to cast movable type in bronze – allowed the dismantling and resetting of text.
'Indian' subcontinent the Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC) script (3500 - 2000 BCE): Seems to have been somewhat logo-syllabic nature.
Figure 1.15 Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC) script
Brahmi script (450 - 350 BCE): Earliest writing system developed in India after the Indus script. One of the most influential writing systems; all modern Indian scripts and several hundred scripts found in South and East Asia are derived from Brahmi.
Figure 1.16 Brahmi script
Week 4 | Lecture 4 (Designing Type)
Type Design Process:
1. Research – Understand type history, anatomy, conventions; Know terminologies; Determine type's purpose; Examine existing fonts that are presently being used for inspiration/ideas/reference/etc.
2. Sketching – Both traditional and digital can be done.
3. Digitisation – Professional softwares: FontLab and Glyph App. There are designers who use Adobe Illustrator as a start, then only bringing it into specialised font apps.
4. Testing – Part of the process of refining and correcting the aspects of the typeface. Prototyping is also part of the testing process and leads to important feedback. Readability and legibility is important, however it may not be as crucial if the typeface is a display type, where expression of the form takes a little more precedence.
5. Deploy – Even after deploying there are always teething problems that did not come out during the prototyping and testing phase. The rigour of the testing is important so that the teething issue remain minor.
Type Construction: The grid consists of a square, and inside it a circle that just touches the lines of the square in four places. It can facilitate the construction of a letterform.
Figure 1.17 Construction grids for Roman capitals (8x8)
Construction and considerations: An important visual correction is the extrusion of curved (and protruding) forms past the baseline and cap line. 'Visual' white space should be considered as well for the distance between letters.
Figure 1.18 Classification based on form and construction
Week 5 | Lecture 5 (Perception and Organisation)
Contrast – Below will be the different applications of contrast listed by Carl Dair
Figure 1.19 Size
Figure 1.20 Weight
Figure 1.21 Form
Figure 1.22 Structure
Figure 1.23 Texture
Figure 1.24 Direction
Figure 1.25 Colour
Form: Overall look and feel of the elements that make up the typographic composition. It plays a role in visual impact and first impressions.
Organisation/ Gestalt: Emphasising the whole experience instead of breaking it down.
What's in Gestalt?
- Closure
- Continuation
- Figure & Ground
- Proximity
- Similarity
- Symmetry
INSTRUCTIONS
Exercise - Typographic Systems (Week 01)
This exercise requires students to explore the 8 different Typographic Systems: Axial, Radial, Dilatational, Random, Grid, Modular, Transitional, and Bilateral. The exercise can only be done in Adobe InDesign.
Instructions:
- Size 200 x 200 mm
- Can use ONE other colour + Black
- Graphical elements can be used, but limitedly
Content to use:
The Design School, Taylor’s University
All Ripped Up: Punk Influences on Design
or
The ABCs of Bauhaus Design Theory
or
Russian Constructivism and Graphic Design
Open Public Lectures:
June 24, 2021
Lew Pik Svonn, 9AM-10AM
Ezrena Mohd., 10AM-11AM
Suzy Sulaiman, 11AM-12PM
June 25, 2021
Lim Whay Yin, 9AM-10AM
Fahmi Reza, 10AM-11AM
Manish Acharia, 11AM-12PM
After going through the lecture videos, I've sketched 2 ideas for each Typographic System. Below will be the sketches that I've done with pen and papers.
Figure 2.1 Sketches for 'Axial', 'Radial', and 'Dilatational' 04/09/2022
Figure 2.2 Sketches for 'Random', 'Grid', 'Modular', 'Transitional', and 'Bilateral' 04/09/2022
I went onto Adobe InDesign to further explore the different Typographic Systems roughly based on my sketch.
Figure 2.3 Axial System (JPEG) 05/09/2022
Figure 2.4 Radial System (JPEG) 05/09/2022
Figure 2.5 Dilatational System (JPEG) 05/09/2022
Figure 2.6 Random System (JPEG) 05/09/2022
Figure 2.7 Grid System (JPEG) 05/09/2022
Figure 2.8 Modular System (JPEG) 05/09/2022
Figure 2.9 Transitional System (JPEG) 05/09/2022
Figure 2.10 Bilateral System (JPEG) 05/09/2022
After the feedback session in class, I took the advice of Mr. Vinod and revise some of my works. Overall work was fine, but some of the information lack consistency. I went back to Adobe InDesign and below will show the aftermath of my amendments. The left side are the original works, and the right side are the refined ones.
