AD Typography Task I: Typographic Systems + Type & Play
MODULE GCD61004: ADVANCED TYPOGRAPHY
22 April 2024 - xx May 2024 : Week 1 - Week 3
Bachelor of Design (Hon) in Creative Media
Task I / Exercises: Typographic Systems + Type & Play
PARTICIPATED LECTURES:
WEEK 1: Typographic Systems (Video Lecture Link)
According to famous Designer Kimberly Elam when discussing Typographic Systems, “ All designs are based on a Structural System” - suggesting that common designs in Typography can be categorised into a series of eight major variations with infinite permutations. These defined Typographic Systems are used to provide an arrangement with purpose and focus which directs the decisions made by the artists. In essence, these would function similarly to ‘Shape Rules:’ a series of shape rules which are applied in a step-by-step way to generate a ‘language for the designs.’ Additionally, these systems also provide beginning artists with a framework which will guide them through their own explorations in Typography.
This proves useful (especially for the beginners) as their ‘intuition for design’ is still being developed - intuition being the inherent thought process as to how something should be presented. The Eight Variations of Typographic Systems are as follows:
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“Examples of the Axial System (Images sourced from Video)”
The Axial System states that all elements are organised to appear on either the left or right side of a singular axis. The axis in question is not required to be a straight line and can be represented with additional points; however, it must appear as one consistent line.
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“Examples of the Axial System (Images sourced from Video)”
The Radial System states that all elements are organised along, and extended from, a singular point of focus; creating a radial pattern around a point. All lines of text must face towards a point of focus (multiple points can be used.)
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“Examples of the Radial System (Images sourced from Video)”
The Dilatational System states that all elements are organised to appear as expanding outwards from a central point. Text is arranged to follow a path around a circle which is read from the most outer-ring to the most inner-ring.
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“Examples of the Dilatational System (Images sourced from Video)”
The Random System states that all elements appear with no specific pattern or relationship to other parts of the design. Text can be arranged freely but should still retain some form of literacy - preventing the design from being useless.
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“Examples of the Random System (Images sourced from Video)”
The Grid System states that all elements will appear within a system of vertical and horizontal Divisions. Text within these systems can be arranged by grid to stress textual hierarchy: each ‘box’ may format text differently which creates a visual hierarchy.
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“Examples of the Grid System (Images sourced from Video)”
The Transitional System is an informal system which states that all elements are organised in a layered-banding. Banding refers to information or text being segregated to a singular line with its formatting suggesting its importance/hierarchy.
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“Examples of the Transitional System (Images sourced from Video)”
The Modular System is a complex system which states that all elements are constructed into a series of identical shapes, commonly referred to as units. As determined by its name, these standardised units can be moved around the composition.
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“Examples of the Modular System (Images sourced from Video)”
The Bilateral Systems states that all elements are arranged symmetrically on a singular axis - creating equal distribution. Additional axes can be introduced in order to produce a more creative piece; however, the information should still appear symmetrical.
WEEK 2: Typographic Composition (Video Lecture Link)
When discussing the Principles of Design Composition, these principles suggest a generally agreed upon way as to how elements within a creative design should be organised or composed in order to convey the message/intentions of the artist. In essence, a series of short-hand systems which make creative works universally understood. The Principles of Design Composition focuses on such elements of a composition: Emphasis, Isolation, Repetition, Balance (symmetry/asymmetry), Alignment, Perspective, Rhythm & Contrast. Similar to the elements discussed in the Design Principle Module.
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“Examples of the Rule of Thirds”
The Rule of Thirds is a Photographic Guide which is used to support the visual composition. It suggests that a frame can be divided into three even rows and columns (using lines) - the intersecting lines are expected points of Interest within the given space.
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“Examples of the Environmental Grids”
Environmental Grid refers to an exploration of an existing structure or numerous structures which have been combined for the purpose of design. In most cases, crucial lines and shapes are extracted from structures in order to create a Super-Structure. Designers will then organise information around their Super-Structure; creating a unique mixture of textual and visual graphics.
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“Examples of the Forms & Movement”
Forms & Movement is a system which is based on the exploration of existing grid systems; focusing on the placement of forms (irrespective of what it is) over a series of pages in order to create an illusion of movement. Forms can refer to any element such as images, texts, colours or shapes
WEEK 3: Context & Creativity (Video Lecture Link)
Typography as a subject is quite old, dating back to an earlier period where humans began recording events, narratives & philosophy. The first set of mechanically produced letterforms to be used would be designed to imitate the nuance of handwriting. As a result, many of the existing conventions such as punctuation, spacing, reading patterns etc. would become the basis for standard form mechanical type.
