Task 1: Typographic Systems and Type & Play

30/08/2023 - 06/09/2023 / Week 1 - Week 2
Reema Arif Hamza / 0362792
Advanced Typography / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media / Taylor's University
Task 1: Typographic Systems

Content

Lectures

Lecture 1: Typographic Systems

Axial system: All elements are organized to the left or right of a single axis.

Radial system: All elements are extended from a point of focus and then spread out.

Dilatational system: All elements expand from a central point in a circular manner. Within rings of a circle, information can be divided into hierarchies accordingly.

Random system: Elements appear to have no specific pattern or relationship.

Grid system: A system of vertical and horizontal division.

Transitional system: An informal system of layered banding.

Modular system: A series of nonobjective elements that are constructed as standardized units.

Bilateral system: All text is arranged symmetrically on a single axis.

Fig. 1.1 Typographic Systems Diagram, Week 1 (30/08/2023)

Many designers focus primarily on the grid system for design. Often designers can combine systems together. Understanding of the systems organization process allows designers to break free of
“the rigid horizontal and vertical grid systems of letterpress” (Elam, 2007).

Lecture 2: Typographic Composition

Some of the principles of design composition are emphasis, isolation, repetition, balance, symmetry and asymmetry, alignment, and perspective. The rule of thirds is a guide to composition, divided into three rows and columns. Placing subjects within the intersecting lines creates a point of interest.

Fig. 1.2 The rule of thirds, Week 2 (06/09/2023)

Environmental Grid: This system is based on the exploration of an existing structure or numerous structures combined.

Fig. 1.3 Environmental Grid, Week 2 (06/09/2023)

Form and Movement: This system is based on the exploration of an existing grid system.

Fig. 1.4 Form and Movement, Week 2 (06/09/2023)

Lecture 3: Context and Creativity

Hieroglyphics 2613–2160 B.C.E.

The Egyptian writing system is fused with the art of relief carving. The system was a mixture of both rebus and phonetic characters—the first link to a future alphabetic system.

Cuneiform c. 3000 B.C.E

Cuneiform, is the earliest system of actual writing. The cuneiform characters evolved from pictograms. Cuneiform was written from left to right.

Early Greek / 5th C. B.C.E.

Built on the Egyptian logo-consonantal system, the Phoenicians developed a phonetic alphabet consisting

of 22 letters.

Roman Uncials

By the 4th century Roman letters were becoming more rounded, the curved form allowed for fewer strokes and could be written faster.

English Half Uncials, 8th C.

In England, the uncial evolved into a more slanted and condensed form.

Emperor Charlemagne 8 C. CE

After the fall of the Roman Empire, the end of a central advanced culture resulted in general illiteracy and a breakdown of handwriting into diverse regional styles.

Carolingian Minuscule

The Carolingian minuscule was used for all legal and literary works to unify communication between the various regions of the expanding European empire.

Black Letter 12-15 C. CE

What is Gothic? Gothic was the culminating artistic expression of the Middle Ages,

The Italian Renaissance

The Humanist admired the Carolingian script, which had clear open handwriting. Humanists named the newly rediscovered letterforms Antica.

The oldest writing found in the ‘Indian’ subcontinent the Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) script (3500-2000 BCE), is as yet undeciphered and seems to have been somewhat logo-syllabic in nature

Fig. 1.5 Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) script, Week 2 (06/09/2023)

The Brahmi script (450–350 BCE) is the earliest writing system developed in India after the Indus script. It is one of the most influential writing systems; all modern Indian scripts and several hundred scripts found in Southeast and East Asia are derived from Brahmi.

Fig. 1.6 The Brahmi script, Week 2 (06/09/2023)

Lecture 4: Designing Type

General Process of Type Design:

1. Research

When creating type, we should understand type history, type anatomy and type conventions. We should also know terminologies, side-bearing, metrics, hinting…

We should also examine existing fonts that are presently being used for inspiration/ ideas/ reference/ context/usage pattern/etc.

2. Sketching

Some designers sketch their typeface using the traditional toolset and some sketch their typeface using digital toolsets.

3. Digitization

There are professional software that are used in the digitization of typefaces, amongst the leading software are: FontLab and Glyphs App. There are designers who also use Adobe Illustrator to design or craft the letterforms.

4. Testing

Testing is an important component in the design thinking process. The results of the testing is part of the process of refining and correcting aspects of the typeface. Prototyping is also part of the testing process and leads to important feedback.

5. Deploy

Even after deploying a completed typeface there are always teething problems that did not come to the fore during the prototyping and testing phases. Thus, the task of revision doesn’t end upon deployment.

Typeface Construction:

Using grids (with circular forms) can facilitate the construction of letterforms and is a possible method to build/create/design your letterform.

