Typography / Task 2: Typographic Exploration and Communication

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October 30 - November 18 / Week 6 - Week 8

Sheren Princessa Davon / 0362134

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

Task 2

 INSTRUCTIONS 

 

Task 2

For this task, we are supposed to combine what we learned from the two exercises in Task 1, type expression and formatting. We were provided 3 texts and we chose 1 text to format. I chose the one titled "The Role of Bauhaus Thought On Modern Culture".

Research Inspiration
First I searched up some inspiration on type and text formatting.

Fig 2.1 Research 

Sketches
Then I began sketching some ideas for the chosen text. I came up with 4 sketches below.

Fig 2.2 Sketches

Layouts
Then I went on Adobe InDesign and started to create some layouts. I also blocked them afterwards to see the amount of gray and white space.

Fig 2.3 Layouts - Week 5 (26/10/23)

Fig 2.4 Layouts Blocked - Week 5 (26/10/23)

I picked one that I liked the most, the final design that I created.
Fig 2.5 Shortlisted Layout - Week 5 (26/10/23)

HEAD
Font/s: Univers LT Std 73 Black Extended (Bauhaus, Culture), Gill Sans Condensed
Type Size/s: 59 pt (Bauhaus), 26 pt (The, Role, Of), 27 pt (Thought, On, Modern), 34 pt (Culture)

BODY
Font/s: Futura Std Heavy (lead-in text), Univers LT Std 55 Roman (body text)
Type Size/s: 12 pt (lead-in text), 9 pt (body text)
Leading: 11 pt (body text)
Paragraph spacing: 11 pt (body text)
Characters per-line: 63 characters

Alignment: Justified
Margins: 25 mm (top, bottom), 12.7 mm (left, right)
Gutters: 4.233 mm

After the Week 6 class, I consulted Ms. Hsin and made some adjustments and improvements to the layout. I split the body text into 3 columns to give it more variation and arranged them in a stair-like position.
Fig 2.6 New Layout #1 Week 6 (31/10/23)
Fig 2.6 New Layout #2 - Week 6 (31/10/23)

Fig. 2.7 New Layouts Blocked - Week 6 (31/10/23) 


Final Task 2: Typographic Exploration and Communication
I chose Layout #1 as my final layout for this task as it has a clearer flow to the title. I also added some improvements after getting feedback from Ms. Hsin, resulting in the final task below:

Fig 2.8 Final Task 2 (without grids) - JPEG, Week 7 (07/11/23)

Fig 2.9 Final Task 2 (with grids) - JPEG, Week 7 (07/11/23)


HEAD
Font/s: Univers LT Std 73 Black Extended (Bauhaus, On Modern Culture), Univers LT Std 75 Black (Thought), Gill Sans Condensed (The, Role, Of)
Type Size/s: 60 pt (Bauhaus), 26 pt (The, Role, Of), 21 pt (On, Modern), 36 pt (Culture), [19 pt, 15 pt, 10 pt, 7 pt (Thought)]

BODY
Font/s: Futura Std Heavy (lead-in text), Univers LT Std 55 Roman (body text)
Type Size/s: 12 pt (lead-in text), 9 pt (body text, left side), 8 pt (body text, right side)
Leading: 11 pt (body text, left side), 10 pt (body text, right side)
Paragraph spacing: 11 pt (body text, left side), 10 pt (body text, right side)
Characters per-line: 63 characters (left side), 45 characters (right side)

Alignment: Justified (left side), Left-aligned (right side)
Margins: 25 mm (top), 30 mm (bottom), 12.7 mm (left, right)
Gutters: 4.233 mm

 
Fig 2.10 Final Task 2 (without grids) - PDF, Week 7 (07/11/23)

   
Fig 2.10 Final Task 2 (with grids) - PDF, Week 7 (07/11/23)

 FEEDBACK 
General Feedback
Alignment should be quite consistent throughout the text.

Specific Feedback
I consulted Ms. Hsin about my shortlisted layout from Week 5 and she told me to be mindful of the kerning when using Justified text. 

After showing Ms. Hsin my new Week 6 layouts, she told me to align the cap height of "Bahaus" better. Ms. Hsin also suggested I stick to Layout #1 as Layout #2 doesn't have that clear of a flow to the title with the "On Modern Culture" being on the other side of the spread.

 REFLECTIONS 

Experience
This task allowed me to incorporate both aspects of Task 1 in order to improve my typographic skills. I enjoyed experimenting with different texts and how they can be interpreted visually, however without any graphical elements. The feedback given by Ms. Hsin was also really helpful as she was able to help me correct things that I didn't notice.

Observations
The way text is formatted is important and it has to reflect the text being written. This led me to experiment with the different text given as well as their meaning. The same text could be interpreted the same way, thus I saw some similar ideas being incorporated in my classmates' works. This is very interesting.

Findings
I found that flow is really important in formatting text. A good layout has text that flows smoothly and allows the audience to identify the title, as well as the written meaning behind it. It's important to be mindful of the audience's perspective, for example large chunks of text should be horizontally placed for easy reading. Though creativity is important in design, the most essential part is making sure our design's purpose is communicated properly.

 FURTHER READING 

In class, Ms. Hsin told us about a website called ItsNiceThat. It's a website with articles about design and also creative inspiration. I decided to read two articles which were really inspiring.

by Joey Levenson

In the article, Levenson talks about the artist Anna Chandler, who does graphic design, lettering, art direction, and animation. Her works incorporate both digital and analogue techniques as she is intrigued by "the disruption of regularity and the infusion of human touch" which is created by physical methods.

Anna commonly uses "rich color fields, organic forms, and tactile materials".
She is constantly inspired by dreams and imaginations, as reflected in her works. Anna's main goal is to draw "from this innate source of symbolism and imagination", in hopes on leaving a sense of mysticism in her work. This can certainly be seen across as she incorporates this theme throughout her portfolio.

Below is some of her works:
Fig 3.1. Left: "This is a Test" Poster design by Chris Albo, 2021 / Right: "Fioruci - SS23 Campaign", 2022



Fig 3.2. Left: Personal work, 2020 / Right: "Charm - Pleaser", 2021



Article #2
by Harry Bennet

This next article talks about Mike Nigra's experimentation and play on helping him reimagine traditional structures in typography.

Mike says that he normally starts a creative process with established templates and goes on a journey of reimagining and reshaping them into something new. He believes that a typeface family shouldn't be constrained by repetitive patterns, instead it's about "injecting them with shared DNA that finds its expression in distinctive features." 

Mike lets inspiration come to him, instead of the opposite, this way he can live by what he believes in, "the bending of rules is integral to the game itself", referring to life as a game. This way, he was able to create his font "Gaisyr" and "Rapidissma".


Fig 3.3 "Gaisyr" Copyright © Michelangelo Nigra and Dinamo, 2023



Fig 3.4 "Rapidissma" Copyright © Michelangelo Nigra, 2023 


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