TYPOGRAPHY : TASK 1 (EXERCISE)

May 18, 2025

TYPOGRAPHY : TASK 1 (EXERCISE)

Typography : Task 1 (exercise)

WEEK 1-5 (21.04.2025 - 19.05.2025)

Felice Lee (0381272)

Typography / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media - Taylor University

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TABLE OF CONTENT

Lectures
Instruction
Exercise 1
Exercise 2
Reflection
Feedback
Further Readings
Quick Link

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LECTURES

Typo_0_introduction

What is typography : Typography is the art and technique of arranging type to make written language readable and visually appealing.

Difference between Calligraphy, Lettering, and Typography :

Calligraphy - hand drawn writing
Lettering - drawing letters
Typography - using pre-designed letters (typeface/fonts)

Difference between Typeface vs Font:

Typeface - the design (example : Arial)
Font - the variation (example: Arial Bold)

Purpose of Typography : Typography is meant to deliver messages clearly and efficiently, not only visually appealing.

Why Typography is important : Bad typography won't deliver the message, while good typography gives clarity to the message.

Typo_1_Development

Early writing system : Typography started with ancient scripts like Cuneiform and Hieroglyphics. This were the first forms of writing.

Phoenician created the first alphabet.

Greeks and Romans developed it further into the alphabet we know today.

Calligraphy Influence : Calligraphy influenced how type looks today. Handwriting styles became the base of typefaces.

In the 1400s, Gutenberg invented the printing press, which allowed people to mass produce books.

Development of Typeface : From Blackletter to Serif to Sana Serif, typefaces evolved to match different eras and technologies.

Today, typography is used on screens, and easy to access many digital typefaces.

Type Classifications:

Serif - Letter with decorative strokes (example : Times New Roman)
Sans Serif - Clean letters without strokes (example : Arial)

Understanding classification helps choose the right type for the message.

Typo_2_Basic

Baseline - The invisible line where most letter sit
Cap height - The height of uppercase letter from baseline
X-height - The height of lowercase letters
Mean Line - The top of most lowercase letters (same as x-height level)
Apex - The top point where two strokes meet (like : the top of A)
Arm - A horizontal or upward-sloping stroke attached at one end to the stem
Ascender - The part of a lowercase letter that rises above the x height (like : b, d, h)
Barb - A sharp curved terminal at the end of a stroke (like : C, S in serif fonts)
Beak - A small pointed terminal that sticks out at the end of a stroke (like : T)
Bracket - The curved connection between a serif and the main stroke
Vertex - The bottom point where two strokes meet (like : the bottom of V)
Bowl - The curved part that encloses place (like : b, o, d)
Counter - The space inside a bowl (like : o, e)
Crossbar - A horizontal stroke (like : A, H)
Cross stroke - A horizontal line that crosses the stem (like : t , f)
Crotch - The inner angle where 2 stroke meet (like : V, W, Y)
Descender - The downward stroke below the baseline (like: p, q, g)
Ear - A small stroke that extends from main stem or body
Finial - A round tapering end of a letterform (like : c, e, a in sans serif)
Leg - A short descending stroke (like : diagonal line in K or the foot in R)
Shoulder - A curve stroke (like : n, m, h)
Spine - The main curve of the letter (like : S)
Spur - A small projection off a main stroke (like G)
Stem - The main vertical stroke of a letter (like : L, T)
Stress - The direction of thick and thin parts in a letterform (like : diagoneal stress in old-style serifs)
Swash - A decorative extended stroke added to a letter
Tail - A descending, or decorative stroke (like : Q, R, y)
Terminal - The end of a stroke

Typo_3_Text_Part 1

Font size & Body text :

Ideal size for body text : 8 - 12 pt
This range is readable and comfortable when reading long paragraphs.

Line Length :

Recommended : 50 - 65 characters per line
If lines are too long, eyes will lose track when jumping to the next line
If lines are too short, reading becomes tiring

Leading :

Leading is the space between lines of text
Recommended leading : 2-3 pt more than the font size (example : for 10pt font, use 12pt or 13pt leading)
Proper leading improves readability and visual breathing space.

