Advanced Typography: Task 1 Exercises
TANG LILIN (0376668)
Advanced Typography
Task 1 Exercises
21/4/2025 - 16/5/2025 （ Week 1 - Week 4 ）
Bachelor OF DESIGN (HONERS) IN CREATIVE MEDIA
LIST
LECTURE
Lecture 1 - Typographic System
All designs are based on structural systems. Kimberly Elam believes there are eight typographic systems:
1. Axial System : All elements are organized to the left or right of a single axis.
2. Radial System : All elements are extended from a point of focus.
3. Dilatational System : All elements expand from a central point in a circular fashion
4. Random System : Elements appear to have no specific pattern or relationship.
5. Grid System : A system of vertical and horizontal divisions.
6. Modular System : A series of non - objective elements that are constructed in as a standardized units.
7. Transitional System : An informal system of layered banding.
8. Bilateral System : All text is arranged symmetrically on a single axis.
We can use these 8 typographic systems to create countless arrangements and variations.
Typography is complex because the elements in the picture need to work together to work. The hierarchy, reading order, legibility, and contrast in the picture are equally important.
Conclusion：
When you first come into contact with these 8 typographic systems, you will feel unfamiliar, but you will become more and more familiar with them with practice.
We need to use these 8 variations flexibly and not rely too much on one variation, which may make our design stiff. Each variation will play its own advantages in specific situations.
"Typography is the use of type to advocate, communicate, celebrate, educate, elaborate, illuminate, and disseminate. Along the way, the words and pages become art." -- James Felici, The complete Manual of Typography.
 |
| fig 1.1.1Typographic System by Katherine Humphreys Week 1 23/4/2025 |
Lecture 2: Typographic Composition
The basic principles of design composition are (these are more suited to images than typography):
Contrast, Balance, Emphasis, Rule of Thirds, Repetition, Movement, Hierarchy, Alignment, Harmony, Unity and Proportion.
The Rule of Thirds
- The Rule of Thirds is the guiding principle of photographic composition and is based on the idea of dividing an image into three columns and three rows. Intersecting lines are used to guide the placement of points of interest within a given space.
 |
| fig 1.1.2 the Example of Rule of Thirds in the Lecture 2 Week 2 30/4/2025 |
Typographic System:
It is the most widely used of the eight types of typographic systems. It is derived from the grid compositional structure of letterpress printing.
Environmental Grid
An environmental grid is a system based on the exploration of existing structures or combinations of multiple structures. Key curves and straight lines are extracted to form the grid.
Form and Motion
- “Form and Motion is a system based on the exploration of existing grid systems. The grid provides numerous options to take the seriousness out of the grid system and allows you to easily navigate the pages of the book.
- Dynamic effects can be created by placing the grid on one or more pages. It doesn't matter whether the pages are paper or screen.
 | |
|
Lecture 3: Context and Creativity
Why handwriting is important is :
1. because the first mechanically produced letterforms were designed to directly imitate handwriting.
2. Also, because of the special tools and materials used in handwriting, it has a strong identity.
3. For decades, the East has neglected much of its written heritage, which could not survive in printed form. With the cultural renaissance, more and more handwriting can be seen in the screen
It is worth noting that later generations of printers honored the development by redeveloping handwriting into a form of mechanical printing. The arrival of the digital revolution gave even more impetus to this movement and the publication and sale of these scripts.
It is worth noting that later generations of printers honored the development by redeveloping handwriting into a form of mechanical printing. The arrival of the digital revolution gave even more impetus to this movement and the publication and sale of these scripts.
 |
| fig 1.1.4 the Ancient Egypt Hieroglyphics Chart in the Lecture 3 Week 3 8/5/2025 |
Cuneiform: the earliest writing system. Characteristics: formed by pressing the blunt end of a reed pen into wet clay.
Hieroglyphics: combination of the Egyptian writing system and the art of relief sculpture. Also incorporates anagrams and epigraphs.
The oldest surviving writing systems in Southeast Asia are the Indian scripts, the most important of which is the South Indian script called Pallawa, and Pra-nagari, which is used in India for writing Sanskrit.
 | |
|
Local Movement and Individuals
- Creativity and inspiration should begin with looking at our surroundings and exploring our shared history.