Figure 2.11 Refinement of certain systems (JPEG) 07/09/2022
Final Submission Task 1: Exercise 1 - Typographic Systems (Week 01-02)
Figure 2.12 Axial System Final Submission (JPEG) 08/09/2022
Figure 2.13 Radial System Final Submission (JPEG) 08/09/2022
Figure 2.14 Dilatational System Final Submission (JPEG) 08/09/2022
Figure 2.15 Random System Final Submission (JPEG) 08/09/2022
Figure 2.16 Grid System Final Submission (JPEG) 08/09/2022
Figure 2.17 Modular System Final Submission (JPEG) 08/09/2022
Figure 2.18 Transitional System Final Submission (JPEG) 08/09/2022
Figure 2.19 Bilateral System Final Submission (JPEG) 08/09/2022
Figure 2.21 Final Task 1 - Exercise 1: Typographic Systems (PDF) 08/09/2022
Figure 2.22 Final Task 1 - Exercise 1: Typographic Systems (PDF w/ Grids and Guides) 08/09/2022
Exercise - Type and Play: Part 1 (Week 02)
For this exercise, we were told to make a selection of image between man-made objects and nature. Eventually, I finalised on choosing nature and took a few pictures in a garden. Below will be some pictures that can be further explored.
Figure 3.1 Four pictures of Nature
In the end I chose the first picture of the Coconuts. I went onto Adobe Illustrator and traced the shapes to find out potential letterforms.
Figure 3.2 Starting to trace most of the lines and elements under the 'red mask' 11/09/2022
Figure 3.3 Tracing using the pen tool 11/09/2022
I highlighted 5 potential letterforms in red. From what I can see, here are the letterforms discovered from the tracing: L, E, V, Y, C.
Figure 3.4 Red coloured shapes are the 4 letters that I will be focusing on 12/09/2022
The letter 'L' seems to be reflected if I were to use the exact same extraction from the tracing. Therefore, I reflected the letter vertically and below will be the extraction of the 5 letters: L, E, V, Y, C.
Figure 3.5 Extraction of the letters L, E, V, Y 12/09/2022
I used 'Universal LT Std' as the font to make a comparison with the potential letterforms. This will act as a guide to further refine my letterforms in the next step.
Figure 3.6 Comparison with Universal LT Std 12/09/2022
In my attempt to refine these letterforms, my first objective was to make sure all four letters will be similar in terms of weight and size.
Figure 3.7 Refinement 12/09/2022
After Feedback
After Mr. Vinod reviewed my work, it is suggest to just use the main shapes of the coconut stems and even the coconut itself. He also suggested to use the combination of stems to form potential letterforms.
Figure 3.8 Finding out new potential letterforms 14/09/2022
Below will be the exact extraction of the 5 letters: F, L, S, V, O.
Figure 3.9 Direct extraction of letters 14/09/2022
Yet again, I compared these letters with the 'Universal LT Std' font.
Figure 3.10 Comparison with Universal LT Std 14/09/2022
Refinement
I tried to mimic the organic flows and shapes of the coconut stems onto the letterforms. It turned out somewhat consistent in terms of the natural 'bumpiness' of the coconut stems, but it still needs more work.
Figure 3.11 First attempt of refinement 14/09/2022
Mr. Vinod suggests narrowing the end strokes that will mimic more towards the coconut stems. He also said that the 'S' and 'O' should be somewhat have a relation with their curves.
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Figure 3.11 Second attempt of refinement 15/09/2022
I was satisfied with the outcome, so the only final refinement I've made was to make the 'S' and 'O' slightly taller than the other letters as curves can be an optical illusion to take not of. Curves tend to look smaller therefore I felt like the slight size refinement was necessary.
Figure 3.13 Third attempt of refinement 16/09/2022
After receiving feedback in Week 4, I tried to relate the letterform more to the coconut by having slightly narrower and sharper endings. This will mimic the coconut stems presented.
Figure 3.14 Final attempt of refinement 16/09/2022
Final Submission Task 1: Exercise 2 - Type and Play Part 1 (Week 03)
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Figure 3.15 Type and Play Part 1 Final Submission (JPEG) 21/09/2022
Figure 3.16 Type and Play Part 1 Final Submission (PDF) 21/09/2022
Exercise - Type and Play: Part 2 (Week 04)
For this exercise, we are required to combine a visual with words. These two together should enhance or support the interplay. The texts must have symbiotic relationship with the chosen image.
As we are submitting this alongside the HONOR Talents 2022 competition, we are required to focus on one of the themes: Cultural Prosperity or Renewal of life. In the end I chose Cultural Prosperity as taking my own photos to work on is realistically more do-able.
Phrase that I worked on: "BURNING INCENSE CONNECTING HEAVEN AND EARTH"
The reason for this phrase is because the picture that I'll be doing will be a small shrine at home. Being a Chinese (specifically believing in Taoism), my family would burn incense sticks for this small shrine as an 'offering' in hopes of prosperity and well-being.
