Advanced Typography (Task 1)

22/04/2024 - 13/05/2024 (Week 1 - Week 4)

Myra Elida Binti Abd Azis / 0358516

GCD61004 / Advanced Typography / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media

Task 1

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Instruction

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Lectures

1. Typographic Systems (Week 1)

There are eight major variations :

• Axial
• Radial
• Dilatational
• Random
• Grid
• Modular
• Transitional
• Bilateral

Typographic systems are akin to what architects term shape grammars. The system has a set of rules that apply in a step-by-step way to generate a set, or language, of designs.

While some feel these impositions take intuition away from a teaching point of view, they provide a solid framework that allows learners to be guided in their exploration while intuition develops.

1. Axial - text is on the left or right of the axis, the axis can be a straight line or bent line
2. Radial - text is extended from a point or multiple points of focus
3. Dilatational - text extended from a center point in a circular form
4. Random - text has no specific pattern or relationship
5. Grid - a system of vertical and horizontal divisions
6. Modular - non-objective text that is made in as standardized units
7. Transitional - informal system of layered branding
8. Bilateral - text is arranged symmetrically on one axis

2. Typographic Composition (Week 2)

Fig 1.1

Principle of Design Composition:

- Ex. emphasis, isolation, symmetry, asymmetry, alignment and perspective

- When used in layout or compositions, can appear ambiguous and relevant to imagery

Fig 1.2

Rule of Thirds :

- A guide dividing a frame into three columns and rows

-Intersecting lines are used as a guide to place points

Fig 1.3

Grid System:

- Popular for the versatility of the system and modular nature for adaptations

Fig 1.4

During the post-modernist era, where chaos, randomness, and asymmetry were explored. Legibility and readability were relegated to the back seat however the best examples like in Fig 1.4 seem to combine the two seamlessly. Left to right: Paula Scher, Jonathan Barnbrook, and David Carson.

Fig 1.5

Environmental Grid:

- An extraction of crucial lines both curved and straight is formed

- The designer organizes his elements to make a unique and exciting mixture of texture and visual stimuli

Fig 1.6 

Form and Movement:

- Encourages to explore the opportunities of the grid and get rid of the seriousness of the grid system

- Placement of form on a page, over many pages creates movement whether on paper or a screen

3. Context and Creativity (Week 3)

Fig 1.7 

Fig 1.8

Cuneiform:

- Earliest system of actual writing

- Used between the 34C. B.C.E. through the 1st Century C.E

Fig 1.9

Hieroglyphics:

- Egyptian writing system

- Mixture of rebus and phonetic characters (first link to the future alphabetic system)

- Potential used in three different ways :

1. Ideograms - to represent the things they actually depict
2. Determinatives - to show signs preceding are meant as phonograms and indicate the general idea of the word
3. Phonograms - 'spell out' individual words

Fig 1.10

Early Greek/5th C. B.C.E.:

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Fig 1.11

Roman Uncials/4th C.:

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Fig 1.12

English Half Uncials/8th C.:

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Exercise 1: Typographic Systems

Process : 

Fig 2.1 Compilation of Progress in InDesign

Final Typographic System Submission :

Fig 2.1 Final Axial System JPEG

Fig 2.2 Final Bilateral System JPEG

Fig 2.3 Final Dilatational System JPEG

Fig 2.4 Final Grid System JPEG

Fig 2.5 Final Modular System JPEG

Fig 2.6 Final Radial System JPEG

Fig 2.7 Final Random System JPEG

Fig 2.8 Final Transitional System JPEG

Fig 2.9 Final Typographic Systems Without Guides PDF

Fig 2.10 Final Typographic Systems With Guides PDF

Exercise 2: Type & Play

Process :

Fig 3.1 & 3.2

The pictures above are the pattern that I have chosen to extract the letters from. I have picked Fig 3.2 because there were lines and curves that I can extract from compared to Fig 3.1.

Fig 3.3

In this picture, I have managed to extract the letters P, L, A, E and S. With these letters, I can spell the word 'Please'.

Fig 3.4 Extracted Letters

Fig 3.5 Comparison Between Before and After Refined Letters

Fig 3.6 Background For Poster

Final Poster :

Fig 3.7 Final Poster (JPEG)

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Feedback

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Reflection

Experience

Observation

Findings

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Further Reading

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