Advanced Typography - Task 1: Exercises
21/04/25 - 06/05/25 / Week 1-Week 3
Brendan Fedya / 0376283
Advanced Typography / Bachelor of Design
(Hons) in Creative Media / Taylor's University
Task 1:
Exercises
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. Lectures
II. Instructions
III. Feedbacks
IV. Reflections
V. Further Readings
I. LECTURES
➼ Week 1
‣ Lecture 1 - Typographic Systems
The designs we see today are all created with a structured system. There are 8 major typographic systems to create layouts, such as: axial, radial, dilatational, random, grid, modular, transitional, and bilateral. This serves as a guide to us for further exploration.
|
|
|
‣ Lecture 2 - Typographic Composition
Out of the 8 typography systems, the grid system is the most used in real-world editorial practices because of its versatility. |
| Figure 1.2: Typographic compositions, Week 3 (6/5/25). |
‣ Lecture 3 - Context & Creativity
Letterforms are initially designed to imitate handwriting. In this lecture, we will dive deeper into the history of letterforms. Since the colonization in the East from the West, most of the literature that was evolved is halted into a certain degree, because of the influence of Western literature. These old cultures have to be preserved, it is a heritage that could create creative ideas only unique to ourselves.
In modern Malaysia right now, Jawi scripts are still widely used for renowned literature works.
 |
| Figure 1.3: The history of letterforms, Week 3 (6/5/25). |
‣ Lecture 4 - Designing Type
Aside from fine arts, music, dances and the imagery designs that we see today, type design is also a form of artistic expression. Type design process has to be done systematically starting off with doing research, then sketching, digitization, testing, and deploying the typeface. In addition, history, anatomy, and type conventions are also some things to take note of. From all these steps, we can then define its purpose and find references from existing typefaces.
Designing a typeface could be driven by personal interests or from problems in the current typeface designs. In an extrinsic way, it could also be driven by commissions from other people and tasks to complete for students.
Note: Using grids can help a lot in designing letterforms.
 |
| Figure 1.4: Influential type designers, Week 4 (16/5/25). |
II. INSTRUCTIONS
➼ Exercise 1: Typographic Systems
For the first exercise, we were tasked to do the 8 typographic systems
in our version, from the text given in the MIB and limited to the 10
fonts given in the previous Typography module. We will do this exercise
in Adobe InDesign (200 x 200mm , 2 page, 3 column with gutter 5mm,
margin 10mm).
I find physical sketch too inconsistent for this task, so I rather
experiment directly (with the fonts, placements, etc.) in InDesign to
see how the texts really look like when placed in the layout. Well you
could say this is my version of doing sketches.
Notes:
Tap 'enter' to format the text properly with paragraph spacings
when moving it from text to InDesign.
Texts should be 8-12pt, add 2-3pt more for leading.
'shift+enter' to remove hypens.
Bold text will look tighter, so consider increasing the kerning space
(5-15).
‣ Axial
My initial idea with axial was to use an axis that is contrasting, hence
the reason behind half black half white layout. Additionally, I wanted
to make it have a point of focus so that it won't look boring with the
extra tilt that enhances the dynamic feel.
|
|
Figure 2.1: Axial process, Week 2 (2/5/25). |
After getting feedback, Mr. Vinod said to avoid extreme angle tilts and elements that could distract from the text should be removed. I then decided to keep the original straight layout and remove the contrasting colors.
|
|
Figure 2.2: Axial finished, Week 2 (2/5/25). |
‣ Radial
Radial was quite confusing for me at start, so I tried tilted it into
various angles to find the layout that I prefer the most. I initially
chose a lighter font but it seems better when I changed it into a bolder
one.
Then for the other texts I made them to enhance the radial effect in the
same direction. To make it more interesting, I used repetition of the
text 'Open Public Lectures:' that suggests the same radial movement.
|
|
Figure 2.3: Radial process, Week 2 (2/5/25). |
|
|
Figure 2.4: Radial finished, Week 2 (2/5/25). |
‣ Dilatational
My idea is to use a very condensed font on every curved texts because in
my opinion the letters would look less distorted hence it would be more
pleasing to the eyes. I avoid putting all the text in a circular motion
because it would look very monotonous. The addition of the red
contrasting background gives a striking finish to the white font,
enhancing the impact.