Figure 4.1 Took a picture of a small shrine at my house 23/09/2022
Below will be screenshots of my progress.
Figure 4.2 Created a 'wavy' line for the text to rest on 23/09/2022
Figure 4.3 Drew a shape and applied the radial effect onto the 'ball' that the dragon is holding 23/09/2022
Figure 4.4 Tried adding strokes to the letters for 'HEAVEN AND EARTH' 23/09/2022
I didn't like the strokes on the letters, therefore I removed it and played with the gradients of it instead. I also messed around with the opacity of the letters to complement the phrase "burning incense" and "Heaven".
Figure 4.5 Messing with the gradients and opacity 23/09/2022
Figure 4.6 Applying Gaussian Blur to make some 'smoky' effects to mimic the smokes coming out from burning incense 23/09/2022
One mistake that I didn't do at the start was to edit the photo that I took. There wasn't much contrast for it, therefore, I went onto Adobe Photoshop and gave it some gradient work with the blend tool.
Figure 4.7 Using the blend tool to give the photo more contrast 24/09/2022
Figure 4.8 Finished work (Before feedback) 24/09/2022
After the feedback session by Mr. Vinod, he suggested that the words "HEAVEN AND EARTH" can be changed into something simpler: "CULTURE". I went back to finish up some refinements and I am ready to submit this exercise.
Final Submission Task 1: Exercise 2 - Type and Play Part 2 (Week 05)
Font used: Univers LT Std Academic submission art board size: 2000px x 1000px
Figure 4.9 Final Type and Play Part 2 (JPEG) 28/09/2022
Figure 4.10 Final Type and Play Part 2 (PDF) 28/09/2022
FEEDBACK
Week 02
General Feedback:
1. There should be information hierarchy (colours, font size, etc.).
2. Random System - Should be chaotic at first glance.
3. Modular System - Can't have units overlapping each other.
Specific Feedback:
1. Second Radial System is better.
2. Dilatational overall is lacking, and can be improved with better movements.
3. Second Grid System is good, but the spacing of information should be consistent.
4. First Modular System can avoid the breaking of text; Second Modular System is better, but maybe the dates can be left/ right aligned instead of central alignment.
5. The lines between the information for the second Bilateral System should be consistent.
Week 03
General Feedback: Use the stems and coconut itself to create the letterforms.
Specific Feedback: Try to combine most of the lines created by the stems as well.
After Refinement's Feedback:
1. Narrowing of some letter strokes
2. Good consistency of the ‘bumpiness’
3. Letter ’S’ should have a bigger stroke for the top curve
4. Be consistent for the relation of curves (S and O)
Week 04
Specific Feedback: Relatability of the coconut is lacking. Other than that, the consistency is good and the bumpiness of the strokes still somewhat relates back to the coconut.
Week 05
Specific Feedback:
1. Words can be interlaced with the Dragon and background (wrapped around).
2. "BURNING INCENSE CONNECTING" can be smaller.
3. The phrase "HEAVEN AND EARTH" can be changed to something simpler: "CULTURE".
REFLECTION
Experience
The overall experience was quite rushed for me. Deadlines were packed, and doing assignments of other modules was tiring. As much as the assignments are rushed, the exercises was actually quite fun to work around. I enjoyed the different compositions for the Typographic Systems exercise as it gave us the freedom to explore different styles.
Observations
I've observed that in the Typographic System exercise, the alignments and consistency of work is really important. The compositions and information hierarchy is what I've improved on compared to past works. I've also observed the precision when it comes to creating our own letterform based on a picture. Again, it requires consistency and relevancy to have a good typographic work. Relating the letterform back to the organic forms of the coconut (picture that I've chosen to work on) is something that made me refine a few times in order to get it right.
Findings
One crucial finding was in the Typographic System exercise. As much as there are rules to follow, the creativity of composition is limitless. I've also found out about the importance of relevancy through typographic work, specifically the Type and Play exercises. Viewers should have an immediate impression when the letters or phrase are complementing the visuals.
FURTHER READING
TYPOGRAPHY ESSENTIALS: 100 DESIGN PRINCIPLES FOR WORKING WITH TYPE
by Ina Saltz
Figure 5.1 Cover of 'Typography Essentials: 100 Design Principles for Working with Type
This book through the essentials of type, consisting of examples and rules that typographers should follow.
Figure 5.2 Using counter spaces as form
Ina Saltz mentioned that counter space are often overlooked as design elements. It was also mentioned that counter space are 'jewels' that are already tucked into the letters. Counter space adds weight to the display and can provide a unique and memorable effect.
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