Advanced Typography - Task 1/ Exercises

21.04.25 - 14.5.25 (Week 1 - Week 4)

PAN RUINING (0378138)

Advanced Typography / Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media

Task 1 / Exercises : Typographic Systems & Type Play (20%)

CONTENT LIST

· LECTURES

· INSTRUCTIONS

· EXERCISE 1 : TYPOGEAHIC SYSTEM

· EXERCISE 2 : TYPE & PLAY

PART 1

PART 2

EXERCISE 2 OUTCOME COMPLICATION

· FEEDBACK

· REFLECTION

· FURTHER READING

LECTURES

Lectures 01: Typographic Systems

Typography systems provide a sense of purpose that focuses and directs the decision-making. Other criteria include: hierarchy, reading order, legibility and contrast.

In the first lecture, Mr.Vinod introduced us to 8 variations of Typography System:

Axial
Radial
Dilatational
Random
Grid
Modular
Transitional
Bilateral

1. Axial System

All elements are organised to the left or right of an axis, unilaterally. Can be curved.

2. Radial System

All elements extend from a single focus and can have multiple focuses.

3. Dilatational System

All elements are expanded in a circular fashion from a central point, and a layered approach allows multiple circles to be used with messages.

4. Random System

The elements don't seem to have a specific pattern or relationship, but there is a method in the chaos of creation.

5. Grid System

Elements have different weights and sizes depending on the different grid construction, vertical and horizontal division systems in the page.

6. Modular System

A range of non-objective elements constructed as standardised units.

7. Transitional System

Informal hierarchical band system where different elements are arranged hierarchically in different bands.

8. Bilateral System

All elements are arranged symmetrically on one axis, there can be more than one axis.

Fig 1.1 Typographic systems Example, Week1

Lectures 02: Typographic Composition

Principles of Design Composition:

· Emphasis

· Isolation

· Repetition

· Symmetry & Asymmetry

· Alignment

· Perspective

Fig 1.2 Typographic systems Example, Week 2

- The Rule of Third

The rule of thirds is a composition guide that divides a frame into 3 rows and 3 columns, using the intersecting lines to place points of interest.

Fig 1.3 Rule of Third and The Example

- Environmental Grid

Environmental Grid is a system based on exploring existing structures by extracting key curved and straight lines.

Fig 1.4 Example of Environmental Grid

- Form and Movement

Form and Movement is a system that explores existing grids to reveal their flexibility and suggest the motion of turning book pages.

The placement of a form on a page, over many pages creates movement. Whether the page is a paper or screen is irrelevant.

Fig 1.5 Example of Form and Movement, Week 2

Lectures 03: Context & Creativity

Handwriting

The earliest mechanically produced letterforms were created to closely resemble handwriting. Their shapes and lines were shaped by the tools and materials used in hand-drawing them.

Fig 1.6 Evolution of the Latin Alphabet, Week3

Fig 1.7 Brahmi Script, Week3

Fig 1.8 Chinese Script Evolution, Week3

Fig 1.9 Middle Eastern Evolution, Week3

- Programmer and Type Design

Google and others are developing multiscript typefaces for local and mixed Latin script communication.

- Local Movement and Individuals

Creativity and originality are closely connected; young designers should reflect on their culture and history to build forward.
Creativity starts with observing our environment and exploring shared histories.

Lectures 04: Designing Type

- Stages of Designing Type

Type Design carries a social responsibility so one must continue to improve its legibility. Type design is a form of artistic expression.
General Process of Type Design :

1. Research

Understand Type history, anatomy, and conventions, etc. On this stage, determine the type's purpose or what it would be used for.

2. Sketching

Some designers sketch their typefaces using traditional or digital tools. Both methods are fine and they have their positives and negatives.

3. Digitization

We can use Font Lab, Glyphs, or Adobe Illustrator to digitize typefaces, focusing on overall and counter forms, which greatly affect readability.

4. Testing

Important stages of designing type to know the refining and correcting progress aspects of the typeface.

5. Deploy

Teething issues often arise when deploying typefaces, so rigorous testing is crucial to keep them minor.

- Typeface Construction

· Roman Capital : The grid consists of square, and inside it a circle that just touches the lines of the square in four places. Using grids can facilitate the construction of a letterforms and is a possible method to build/create/design letterforms.

Fig 1.10 Roman Capital Example

- Constructions and Considerations

The 26 alphabet characters can be grouped into capitals and lowercase based on their form and construction.
Designing a new type requires considering various forms, including extending curves beyond baseline and cap line.
Most typefaces are created to meet intrinsic or extrinsic needs or demands.

Intrinsic

The designer has an inexplicable need driven by interest to design a typeface, and seeks out a form that comes close to fulfilling a desire.

Extrinsic

The designer has been commissioned or the student designer has a task to complete that involves designing a typeface.

INSTRUCTIONS

Task 1 — Exercise 1, 2 (20%)

Timeframe: Week 1 - Week 3 (Deadline Week 4)

Exercise 1 — Typographic System (1 week)

In the first exercise, we were tasked with creating 8 typographic posters (200 x 200 mm / 300 dpi) in Adobe InDesign, each exploring one of the 8 major typographic systems using the provided content. We could use black plus one additional color and only a few graphic elements like lines and dots.

