Chapters 4 & 5

Karly Brunner

Chapter 4: Legibility

In chapter 4: Legibility, I learned that although it is an extremely important factor when it comes to design, it is often misunderstood and even neglected. Legibility is the ability of a reader to comprehend typography. I found it ironic that the primary purpose of a letterform is to convey a recognizable meaning, yet somehow copious amounts of typefaces somehow do the exact opposite. Legibility is dependent upon three clauses: contrast, simplicity, and proportion. Simplicity is key when it comes to legibility and the typefaces Baskerville, Garamond, and Bodoni, for example, succeed in just that way. However, legibility is also dependent upon such factors as context and special relationships, which requires skill to master. I found the characteristics of letters to be interesting because although there are countless variations including size, weight, and proportion, the basic structure of the letterform always remains the same. The spacing of letterforms, also know as, kerning, also holds significant weight when it comes to easy readability. Too little or too much space between both letters and words can destroy the texture intended by the designer, but also the comprehensiveness of the sentence itself. Similar to these situations, I really connected with the part about how italics can impede reading. I find italics to slow my reading down, except I appreciate when writers utilize italics to emphasize a word or sentence. The most impactful information I retained from chapter 4 however was the section on legibility and color. I so frequently see advertisements, pictures, and diagrams everyday that inappropriately contrast colors, making it extremely difficult to comprehend. Appropriate contrast between type and color carefully relies on 3 color properties: hue, tone, and saturation. The whole duty of typography is to communicate the thought or image intended to be communicated by the author, which is achieved through clear legibility.

Chapter 5: The Typographic Grid

Chapter 5 teaches us about the typographic grid, “the skeletal framework used by designers to organize information within a spatial field.” When used appropriately, grids provide form and space with harmony and aesthetic taste. I really appreciated the introduction, highlighting the fact that the grid is dated as early as 3000 B.C by the Mesopotamians. Even back then, writing was so important to everyday life that the grid was invented to easily give structure to written communication. Proportion is also very important in order for the typographic grid to work effectively. The ratio X:2X indicates the basic grid ratio for typographic elements. One of the most familiar proportion models is the golden section, a law of proportionally found frequently in nature, the human body, and used in art, architecture, music, etc. The golden section dominated for the proportional system during the 12^th century. Famous graphic designer, Paul Rand, commonly uses squares as building blocks and as an organizational strategy. It appears as contemporary in 2014 as it did back when it was created in 1955. This chapter also acknowledges the manner in which text blocks are placed on a page can affect the overall tone of communication. As the number of columns increase, so does the number of organizational possibilities. But a rule I read about was, the more complex the grid system, the more flexible the organizational possibilities. Multi-column grids are also used, which are systems of perpendicular, intersecting axes. I learned that when working with multi-column grids, it is critical to balance three variables: type size, line length, and interline spacing, also known as leading. Typographic materials, as the book states, create the hierarchical status of dominant and subdominant forms. Designers who build environments for clear and accessible information are among the most successful. The typographic grid provides a dynamic experience based on the language of composition.