9/18/17
Create:
A single page site (hosted on codepen) that tells a story without using any text, I mean it no text.
Read:
Listen:
Do:
Css tutorial (just click an read)
Color playtime (screen grab/blog)
Kerning playtime (screen grab/blog)
Terms:
Typography is the art and technique of choosing and arranging type. Typography involves the selection of a typeface (from a universe of over 300,000 possibilities) and the decisions about its size, format, arrangement and spacing.
A typeface refers to a group of characters, such as letters, numbers, and punctuation that share a common design or style. All typefaces have defining characteristics that give it a unique personality. In choosing a particular typeface a designer is determining which features of a typeface best express the intent of the message.
Fonts refer to the means by which typefaces are displayed. Graphic designers choose typefaces for their projects but use fonts to create the finished art. Fonts can be licensed at any number of type foundries.
Character is the symbol representing an individual letter, numeral or punctuation mark. The actual shape or design of a letter form is called a glyphs. There may be more than one glyph for a single character, such as a superscript version.
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 theHelvetica type family, which is available in multiple weights including Condensed Bold, Condensed Black, UltraLight, UltraLight Italic, Light, Light Italic, Regular, etc. The univers font comes in a large family of over 30 options. Designers generally work within a type family when looking for variety and emphasis within a composition as opposed to using multiple type faces.
Classifications of type: There are several different classifications of type but I prefer the standard four:
Serif (variations include old style, transitional, slab serif, modern)
San serif – typically uniform in stroke width.
Script – which mimic handwriting or calligraphy
Decorative or ornamental – which are generally not appropriate for body text but used for impact
In choosing an appropriate typeface there are many considerations including: readability, appropriateness and size.
Readability
Legibility, spacing, kerning, consistent texture and size are important factors for readability. Designing with Type provides an excellent resource for understanding and appreciating the nuances of measurement, size and spacing including the type layout options and pitfalls. The recent creation of Clearview Hwt by type designer Don Meekeris a good example of the big impact that subtle changes in letter form can have on readability. This podcast explains the recent update to the highway signage system.
Type size
Type size is measured in points. One point is equal to 1/72 of an inch. When a character is referred to as 12pt. The point size is set by the largest character and measures the distance from the ascender to the descender. Therefore within a type family set at 12pts individual characters may be smaller than 12/72”. Two characters that are set at 12pts but from different type families and set side by side may appear as different sizes.
Kerning refers to the horizontal space between letters. Graphic designers typically adjust the kerning on type they set based on their visual judgment. Bad kerning can impact readability by forcing the eye to read the individual letters rather than the letters grouped into words. Adjusting the spaces between groups of letters is also referred to as tracking.
Leading
The vertical height between lines of type is called leading – the name references the time pre-digital printing, when lead weights were used to hold characters on the printing press. Generally a leading of 125- 140% is considered optimal for readability for font sizes under 20pt. Here is a flagrant example from Philly.com of bad leading and how hard it can be on the eyes. A document that is set in 12pt type on 15 pt leading, or sometimes referred to as twelve over fifteen, means that it is a 12 point font, with 15 points between the baselines of the two lines of type.
*Terms as defined by Kathrine Dillion from NYU's ITP for her Visual Language course.