Overlap to discover the remarkable range

that exists between historic families of

type even though they have the same point

size. The designer must be aware of the

different sizes and types of strokes that

the typefaces have. Designers must also

remember not to combine serif and sans

serif typefaces. The only two anatomical

attributes that typefaces have are strokes

and baselines.

Overlap

FluctuatingFluctuatingFluctuatingFluctuating

Individual letter forms have unique

parts which have changed in visual form

over the centuries. A nomenclature

helps identify major elements of their

construction. The evolution of lettering

styles over time is a result of optical

adjustments to the basic components by

type designers over the ages.

Anatomy of Type

Fluctuating

serif

hairl

ine

stem loop

baseline

capline

meanline

asce

nder

tail

arm

cros

sbar

shou

lder

bow

l

coun

ter

ear

desc

ende

r

fille

t

link

stro

ke

The human mind reads top to bottom.

When the top half of the word is covered

it is more difficult to read then when the

bottom half is. That is because we process

and understand the top half before we

even reach the bottom.

You can remove the top half of a letterform

and still be able to read the word. You

become very aware of the similarity in

strokes used to create letters.

Legibility Word Legibility Letter

Fluctuating

Fluctuating

Fluctuating

Anatomy Cropping

Each individual square and its letter form

is seen as an independent typographic

composition that investigates form and

counterform, figure ground relationships,

asymmerty / symmetry, static and dynamic

placement.

a

Anatomy of Type Counterpart and Counterpoint

g if C

Cropping Studies

Counterpart and Counterpoint

denotes counterpart relationship

denotes counterpoint relationship

Counterpart | Counterpoint

i nu aTf l ucT G

i nGtFL u a

u it a nt gf LuC

u

i

fl C uA t ngt

u Tc

Kinetics

Every letter has a personality you can

identify. Fragmentation is not the goal

in and of itself. Everything is adjustable

and it’s a case-by case decision of how

far to go. The form you seek is one that

to be able to read the word. So this

determines the degree of fracture. It’s the

“part”(letterform) to”whole” (word), both

must be juggled with value.

You can not use the same element over and

over just because it worked in one place.

Every example should change somewhat.

Because range is a persistent goal of

design, you want to invent in each example.

Expect some noble necessary part of any

assignment.

When creating a visual hierarchy in

typographic space, a designer balances the

need for harmony, which unifies a design,

with the need for contrast, which lends

vitality and emphasis.

As in music, elements can have a

counterpart or a counterpoint relationship.

Typographic counterparts are elements

with similar qualities that bring harmony

to their spatial relationship. Elements

have a counterpoint relationship when

they have contrasting characteristics,

such as size, weight, color, tone, or

texture. Counterpoint relationships bring

opposition and dissonance to the design.

While upper and lower case letters are

distinct in structure, they all are built by

combining 4 strokes; vertical, horizontal,

slanted, and curvilinear. These elementary

strokes form the foundation, a visual

“code” that is recognizable through our

long experience with reading and writing

regardless of style.

Therefore, letter forms derive their visual

character from combinations of these

basic strokes and not from being light or

bold, wide or narrow, Roman or italic, sans

serif or serif. An entire alphabet can be

categorized using only six basic underlying

visual combinations of strokes as the

example illustrates.

The Structure of Letters The Structure of Letters

X, W, V

E, F, H, I, L ,T

A, Z

K, M , N, Y

B, D, G, J, L , O, P, R, U

C, O, Q, S

f, i, l, t, h, m, n

k

v, w, x

z

a, b, d, j, o, p, r, u, g

c, e, q, s, y

Since the time of the Greeks, capital

letterforms have consisted of the simple

geometric forms based on the square,

circle, and triangle. The basic shape of

each capital letterforms can be extracted

from this Roman letterform template found

on the Trojan Columns which is composed

of a bisected square, a circle, a triangle, an

inverted triangle, and two smaller circles.

Typographic Page with a Chair

Using the initials of your designer, impose

the letterforms in a typographic study

that “interprets” a relationship to the

form of the chair they designed. The

goal is to discover relationships in form

and division of space. Then, using the

designer’s name of the chair, and the date

of its manufacture, impose the words in

a typographic study that demonstrates

relationships to the chair.

size + case

size + face + width

weight + width + slant size + value + weight

size + tonalityweight + face

r

value + face + casesize + slant

value + case + weight weight + case + color

Type generally falls into two primary

categories; informational and or

expressive. It’s not uncommon to have

a strategy for both present in layouts.

Informational text is more common and

the form responds to long traditions

and conventions of size, spacing and

established habits of organization on the

page. In a book or website it is information

design that takes the lead. On a poster or

motion graphics expression could lead.

The ratio is determined by the designer

and the needs of the communication. An

emphasis or hierarchy must be clear and

decisive so the roles each plays in the

communication are clear. In design things

are not equal.

Chair Hang Tag

Ever since the 1950s, Ettore

Sottsass has been known for

his provocative, pioneering

designs. It is safe to say that

he is largely responsible for

Italy leading the way in the

international design world. He

worked together with other

Italian designers, to elaborate a

design theory based on the new

conditions created by the age of

electronic mass media.

The somewhat restrained colors

and pattern support the central

design element, the two grips

on the back-rest. Freed from

their original function, these

grips, together with the sharp-

edged cubes and the saccharine

pastels of the laminate, blend to

form one unit.

His designs for laminate pattern combine graphic or geometric structures with imitation wood or

marble, African symbols, comic-strip motifs and aggressive colors. Sottsass designed the Seggiolina da

Pranzo for Alchimia in 1980.

Fluctuating