Typography / Task 2: Typographic Exploration & Communication

07/05/2021 -14/05/2021 / Week 6 - Week 7

Ngu Kah Shin / 0347666

Module Name / B' in Creative Media / Taylor's Design School

Task 2 / Exercises: Typographic Exploration & Communication (Text Formatting and Expression)

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 LECTURES

Week 6:  

We were asked to discuss and give reviews among some of our peers in the breakout rooms over Zoom. Below are the question guides we had to follow. Mr Vinod and Mr Shamsul then checked our blogs and gave us feedback on how we should improve on it. 

1. Do the expressions match the meaning of the words?

2. Are the expression well crafted (crafting/lines/shapes)?

1. Is kerning and tracking appropriately done?

2. Does the font size correspond to the line-length, leading & paragraph spacing

3. Is the alignment choice conducive to reading?

4. Has the ragging been controlled well?

5. Has cross-alignment been established using baseline grids?

6. Are widows and orphans present?

Fig 1.1 Screenshot of lecture class (04/05/2021)

Fig 1.2 Screenshot of lecture class (04/05/2021)

Week 7: 

We had a short session where we asked Mr Vinod for feedbacks on our progression. No lectures were taken place.

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 INSTRUCTIONS 

HTML Link:

<iframe src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tR4cp-MVcQMvJvFFVb6PnnZvCaHKRECx/preview" width="640" height="480"></iframe>

Task 2: Typographic Exploration & Communication

Our task was to create a 2-page editorial spread with the title expressed typographically. Using Adobe Illustrator, we were only allowed to use minor graphical elements when crafting the headline. The final layout is to be completed in Adobe InDesign. The headline and body texts were already provided and we had to choose between the 3:

1. Visual Communicators, Unite!
2. Be Good, Do Good, Follow the Code
3. The impact of Bauhaus on Modern Culture 

After watching the prerecorded process demo video, we had to create thumbnail sketches of the headline. It is also important to note that we have to understand the extent of the body text in order to create a layout that is both flattering and legible. One trick is to half close our eyes and see if the 'grey areas' are visually balanced.

I first sketched out all 3 of the provided choices off my head and see which one I liked the most. I chose a few from there and proceeded to digitalisation. 

Figure 2.1. Sketches (07/05/2021)

Figure 2.2. Screenshots of my progress work on Adobe Illustrator during Week 6 (07/05/2021)

Figure 2.3. Screenshots of my progress work on Adobe InDesign during Week 7 (16/05/2021)

Figure 2.4. InDesign screenshot on 16/05/2021

Initially, I went with the third 'The impact of Bauhaus on Modern Culture' headline as shown in Fig 2.2 but Mr Vinod said the word impact is not expressed well enough. I then edited some of the letters surrounding the word 'impact' so that they look like they are flying off from the word' Impact' as if they were collided or jolted away from it. However, Mr Vinod still was not pleased with the work, saying how impact can be expressed with more creative flair and more dramatically. 

The third 'The impact of Bauhaus on Modern Culture' headline as shown in Fig 2.3 was my final design. I redid everything from scratch and added some more lines to further express 'impact'. In Fig 2.4, the screenshot shows the use of cross alignment and the average number of characters per line is within the 55-65 range. 

Font used: Univers LT Std

Font size: 8pt

Leading:10pt

Paragraph spacing:10 pt

FINAL SUBMISSION

HTML LINK: 

<iframe src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1f299Nspkj3I3ekc9qgfIRDpOtMmLrwcH/preview" width="640" height="480"></iframe>

 FEEDBACK 

Week 6 

General Feedback: Remember to not stretch texts and the importance of matching expressions with the words given. For Follow the Code text formatting, the crossword-style doesn't really add to the expression. As for the Bauhaus text formatting work, titling, increasing some distances and adding some personality to the letters around the word IMPACT would add to the expression of the word.

Specific feedback: Overall, clean work with no ragging and appropriate kerning, tracking and alignments achieved. 

Week 7

General Feedback: Good layout, no ragging. Could try using left justify for the body text.

Specific feedback:  Impact should have more expression. Not enough typographic output, I should try again.

 

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 REFLECTIONS 

Experience: 

It was rather fun when sketching out ideas for the typographical expression for the headline. However, achieving an appropriate yet artistic spirit or message of the text was difficult. I also realised many of my sketches looked nice on paper but not as practical when digitalized on Adobe Illustrator. This task was challenging and I have definitely learnt a lot of typographical expression as well as the rules when creating a legible spread.

Observations: 

Creating an editorial spread is much more complicated than I thought. There are many rules and skills to be applied when crafting an arrangement, layout and design that can convey messages effectively and aesthetically.

Findings: 

Further readings:

The Vignelli Canon

by 

Massimo Vignelli

Every rule of design put into one book. I have not finished the book but I have learnt that broad rules that don't restrict but just define good design. I will continue reading it and re-reference it when doing my future work.

After reading the book, I did a little research on Goodreads and came across this review that described the book perfectly:

Massimo Vignelli designed this logo in 1968:



It is a classic, timeless logo. In the book Vignelli explains:

We are for a Design that lasts, that responds to
people’s needs and to people’s wants. We are
for a Design that is committed to a society that
demands long lasting values. A society that earns
the benefit of commodities and deserves respect
and integrity.

AmericanAirlines in 2013 is a bankrupt company and it has replaced Vagnelli's timeless masterpiece with this:



No one from AmericanAirlines read Vignelli's book, because if they had, they could not have missed this:

Many times we have been asked to design a logo
or a symbol for a Company - often at the request
of the marketing department to refresh the
Company’s position in the marketplace.
Although this may be a legitimate request, very
often, it is motivated by the desire of change
merely for the sake of change, and that is a very
wrong motivation.
A real Corporate Identity is based on an overall
system approach, not just a logo.
A logo gradually becomes part of our collective
culture; in its modest way it becomes part of all of
us. Think of Coca Cola, think of Shell, or, why not,
AmericanAirlines. When a logo has been in the
public domain for more than fifty years it becomes
a classic, a landmark, a respectable entity and
there is no reason to throw it away and substitute
it with a new concoction, regardless of how well it
has been designed.
[...]
The notion of a logo equity has been with us from
the very beginning of time. When we were asked to
design a new logo for the FORD Motor Company,
we proposed a light retouch of the old one which
could be adjusted for contemporary applications.
We did the same for CIGA HOTELS, CINZANO,
LANCIA Cars and others. There was no reason to
dispose of logos that had seventy years of exposure,
and were rooted in people’s consciousness with a
set of respectable connotations.
What is new is NOT a graphic form but a way of
thinking, a way of showing respect for history
in a context that usually has zero understanding
for these values

And so, they made a grave error in changing the old logo so drastically. If they had read Vignelli's book, they might have acted differently. Do read The Vignelli Canon to identify and avoid such blunders.