PROJECT 1
TYPOGRAPHY - PROJECT 1
Farissa Eryna Sham (0336814)
Project 1 - Text Formatting and Expression
18/9/19 - 2/10/19 (Week 5-6)
LECTURE NOTES
Lecture 5
25/08/19
Lecture 6
02/10/19
INSTRUCTIONS
PROJECT 1
18/9/19 - /9/19 (Week 4-6)
For project one, we were told to express a body of text typographically in a two-page editorial spread. We were also told to design a type expression for the headline of the article we choose. Images were not allowed although some minor graphical elements can be used in the headline type expression. We were briefed on how to use Adobe InDesign for the layout before we got started on it and Mr Vinod told us that we could use Adobe Illustrator for the type expression.
To get started with this project, I sketched out a few of my ideas on paper. I was also having a hard time deciding on which topic I'd like to do. It was either 'The impact of Bauhaus on Modern culture' or 'A Designer's Code of Ethics'. These are the sketches I had for both of these topics.
Fig 1.1 Sketches.
I decided to try digitizing both of the topics' headline in Adobe Illustrator.
Fig 1.2 Headline for topic 1.
Fig 1.3 Headline for topic 2.
I decided to go for 'The Impact of Bauhaus on Modern culture'. I made some changes to the color of the triangles by making it slightly lighter to not make it too bold and distracting. I wanted to start by formatting the text. For our InDesign document, the page size given to us was 200mm x 200mm. I created 3 pages with two columns, 5mm column dither and margins of 10mm.
Fig 1.4 Settings for the document.
At first I set it as three column but then I deleted it to make it only two columns.
Fig 1.5 Columns.
After setting up the columns, I decided to import the body texts to InDesign. There were many things to keep in mind like the leading, paragraph spacing, tracking, widows, orphans and many more that Mr Vinod told us about in class. We were told to follow the rule of thumb which is 55-65 but if our columns are really small we could use 35-55.
Fig 1.6 Body text adjustments.
I adjusted the typeface and the paragraph spacing. We were also told not to increase or decrease tracking by more than 3 times. I changed the kerning/tracking to 5mm as Mr Vinod told us to decrease it from 20mm.
Fig 1.7 Kerning/Tracking.
After I felt like the body text was okay, I decided to put in the headline in InDesign and look at how the whole layout. I also added some lines and shapes to compliment the body text.
Fig 1.8 Added shapes.
Fig 1.9 is the first draft of project 1.
Fig 1.9 Text Formatting Spread; First draft.
On the weekend, I messaged Mr Vinod on Facebook and asked for his feedback. He said "Once headline style has been established in the space, the para of texts should be placed approximately in balance or in contrast." so I decided to create a totally different layout and headline. I realized that my body text was too crowded and it did not compliment the idea well. I did another sketch of my ideas for a new headline.
Fig 1.10 Sketches for a new headline.
Fig 1.11 Development of headline.
I wasn't sure of what typeface I was going to use so I tried a few. The typeface I used for this headline was 'Gill Sans Std'. However, I felt like it didn't look right and it was not suitable. So I changed it to 'Universe Lt Std'.
Fig 1.12 Univers Lt Std.
For the body text, I used 'Futura Std, Book' and decided to make it in a descending order. I made all my body text aligned to the flush left.
Fig 1.13 Body text 1.
Fig 1.14 Flush left alignment.
Then I decided to do another layout so I could have a few more options. This one In my opinion, fig 1.13 the layout has a lot of negative space. I prefer body text 2. I made my first paragraph in 'Heavy' and the quotes in 'light oblique'. I changed the kerning/tracking to 5mm as Mr Vinod told us to decrease it from 20mm. I was struggling to make sure there wasn't any 'orphans or widows' and I find it hard to properly adjust the body text. Most importantly, I used the 35-55 rule of thumb as my column is quite small.
Fig 1.15 Body text 2.
I purposely made the quotes slightly bigger than the body text to emphasize the meaning of it (11pt) where as the body text is at 8pt.
Fig 1.16 Closer look at body text 2.
I did another headline just to have more options and I could ask Mr Vinod and Mr Shamsul to give me some feedbacks on which is better and more suitable.
Fig 1.17 Headline development.
I used the typeface 'Universe Lt Std, 59 Ultra Condensed'. The point size for 'BAUHAUS' is 48pt and 'THE IMPACT OF' is 21pt. I decided to form the number '00' out of the word 'BAUHAUS' and add a line that just says bauhaus at the bottom to make it look less empty.
Fig 1.18 Third option for headline.
Fig 1.19 Closer look of the number '100'.
I did another version of Fig 1.16 in grey to see if it looks better this way.
Fig 1.20 Grey version.
In week 6, Mr Vinod said I should choose the white one which is Fig 1.16. Mr Vinod also told me to reduce my body text by one point.
Fig 1.21 Reduced body text size.
Fig 1.22 Outcome.
Here is the PDF of final outcome for project 1.
After getting the approval from both Mr Vinod and Mr Shamsul, I printed it out in A3 size. We were also told to add a border around the spread. I took a picture (fig 1.19) of the printed spread at home. Overall, i'm quite satisfied with how the spread turned out.
Fig 1.23 Printed spread.
FEEDBACK
WEEK 5; Absent
WEEK 6; Specific feedback: Mr Vinod asked me to reduce my body text by one point and he told me to go for the third option for my headline instead of the first one as it looks much better.
General feedback: Mr Vinod told us to get a mouse. He also reminded us that the body text cannot be separate boxes, they have to be connected. All of our designs must be in one file. We were told to print out the spread after we are done editing.
REFLECTIONS
Experience.
Week 6; I find this project very challenging but I know if I could pull this off well it will definitely benefit me in the future when im working. It is not as easy and simple as I thought it would be before I started on this project. This will be useful for me in the future.
Observations.
Week 6; I was struggling with the adjustments of the body text at first as I never used Adobe InDesign before. I find this a common struggle during the start of every exercise as well but after a while I managed to do it after watching videos and asking around for help.
Findings.
Week 6; I could copy paste the design from Illustrator to InDesign straight away rather than importing it. I also find it easier to design the headline and other small details on Adobe Illustrator.
FURTHER READINGS
The Complete Manual of Typography by James Felici.
Fig 2.1 Book cover
This book is mainly about typefaces and how it should be used. It primarily covers type in print, which is where the art of typography reaches
its highest form of expression. The author explains why I might choose to use the typeface Bembo over Garamond, but rather, having
made that choice, how I can set Bembo in the best possible way. This book explains the many formats that can be used on Macintosh/Windows as well.
I read about the 'What’s in a Font? topic in the book. I got to understand that the most important constituents of a font are the character outlines
themselves. A font may also contain tables for the widths of other members in its family.
This is typically the case for the “regular,” or roman text-weight, member of a
family. These tables enable a computer program to compose type for all four
members of a family—regular, italic, bold, and bold italic—using only the
regular font.
Fig 2.2 What's in a Font? page.
I got to read more on 'kerning' which could benefit me in my future projects. Kerning
adjustments are also expressed in fractions of an em, which enables them to
function at any point size. Unfortunately, I could not find the page that is entirely about 'kerning' so I didn't get much reading done on that particular topic.
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