Fred Catolico - Chapter 1, 3, and 6 Reflections

Chapter 1: The Evolution of Typography

In chapter 1 I learned all about the history of Typography and how it has evolved throughout the last five thousand years. The chapter begins with written documents, along with pictures, that date back as early as 3150 B.C. Within these pictures and descriptions, I learned many new facts and important dates relative to typography like the first public library in Athens (540 B.C.) or the invention of movable type by Pi Sheng in China (1034). I found it fascinating to view the different typefaces with different shape and different forms of serifs, especially how structured and clean some of the stone carvings appeared to be. The fluidity of some of the stone-carved Roman letterings are very consistent in terms of their height and even space kerning between each letters. I also like the texture of the carved stone type because it has a shadow that gives it depth and form. I noticed example 38 on page 6 and how the paragraph was aligned and justified. I later learned what “Incunabula” is and it’s books printed in the first half century of typographic printing. Around the late 18^th century was a time period where typographic design started to become more modern. I noticed in the examples that the typefaces were more experimental and that some of the posters had a range of different typefaces maybe to show emphasis. Letters started to become bolder with thinner hairlines, textures were added purposely, and vertical type was introduced. Honestly, this time period of type seemed to be very unorganized but it was much needed in order for any progression to happen. If it weren’t for these mistakes, innovators and creators wouldn’t have progressed to the amount of impact that type has on today’s society and that’s why this chapter is important.

Chapter 3: Syntax and Communication

In chapter 3 I learned and reflected what syntax is and how important communication in a design can be used effectively.  Letter, word, line, column and margin are the main elements of design and each is discussed thoroughly with great detail throughout this chapter. Beginning with the element “the letter” I reflected upon the importance of white space. In example 4 on page 51, a capital “T” is used repetitively and a “T” is formed with the excess white space. I found this to be effective because it gives the design sort of an illusion, which can keep a viewer’s interest and attention. The next element discussed is “the word” which is independent signs of what they represent. Form and Counterform relationships are finding typographic connections and rhythms with words and concepts. “The line” element is lines that are used to create organization, emphasis and focus. In example 12 on page 54, lines are extended horizontally across the design showing contrast and that allowed my eyes to continue from top to bottom. These lines give the overall design a sense of unity. Without the horizontal lines, the words and sentences would appear to be randomly placed and floating around the free space. The last element discussed in the chapter is “column and margin.” Column and margins are similar to typographic grids in a way because they work as rulers that provide organization and readability. If it weren’t for columns and margins, books today wouldn’t be the same visually. The end of the chapter is focused on “typographic space” which is basically considering all of the design elements and combining them together in a design project to result in an effective concept. Overall, I learned a lot of important aspects about techniques and elements in design that can be used to make creative projects.

Chapter 6: The Typographic Message

Chapter 6 is simply about the importance of a typographic message in our world of design today.  A message can be conveyed in a design if it is clear, concise and separated within its own competition. Messages can be verbal, visual, and vocal. Although typography is read and interpreted verbally, sometimes its message can be interpreted visually and audibly. Throughout the last couple decades, typography has progressed in a way that can communicate to its viewers bringing more power to written word. Several of movement like Dadaism, de Stijl, and Constructivism were all affected by Futurism bringing new techniques and ideas from all around the road. I learned that within these movements, important designers viewed typography as a powerful concept to convey information that relates to the modern industrialized society. Example 9 on page 115 is an example of Syntactic manipulation design. Many characteristics of the letters within a specific word such as size, position, and weight is distorted in order to make a word more literal. The word “leave” is shown with the “e” at the end separated from the rest of the word to appear the letter to actually be leaving. This is effective because it is creative and fun as a viewer to search and work for a correct concept that a designer previously thought of. It makes a viewer feel “smarter” and accomplishing if they get the concept correct. An example of visual substitution is shown in example 12 on page 116. Shown are the letters “HING” with a picture of an “EAR” in between the letters “H” and “I.” I found this design to be creative and witty because it brings emotion out of its viewers.  Overall, this chapter really conveyed the importance of message within a design using typography and I found it to be really helpful because of the specific examples.