Cuneiform is believed to be the oldest writing system, being a series of written symbols evolved from Pictograms. Authors would learn to write starting from the left, moving to the right akin to modern international writing.
Egyptian Hieroglyphs is another older writing system which is still being investigated to determine if it is a development of Cuneiform or an independent development. Eitherway, it was popularised due to its style - being an Ideograms system (characters representing tangible things they depict.) Additionally, the language possess determinatives; special signage which, when used alongside phonograms; can indicate general ideas using basic words (sky + water = rain.)
Early Greek (5th Century BCE) was a freehand writing style evolved from the Etruscans and influenced by Egyptian hieratics. The system was originally non-serif but, with the addition of better tools and design, became serif. Laid the foundation for most modern western languages.
Roman Uncials (4th Century BCE) was a development designed after their Greek ancestors. This writing system slowly began to emerge due to large amounts of texts needing to be reproduced consistently - letters became more round and developed curved forms which allowed for fewer strokes and could be produced faster.
English Half Uncials & Olde English (8th Century CE) were writing styles popularised by olde English religions. The texts became more slanted and developed condensed forms due to writings needing to be compressed into smaller books. Eventually, Carolingian Minuscule started to appear, marking the beginning of sentences with capital letters as well as adding spaces in between words to clarify reading. To further improve the reading experience, Punctuation was added to simulate how the text would be read if spoken aloud.
The Italian Renaissance was a time period where mediaeval texts were being re-examined which led to stylisation of (then modern) typefaces. There was the newly rediscovered letterforms Antica as well as a popular writing style of producing text with a slant - named ‘italics’ after this slant became a telling sign of Italian literature. Additionally, further renaissance analysis was applied to art and architecture was directed toward letterform — resulting in a more perfect or rationalised letter.
WEEK 4: DESIGNING TYPE (Video Lecture Link)
Type Design as an artform is the creative process of designing letterforms & typefaces in a consistent style which may be themed after a subject, event, production etc. Oftentimes, Type designers will work endlessly to ensure that their newly created fonts remain legible to the audience while also having a unique style about them. To achieve this goal, designers will go through a five step process in which they research their topic, produce sketches/test examples, digitise the designs for online use, test the readability & design before finally deploying their new typeface for all to see (and potentially use.)
Research: The process in which the designers both look at & understand the history of type anatomy, their conventions as well as the correct terminology. This way, designers have a more informed opinion and can better determine the type’s purpose within a piece; what is it used for and where else can it be applied. Additional research will see designers studying existing fonts either to gain further creative insight or to use them for inspiration/reference.
Sketching: The general process of applying the knowledge to design - often done using the traditional method (by-hand) but can also be done with digital pen-work. The idea of this stage is for designers to produce a sample of ideas on how they wish to structure their type in a quick and easy-to-reference fashion, making the latter stages easier.
Digitalisation: Using professional softwares such as the Adobe Service, FontLab or other Glyphs apps, designers are able to import their designs and improve upon them to make them more functional, consistent & readable. Just like most artforms, there is debate on how this section should be treated: Some designers make work in programs such as Adobe Illustrator before porting them over to specialised applications. This is highly frowned upon by purists in the Type-Design space (everyone is entitled to their own opinion.)
Testing: This stage acts as a process where designers are able to refine and edit/correct aspects of the letterforms to make a more legitimate typeface. Designers will often create prototypes which will be visually tested with others in order to get useful & important feedback to further refine. In this stage, designers may begin to tweak their designs to fit more in their respective typeface category (display type/text type) while also ensuring that their type remains readable and legible. However, for more display pieces, this stage is designed to ensure that the ‘stylised message’ of the text is able to be clearly examined.
Deployment: Once the typeface has been completed, fully tested and has been refined, the designers are able to finally deploy their finalised typeface. Despite the ‘finality’ of this stage, it itself can act more as an extension of the testing stage as designers can find errors which may have not presented themselves during the test. As a result, revision is present even after the deployment of the typeface.
TYPEFACE CONSTRUCTION
Construction & Consideration: Typefaces can present differing forms and constructions which need to be taken into consideration when designing a new typeface. One of the first major considerations is seen in visual corrections where the extrusions of the typeform may extend past the baseline or cap line creating overshoot. While this could be a stylised approach, it is discouraged. Additional visual corrections also applises the the alignment of straight or curved forms, making them feel connected despite their indifferent shape.
