30.08.2023-22.09.2023（Week1-Week4）
Chai HongHong/0354211/Creative Media Design.
Advanced Typography/Task 1/Exercise 1 & 2
LECTURES
Week 1
Mr. Vinod explained the Typography System in the first week of lectures. The specific historical system Mr. Vinod talks about is also included in this Typography System. All designs are based on the structural system, with 8 main changes, as follows:
Fig.1.1.Typography System
Axial System:
All elements are organized to the left or right of a single axis. The shaft does not have to be straight, it can be curved.
Radial System:
All elements extend from a focus point and then expand based on that specific focus point.
Dilatational System:
All systems expand in a circular fashion from a central point.
Random System:
There is no particular pattern or relationship.
Grid System:
A system of vertical and horizontal divisions.
Transitional system:
An informal system of layered banding.
Modular System:
The elements of the modular system must be standardized and must have the same dimensions.
Bilateral System:
All text is arranged symmetrically on one axis and is often used in invitation cards as well as other types of formal invitations.
Elements rely on communication to function, so when you give form to content, communication is at the forefront of form. There are other guidelines too: hierarchy, reading order, legibility, and contrast also come into play.
Week 2
The reason to continue designing typefaces is to improve their legibility and also as a form of artistic expression.
Process of Type Design:
1. Research
· Understand type history, type anatomy, conventions and terminologies
· Determine the type's purpose or what it would used for and what different applications it will be used in
· Study existing fonts that are presently being used for inspiration/reference/context/usage pattern/etc
2. Sketching
- The use of traditional tools (pen and paper) is better than digital tools (iPad and apple pencil) due to the nature of the strokes created by the hand. This does not mean we should not use digital tools.
3. Digitalisation
-Font-lab and Glyphs are applications used to digitize typefaces.
4. Testing
-Important component in design thinking process. The results of the testing are part of the process of refining and correcting aspects of typefaces. Prototyping is also part of the process and leads to important feedback. However, it is not as crucial if the typeface is a display type
5. Deploy
-Even after deploying a completed typeface there are always teething problems that did not come to the fore during the prototyping and testing phases. Thus, the task of revision doesn't end upon deployment. The rigor of the testing is important so that the teething issues remain minor.
Using grids (with circular forms) can facilitate the construction of letterforms and is a possible method to design.
Week 3
The topic of the week 3 lecture is Context and Creativity.
Handwriting is important because the first mechanically produced letterforms were created to imitate handwriting. The shape and the line of the letterforms are based of the tools and material used.
It has the potential to be used in 3 ways:
· Ideogram to represent the things they actually depict
· Phonograms to represent sounds that spell out individual words
· As determinatives to show that the signs preceding are meant as phonograms and to indicate the general idea of the word
Early greek (5th C. B.C.E.): Drawn freehand, not constructed with compasses and rules, and they had no serifs. In time the strokes of these letters grew thicker, the aperture lessened, and serifs appeared.
Roman Uncials: By the 4th century, Roman letters become more rounded,, the curved form allowed less stokes and could be written faster.
English Half Uncials (8th C.): In England, the uncial evolved into a more slanted and condensed form. As English and Irish Uncial evolved, writing on the European continent devolved and needed a reformer. That happen when Carolingian Handwriting Reform.
Carolingian Minuscule: Capitals at the start of a sentence, spaces between words, and punctuation. It was this style that became the pattern for the Humanistic writing of the fifteenth century; this latter, in turn, was the basis of our lower-case Roman type.
Black Letter (12-15 C. CE): Characterized by tight spacing and condensed lettering. Evenly spaced verticals dominated the letterform. Condensing line spacing and letter spacing reduced the amount of costly materials in book production.
The Brahmi script is the earliest writing system developed in India after the Indus script. IT is one of the most influential writing systems; all modern Indian scripts and several hundred scripts found in Southeast and East Asia are derived from Brahmi.
The Indian scripts were the oldest writing system in Southeast Asia. The Pallava is one of the most important scripts that originates from South Indian Script. These were originally used for writing Sanskrit & Tamil. Pallava was highly influential, becoming the basis for writing systems across Southeast Asia. Other Indian Scripts like Pra-Nagari were also used in the Malay Archipelago.
Task 1
Week 1
In the first week of class, Mr. Vinod let us practice the Axial System. Below is my initial practice.
Fig.2.1.Axial Exercise in Class
Mr. Vinod looked at my exercises and gave me feedback that the tilt angle of my axial system exercises was too large, the layout did not conform to the axial layout, and the fonts were too large.
After I modified it.
Fig.2.2.Axial Exercise in Class
Week 2
This week we need to create a poster for each of the eight layout systems. I explored Pinterest and got some ideas, so I made two posters for each of the eight layout systems.
Mr. Vinod commented on one of my posters in class. After class, I showed another set of posters to Mr. Vinod and he gave me suggestions. Mr. Vinod said that my random system poster is not like a random system poster. Both the grid system poster and the modular system poster are not in the grid, the transitional system poster has an incorrect layout, and the bilateral system poster is wrong. He suggested I explore again.
Mr. Vinod chose one of the two axial system posters I produced, and only this one was correct. He gave a suggestion for one of my radial system posters that my radial system should be on a ray. He also suggested that I enlarge the font on the outermost layer of the dilatational system poster.
I made the changes as suggested by Mr. Vinod. After the class on week 3, I showed Mr. Vinod the revised eight typesetting systems, and he said it was all good. I'm very happy, it means I passed exercise 1.