|
|
Figure 2.5: Dilatational process, Week 2 (2/5/25). |
After feedback, I was asked to make all those flat texts circular. To make the title stand out in the design, I repeated the title on the outer circle and arrange other elements around it. Overall, it looks like a fully circular motion, like how a dilatational layout should be.
|
|
Figure 2.6: Dilatational finished, Week 2
(2/5/25). |
‣ Random
As for random, I tried a different approach compared to how most people
will do it. They will just put elements all over the place. As for me, I
will put the title alongside the mirrored version and tilt it to give
the random a bit more sense. I split up the titles with hyphenages so
that they would have more rows to fill in the layout and looks more
random.
|
|
Figure 2.7: Random process, Week 2 (2/5/25). |
|
|
Figure 2.8: Random finished, Week 2 (2/5/25). |
‣ Grid
For grid layout, I first divide it into 3 x 3 so I can see the grid
clearly. I reused the elements and fonts from my random layout and
gave them a slight tweak. I added some black rectangle graphics to
balance the overall layout.
I initially tried the flowy versions like the examples given, but I
think it didn't look nice, so I kept the texts straight. I made sure
to group the text into different bands according to their information
and let it flow to the other groups of information.
|
|
Figure 2.9: Grid process, Week 2 (2/5/25). |
|
|
|
‣ Transitional
|
|
Figure 2.11: Transitional process, Week 2 (2/5/25). |
After feedback, Mr. Vinod said the middle blank space breaks the flow.
Hence, I reorganized it to make it connect better. I use subtle lines
to help the viewers eyes connect to the other text easily.
I did the modular layout quite straightforward. I made six boxes of
space with the same size, where 4 of the boxes is filled by the title.
I reused the hyphen-styled title because it makes the layout more
unique and different to others.
|
|
Figure 2.12: Transitional finished, Week 2
(2/5/25).
|
‣ Modular
|
|
Figure 2.13: Modular process, Week 2 (2/5/25).
|
|
|
Figure 2.14: Modular finished, Week 2 (2/5/25).
|
‣ Bilateral
|
|
Figure 2.15: Bilateral process, Week 2 (2/5/25).
|
|
|
Figure 2.16: Bilateral finished, Week 2 (2/5/25).
|
‣ Final Output: Typographic Systems
 |
Figure 2.17: Final 8 Typographic Systems compilation - JPEG, Week 2 (2/5/25). |
|
|
Figure 2.18: Axial system final - JPEG, Week 2
(2/5/25).
|
|
|
Figure 2.19: Radial system final - JPEG, Week 2
(2/5/25).
|
|
|
Figure 2.20: Dilatational system final - JPEG, Week 2
(2/5/25).
|
|
|
Figure 2.21: Random system final - JPEG, Week 2
(2/5/25).
|
|
|
Figure 2.22: Grid system final - JPEG, Week 2
(2/5/25).
|
|
|
Figure 2.23: Bilateral system final - JPEG, Week 2
(2/5/25).
|
|
|
Figure 2.24: Transitional system final - JPEG, Week 2
(2/5/25).
|
|
|
Figure 2.25: Modular system final - JPEG, Week 2
(2/5/25).
|
Figure 2.26: Eight typographic systems final with grids - PDF,
Week 2 (2/5/25).
Figure 2.27: Eight typographic systems final without grids - PDF,
Week 2 (2/5/25).
➼ Exercise 2: Type & Play
For the second exercise, we are asked to create letterforms from the
things that we see daily. I picked french fries because the structure
looks like a stem of a letter hence it's easier to extract.
|
|
Figure 2.28: French fries close up- Polina Tankilevitch,
Week 2 (5/5/25).
Source:
Pexels
|
|
|
Figure 2.29: Extracting Letterforms, Week 2 (5/5/25).
|
|
|
Figure 2.30: Extracting Letterforms, Week 2 (5/5/25).
|
Next I began the process of making the extracted letterforms into a
truly qualified font. I first put them in similar sizes, so that it
could be easier to edit them together. After this step I mainly used
pathfinder tools overlapping my extracted with my reference font, and
minor adjustments of the anchor points using the direct selection tool
is also necessary. This is very crucial because it will create
consistency among letterforms, which is one of the most important
aspect for a font.
|
|
Figure 2.31: Extracting Letterforms, Week 2
(5/5/25).