An example of this practice can be seen with old Roman capital with their construction being made in an 8 x 8 cell grid. Some feature circular forms which can be done to make the construction of letterforms more consistent when designing.
Fitting the Type: a short expression which refers to a type of correction in which the spacing between lettering is altered. The ultimate goal is for the spacing between all lettering to have a uniform amount of white space between them; if not, the design will look unappealing. This process may take time as it could see the designer looking at specific letter pairings and making custom spacing - making it look good by eye.
Ink Traps was a unique design trick used originally when printing type onto cheaper paper (often absorbent with ink.) This process made printing faster but very in-precise thus, ink traps were designed on letterforms to ensure legibility despite bad inking. Excessive ink had the tendency to gather in corners of the letterforms which made it difficult to read.
MODULE INSTRUCTIONS:
“APR - JUL 2024: GCD 60904 / ADVANCED TYPOGRAPHY MODULE INFORMATION BOOKLET”
Task I / Exercises: Typographic Systems + Type & Play (Week 1 - 3)
Typographic Systems: Students within this cohort are expected to develop an understanding of the visual organisational systems, suggesting in-depth knowledge of the design process. Referencing the variations in Typographical Systems; Students will need to fully explore the capabilities of all eight variations - developing creative samples which should be able to display a predetermined body of text. Students are provided with three choices of predetermined text in which they only need to pick one.
Type & Play: Students within the cohort are expected to select an image depicting either man-made objects, structures or naturally occurring items - ensuring that the image does not contain too many elements. With the image; students will need to analyse, dissect and identify potential letterforms within the image. The ‘depicted letterforms’ will be explored and digitised in order to create a crude representation in which more traditional letterforms can be created. The final forms should appear refined and should reflect where it originally came from.
MODULE PRACTICAL:
WEEK I - EXERCISE I: Typographic Systems
For this required task: Students are expected to explore the previously explained EIGHT Systems: Axial, Radial, Dilational, Random, Grid, Modular, Transitional & Bilateral. Students are strictly limited to using the ‘Adobe InDesign program’ and must use a page size of 200 x 200 mm. Students are permitted to using a singular additional Colour (Black + Colour of Choice)
For this first week’s practical, we would need to work on our exploration, exclusively using Adobe InDesign - this being my first time using it again after around five-to-six months. As a result, it would take a good amount of time to become used to the adobe system again; mainly developing my ideas through brute-force trial-and-error or by researching the techniques I’d forgotten. Although our lecturer Mr. Vinod had produced a digital lecture to aid our memory; I still felt a little slow when it came to working with the program. In order to not impede my creative exploration, I began by exploring the eight required designs in my sketchbook. This way, I would be able to come up with ideas while not being too-limited by abilities to do basic tasks.
“Photographs of my sketchbook designs for the Eight Typographic Systems”
When producing these sketches, I mainly wanted to explore the ‘shapes’ of the typographic systems. In essence, I wanted to explore how I would be effective in populating the page with designs which were inspired by the texts (In this case, I chose “The ABCs of Bauhaus; Design Theory.”) During some parts such as Transitional, radial, random etc. I found it difficult to come up with some design ideas as I was unsure how these systems were structured or best represented. In cases such as transitional; it seemed more like a structuring which required flow - guiding the audience between line but always had these bends/flexes in the text which I didn’t understand. Random was also another one in which the very concept makes no sense; to organise a text without reason yet should still remain clear enough to read.
Regardless, I moved onto recreating some of the designs in InDesign as that was the work & process required of me. In the beginning, I mainly wanted to replicate my designs as closely as possible but, the more I tried to re-create some of them; I realised that the scale I had my designs at did not mesh well with the medium. To best describe it; some designs would see standard text occupy a sixth of the document but that would render the text in the program at 18pt rather than the recommended 10-12pts. As a result, some designs would need to be changed when being translated into InDesign. At the end of my first attempt in InDesign; I felt rather unsatisfied with my work because of a style I could not identify. To me, the designs felt very amateurish - almost childish in its design but I didn’t really understand why. I would like to believe it could be due to the shape or crampedness of everything so I decided I would wait to speak with Mr Vinod before finalising my ideas.
“First attempt at Axial + Radial Typographic Systems.”
Axial in theory is one of the easiest Typographic Systems however, it can take a good amount of time to complete as it relies heavily on a good layout. In essence, this system relied on creating a design around a single line without creating a sense of imbalance in the piece. One repeating mistake a lot of students made was an imbalance created by the title - extending too far or being too large that it makes the piece fall off. To combat this it seems, I tried to square off part of the design; a detail which backfired as the ‘square text’ led to the formation of rivers which makes texts more difficult to read.
