Typography

Delivery: The Language of Lettering

Typography is the design and use of typefaces as a means of communication.
Typography began with the first printing press-the Gutenberg, but really has its roots in hand-lettering (Calligraphy, Illuminated text, etc.).
Lettering or typography is a very important part of visual communication. Fonts can communicate strength, power, emotion and personality. Think of some company logos that are just a typeface (Coke, Fender, Canon, etc.) What color are they? What does the construction of the typeface communicate about the company?
Parts of a Letter:
- Basic list:
  - Baseline: the invisible bottom line on which characters sit.
  - Meanline: the middle line that is at the top of most lowercase letters such as “o,” “p” and “r.” It is also at the curve of letters like “h.”
  - Cap Height: the distance from the baseline to the top of uppercase letters like “B” and “H.”
  - Ascender: The part of a character that extends above the meanline.
  - Descender: The part of a character that extends below the baseline, such as the bottom stroke of a “g.”
  - Stem: The stem is often the main “body” of a letter. The vertical line of a “B” and the primary diagonal line of a “V”.
  - Crossbar or Arms: Bars are horizontal or diagonal lines of a letter, also known as arms, and are open on at least one side. “E” or “T”

Serifs: Fonts areoftendividedintoserifandsans serif.
- Serif fonts are distinguishable by the extra decorative line (style endings) at the ends of the character (examples of serif fonts are Times Roman and Georgia )
- Sans serif do not have the extra decorative lines. (examples of sans serif fonts are Arial and Impact )
There are 3 “cases” in lettering: UPPER, lower and Mixed
4 Main Styles of Lettering:
- Roman Style, a “thick and thin” letter, often has thickness in different stem places. It usually has “serifs” on each stem end.

Poster Style, bold or general, is very popular and easy to read. It has even thickness in all directions and may or may not have serif endings.

Script is a “connected” letter style, can be thick and thin or even thickness. It usually is “italic” or slanted. It is a very graceful, decorative style.

Unusual or “trademark” text styles are unique and creative. They can be created for specific company logos and are usually copyright protected.

Choose 5-7 Letters, Numbers & Characters to draw.
1. Create the Design on the computer using Word or Pages:
  1. Use Microsoft Word or Mac Pages Program to create your basic composition.
  2. Insert “word art”-the outline only style- individually of 5-7 Letters, Numbers & Characters.
  3. Overlap, twist (rotate), and have the letters go partially off the page to make the composition more interesting.
  4. Save the document to the desktop as “Your Name ART”.
Create AT LEAST 2 thumbnail sketches to work out your composition in your sketchbook. Choose one letter to be your focal point (area of emphasis) through style, size, color and contrast.
Must use each 4 styles of lettering for a different letter or number (there will be 1+ repeated styles depending on how many letters you put in your design).
Tips for design:
1. Vary the sizes and angles of the letters/numbers.
2. Overlap some of the letters/numbers.
3. Have some designs go off the page
4. Go onto a computer to work out the design.
On a 12×18” sheet of white paper, in pencil draw a 3” square grid. (Or create random diagonal lines- I’m going to do this next time!)

Draw your design in pencil.
LETTERS, Numbers & Characters: will be rendered in color. Use colored pencils/markers for the letters/numbers. Make sure you choose your focal point to be in color and balance the other colors throughout the piece.
BACKGROUND: background will be in black & white-create a positive & negative space reversal patterns in your art. Use Sharpies for the background. Create various patterns in the background to change the values.

Using your shape tool, cover your document in even squares.

Lock your shape layer and create a second layer.

On this layer, use your text tool to write your name and favorite number. Each letter should be in its own text box.

Copy and paste the squares you made on layer one to layer 2 and send them to the back.

Select all of layer 2, and go to Object > Expand. This will turn your letters into shapes.

Select all of layer 2 again and using your Pathfinder tool, divide the document.

Color each different section of your letters with solid colors or gradients.

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