|
|
|
Figure 2.32: Refined letterforms, Week 2 (5/5/25).
|
Figure 2.33: Further refinement of letterforms, Week 2
(5/5/25).
|
|
Figure 2.34: Finished letterforms before feedback, Week 2
(5/5/25).
|
First thing I did was to fix the edges, which I used a triangle shaped vector to cut the edges using pathfinder. To make it consistent, I copied the shapes and put it on other letter stems that I feel requires cutting. Direct selection tool was also used in this part to pull the anchors that can avoid awkward shapes that have been unintentionally produced.
|
|
Figure 2.35: Refining letterforms from first feedback,
Week 3 (7/5/25).
|
|
|
Figure 2.36: Refining letterforms from second feedback,
Week 3 (7/5/25).
|
Here are the development of the letterforms, step by step until
the finalized version:
After I am finished with all the letterforms, the next task is to use
the finalized letterforms to create a mock movie poster that could
showcase the font beautifully. I combined Adobe Photoshop and Adobe
Illustrator to achieve my desired design.
|
|
Figure 2.37: Letterforms development, Week 3 (7/5/25). |
I tried my first idea for the poster, but it seems underwhelming hence
I didn't continue doing it. But I find the red 'XITUYU' paired with
the main white one integrates quite well, so I kept that idea and
moved on.
Figure 2.38: Initial poster idea, Week 3 (7/5/25).
I then explored other images and found one that I think is suitable
for a movie poster. It portrays a hand dipping a fry into the sauce.
|
|
Figure 2.39: French fries - Cottonbro Studio, Week 3
(8/5/25).
Source:
Pexels
|
|
|
Figure 2.40: Avengers: Endgame - movie poster reference,
Week 3 (8/5/25).
Source: Pinterest
|
Let me describe some process details here: First, I maxed out the
saturation at first so that the hand could look reddish. The reason is
to make the photo have a bit of surrealistic touch, and as a result, it
will keep the viewers more engaged. I then masked out that single French
fry in the middle to create depth, making it look like it's in front of
the red title. At last, I included the Marvel watermark on top of the
title, just like how Marvel movie posters usually are.
|
|
Figure 2.41: Poster making process, Week 3 (8/5/25).
|
|
|
Figure 2.42: BIG Hero 6 - movie poster reference, Week 3
(8/5/25).
Source:
Pinterest
|
The key to nailing this well is to pick a suitable font so that it could
appear more professional, similar to a true movie poster. For the credit
blocks, I will just put the production logos rather than the usual
cluttered ones that are filled with their casts and etc. In my opinion,
It will appear sleeker this way.
|
|
Figure 2.43: Credit block process and placement, Week 3
(8/5/25).
|
I found a free credit block template from my browser, I then downloaded
the font, pasted it into my own poster, and changed the information.
Additionally, I tweaked the production logos based on the other versions
of the original logo arrangements available, making it fit the whole
credit block perfectly.
For the final touch, I gave it some noise effects to give the poster a
natural texture, making both the text and the background feel cohesive
like they belong in the same place.
|
|
Figure 2.44: Finishing process, Week 3 (8/5/25).
|
Here's the final result before feedback:
|
|
Figure 2.45: Final result before feedback, Week 3
(8/5/25).
|
‣ Final Output: Type & Play
|
|
Figure 2.46: Final letter extraction, Week 4
(14/5/25).
|
|
|
Figure 2.47: Final overall process, Week 4 (14/5/25).
|
|
|
Figure 2.48: Final overall process, Week 4 (14/5/25).
|
|
|
Figure 2.49: Letterforms with baseline , Week 4
(14/5/25).
|
Figure 2.50: Type & Play - PDF Compilation, Week 4 (14/5/25).
 |
Figure 2.51: Type & Play poster - JPEG, Week 4 (14/5/25). |
Figure 2.52: Type & Play poster - PDF, Week 4 (14/5/25).
III. FEEDBACKS
‣ Week 1
General Feedback :
• Refresh your knowledge from the previous Typography module.
• Before starting the first exercise, review and analyze the text
given according to its importance (hierarchy)
• Set e-portfolio background to off-white, to avoid our
artwork merging with the background.
• Put the name of the typographic system below each artwork for
submission, also if there are 2 artworks with a white
background, split it with a grey line so that it could be easier
to be differentiated.