Radial is a system which mainly resembles a light-ray effect around a central point which sees text extending outwards. In order to create a more experimental design, I wanted to experiment with using multiple focus points which I felt is a bit funky looking (Needs to be improved.)
“First attempt at Axial + Radial Typographic Systems.”
Dilatational was another system I wanted to get more experimental with however, this led to me struggling a bit due to the designs. The ‘atomic’ looking design sounds more interesting in theory; its practical design was a bit harder to work with. It Ultimately resulted in a less-than-par design which felt too empty due to the spacing (something to improve.) The more ‘record’ looking design on the other hand looked a lot better and could use minor tweaks to improve the design.
Grid is a basic system akin to the Axial system - the creator needing to base their work around a series of predetermined lines. While I’m happy with the first design (Square,) I feel like you can tell it was a ‘Grid Design’ - only being able to tell b/c of the invisible guidelines. Overall, I’m quite happy with this design. As for the second Design (Circle,) I realised it did not look like a ‘grid’ design. I wanted to try something more in-line with Bauhaus but that led to the breaking of the Grid system. Cannot use this one.
“First attempt at Modular + Bilateral Typographic Systems.”
Modular as a system feels very close to the Grid System as it relies on producing designs based on a series of cells. The only difference is Modular is to be designed with the ability to move it around, hence the name. Looking back on these designs, I feel that I tried a bit too hard to try and layout the Modular grid to almost show how the parts could be moved around; however, the additional graphics take away from the system. It makes it seem stiff/immovable. The second Design (With the black Square,) I tried to create a large focal cell which all designs were based around however, it didn’t turn out too well because the cells feel too cramped.
Bilateral basically relied on centred-aligned text which made this system feel very limited. In my case, I wanted to make it feel more ‘active’ with more parts; however, this made the work feel too ‘abstract’ and was graphic heavy. As for the second design; it was very bland and the font did not fit the aesthetic.
“First attempt at Transitional + Random Typographic Systems.”
WEEK II - EXERCISE I: Typographic Systems
Following this week’s meeting with Mr Vinod, the cohort meeting to discuss and critique one-another’s designs; I decided to meet with Mr Vinod personally in order to ask for his opinions on the designs (Discussion in REFLECTION Section.) From our discussion, I was able to extract a few design changes I would need to do in order to improve my designs. I would need to head back to InDesign and change a few aspects or completely recreate a few designs however, I was more hopeful this time around.
“Final Render of the Axial System using Adobe InDesign”
“Final Render of the Dilatational System using Adobe InDesign.”
“Final Render of the Grid System using Adobe InDesign”
Final Render of the Modular System using Adobe InDesign
Final Render of the Bilateral System using Adobe InDesign
Final Render of the Radial System using Adobe InDesign
Final Render of the Transitional System using Adobe InDesign
Final Render of the Random System using Adobe InDesign
“Final Attempt using InDesign to produce the Eight Typographic Systems.”
“Final Attempt using InDesign to produce the Eight Typographic Systems w/ Grid.”
With these final designs, I had reached a point where I was at least satisfied with them. Although I feel that a few of them are a bit lacklustre however, I cannot dedicate more time to this exercise as I need to move onto the next task issued this week.
WEEK II - EXERCISE II: Type & Play
Exercise II would see the cohort needing to analyse, dissect and then identify letterforms found within a chosen image. The image’s subject should be something that is relatively repetitive but not identical: it can either be organic or man-made.
For this activity, I was unsure of which subject I wanted to do for this assignment; instead choosing to sample a series of images where I had planned to find letterforms. From there, I would theorise which one had the most potential for an interesting design and would choose said design for the final letterforms. For this exercise, I would source images from ‘Unsplash:’ a photography site which has commercially free photographs from photographers around the world. I would ultimately source and analyse the photos below.
“First Attempt Looking for Letterforms in Repetitive images.”
“Second Attempt Looking for Letterforms in Repetitive images.”
“Third Attempt Looking for Letterforms in Repetitive images.”
“Fourth Attempt Looking for Letterforms in Repetitive images.”
With all the designs analysed, I thought it would be interesting to look into designs of letterforms based on Leandre Chastagnier’s photo of a cityscape; using the roads to create the letterforms to be used in the second half of the project. Before I can begin designing however, I would need to choose a base font in which I can reference while working. This way, the custom font will still be legible and fairly designed (balanced, consistent details etc.) For this, I decided to go with Futura Bold Italics as it shares a rough shape with the previously designed letterforms as well as containing the weird lean effect produced by the perspective of the photograph.
