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
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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
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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
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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.
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