Many different forms and constructions must be taken into account when designing a new type. An important visual correction is the extrusion of curved (and protruding) forms past the baseline and cap line. This also applies to vertical alignment between curved and straight forms.

Fig. 1.7 Construction grid 8 x 8 cells, Week 2 (06/09/2023)

Lecture 5: Perception & Organisation

Contrast / Size

A contrast of size provides a point to which the reader’s attention is drawn. The most common use of size is in making a title or heading noticeably bigger than the body text.

Contrast / Weight

Weight describes how bold type can stand out in the middle of the lighter type of the same style.

Contrast / Form

The contrast of form is the distinction between a capital letter and its lowercase equivalent, or a Roman letter and its italic variant, condensed and expanded versions of the typeface are also included under the contrast of form.

Contrast / Structure

Structure means the different letterforms of different kinds of typefaces. For example, a monoline sans serif and a traditional serif, or an italic and a blackletter.

Contrast / Texture

By putting together the contrasts of size, weight, form, and structure, and applying them to a block of text on a page, you come to the contrast of texture.

Contrast / Direction

Contrast of direction is the opposition between vertical and horizontal, and the angles in between.

Contrast / Colour

The use of color suggests that a second color is often less emphatic in values than plain black on white.

Fig. 1.8 Contrast, Week 2 (06/09/2023)

Form

For refers to the overall look and feel of the elements that make up the typographic composition. A good form of typography tends to be visually intriguing to the eye; it leads the eye from point to point, it entertains the mind and is most often memorable.

Fig. 1.9 Form, Week 2 (06/09/2023)

Instructions

Task 1A: Typographic Systems

To create a 200 x 200 mm poster in Indesign for each of the 8 typographic systems: Axial, Radial, Dilatational, Random, Grid, Modular, Transitional and Bilateral

Research

From the provided options, I chose to use the title, All Ripped Up: Punk Influences on Design. The punk style is defined by its general disdain for all things conventional, this allowed it to break out of the rigid grid system that was used at the time. Rather than valuing beauty and order, punk focuses on chaos and aggressively shocking messages. For my posters, I would like to capture some of that joyful havoc energy and translate it into my designs.

Fig 2.1 Research on Punk Style, Week 2 (05/09/2023)

Process

At first, I began to experiment with organizing the information into a hierarchy and selecting the right fonts. After that, I was able to balance the overall composition and I used color to emphasize the title. I chose this shade of green because I've seen it used in loads of punk references.

Fig. 2.2 Axial Progress, Week 2 (05/09/2023)

Organizing the information in a radial system was extremely challenging for me, I had to rotate each text box multiple times. There was also an issue of aligning it to one point and trying to make it look visually pleasing. I found it hard to maintain the initial hierarchy of information I had formed.

Fig. 2.3 Radial Progress, Week 2 (05/09/2023)

Final

I continued to make a poster for each typographic system, below are the final posters.

Fig. 2.4 Axial, Week 2 (06/09/2023)

Fig. 2.5 Radial, Week 2 (06/09/2023)

Fig. 2.6 Dilatational, Week 2 (06/09/2023)

Fig. 2.7 Random, Week 2 (06/09/2023)

Fig. 2.8 Grid, Week 2 (06/09/2023)

Fig. 2.9 Transitional, Week 2 (06/09/2023)

Fig. 2.10 Modular, Week 2 (06/09/2023)

Fig. 2.11 Bilateral, Week 2 (06/09/2023)

Fig. 2.12 Final Compilation, Week 2 (06/09/2023)

Fig. 2.13 Final Compilation PDF, Week 2 (06/09/2023)

Fig. 2.14 Final Compilation with grids PDF, Week 2 (06/09/2023)

Task 1B: Type and Play

Students will analyze, dissect, and identify potential letterforms within the dissected image. The forms would be explored and ultimately digitized. It is expected that through a process of iteration, the forms would go from crude representation to a more refined celebration that would reflect to a degree its origins.

Process

We were instructed to select an image of our choice and extract potential letterforms from it. I chose to focus on the conch shell, taking the time to analyze and study the form. During class, Mr.Vinod helped show me how to translate the conch shell into forms that could be used as letters.

Fig. 2.15 Progress 1, Week 3 (13/09/2023)

As you can see my initial progress in the first three rounds lacked the essence of a conch shell in them. It's not reflected in their forms, besides a minor attempt to add the curved edges on the top of the S & O in the second refinement.

Fig. 2.16 Progress 2, Week 3 (13/09/2023)

The final refinement uses the shape of the conch shell but isn't really aesthetically pleasing or visually balanced. I tried many more times to try to capture the essence of the image into my letterforms and failed. Thus, I chose to change my direction and choose a new subject.

I still remained on the topic of shells but chose to use the scallop shell as my design subject instead. I took the time to translate the image into motifs and forms that could be used in the letter. I experimented with stems of different widths, a variety of decorative serifs, and the curve of what would be the O.

