Understanding Typography Part One A brief history of written and printed communication, the function of typography in graphic design and the essential typographic terminology.

Early Writing Systems Photo Source: http://www.sanford-artedventures.com Earliest known attempts to communicate with imagery was around 25,000 B.C. This was primarily pictorial forms (i.e cave drawings) Early humans used symbols to communicate ideas

Pictographs Systems of symbols that represent concepts in a consistent manner Simplified drawings represent objects Example is Egyptian system of hieroglyphics Advantage of this system is the ability to communicate universally (no language barriers) Image Source: http://bit.ly/bHhnx3

Pictographs Systems of symbols that represent concepts in a consistent manner Simplified drawings represent objects Example is Egyptian system of hieroglyphics Advantage of this system is the ability to communicate universally (no language barriers) Image Source: http://bit.ly/6gAvue

Early Alphabets Phoenician The Phoenicians developed an alphabet of 22 symbols around 1000 B.C Symbols related to the sounds in the language Consonants only; no vowels Eliminated the need for people to memorize thousands of symbols The term “Phonetics” comes from this concept

Early Alphabets Greek Greeks expanded on Phoenician alphabet Added vowels and named each character First system for reading left to right and top to bottom

Early Alphabets Roman Romans developed the Greek alphabet further Modern alphabet that we now use Added lowercase versions to letters, condensed forms of text and cursive writing that flowed more naturally by hand

Writing During the Dark Ages Books were hand-produced for hundreds of years Primarily religious (illuminated manuscripts) Due to the painstaking effort (often years) to create a single volume, books were considered very valuable treasures Photo Source: http://bit.ly/bQJRH6

Invention of the Printing Press German metal carver Johannes Gutenberg, invented the printing press in mid 15th century Letters carved onto a small metal plate, “punch” Letters arranged to form blocks of text. Molten metal poured over the top to make a mold Used to print books in larger quantities than had previously been possible This invention changed the world, allowing rapid production and distribution of printed ideas The Bible was first complete book ever printed Photo Source: www.artemis.austincollege.edu

What Role Does Typography Play in Graphic Design? Helps clarify a message that the designer sends to an audience The properly selected font has a huge impact on getting a message across to an intended audience A poorly chosen font or bad typographic layout can detract from or even block the message all together

What Role Does Typography Play in Graphic Design? Poor typography will prevent a reader from connecting with a design, and at worst may make your message illegible!

What Role Does Typography Play in Graphic Design? Typography can provide an element of expression to accompany a message A carefully crafted typography increases emotional impact of a message much more than just plain type by itself, adding another dimension to a message A well-conceived typographic composition allows the designer to connect with the reader Photo Source: Type Rules, Ilene Strizver

What Role Does Typography Play in Graphic Design? Letters and numbers can be arranged in a clever way that strengthens the message Photo Source: Design Basics, David Lauer and Stephen Pentak

What Role Does Typography Play in Graphic Design? Letters and numbers can be arranged in a clever way that strengthens the message Photo Source: Design Basics, David Lauer and Stephen Pentak

Typographic Terms Typeface: Refers to the upper and lowercase letters and numbers of a specific design/ font. Examples: Helvetica, Times, etc. Characters: The individual letters, numbers and punctuation used when setting type Uppercase: The capital letters of the alphabet Lowercase: The small letters of the alphabet

Typographic Terms Baseline: An imaginary line on which the characters seem to be standing Meanline: The imaginary line that runs along the top of most lowercase letters, such as i, c, e, m, n, u,v, w and x X-Height: The height of the body or main element of the lowercase letterform, which falls between the meanline and the baseline Cap Height: The imaginary line that runs across the top of capital letters and ascenders in a line of type

Serif vs. San Serif Letterforms Serif: Letters with finishing strokes, or brackets, that project from letters Gives letters “finished” appearance Letters flow together, making serif typefaces easy to read Often used in books, magazines and newspapers San Serif: Type with no serif Also has no variation in the width of its strokes; computer generated look Useful for signs and large-scale text meant to be seen from a distance Text is harder for a reader’s eye to follow in large blocks of text

Script Fonts Script fonts are decorative and suggest a hand written appearance. Often used to suggest formality. Difficult to read in large bodies of text; most effective when used as headings or sub headings in a layout. Ex: Porcelain

Decorative and Novelty General term used to describe fonts that can’t be easily categorized. This includes dingbats and contemporary specialty fonts. Dingbats used most effectively as a decorative element within a layout or a heading/ sub heading to separate information on a page.

