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Chapter 7 Summary_Posey

Chapter 7: Typographic Technology

Connor Posey

Typography has been dubbed, in some cases, as the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. It has sparked the creative minds of designers to push and expand typography to its limits. Together, designers and typography form a pair that not only contributes to the make and overall aesthetic, but the hardware and technology that thus produces the works.

Typography is created through design and production. In the early years of typography, hand lettering was the main form of medium. Then new technology began to be developed to better suit the growing form of communication and design. A linotype machine was created in 1886. The monotype machine was created a year later and Ludlow some time later. The Ludlow, unlike the previous machines, did not include a keyboard. Then, a typewriter was formed and soon enough- a computer.

In distorting type, there are many things to consider. First, it is always best to use the specified typeface distorted forms in the font family. If done manually, the typeface may not retain its form in which the designer must fix through bolding, thinning, etc.

It was interesting learning the different forms that are created of the same typeface through the medium used and used upon. On newsprint, the ink runs and gives the type a scratchy, aged look. Phototype has blurred edges on the letterforms. Each medium has a purpose. For example, if recreating an old-time document, one may want to use the newspaper in order to get that natural, scratchy ink lines on the outline of the letterforms. 

Typography is developing rapidly. It has changed from stone, to paper, to typewriters, to current day computers. As new technology is produced, type will continue to change to serve the purposes of the people and businesses of the future. Type inevitably continues to expand.

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Jewell / Chapter 6

I would venture to dub Chapter 6: The Typographic Message my favorite chapter thus far. Volleying objects of visuality and education; tackling the layers of a multidimensional language with verbal, visual, and vocal expression, the art of "message" is both described and questioned in a culture driven by these natural - verbal and visual equations, if you will - and developed laws of brand, communication, appeal, and efficiency. Messages are everywhere, subtly affecting our choices, feelings, and preferences, yet it is most powerful when it stands out from the generic sea of those messages which we consistently ignore or brush off.

Today, more than ever, we as designers have access to the most resources in order to stay relevant, practiced, aware, and creative. We also live in a culture that is so overly saturated with "message" that it is entirely too easy to fall into a trend or pattern that waters down our impact and the power of our work. What this chapter led me to conclude is that we have a responsibility to take advantage of all that is available to us in order to produce the best work possible, keeping in mind all of the considerations the book hands us. Where is the voice in our work? Is there a balance of aesthetic and informative? What different interpretations could a viewer have? Overall, are we striking an effective communication with the widest audience possible - if applicable - and simultaneously striking chord visually? Is there art in the midst of our message? These questions can only help a designer refine and hone his or her end result, and I am certainly enthralled to ask my own iterations of the above religiously.

Image source: http://slantaclause.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/culture-jamming-ad.jpg

Jewell / Chapter 3

Chapter 3, a discourse on Syntax and Communication, drags a general English linguistic term on to the typography stage. Syntax, in its more traditional clothes, is in actuality the dynamic of connecting of characters, words, phrases, and symbols in order to form the larger bodies (i.e., joining the right words to construct a viable sentence). Low and behold, the book creates a more specific and interesting context for syntax, instead giving it the job of arranging elements into a cohesive, understandable whole. Using letter, word, line, column, and margin via the art of syntax, individual typographic elements bond together to display a unified typographic image.

So what goes into "good" typographic syntax? Font families that are both recognizable and distinguishable from other families are excellent examples, as their identities withhold solid form and cohesion.

Some other functions effect the communication of typography on the page, such as a combination of individual letters and the whitespace. Combinations of characters form new configurations, meanings, shapes, and, of course, interaction with whitespace. A logo may be composed of two letters rotated and fit together in an interesting, balanced way, thereby inventing a dynamic instance of type unforeseen in the original character set itself. Similarly, whitespace plays a large role in how things are read, interpreted, and felt. In the 2007 documentary Helvetica, one of the typographers interviewed went as far as to say that type is really white; it's the space that makes the type, not the letters themselves. This is an extremely thought provoking idea: we process a piece by more than the literal type it contains, and the space, while arguably in a subconscious manner, drives us to feel a specific way.

Both syntax and elements of communication need to be considered when dealing with type, and this chapter provided a relatively thorough heads up on why and how to do that.

