Introduction to Typography September 21, 2009
Posted by kd49 in : Class 3 - Introduction to Typography, Classes , comments closed Review of signage assignmentreview of Business Week article. A few relevant links:
Flash abuse: Leo Burnett
An overview of typography including an introduction to type, the terminology associated with it and guidelines for its use.
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FONT ART
4 Dead Celebrities
Integration of Farci-Arabic and Latin alphabet
Typography is:
- The art or process of printing with type.
- The work of setting and arranging types and of printing from them
- The general character or appearance of printed matter.
A typeface refers to a group of characters, such as letters, numbers, and punctuation, that share a common design or style. Times New Roman, Arial, Helvetica and Courier are all typefaces. There are over 300,000 typefaces.
Fonts refer to the means by which typefaces are displayed or presented. Graphic designers choose typefaces for their projects but use fonts to create the finished art. Typefaces are selected. Fonts can be purchased at type foundries.
Character, which is any individual letter, numeral or punctuation mark. The capital letters are called caps, or uppercase (u.c.). Small letters are called lowercase characters (l.c.) Numbers are called numerals or figures.
Type Families The different options available within a font make up a type family. Many fonts are at a minimum available in roman, bold and italic. Other families are much larger, such as Helvetica, which is available in options such Condensed Bold, Condensed Black, UltraLight, UltraLight Italic, Light, Light Italic, Regular, etc. The univers font comes in a large family of over 30 options.
example of Helvetica type family
Classifications of type:
- Serif (old style, transitional, slab serif, modern)
- San serif – typically uniform in stroke width.
- Script
- Decorative
Font Book on a mac is a good resources for viewing type libraries. Demonstration of Font Book
The elements of type and seven classic typefaces (ppt)
How type used to be set.
The typography school
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ASSIGNMENT
Listen to: Please Explain: Typography, The Leonard Lopate Show
(scroll down the page to find it)
Create 6 examples of your name choosing font preferences with at least one example of serif, san serif, decorative and script: example
Create 2-3 expressive words: ppt example
Read: About Typeface
Look at Tables of Contents and The Professional Gallery on Designing with Type
Excellent reference:
Designing with Type
Visual Communication Rules for Success September 8, 2009
Posted by kd49 in : Class 1 - Design Rules, Classes , comments closed Course descriptionClass introductions
Dillon | Thompson work
Goals of the class:
To give you practical knowledge and skills for making the visual choices that will be an inevitable component of your academic and professional careers and some confidence on how to approach visual problems. The assumption is that in your academic and professional careers you will be confronted with visual decisions or involved in managing or hiring design professionals. This class does not assume that you will become professional designers.
Expectations:
- Attendance. You must attend at least 12 classes
- Assignments. You must do the assignments
- Participation. You must participate actively in the class discussions
- You must have a blog, post your work to it and be prepared to discuss it during class
- Hone your visual skills “Test Your Awareness,” a new PSA from Transport for London’s campaign for cycling safety, turns the fact that we can all miss seeing the obvious
Format: Half the class time will be used for a lecture and introduction of a new topic and half the class will be spent reviewing the previous week’s assignment which is generally based on the lecture topic and focused on developing a body of work that is ultimately useful to you.
Categories of design that we will explore in print and digital media:
- Principles and vocabulary of visual communication
- Tools of communication including
- Typography
- Logo and branding
- Color
- Photography
- The application of design principles to:
- Information design
- Interface design
- Packaging
- Motion Graphics
- Photography
• Design process and resources
Discussion of sample assignments
Cool visual for this week:
Melting Men
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PRINCIPLES OF VISUAL COMMUNICATION
Basic Principles: START WITH AN IDEA
Good design is not about good taste or bad taste. It is about having an idea and applying it rigorously to communicate a message
Clarity: communication is the goal
Consistency: rules are consistently applied.
Appropriateness: feels right for the subject matter
Practicality: can be reproduced, coded, whatever.
Presentation of 10 Rules for Design Success (ppt)
Demonstrate how to analyze design showing Macaulay Honors College example
Discussion of use of grid.
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ASSIGNMENT
Pick a website that you like and analyze its success in terms of grid, colors, layout, typography, consistency and usability.
Read: Design Observer