For the content, we were instructed to select one headline out of the 3 given:

All Rippled Up:

Punk Influences on Design
The ABCs of Bauhaus Design Theory
Russian Constructivism and Graphic Design

Content Details:

The Design School,

Taylor’s University

All Ripped Up: Punk Influences on Design

The ABCs of Bauhaus Design Theory

Russian Constructivism and Graphic Design

Open Public Lectures:

June 24, 2021

Lew Pik Svonn, 9AM-10AM

Ezrena Mohd., 10AM-11AM

Suzy Sulaiman, 11AM-12PM

June 25, 2021

Lim Whay Yin, 9AM-10AM

Fahmi Reza, 10AM-11AM

Manish Acharia, 11AM-12PM

Final Submission in JPEG file

Exercise 2 — Type & Play / Part 1 & 2 (2 weeks)

Part 1

In part 1 of exercise 2, we were asked to extract 4 letterforms from a photo of our choice. After roughly tracing the letterforms, we needed to refine them to ensure consistent structure while preserving their key features.

Part 2

In part 2, we were required to create a movie poster using the letterform from part 1. This exercise is to enhance and support the interplay between the letterforms along with the selected image.

EXERCISE 1 : TYPOGEAHIC SYSTEM

For the headline of my posters, I decided to go with "The ABCs of Bauhaus Design Theory".

1. Axial

Fonts Used:

ITC New Baskerville Std (Bold, Roman)

Fig 2.1 Axial System, Week 2

For the axial system, I tried using a vertical line to separate the content into left and right sections, with all the introduction content on the left and only the date and speaker information on the right.

2. Radial System

Fonts Used:

ITC New Baskerville Std (Bold)

Fig 2.2 Radial System, Week 2

For the radial system, I used two circles placed at the top right and bottom left corners to organize the text. I highlighted the date with a white background different from the other text to emphasize it, making it easier for readers to quickly understand the content from top to bottom.

3.Dilatational System

Fonts Used:

ITC New Baskerville Std (Italic, Roman)

Fig 2.3 Dilatational System, Week 2

In the dilatational layout, I used three circles as the center, with larger circles expanding outward to present the content, making it clear and clean.

4. Random System

Fonts Used:

Futura Std (Book)

ITC New Baskerville Std (Roman)

ITC Garamond Std (Book)

Bodoni Std (Poster Compressed)

Fig 2.4 Random System, Week 2

For the random system, I referred to the collage style often seen on magazine covers. For example, the use of “24” and “25” and the repetition of content help to better reflect the theme of “random.”

5. Grid System

Fonts Used:

ITC New Baskerville Std (Bold, Roman)

Fig 2.5 Grid System, Week 2

For the grid system, I used a 3x3 squares to place the text information and emphasized the title by enlarging it.

6. Modular System

Fonts Used:

Bembo Std (Bold)

Futura Std (Book)

Janson Text LT Std (75 Bold)

Fig 2.6 Modular System, Week 2

For the modular system layout, I placed the introductory content in four equally sized rectangles on the left, separated the date and other information with a vertical line, and followed the module structure exactly as shown in Sir’s video.

7. Transitional System

Fonts Used:

Futura Std (Medium)

ITC New Baskerville Std (Bold)

Fig 2.7 Transitional System, Week 2

8. Bilateral System

Fonts Used:

ITC New Baskerville Std (Roman)

Fig 2.8 Bilateral System, Week 2

Fig 2.9 Bilateral System (Revised version), Week 2

For the layout of the Bilateral System, I initially used black as the background with pink and white blocks on top for the content, but since sir said the contrast was too strong, I kept the black background and changed the pink and white to a unified white, while turning the date text pink to maintain the left-right contrasting form.

Final Outcome of Typographic System

Fig 3.1 Axial System Final, Week 2

Fig 3.2 Radial System Final, Week 2

Fig 3.3 Dilattional System Final, Week 2

Fig 3.4 Random System Final, Week 2

Fig 3.5 Grid System Final, Week 2

Fig 3.6 Modular System Final, Week 2

Fig 3.7 Transitional System Final, Week 2

Fig 3.8 Bilateral System Final, Week 2

Fig 2.9 Typographic System Final (JPEG), Week 2

Fig 2.9.2 Typographic System Final (Grid / Baseline), Week 2

EXERCISE 2 : TYPE & PLAY

Exercise 2 — Type & Play Part 1 / Finding Type

Finding an Image

To begin with Exercise 2, we were instructed to select an image that contains potential letterforms. Initially, I chose an image of iridescent silk, but Mr. Vinod mentioned that the lines were too complex, making it difficult to reflect the characteristics of the extracted letterforms. As a result, I decided to switch to a photo of cracked, dry soil instead.

Fig 4.1 First chosen image, Week 3

Fig 4.2 Finally chosen image, Week 3

Extraction

Below is my extraction of the letters H, A, F, X, and Y.