“Developing & Correcting the Chosen letterforms referencing the word ‘JOLT’ and the font Futura.”
The goal of this phase of the exercise is to create a design which is a blend of the reference font and the custom letterforms students were able to identify in their image of choice. In the image above, The first line is the outlines of Letterforms I was able to outline while looking at the photograph. Before I would be able to use the outlines, I wanted to identify weaknesses in their current designs as indicated by the blue lettering. From the selected letters, I found that I was able to create the word “Jolt” which would be used for reference.
The second line depicted in the image above is the chosen word “Jolt” in the style of the reference font which I would need to use throughout the exercise. Line three was a step required as the original lines were uneven and inconsistent with one another meaning that I had to simplify their shapes and establish consistent design rules.However, as a result; the original shape of the letterforms would be heavily distorted, changing the letterforms dramatically which could go against the assignment. Ultimately I decided to keep all vertical lines to be thick and horizontal lines to be thin - designed after the idea of main roads splitting off into streets or alleys as depicted in the original image.
The fourth line would serve as a further refinement; using metrics to make the letterforms as consistent as possible as well as editing them to be more consistent with the Reference font. This way, the font could blend more seamlessly together. As for the final two lines, I realised the letterforms were still a bit lacking in design and did not resemble the original image thus, I decided to add small decals. I decided to include small zebra crossings/crosswalks on the letters ‘J,O,T” in the same spots that can be found in the original image taken. Furthermore, these zebra crossings were designed using hyphens and full stops/periods - evoking the traffic design while remaining Typographical. Their inclusion in the letterforms was a creative choice as, at least to me, my letterforms felt very basic and non-intuitive thus, adding the road decal would help add character. When looking at the final result, I’m quite pleased with how these small decals enhance the final design.
“Finalising the study by using the custom letterforms to create a poster.”
To Finalise our process thus far; our lecturer thought it would be useful for us to include our newly created custom letterforms into a film poster (Proportions of 1024x1024 pts.) Additionally, this would compound with the first part of the task as we would also need to display and arrange the text in an effective hierarchy - making the poster easily understandable. As my letterforms created the word ‘JOLT’, I wanted to structure my poster to reflect a night-life racing film - staying with the theme of the original image while also adding creative liberties. To fit the aesthetics of the poster, the only additional effect added to the custom letterforms was a minor multi-layered blur effect to create the neon look. This would also distinguish the parts of the text, creating a hierarchy through contrast. To structure the text, I thought it reasonable to separate it into two sections; the title and tag-line being in the upper-third of the poster while the credits and awards were listed in the bottom thirds.
Although I was quite satisfied with my work thus far, I was recommended by my lecturer to essentially restart the project as they felt that the letterforms were quite limited. Once again, I returned the original source image and began looking more closely at the shapes presented. While it is simple to recognise where the shape is, the whole point was to extract unique letterforms sourced from the image. As a result, I started following the paths of the roads while also attempting to include some of the blocking produced by the buildings. Looking at the finalised result below, I feel that it makes the letterforms a lot more unique however, due to time constraints; I would be unable to show the same level of care I did the first time.
“Developing & Correcting the Chosen letterforms referencing the word ‘JOLT’ and the font Futura.”
“Finalising the study by using the custom letterforms to create a poster.”
Overall, I’m quite satisfied with how this final piece came out - especially given I was not too pleased with how simple the letterforms originally looked. Although there is a lot more which can be done to alter this final render - I believe that I should not need to invest more time into this task as I have additional lectures to work on as well.
TASK FEEDBACK:
TASK I - WEEK II: Typographic Systems
General Feedback: Looking at other student’s work, the lecturer would come to the following conclusions which I would need to use when revising my work: The first most common mistake presented throughout the first week of corrections is a misunderstanding of the Typographic systems. Common mistakes would see students keeping off the guiding in Axial or making the page feel unbalanced. While these types of mistakes can be used artificially, they are still worth revisiting and correcting. The second major offence was the over-reliance of graphics: the task mainly focuses on text and should not focus on the additional elements. However, it could be argued that some of the additional details are required (especially in the case of Bauhaus,) it is important to limit their inclusion. Other minor mistakes include the use of margins within the work - they’ve been used to limit the artboard to prevent printing errors. When designing a layout, it is important to consider the direction of reading; you should want them to focus inwards so as to not be tempted to lose interest.
