Design Principles - Anatomy of Type (Part 1)

Anatomy of Type- Part 1

Visual Literacy - Language of Graphic Design

• Visual image & type to give the ability to construct meaning.
• Interpreting images of the present, past & a range of cultures.
• Producing images that effectively communicate message & ideas.

Without a shared of understanding of signs & symbols, visual literacy & visual language would no longer exist.


An Introduction to type

Rules - Can't break it

Principle - There to be explored





What is Typography?

STONE Create serifs due to not been able to cut a straight edge as they was chipped away.

SABLE This is very oriental from the western/eastern areas and is created with a brush effect.

WOOD It is a soft material so can carve easily and therefore can be created with hard edges.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  - Classical Pre-Industrial - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


BONE This is created with a quill effect.

LEAD Its melted & cast into shape therefore thin lines can be created as not been carved.
 
SILICONE The type we work with now which is originated from the above traditional methods.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  - Modern Post-Industrial - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Timeline of Printed Type

Classical/Old Style

 (1490-1705)

 

Transitional

 (1706-1780)

Modern

 (1800-1900)

Bauhaus/Swiss Modern

 (1900-1960)

Contemporary
(1960-2000)







Up until the year 2000 type was very driven by print based typography.

We then had to place our 5 typefaces we brought into the session, into 6 different categories. Our categories consisted of:

• Serif
• Sans-serif
• Handwritten
• Typewriter
• Modern
• Traditional

Other groups also had there groups as:

• Western
•  Contemporary
• Digital
• Scripts
• Decorative
• Bold
• Light

Why do we like certain fonts?

• Due to the methods of production which have been used to create them
• The familiarity to your own style you like to portray through your type.
• The may have a particular character which portrays your message very well.

Task

I received 5 of the person to the right of me typefaces they chose. Now i have to identify them using identifont.com and then find out some in depth information about one of the typefaces.

This is a screenshot from identifont.com it has found my Baskerville font.

This is what it found for one of my fonts which is also above. This is marker felt as i know this font from previous experiences.

This is a screenshot of identifont.com finding my Harrington font which is correct.

This is a screenshot from identifont of it finding my FF Bau font, which is correct.

This is a screenshot from identifont.com this has found courier but just not the catogory within that.

I have choosen Baskerville to research indepth, so here is my findings:

Baskerville, designed in 1754, in Birmingham England. It is most known for its crisp edges, high contrast and generous proportions. The typeface was heavily influenced by the processes of the Birmingham-bred John Baskerville (1706-1775), a master type-founder and printer, who owed much of his career to his beginnings. As a servant in a clergyman’s house, it was his employer that discovered his penmanship talents and sent him to learn writing. Baskerville was illiterate but became very interested in calligraphy, and practised handwriting and inscription that was later echoed in strokes and embellishments in his printed typeface.

The Baskerville typeface is the result of John Baskerville's intent to improve upon the types of William Caslon. He increased the contrast between thick and thin strokes, making the serifs sharper and more tapered, and shifted the axis of rounded letters to a more vertical position. The curved strokes are more circular in shape, and the characters became more regular. These changes created a greater consistency in size and form.

Baskerville's typeface was the culmination of a larger series of experiments to improve legibility which also included paper making and ink manufacturing. The result was a typeface that reflected Baskerville's ideals of perfection, where he chose simplicity and quiet refinement. His background as a writing master is evident in the distinctive swash tail on the uppercase Q and in the cursive serifs in the Baskerville Italic. The refined feeling of the typeface makes it an excellent choice to convey dignity and tradition.

A research study showed that the use of the Baskerville font increased the likelihood of the reader agreeing with a statement by 1.5% as compared to the average of five other fonts, including Comic Sans which had the most negative influence on agreement of the six.

The font is used widely in documents issued by the University of Birmingham (UK) and Castleton State College (USA), with the latter using the New Baskerville typeface. A modified version of Baskerville is also prominently used in the Canadian government's corporate identity program—namely, in the 'Canada' wordmark, and many others, some listed below.

It is difficult to appreciate the qualities of Baskerville without first understanding the process of its creation. Baskerville grew out of an ongoing experimentation with printing technology. John Baskerville developed his own method of working, resulting in beautifully bright woven paper and darker inks. He created an intense black ink color through the tedious process of boiling fine linseed oil to a certain thickness, dissolving rosin, allowing months for it to subside and finally grinding it before use. As printers would not willingly reveal the methods within their print shops, Baskerville followed other printers closely and made the same purchases as them in hopes of setting up the same press. This routine resulted in the development of higher standards for presses altogether.

Existing printing presses did not capture the subtleties of his type, so Baskerville redesigned the press replacing the wooden platen with a brass one in order to allow the planes to meet more evenly. The wooden platens were usually covered with thick tympanum which helped to absorb pressure and reduce type depth, however, Baskerville’s press used thin tympanum around the metal and the platens were even heated before using them. It was the combination of the contrasting cut in his letterforms, the process of printing, the gloss of his paper and the intensity of his inks that made each print so refined.