Fig 4.3 Letterform Extraction (H, A, F, X, Y), Week 3

Refinement Process

Fig 4.4 Reference Font, Week 3

For font reference I found the extracted letterforms to be thin and tall so I chose Futura Condensed Medium as the reference font after comparison.

Fig 4.5 Before and After font reference, Week 3

While referring to the reference font, I also observed the crack patterns in the image of the dried land. I extracted some of these crack details and incorporated them into the letterforms to better reflect the characteristics of the land’s surface.

Adjust the font texture

Fig 4.5 Adjust the font texture, Week 3

Below is my refinement process of the extracted letterforms:

Fig 4.6 Process, Week 3

Final Outcome of Part 1

Fig 5.1 Image and Extraction, Week 3

Fig 5.2 Overall Process, Week 3

Fig 5.3 Extracted letterforms (baseline), Week 3

Fig 5.4 Reference font, Week 3

Fig 5.5 Final Letterform, Week 3

Fig 5.6 Original extraction (top) and final letterform (bottom) comparison, Week 3

Fig 5.7 Exercise 2 Part 1 PDF Compilation, Week 3

Exercise 2 — Type & Play Part 2

In Part 2 of the exercise, Mr. Vinod asked us to use our typeface design to create a movie poster.

Since my letterforms came from an image of cracked earth, I first looked for similar visuals like cracked stones. But Mr. Vinod told me to use the same type of image as the original one for consistency in the poster design.

Fig 6.1 Initial Version (With Background Issue), Week 3

So I searched for new images related to dried or cracked land to use as the background.

Fig 6.2 Original image, Week 4

First, I found the original image too high in contrast, so I added two black rectangles with low opacity and blur to make the title clearer.

Fig 6.3 Adjustment process on Adobe Photoshop 1, Week 4

Then, for the title, I used the eyedropper tool to pick a color from the background and applied a 3D effect to make the text stand out.

Fig 6.4 Adjustment process on Adobe Photoshop 2, Week 4

To make the title blend in more naturally, I changed the font color to solid black and used a Gaussian blur as a backdrop behind it.

Fig 6.5 Adjustment process on Adobe Photoshop 2, Week 4

Finally, I added the credits and movie logo to complete the poster.

Fig 6.6 Final Poster, Week 4

Final Outcome of Part 2

Fig 7.1 Finalized Poster, Week 4

Fig 7.2 Finalized Poster (PDF), Week 4

Exercise 2 Final Compilation

Fig 8.1 Image and Extraction, Week 3

Fig 8.2 Overall Process, Week 3

Fig 8.3 Extracted letterforms (baseline), Week 3

Fig 8.4 Reference font, Week 3

Fig 8.5 Final Letterform, Week 3

Fig 8.6 Original extraction (top) and final letterform (bottom) comparison, Week 3

Fig 8.7 Exercise 2 Part 1 PDF Compilation, Week 3

Fig 8.8 Finalized Poster, Week 4

Fig 8.9 Finalized Poster (PDF), Week 4

FEEDBACK

Week 1:

General Feedback: On the first week, Mr. Vinod began by introducing the module information booklet along with the relevant rules and guidelines. He then gave us a briefing on our upcoming task, which involves starting the 8 typographic systems in InDesign by Week 2.

Specific Feedback: None

Week 2:

General Feedback: In Week 2, we were asked to upload our exercise layouts to Facebook during class. Mr. Vinod gave feedback to each of us individually.

Specific Feedback: Sir told me that I didn't fully understand the eight typographic systems, then pointed out the parts I had done incorrectly and gave me suggestions for improvement.

Week 3:

General Feedback: Sir reviewed our type and gave us feedback in this class, and asked us to incorporate the typography into the poster.

Specific Feedback: Sir told me that the image I selected had too many lines, making it hard to see and extract the texture from the surface of the type.

Week 4:

General Feedback: This week, sir gave feedback on each of our posters and emphasized the formatting requirements for the Task 1 e-portfolio. He also introduced the content of the upcoming Task 2.

Specific Feedback: Sir told me that the background did not match the extracted text and asked me to choose a different one.

REFLECTION

Experience

Through Exercise 1, I learned about the 8 typographic systems and gained a clearer understanding of layout rules, which sparked my interest in typography. I also realized that I need more practice to improve my attention to detail and creative thinking. Exercise 2 taught me that rather than focusing only on making the design eye-catching, it's more important to understand typeforms and the interaction between text and images. Overall, the first four weeks helped me see my weaknesses and motivated me to improve in future tasks.

Observations

I observed that design isn't just about relying on my own aesthetic — getting feedback from others helps me grow and see things from new perspectives. At the same time, having confidence in my own ideas is important, because design has no single right answer. Mr. Vinod always reminds me, “What do you think? That’s important,” before offering suggestions to help me improve and refine my work.

Findings

I found that Mr. Vinod’s lecture videos provided useful background knowledge related to the exercise topics. The terminology and information require careful note-taking and memorization, as they help me better understand what goals I need to achieve for each specific theme and make it less likely for me to forget.