Tracking & Kerning :

Tracking is the space between all letters in a word or paragraph
Kerning is the space between two letters (can adjust manually if needed)

Alignment :

Left align (ragged right) - easiest to read
Justified - clean edges but may cause rivers (uneven gaps)
Centre / Right align - only good for short texts or titles

Paragraph Spacing :

Use consistent spacing between paragraphs
Either use spacing or indentation, never use both at the same time.

Typo_4_Text_Part 2

Text alignment (continued) :

Justified text :

Creates clean left and right edges
May cause rivers
Need careful spacing and hyphenation

Left aligned (ragged right) :

Most common and natural for long reading
Follow natural eye movement
Helps avoid spacing problems

Right aligned / centered :

Better for short text (quote, posters, or headings)
Not ideal for body text

Widows & Orphans :

Widow : A short line or single word that appears alone at the top of a new page or column
Orphan : First line of a paragraph that is left alone at the bottom page or column.
Avoid widows and orphan because they break reading flow and look unbalanced.

Ragging Control :

Ragging is the uneven edge on the right side.
Keep the rag smooth to avoid awkward shapes
Use manual line breaks or hyphenations to improve visual rhythm

Highlighting Text

Avoid using too many styles (bold, italic, underline) in body text
Highlight only when needed - for hierarchy or emphasis

INSTRUCTION

EXERCISE 1 - TYPE EXPRESSION

We were first given 6 words from Ms. Vitiyaa to make expressive typography. We were then needed to choose 4 out of the 6 words given : STRETCH, SHAKE, JUMP, GROW, FLOW, and MELT. Before choosing the words, I did some sketches of the 6 words given to see the chances of the design and ideas.

Sketches :

word chosen : FLOW, SHAKE, JUMP, STRETCH.

FLOW

Fig 1 Flow sketches

Chosen font: Gill Sans Std

Concept:

-The word FLOW in basic depicts a smooth and light movement like air and liquid. I choose Gill Sans here because it looks soft, modern, and easy to read, suitable with the word flow itself.

-The first thing that came up to my mind when i heard flow is water and sea. To match that, I plan to add wavy distortion effects on the letters, making the text look like water currents.

SHAKE

Fig 1.1 Shake sketches

Chosen font: ITC Garamond Std

Concept:

-The word SHAKE in basic depicts a chaotic, instability, and movement. I choose ITC Garamond here because its classic elegant style would contrast the shakiness feel, makes it look more dramatic like something small or fragile inside.

-The first thing that came up to my mind when i heard shake is violent uncontrollable movement and earthquake. To match that idea, i try to sketch some ideas with messy composition, jitter effects, and seismograph lines.

JUMP

Fig 1.2 Jump sketches

Chosen font: Futura Std

Concept:

-The word JUMP in basic depicts a hopping movement either up or forward direction. I choose Futura Std here because of the clean, solid. and geometrical shape. Might easy to manipulate the structure into a human like jumping form.

-The first thing that came up to my mind when i heard jump is happiness. To match that, I made some sketches that depicts expressive letterforms to capture cheerful energetic feel.

STRETCH

Fig 1.3 Stretch sketches

Chosen font: Universe LT Std

Concept:

-The word STRETCH in basic depicts a flexibility or force pull action. I choose Universe LT Std here because the clean structure will provide a clean base for me as starting point to manipulate the visual with stretch effects.

-The first thing that came up to my mind when i heard stretch is fabric being pulled further and further until it almost snap or something elastic . To match that, i made some sketches of different angles and directions of stretching action.

Fig 1.4 My digitalized word

After I have chosen 1 sketches for each word, i digitalized it in adobe illustrator. Some word look different from the sketches i made because i made some improvement and changes to them.

The next step is animating it into a gif with frame by frame in photoshop. But before i animate it i made the frame in adobe illustrator.

Fig 1.5 Gif artboard frame per frame in illustrator

After done with the frame, i proceed to animate it and turn it into gif.

Fig 1.6 Flow Gif

Flow (32 frame)

Concept: I made it look like a tap water that flows smoothly to each alphabet.

Fig 1.7 Jump Gif

Jump (21 frame)

Concept: I wanted to make a person's movement that jump in excitement.

Fig 1.8 Shake Gif

Shake (19 frame)

Concept: I wanna make it look as shaky as possible by rotating the angle violently and randomly.