Image source: http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/inspiration/72-creative-and-smart-typographic-logo-inspiration/

Jewell / Chapter 1

Taking a step back in the book, Chapter 1, the Evolution of Typography, provided a relatively quick timeline detailing some key points in typography's life. From the earliest instances found on clay tablets, to the modern day onslaught of Helvetica, the book touches on the world events, architectural development, and art movements which had significant impacts on alphabet, language, message, and, thus, the overall state of typography as a whole.

Over time, as language and the Roman alphabet became consistently more unified and standardized - a uniform writing style - font types were more easily established. Eventually, Gothic font was extremely popular and useful for its time, although somewhat troublesome in print due to its use of so much ink and its density. In any case, the development of fonts for a long while was noted for larger and more dramatic style.

With the onset of more modern type, fonts eventually grew simpler and less extreme. Most importantly, Helvetica became the most widely used and, perhaps, the most widely mindless font in the world. Today’s type becomes its content more often than it describes its content, and an interesting battle still wages between typographic purists on the matter. The 2007 documentary Helvetica joins the discussion, including interviews with experts on both sides.

I think we're in an age where type is ambiguous. In many ways, an art has been lost in the "perfect" forms of sans serif fonts. Contrarily, this happens to drive some true artists to more creative extents in order to create something unique, powerful, and aesthetically pleasing in lieu of a seemingly bland and generic font palette. Does Helvetica and similar fonts work for clarity, legibility, and modernism? Surely it does! Does Helvetica touch the viewer in a way type could without a minimal, modern restriction? Arguably, it may not. In any case, this chapter, through an evolutionary perspective, brought up this question of progression versus a seriously unproductive plateau, or even a regression.

Image source: http://www.buzzfeed.com/travisrandg/this-animated-history-of-typography-has-character-5d61

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Chapter 6- Bailey Ciombor

The Typographic Message

This chapter explains how typographic messages permeate our culture to the level that they are often taken for granted or not noticed. They are the most effective when they are distinguished from the opposition.  A multidimensional language is something that is expressed through verbal, visual, and vocal messages. Communication is key when it comes to representing verbal language. To have an effective typographic message, there must be a combination of logic and intuitive judgment.

            Verbal and visual equations are big thing as well. Signs are things that communicate ideas that enhance and clarify the meaning of our spoken words. These signs operate in two dimensions: syntactic and semantic. The mind is involved with typographic syntax when the form of a sign is involved.

            There are two terms that are very important when understanding signs. The first one is denotation. This refers to objective meaning, the factual world of collective awareness and experience. The next term is connotation. Connotative observations are often conditioned, for they relate to overtones and are draw from prior personal experience.

            Function and expression is another aspect when it comes to messages. Functionalism is used to describe the utilitarian and pragmatic qualities of designed objects.  Basically, it is equated with clarity, purpose, and simplicity. Expressionism is another approach that accomplishes it purpose through formal elaboration and ornamentation and creating visual impact.  “Innovative typography can emerge when a designer fully understands communication needs and is able to assimilate a diversity of visual ideas.” Overall this chapter explains how one must understand the verbal and visual elements to typography in order to get the message across to the viewers. 

Chapter 3- Bailey Ciombor

Syntax and Communication

In this chapter it discusses that typographic syntax and communication have a language that must be learned to understand design. It is defined as the connecting of typographic signs to form words and sentences on the page.

            The letter is what is discussed first because this form is the unit that distinguishes one family of type from another. The letterform can act as a sign and a typographic sign is visually dynamic because of its interaction with the surrounding white space. The word has the potential to express an idea, object, or event. Form ad counterform relationships, found within, individual letterforms, and also exist within individual words. The complex and lively forms reproduced here clearly show the variety and fullness of form that exists in simple word units.

             The line is another aspect of syntax that appears when words are joined to form verbal sentences and typographic lines. They can be arranged in all different ways and can be all different sizes. The last formal element is the column and margin. Pages posses form and counterform relationships due to the interaction of columns and their surrounding spaces.  There are three variables associated with columns and those are height to width, texture, and tone.

            The chapter also discusses how the structure of the typographic space can be defined by alignments and form-to-void relationships that establish a composition’s underlying spatial order. Visual compensation and optical adjustment with the typographic space link printed elements and the spatial ground. Contrast between the elements is also a huge ordeal because it creates hierarchical arrangements like size, weight, color, and spatial interval.