Final Outcome:
Fig.2.6. Axial Final attempt.
Fig.2.7. Radial final attempt
Fig.2.8. Modular final attempt
Fig.2.9. Random final attempt
Fig.2.10. Dilatational attempt
Fig.2.11. Transitional final attempt
Fig.2.12. Grid final attempt
Fig.2.13. Bilateral final attempt
Final Compilation:
Final Compilation with Grids:
Week 3
I was exploring this week's assignment on the Pexels website, and I saw this image, I thought the architecture was beautiful in its own right. With Mr. Vinod's permission, I started exploring this image.
I extracted the four letters A L M U from the picture. Mr. Vinod thought that the letter A retained some features of the building, and he thought it was good, so he asked me to retain the features and straighten the stroke. The same goes for other letters.
Fig.2.7. Exercise 2
After getting feedback, I re-outlined the other three letters to retain the character of the building. And made the first change, I first made the height of each letter the same, made each stroke straight after retaining its characteristics, and simplified the characteristic part.
Fig.2.9. Process
I chose a font close to it: Futura Std.
I refer to the font height and stroke size of Futura Std.
I thought it was a bit monotonous, so I decided to give L a little variety.
Fig.2.11. Process
After changing it again and again, I settled on the final font.
Final Compilation:
We were asked to make a poster using the designed letters, integrating the letters with the poster. Since my letters were drawn from architecture, I chose a picture of a building to create the poster.
I used the cutout tool to cut out the buildings, then made a gradient background, and then typed the letters. I made two posters and then asked my friends for their opinions. My friends thought the second poster looked better. So I chose the second poster as my Final Poster.
Fig.2.19. Poster 2
Mr. Vinod said my poster was done well but I got the size wrong and it should be made as a movie poster with size 1024 px✖️1024 px. Below is my modified poster.
Fig.2.20. Final Poster
I want to make a wallpaper about city architecture. This photo was taken by me in Xiamen.
I used the cutout tool to cut out the buildings, then typed them and added the initials of Xiamen. Integrate letters into wallpaper.
Fig.2.22. Process
Final
Fig.2.24. Foldable Wallpapers.
General Feedback: My Axial System exercises have too much slant angle, the layout doesn't follow a line, and the font size is too large
Specific Feedback: Moving the bottom font to the left or right is the axial system, not the middle.
Week 2
General Feedback: Mr. Vinod said that my random system poster is not like a random system. Both the grid system poster and the modular system poster are not in the grid, the transitional system poster has an incorrect layout, and the bilateral system poster is wrong. He suggested I explore again.
Specific Feedback: Mr. Vinod chose one of the two axial system posters I made. A poster of my radial system gave advice that my radial system should be on a ray. He also suggested that I enlarge the font on the outermost layer of the dilatational system poster.
Week 3
General Feedback: In class, Mr. Vinod looked at my exercise 2 and said that I wrote the letter "A" very well. He suggested that I retain some of the architectural features and make the strokes of the letters straight rather than curved.
Specific Feedback： After class, I showed Mr. Vinod my revised typesetting system poster, hoping to get feedback on Exercise 1 again. This time Mr. Vinod said all my posters were OK, and I was very happy.
Experience: During these three weeks of study, I learned the application of the typesetting system. At the beginning, I did not have a thorough understanding of the typesetting system. Although I watched Mr. Vinod's lectures, I was still prone to making mistakes in actual practice. But after revising again and again, I understood the rules and principles of the typesetting system and could apply it accurately. In Exercise 2, I learned how to express the details of fonts to make them more creative.
Observations: I can find letters in many places. Those letters are formed naturally or by accident. It has its own unique strokes and characteristics. I learned to retain the uniqueness of the font and better integrate it into the poster.
Findings: Under the guidance of Mr. Vinod, I learned to apply eight typography systems to make posters, and in exercise two, I learned to retain the characteristics of the font. I find that a combination of suitable fonts and comfortable typography can make a poster look better.
Fig.3.1. Typographic Systems of Design
Typographic Systems of Design is a book on typographic design written by Kimberly Elam that provides in-depth theoretical insights and practical applications into the field of graphic design. After reading this book, my understanding of typography design has made a qualitative leap.
Elam's book not only introduces the basics of typography, but more importantly, it explores various systems of typography design, such as grid systems, random systems, radial systems, etc., and how these systems can be applied to create visually appealing Design work. This systematic approach gave me a more structured and scientific understanding of typography design, which was an important shift from my previous design approach that relied more on intuition and personal preference.
An important idea in the book is that typography is not just a simple arrangement of words and images, but a complex visual language that can convey emotions and information. Through rich case studies, Elam shows how to enhance the communication effect of design through different typography methods. This made me realize that as designers, our job is not just to create beautiful works, but more importantly to convey the right message and emotion through design.
In addition, this book also particularly emphasizes the importance of visual aesthetics in typography design. By analyzing and comparing different design cases, Elam helps readers understand that even the smallest changes in font selection and typography layout can significantly affect the overall effect of a design work. This attention to detail inspired me to pay attention to details in design, and also made me realize the importance of pursuing perfection in details as a designer.
After reading this book, I felt very benefited. Not only did it improve my design skills, but more importantly, it changed my overall perspective on typography design. I began to pay more attention to the role of typography design in conveying information and emotion, and paid more attention to systematicity and detail in my design practice. Overall, Typographic Systems of Design is a book of immense value to any graphic designer, explaining the art and science of typographic design in an easy-to-understand way.
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