Project Three Exercises
Exercise One: Typeface Tracing
In this exercise, we were instructed to draw letterforms by hand using tracing paper. This exercise gave me great insight to proportions and styles, helping me identify commonalities and differences between each font’s weights and x-heights, amongst other qualities, as well as compare serif and sans serif fonts. The four typefaces traced here are are Adobe Garamond, Didot, Helvetica, and Futura.
Exercise Two: Typographic Voice
For this experiment, we were encouraged to explore how choice of typeface affects the meaning and feeling of a word. We selected one word from a list and represented it in 5 different fonts. I chose “relaxation”, and decided to type the word in all capitals and with a hyphen break in the word to more directly compare each letter’s positioning and kerning. I will discuss each option and whether it reinforces the meaning of the word, “relaxation”.
Each display was typed in Illustrator in the same size font.
My first font exploration was with Hobo Std Medium. The roundness and slanted axis of each character results in a very “groovy” interpretation of this word. Since each character seems to lean and slouch, this gives a more physical reinforcement of relaxation. From the first to second row, each character seems aligned, but a shorter kerning should be noted between “I” and “O”.
In Times New Roman, “relaxation” seems almost clinical. Because of the serif and vertical axis, each character seems stable, distinct, and well grounded — a very sharp contrast to the slouchy-ness of Hobo. This typeface ensures clear communication of text, but doesn’t convey a feeling of “relaxation”.
With SignPainter, we see a return to a sans serif and slanted-axis font. The somewhat elongated terminal that can be seen on intersection lines (particularly on the top of “R” and horizontal bar of “A”) adds a carefree feel to each character, while still not interfering with the readability of the text. This font would definitely be found in a yoga studio. It successfully reinforces “relaxation”.
Orator’s prominent spacing, thin lines, slanted axis, and right character alignment makes this font feel futuristic. I could see this as the font of a Washed Out album cover — it allows for a less intimidating interpretation of any text because of its thin lines, but because of those lines also lacks a distinct presence and would need more context to give a fully “relaxed” feel.
With Prestige, we again see that the presence of serifs give text a more clinical and proper feel. Again, the clear borders between each character and perfect vertical axis don’t allow for room to breathe in this font. It does not reinforce the meaning of the word. Rather, with its law-enforcement association, it questions if you’ve ever really felt relaxed in your life.
I believe that the best representation of the word “relaxation” lies in SignPainter. I went back and forth between Hobo and SignPainter, but ultimately decided that the thin lines of SignPainter, especially since they vary in weight along the line, best represents what I hold relaxation to truly be: letting loose from the rules momentarily and allowing imperfections. The perfect adherence of Hobo to the baseline makes this font too bold to mean relaxation to me.
Research on Times New Roman
Designers: Stanley Morison & Victor Lardent
Commissioned by: The Times
Date released: 1932
History: Based on Monotype’s Plantin typeface, with main changes being greater contrast between strokes for greater readability.
Purpose: Newspaper printing and general legibility in body text.
Characteristics: High x-height, short descenders (to allow for linespacing)
Exercise Three: Typographic Hierarchy
In the last exercise for this project, I was tasked to explore typographic variables to clarify a message. Each component of this exercise explores a different tool or method in conveying a message clearly to a reader. All text is in the Helvetica Neue family.
Linespacing
Challenged with only using linespacing in this piece, I found it useful to highlight each separate event, as well as other important information such as “admission free”. This allows for a calendar-like layout, but leaves much of the prioritization of information to the viewer.
Typographic weights
In exploring weights without linespacing, I thought about what the audience might be. This is an example of an advertisement well-researched in HCI news, who might follow the work of specific people in the field and might be excited that they will be visiting campus. In this case, the viewer would be familiar with the research because it’s associated to the name, therefore, the name should be bolded to catch the eye better.
Horizontal Shift or Indentation
By utilizing three flush-left margins of varying extremes, I was able to distinguish event. Here, the viewer would be able to note the patten of the date of the talk quickly, so they know where they can find that information. This reliability of information placement allows a reduction of clutter near the speaker and topic, the two most important details of this type.
Typographic Weight & Linespacing
Again, the audience was imagined as someone who was well-informed with HCI news. HCI being bolding would catch their attention as relevant information, then speaker and topic would be highlighted to pop out during a quick scan.
Typographic Weights & Horizontal Shift
A combination of quick-information highlighting and reliable grouping of technical details of each talk (date/time/location) was mixed to create this piece.
Horizontal Shift & Linespacing
Size Changes & Typographic Weight
Final culmination of all themes.