Fig. 2.17 Progress 3, Week 3 (13/09/2023)

Instead of extracting potential letterforms from the image like I did earlier, I chose letters that I thought would match my vision. My reference font is Yeseva One Regular, a serif display typeface. My initial letterforms drew from my reference font, but are thinner and have less contrast.

The final letterforms have been refined with the addition of serifs. The serif evolved from the scallop motif, which you can see at the top right of the previous image. The bottom serif in the R & I, was inspired by the bottom part of the scallop shell that sticks out to the sides.

In the middle of the O, I chose to add the scallop shell motif because I feel like it helps tie it back to the image. Lastly, The counterform in the C mimics the scallop shell shape. Overall, I feel like while it might have taken longer because I chose to change direction, it was definitely worth it. I was more intentional with the details, and the end result is something that I can be satisfied with.

Fig. 2.18 Progress 4, Week 3 (13/09/2023)

Final

After completing my letter forms, I created a sample movie poster. The final output is below.

Fig. 2.19 Final Letterforms JPEG, Week 3 (13/09/2023)

Fig. 2.20 Sample Movie Poster JPEG, Week 3 (13/09/2023)

Honor Competition

The Watches will produce the design of the dial and strap. You can play with different ideas and construct your ideal watch style.

1. Dial Design: In addition to the traditional pointers or digital time display, you can also add data display such as date, week, steps, heart rate and calorie consumption. Data and progress bar display methods are supported here.

2. Strap Design: You can add flat patterned designs to the existing strap, or design a new strap structure based on the shape of the watch. This is not limited to the original appearance, material and color of the strap, and you can use 3D modeling and rendering to fully express your ingenuity.

Process

Category: Watch Design

Theme: Renewal of life · Return - Contemplate human beings' relationship with all things

After brainstorming ideas I decided on using the four seasons as my design concept. I set up my illustrator with the watch dial separating it into quarters.

Fig. 3.1 Process 1, Week 6 (07/10/2023)

I used flowers that grow in each season to represent each season. After drawing them out and using a suitably muted color scheme I placed them in the circle.

Fig. 3.2 Process 2, Week 6 (07/10/2023)

Then I used different tones of blue for each season and turned them into a gradient background.

Fig. 3.3 Process 3, Week 6 (07/10/2023)

Final

Eternal Dance of the Seasons

The "Eternal Dance of the Seasons" design concept celebrates the cyclical and interconnected nature of the four seasons, each season being represented by a respective flower: Spring - Cherry Blossom. Summer - Sunflower. Autumn: Gerbera Daisy. Winter: Primrose.

In connection to the theme: Renewal of Life - Return, the seasons represent humans' relationship to nature, and how we use the seasons as a measure of time passing. The artwork reminds viewers of the beauty and inevitability of change in the world surrounding us.I continued to refine my design and then insert it into the given template. The final designs are below.

Fig. 3.4 Final Overall Design, Week 6 (07/10/2023)

Fig. 3.5 Final Watch Design, Week 6 (07/10/2023)

Feedback

Week 2

General: For modular they should be standardized units of the same size. For dilational all elements must be in a circular manner. Color is important, and should be used to strategically highlight important information.

Specific: They're all okay but a little more effort could be put into making it more memorable. The random one could be more chaotic. The axial one should be closer to the axis, so the axis is clear.

Week 3

General: Don't be held hostage to the extracted letterforms, let your imagination take you where it wants to go. Make sure your letterforms are fully representative of your image.

Specific: Your letterforms don't fully represent your image, the conch shell. You've taken parts inside of the shell instead of the shape and form of the shell.

Reflection

Task 1A

Experience

I had a difficult time getting used to certain systems, especially radial, dilatational, and transitional. It's mostly due to the tools I have to use in InDesign. On the other hand, even though think of myself as an organized person, I found random a very easy system to do.

Observation

I observed a lot of posters I saw online, they had a mix of systems rather than using one system entirely. Which I think makes more sense, because the more you confine yourself to those limits, the more your design becomes limited.

Finding

I found that I had trouble using the systems that used curved pathways because of indesign and the struggle to organize the information properly.

Task 1B

Experience

I was able to learn a lot about how to translate images into letterforms. It helps to focus on the whole image and just the shapes and forms. It was difficult for me at first, but choosing not to limit myself and just shift my perspective was important.

Observation

I observed the shape of a scallop shell very closely and was able to extract strong elements from it. It is harder sometimes to translate on Illustrator so I like to roughly sketch (really badly) the shapes before moving into Illustrator.

Finding

I found that sometimes I feel too pressured to do things in a 'right' way, which ends up with me feeling unsatisfied with my designs. I think using instructions as more of a loose outline would suit me better in the long run.

Reema Hamza

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