Typestyles Roman: Upright letterforms; represents the majority of typeset copy Italic: Slanting version of a typeface; meant to accompany Roman style letters Usually slants at a 12–15 degree angle Oblique: Type that is simply slanted to the right

Typestyles Regular: The standard weight of a typeface (also called “normal”) Light: A thinner/ lighter version of the regular typeface. Also called “thin” Bold: A thicker, heavier version of the regular typeface

Typestyles Condensed: A narrower version of the regular typeface to fit letters into small space; also called “compressed” Extended: A wider version of the regular typeface; also called “expanded” Type families: A combination of all typestyles (roman, bold, italic, etc) of a font Typestyles share common characteristics (design, x-height, etc)

Typographic Measurements 1 inch = 6 picas Two basic units of measurement used to describe type: Points: Very small units used to measure both type sizes and the spaces in between the lines of type. Picas: Larger unit of measurement. 12 points= 1 Pica (6 picas in 1 inch) 72 point type = 1 inch

Typographic Measurements Text Type: Refers to smaller sizes of type, usually between 5 and 14 points Used to print books, magazines, newspapers, etc. Display Type: Refers to the larger sizes of type used to call attention, such as newspaper headlines or posters; usually 16-72 point type or larger

Adjusting Text Spacing Leading and Kerning Leading: The space in between lines of text Term refers to lead pieces inserted in between lines of type to add more space on old fashioned printing presses

Adjusting Text Spacing Leading and Kerning Kerning: Spacing in between individual letters and words in a single line of text

Typographic Design Principles Legibility: Making sure the audience can read your text Similarity, alignment: Creating organization of information Uniformity and consistency: Repeating elements in a composition to direct the viewer’s attention and create design harmony Hierarchy: Organizing information in terms of its importance to the viewer Contrast: Creating interest and distinguishing different types of information with different typefaces

Typographic Design Principles Legibility Legibility is a combination of factors: Font family Font size Letter, word, and line spacing Alignment Font and background colors

Typographic Design Principles Legibility

Typographic Design Principles Legibility Font sizes above 14 points break down the continuity of large blocks of text, making words difficult for readers to follow

Typographic Design Principles Legibility Other Legibility Issues: If letters, words, or lines are too close together, readers have a hard time because text blocks tend to look too dark

Typographic Design Principles Legibility Other Legibility Issues: If letters, words, or lines are too far apart, readers have a hard time because blocks of text tend to look too light, causing readers to lose a sense of continuity

Typographic Design Principles Legibility Other Legibility Issues: Spacing between words should be consistent to promote legibility; too much variation in letter and line leads to eyestrain

Typographic Design Principles Legibility Other Legibility Issues: White type on a black background can also make large blocks of text difficult to read This type of typographic treatment usually works best on headline or subhead areas of a layout

Typographic Design Principles Legibility Other Legibility Issues: Certain color combinations, particularly those lacking strong contrast (such as yellow type on white background) are difficult to read

Typographic Design Principles Unity and Concordance To maintain overall uniformity, limit the number of different font families per page to two or three at most Use the same font for headings and body text to produce a uniform look; this is known as concordance

Typographic Design Principles Contrast Using the same font family throughout a layout creates uniformity but may make documents seem visually boring To add contrast, combine two font families (for example, one serif and one sans serif or script font) Heading and body type can use different fonts to separate information and create visual interest

Typographic Design Principles Hierarchy Hierarchy helps your audience distinguish between levels of information, such as title, header, subhead and body Information can be set apart by changing font family, font type, size, color To maintain unity, keep typographic choices consistent for each section throughout a layout

Typographic Design Principles Hierarchy Top-level headings can use unconventional typographic treatments Different levels use different font sizes, families, colors, and leading to arrange and separate information

Typographic Design Principles Other Things to Consider Copy length: Choose fonts that will allow for the best readability and flexibility of arrangement (kerning, leading, etc) when typesetting large amounts of text Line length: Blocks of text that are either too long or too short are difficult to read Character count should be between 35 to 70 characters long as general rule of thumb Type should not be adjusted by stretching it on the computer; this distorts its appearance Use the kerning and leading tools available in computer software instead

Text Alignment Flush Left Type lines up on the left with “ragged” the right margin Advantage: Easy to read in large blocks Disadvantage: Pay attention to the “shape” made by the right edge of the text Text shape should be convex (curve outward) rather than concave (curve inward) Avoid putting very short lines of text next to long ones

Text Alignment Flush Right Aligns text to the right; leaves “ragged” left edge Advantage: Allows designer control over kerning spacing of text on individual lines Disadvantage: Can be hard for the reader to follow lines of type if they don’t line up under one another on the left Best used for small amounts of type

Text Alignment Centered Type that aligns along the middle axis in a composition Advantage: Just like with left and right justification, designer can control word spacing for good legibility Disadvantage: Can be difficult for the reader to find the beginning of the next line of text when lines don’t justify left Works best using small areas of type, such as lists, headlines, etc.

Text Alignment Justified Aligns type on both the left and right edge Advantage: If done correctly, this can make areas of text appear uniform and clean, giving crisp edges on both sides of an area of text Disadvantage: Harder to control word spacing

Text Alignment Random Asymmetrical No apparent structure to type Advantage: Can be used to create unusual or unexpected effects Disadvantage: Can be extremely difficult for readers to follow due to lack of apparent structure

Text Alignment Organization with Alignment Aligned text creates a visual line in a design; such lines help readers draw connections between different parts of a document

Text Alignment Other Considerations Rivers: Bad words spacing can create “rivers,” or unintentional areas of white space that flow down a page and create a visual distraction for the reader

Text Alignment Other Considerations Orphan: An orphan is a short line that appears at the top of a column Occurs when the last word of a paragraph continues onto the next page A word that “floats” on a page by itself is distracting and confuses the reader Also applies to paragraphs- bad typography to begin first sentence of a paragraph at the end of a page

Text Alignment Other Considerations Widow: A very short line at the end of a paragraph Can be a single word, short phrase or the last syllable of a hyphenated word