Fig 1.9 Stretch Gif

Stretch (16 frame)

Concept : A fabric that nearly tear apart from hard pulling action.

After I did 4 of my animation, I decided to choose STRETCH as my submission since it has the most clear and suitable expression also movement.

Task 1 exercise 1 - pdf submission

Task 1 exercise 1 - jpeg submission

Task 1 exercise 1 - GIF submission

EXERCIESE 2 - TEXT FORMATTING

We were asked to do formatting in sentences with our name and paragraph given.

Kerning & tracking practice 1 :

Fig 2 Kerning and tracking practice

Kerning & tracking practice 2 :

In this exercise i did some experimenting and came out with 3 designs of layout.

Fig 2.1 Design 1

DESIGN 1 - Looks neat and clean, But some spacing between words feels too wide. Layout a bit unbalance.

Fig 2.2 Design 2

DESIGN 2 - Text is aligned to left with a natural flow. Easy to read, spacing looks balanced and balanced layout.

Fig 2.3 Design 3

DESIGN 3 - Text is too tight, only little space between lines and paragraph makes it feel heavy to read and not well balanced.

At the end, I choose the second layout for my submission.

Task 1 exercise 2 - JPEG submission no baseline grid

Task 1 exercise 2 - JPEG submission with baseline grid

Task 1 Exercise 2 - pdf submission

HEAD LINE

Typeface: Futura Std

Font/s: Futura Std Extra Bold

Type Size/s: 24 pt

Leading: 28 pt

Paragraph spacing: 0

BODY

Typeface: Futura Std

Font/s: Futura Std Book

Type Size/s: 10.5 pt

Leading: 12.5 pt

Paragraph spacing: 12.5 pt

Characters per-line: 55+

Alignment: left alignment

Margins: 30 mm top, 12.70 mm left + 12.70 mm right + 59 mm bottom

Columns: 4

Gutter: 5 mm

REFLECTION

From this task and exercises, i learned that typography isn't just choosing fonts, but it's about creating clear, readable, and meaningful visual to communicate message.

From the expressive type exercise, I discovered about how words can visually reflect emotions. I enjoyed experimenting with different letterforms, sketching, ideas, and animating them to match the personality of each word.

In Text formatting task, I learned to apply typographic rules such as font size, line length, alignment, spacing, tracking and kerning. Understanding concepts like widows, orphans, and ragging made me more careful and considerate in creating and organizing layouts.

Overall, this tasks is quite hard for me at first but it improve my creative expression and understanding about font and type. It makes me realize how small details in typography can change or improve the whole designs and readings experience.

FEEDBACK

Week 1 - General Feedback: We were required to create e portfolio, watch lecture videos, and 5 rough sketches for each word we choose.

Week 1 - Specific Feedback : Ms. Vit suggests us to go through the lecture and bring up our sketches with word chosen (SHAKE, JUMP, STRETCH, GROW, FLOW, MELT) for next week.

Week 2 - General Feedback : I came up with many sketches but i need to put it inside box so it could fit it when i digitalize it

Week 2 - Specific Feedback : Some ideas are too basic and complicated for this task, so Ms. Vit suggest me to think something more simpler but unique ideas.

Week 3 - General Feedback : I started to digitalize my design that i sketch in adobe illustrator, and came out with the 4 best design.

Week 3 - Specific Feedback : Ms. Vit like some of my sketches and asked me to digitalize and experiment it on adobe illustrator to see if i can improve the design or if it will look as nice as its in sketches.

Week 4 - General Feedback : I animate my 4 best design into GIF.

Week 4 - Specific Feedback : all 4 of the words look okay and i can start animate it

Week 5 - General Feedback : I showed 4th of my gif animation and print the formatting composition to consult with Ms .Vit

Week 5 - Specific Feedback : From all 4 of my animation, she choose stretch because its the most suitable and expressive compare to the others. The FLOW animation is smooth but it doesn't really show the movement, for JUMP the human figure walking is not really making sense, and SHAKE for the shadow, it should've been animated with movement too not only staying still. For formatting, 1 of 3 composition looks nice and okay because its quite balanced, but i still need to do some adjustment because there's orphans when I rearrange the composition.