Specific Feedback :
• Don't use half black half white contrast, because it requires
our eyes to readjust.
‣ Week 2
General Feedback :
• Use contrast for the text to make it more readable.
• Margin areas cannot have anything, so everything has to be inside.
• Paragraph spaces have to be consistent, all the text formatting has to be consistent.
• Random has to be very
chaotic to look nice.
• Graphics is to enhance
the text, not overwhelm it.
Specific Feedback :
• If going to include
hyphenages, make it look like a part of the design, break it
syllabically.
• My initial dilatational
could work in real-life design, but to apply it in this task I cannot
use that much of non-circular texts.
‣ Week 3
General Feedback :
• The letter 'I' could be the base to make other letterforms, it acts as a stem for a lot of other letters, hence it maintains the typeface consistency.
Specific Feedback :
‣ Week 4
General Feedback :
• Set margins and grids before starting designing the layout.
• The knowledge from the
previous exercises are to be used in this exercise.
For the upcoming task 2,
• Wordmark must have an
elegant solution. Art directions cannot be forced, it has to look
natural and unintended (see examples in task brief W4-W5).
• Key artwork has to be
memorable, hence complicated and overly experimental decisions will only
bring it down. And for collaterals later on, key artwork has to be
expanded/ improved in various ways, don't just use the original key
artwork and paste it.(ex: repetition of the key artwork for a t-shirt
merch)
• Do a mind-map of ourselves
(what our name means, what do I want to be in the future, aspirations,
etc.) before the key artwork. This will create a good fundamental in
generating our ideas to create a strong identity.
• Sketch out a lot of ideas
is more ideal than trying it out directly in the digital layout. We
could get a much wider exploration and possibilities for the artwork at
the end.
Specific Feedback :
IV. REFLECTIONS
‣ Experience
It's been half a year since I started the first Typography module, and honestly, I'm quite afraid to start Advanced Typography again. The assignments in the previous module were a bit more intensive compared to the other modules from the first semester I would say. even on some nights I didn't slept working on my Typography assignments—but I guess that's normal for design students, isn't it? :D
Then here comes Advanced Typography. I imagine this to be the final boss of Typography before truly breaking free from it, so it REALLY, REALLY pressured me a lot.
To my surprise, the exercises from this task are not as difficult as I thought! I know I shouldn't say this before passing the module, or else I might jinx my tasks later on. I suppose I feel this way because I've gotten used to the pressure from before—but without the experience from the previous semester, I'm skeptical whether I would still feel this way or not.
Anyways, I'm still quite afraid of handling the upcoming tasks, but what other choices do I have?‣ Observations
I noticed that things in the current module are more fast-paced compared to before. We are immediately assigned a task in the first week and must submit it by the next week. Last semester, that one-week timeline was only for completing our sketch, and we had a few additional weeks to finish the final outcome. But as long as we have experience from before, it's not much of a hassle and we definitely could still manage.
‣ Findings
From the exercise given here, It could be said that typography is one of
the core foundations of most design fields, and for the Taylor's design
students' case, It affects those taking graphic design focus the most.
Even for other specializations, it can be beneficial—for example, it
requires detail-oriented skills that are also essential in UI/UX, which
is my chosen stream. Elements like kerning, line spacing, and font
pairing require time to be planted in our subconscious mind. I find that
I automatically apply these principles in my current tasks as well even
when not specifically instructed, thanks to the practices and exercises
from the previous semester.
V. FURTHER READINGS
➼ Week 1
|
|
|
|
|
Figure 5.2: Typographic Systems by Kimberly Elam - Page 72:
Random System, Week 1 (26/4/25). |
➼ Week 2
After reading the article made by Mr. Vinod in
Kreatif Beats, I came to know that this Advanced Typography class is not
established from the start. It is because Mr. Vinod thought that there
will not be enough fundamentals for students for this particular topic
if it's only from the first Typography module.
Another thing that I grasp from this reading is that a reference font is
very important to complete the second exercise. This serves as a guide
to the letterforms exploration that has been extracted and refined to
resemble a truly usable letterform.
|
|
Figure 5.3: Finding Type: A Novel Typographic Exercise by
Vinod J. Nair, Week 2 (2/5/25). Source: Kreatif Beats |
Your attention is valued, thank you for reading until the end!
Task 2 ➡
Comments
Post a Comment