Chapter 1, The Evolution of Typography, talks about how
typography came to be through multiple timelines with facts and pictures. I
liked how they broke the timeline up into four different categories. It started
with a timeline that basically showed the invention of writing as a whole
leading to the beginning of typography. With this timeline I thought it was
really cool to look at pictures of the beginning of writing including
hieroglyphics and to see how that slowly turned into the writing we use today.
The second timeline went through everything about hand press and handset metal
type. In this timeline, I thought it was really interesting to see where so
many font families originated and to see some of the original writings. It was
also really interesting to see how big moments in history fit into the
evolution of typography. The third timeline went through the introduction of
new technology. This timeline shows how much technology changed the world of
typography. What I thought was really
cool was seeing that this was when the first sans-serif typeface was
introduced. I never really thought about how long after writing and typography
started that sans serif came to be. I also thought it was cool to see the
beginning of ornamented type (like in the picture below) and what some of the first ornamented typography
looked like. It was also really cool to see how all these things with
typography were happening before things like the telephone, photograph, and
light bulb were even invented. The fourth timeline went through the twentieth
century where typography really took a huge turn. I liked looking at this
timeline because it shows how much people started to really put their own spin
on designs. It was also cool seeing some designs from designers that I have
looked at and learned about in past design classes and see where they fit in
with the evolution of typography.
Chapter 3, Syntax and Communication, basically goes through
the elements of design and typography.
This chapter was interesting to me because it helps show all the different
ways that typography can be messed around with to create a multitude of
different designs to try and portray what it is you want to say with a design.
I also liked looking at the ways that type can be set to create a sort of
rhythmic patter by switching up size and font while also making it creative
instead of just some lines all lined up on a page. Its cool to see the
different way that shapes and lines and type can be portrayed depending on the
margins and alignment and how things are overlapped or not overlapped. It
really helps show how design is truly endless and you can always come up with a
fun new idea by playing off of the basic principles of design. Another cool
thing is see how changing the size of different elements creates how the viewer
will look at the design based on the hierarchy you created. I never really noticed
how many designs play around with the three spatial zones until reading this
chapter and seeing the different ways that these zones can be played around
with to create so many different types of designs. It’s always really interesting
and fun for me to me to learn more about the basic structure of designs because
it will really help with creating great things as I continue to learn.
Chapter 6, The Typographic Message, really goes more into
the creative aspects of typography. Obviously the point of typography is to
send a message, but this chapter plays more into sending a message for things
that can be creative, unlike things like signs on a highway or something that
needs to be straight forward and not play around. I really liked this chapter
because I’m a marketing major and so we are always talking about targeting
consumers and what needs to be done to make sure that an ad is successful and I
think that this chapter really plays into that idea of making sure that what is
being said is not only well received, but remembered after the viewer is no
longer reading the sign, poster, etc. This is also another chapter that helps
show designers own flare with their work and how different people think to
portray a specific message while also making it something fun. I think its best
when a design has a fun aspect to it but also does a great job of communicating
the message it wants to in a way that the viewer will remember. I really love
the visual aspect of design so I always love looking at those but in the end,
typography is really about communicating a message so it’s cool to see when
both can be incorporated and successful.
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