JRN 302: Introduction to Graphics and Visual Communication - Typography Tuesday, 7/7/15

Class Objectives Lecture Typography Homework assignment Logo assignment due Thursday end of class

What is typography? (no e) The arrangement and selection of faces of type, sizes and spacing on the printed page/design; fundamental to visual communication. Basic building block on any design Usually there is more than one element of type on the page (heads, subheads, page numbers, etc.)

What is typography? Typography is for the benefit of the reader, not the designer/writer

Does typography matter?

Typeface, Font, Style and Points Typeface: is a set of one or more fonts that share common design features Font: all the letters, punctuation marks and numerals in the same size in a particular type style. Style: plain, bold, italic, underline, shadow and reverse. Points: is a relative measure of the size of a font

Order Arial Arial Black Arial Black Italicized Arial Black Italicized 10 points Typography Typeface Font Style Point Style Point

Not all point sizes are equal When you add contrast- let’s say by choosing different typefaces- be aware that not all point sizes are equal in terms of visual weight

Leading The space between lines of type. Vertical space separating two lines of characters; its precise value is proportional to the size of the characters.

Kerning The space between specific letters.

Type Classification Sans Serif: Has no serifs (“sans” means w/o). No thick/thin strokes; letterforms are same thickness all the way around No stress; most are monoweight. Sans Serif

Helvetica A 2007 full-length feature film about the typeface, Helvetica Preview here: fonts/ fonts/ Helvetica was developed by Max Miedinger with Edüard Hoffmann in 1957 Examples of Helvetica are here: typographical-wallpapers-for-helvetica-lovers/

Type Classification Serif: Has serifs We will get into various serif typefaces next Serif Serif Serif

Old Style: Based on the hand lettering of scribes Pronounced contrast between thick and thin strokes Most commonly used in text. May be called Roman. Always has slanted serifs on lower case. Has a diagonal stress. Old Style Type Classification

Modern: Does not follow handwritten look. Serifs are horizontal and very thin. Vertical stress Radical thick/thin transition in the strokes. Not very readable for lengthy or small text b/c thick/thin effect is hard on the eyes. Tends to have a cold, elegant look. Modern

Type Classification Slab Serif: Have little or no thick/thin transition or contrast in the strokes. Serifs on the lowercase letters are horizontal and thick slabs. Are darker than Old Style because of their thick strokes. Slab Serif

Type Classification Script: simulates handwriting. Use sparingly. Never as all caps. Some connect letters, some don’t If used for contrasting effect of large and small, remember, don’t be a wimp! cript S

Type Classification Decorative: can be illegible when used a lot. Should be used sparingly. Carry obvious emotions Decorative

Anatomy of a Letter X-height: the height of the main body of lowercase letters. Baseline: the invisible line on which the type sits. Ascender: part of letter higher than the x- height. Descender: part of the letter that is below the baseline.

Designing with Type Most basic function of type =Text to read Can also create a mood Look at the variety of fonts you can choose from in Powerpoint!

Designing with Type Can also be just shape or purely visual element Extra large lettering, or Glyph, used for purely graphic reasons Can also be used for “branding” the image… creating an identity Conservative font for the NY Times Fun for Yahoo

Contrast with Type Use styles (bold, italics) Size (large vs. small type) Color Changes in type alignment Changes in kerning

Be careful with Contrasting and Typefaces Rule of Thumb… don’t be a wimp! Concordant = when you use only one typeface Safe, OK to use, but not interesting Conflicting = when you use two typefaces that are too similar Look at this line and the one above. Not enough contrast is confusing to the viewer Contrasting = clearly differences between lines of type Easy to achieve with serif and sans serif

Contrast with Typefaces

Type Contrast- Size  Again, don’t be a wimp!  Using Size Go big type versus little type  Don’t do 12 pt versus 14 pt Can also use size of type with location and design on page  Small line of text by itself in middle of page surrounded by white space

Type Contrast- Size  Use Size of typeface to emphasize or de-emphasize important words  Can get contrast of size by enlarging a single symbol or letter

Type Contrast- Weight Weight refers to thickness Regular, bold, extra bold Rule- Don’t be a wimp! Contrast between thinnest and thickest letterforms in same family Where are the fonts? Do a search to find out…

Type Contrast- Weight Weight can help organize text Such as in a table of context

Type Contrast- Form Form of a letter or word is its shape We recognize both words and shapes of words This is why all caps are hard to read- forces us to read word letter by letter

Type Contrast- Direction Can mean literal direction of word Such as on a diagonal Or can mean type of direction Vertical or horizontal Used a lot in newsletters and newspapers

Fonts on your computer Fonts are stored on your computer Do a search bc they are in different locations So if you use a font in your PSD or ID files (and save as PSD or ID), you’ll need that same font on a different computer! You can move your font folder… and it is suggested you do that if you are committed to a certain type of font or if you download and install one on your PC

Free Fonts Why pay for a font/typeface when there are so many free online? Free fonts are normally lesser in terms of quality/smoothness (see this when you print) With inability to kern In terms of boldness or contrast Free fonts may not have all the symbols and/or characters Free fonts are commonly used If you want unique for your client, pay for the font

Where to buy fonts? Realize that Adobe’s Typekit may not let you download fonts… if you use this and don’t download and provide the font with your PSD file, you will lose points off of your logo Be aware of all of the characters and symbols Be aware of which platform (Mac, PC or both)

Using downloaded fonts Whether your use a free font or pay for one, IF it was not included within your software You will need to install it on every computer you work on You will need to digitally drop the font file with your project files Note: may not be able to do this for lab computers! One thing for sure, unless a font says it is for both platforms, it won’t work on a Mac if PC font (and vice versa) Professionally- need to provide all font files to your commercial printer as well as tifs, indesign files

Designing with Type- Overall Things Avoid using type that interferes with message (Sound familiar? The message is the most important thing = clear communication) “When choosing a typestyle for your design, keep in mind that one of the most important virtues to possess is restraint” Do NOT use more than 2-3 typefaces Some fonts should NOT be ALL CAPS.. EVER Don’t forget your audience’s preference for type/fonts Conservative audience may prefer conservative font Youthful audience can take more decorative font

Designing with Type- Overall Things Smaller type is harder to read (don’t go below 6pt for print; 12 pt for older adults) Use italics sparingly and to accentuate. It’s not good for a lot of copy and many typefaces don’t italicize well.