Personal Feedback: When discussing with my lecturer, these were the main takeaways I needed to work on before finalising:
Two Tone Designs: While splitting the page using two different colours can be interesting, it is also very dangerous artistically. It can suggest a point of conflict between two sets of information or can produce a contrasting effect which can make it difficult to adjust your eyes quickly. While it is still a useful trick - it should be used in more suitable situations.
Making the work ‘Too Square:’ In essence, I prefer when text is neatly arranged and sit more flush with its borders; however, this can lead to the formation of prominent rivers throughout the works. While minor rivers are expected, this can make reading rather difficult as the text becomes too thinly spread in some sections.
Font Choices: This one was an obvious mistake I would’ve missed if I didn’t consult the lecturer. In essence, certain font-types are designed to fill a certain shape or niche of text. If used incorrectly, it can make the text look weirdly structured or ‘feel off’ as described.
Off-kiltered Text: While text is able to be rotated, it becomes more difficult to read if the angle is too steep. While this could be a design choice, its important to consider the ergonomics of the text arrangement.
TASK I - WEEK III: ABSENCE
General Feedback: Due to an absence caused by Malaysian authorities, I was unable to attend class and was unable to discuss/hear any effective feedback for this week’s task.
TASK I - WEEK II: Typographic Systems
General Feedback: While looking at other student’s work, the lecturer would state the following which I would need to employ in my works: as this project would see us introduce our letterforms into an image, we would need to make the text seem integrated into the image. Additionally, the image chosen should also represent the reference image rather than an end idea. It is important to consider colour when working with the images; the letterforms can sometimes disappear into the image or could be misconstrued and be related to an element of the image chosen (something the letterforms were not based on.)
Personal Feedback: When discussing with my lecturer, these were the main takeaways I needed to work on before finalising:
Project restart: The lecturer believed that my letterforms were oversimplified and would not serve as a good representation of the original reference image. They advised me to take a second look at the image before attempting to re-develop the letterforms.
Oversimplified: While my letterforms were clearly readable, their design was lacking some of the unique elements which could’ve been extrapolated from the original image. While working to start again, I should consider including these elements in some way. Simplifying makes for good readability but it shouldn't detract from the original image.
FURTHER READINGS:
WEEK I - II: Typographic Systems: Frameworks by KIMBERLY ELAM
General Reading: Kimberly Elam’s 2007 novel, “Typographic Systems” is a detailed design-orientated novel which focuses on the arrangement and organisation of text in various pieces - hence its importance to this module. Furthermore, after reading through various sections of this novel, it becomes quite clear that the first exercise is based on her methodologies discussed in the novel. As a result, I thought it would be quite useful to begin reading it to better support my Typographic work.
As previously mentioned; the novel itself centres around the complex systems which are used to effectively arrange text within a piece - being clear enough that audiences are able to fully understand the message being conveyed in the text. I mainly decided to look at sections which looked deeper into the order of reading, legibility, hierarchy and contrast as I believe it is the most important understanding required for Typography. Furthermore, with a greater understanding; authors are able to produce more creative arrangements while still remaining legible and in the accepted reading order. I also looked into the sections which focused on the ‘Eight Typographic Systems’ which was required of us to study. Overall, the sections of the book I chose to read were able to somewhat support my design decisions and were able to develop my intuition to structure text more effectively.
WEEK I - II: Finding Type: A Novel Typographic Exercise by VINOD NAIR
General Reading: Kreatif Beats as a website is a collection of articles written by both students and lecturers to help provide useful information, inspiration or general updates relating modules in creative media. In this case, my lecturer’s article; “Finding Type: A Novel Typographic Exercise” was an exploration of merging typography with creative thinking & practice; serving as an introduction into the second exercise of the task. The article itself detailed the whole creative process for the exercise while stressing its importance in Typography.
In my case, I had mainly used the article to support me while I worked through my own assignment, looking at the ways previous students structured their work and found creative solutions when deciphering letterforms from a repetitive photograph. Furthermore, it brought to my attention a series of details I would have missed should I have never double-checked highlighting how meticulously designed letterforms actually are. One thing I thought was interesting which my lecturer did not bring up when discussing the website was that it also offered non-professional Typographers such as myself a look into another person’s creative process. Although it may sound trivial; this look into how others perceive texts and attempts to create links between abstract thoughts causes you to look at the world in a different way - seeing letterforms everywhere you go. Additionally, you can also come to respect how difficult it is to make a custom text for projects.
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