- It is important for designers to look within, to look at history, civilization and cultural communities and to bring these past developments into the future. It is important for designers to look within, to look at history, civilization and cultural communities and to bring these past developments into the future.
- Looking forward gives you opportunities.” - Mr Vinod
Lecture 4: Designing Type
Adrian Frutiger: The Univers and Frutiger fonts were created with the aim of creating a clear, distinctive and legible typeface.
Verdana: Designed by Matthew Carter and produced in Pixels. The aim is to be legible even at very small screen sizes.
Johnston Sans: Designed by Edward Johnston in 1916. A new typeface used on London Underground posters and signage.
 |
| fig 1.1.6 Adrian Frutiger & Verdana & Johnston Sans in the Lecture 4 Week 3 8/5/2025 |
Typeface design process:
1. Research: Understand the history, anatomy and conventions of the typeface. Determine the purpose and use of the typeface at this stage. 2.
2. Sketching: Some designers use traditional or digital tools to sketch typefaces. Both methods are effective and have their advantages and disadvantages.
3. Digitization: The typeface can be digitized using Font Lab or Glyphs, or you can use Adobe Illustrator. at this stage you should focus on the overall characteristics of the typeface as well as its reverse. The readability of the typeface depends greatly on this.
4. Testing: This is a critical step in the design of a typeface, to see how it is progressing in terms of improvements and modifications.
5. Deploy: When deploying fonts, it is inevitable that there will be minor problems that were not detected during the prototyping or testing phases. Rigorous testing is essential to minimize early problems.
 | |
|
Font Composition
Uppercase Roman: The grid consists of a square and a circle inside the square, with the four positions of the circle tangent to the corners of the square. The use of grids simplifies the construction of characters and is a viable method of constructing, creating and designing characters.
Structure and Thinking
- Based on the shape and structure of the letters, the 26 letters can be categorized into two groups: uppercase and lowercase letters.
- When designing a new typeface, different forms and structures should be considered. An important visual change is the curved protrusion of the baseline and top line.
- Most fonts are born out of some kind of need. This motivation can be intrinsic or extrinsic.
- Intrinsic: The designer is attracted to the idea of designing a typeface and seeks a form that will fulfill this need.
- Extrinsic: A designer is commissioned to design a typeface, or a student of design is asked to do work involving typeface design.
INSTRUCTION
PROGRESS
Exercise 1
this is the sketch i made for every typographic system:
 | |
|
Then, I started to make it.
 |
| fig 2.1.2 Axial System Week 2 30/4/2025 |
Axial system
It was also challenging for me, even though it looked simple. However, this was my first typographic system, so I was still a little unfamiliar.
 | |
|
Radial System
I found it difficult to achieve a good layout and readability with this system.
 | |
|
Dilatational System
I chose to make concentric circles. The one on the left was more symmetrical, while the one on the right was more like ripples, so I placed circles to create a diffuse effect.
 | |
|
Radom System
At first, I didn't quite understand the characteristics of the Radom system. After collecting information, I found that the Radom system needs to have order in chaos.
 | |
|
Transitional System
The transitional system is interesting, but when I tried it, it seemed rigid.But I already improve it in my final work
 | |
|
Grid & Modular System
These are the two systems that gave me the most headaches and the most problems. I didn't really understand the meaning of these two systems.But，after some attempt, I gradually understood it and improved it in my final work.
 | |
|
Bilateral System
This is relatively simple and inspiring for me.
Once the information is grouped, it will be easier to layout.
There is other efforts when i improve my work.
I improved most of the works, and I remade almost every work and adjusted it. Mainly adjusted the thickness contrast between information. Major rework of the grid, modular and radial systems.
FIANL SUBMISSION - Exercise 1
 | |
|
 | |
|
 | |
|
 | |
|
 | |
|
 | |
|
 | |
|
 | |
|
| fig 2.2.9 Final Typographic Systems (PDF) Week 2 30/4/2025 |
| fig 2.2.10 Final Typographic Systems - Grid (PDF) Week 2 30/4/2025 |
Exercise 2
Bad Progress
| fig 2.3.1 Bad Attempt Week 3 6/5/2025 |
After doing a lot of research and reading further, I chose a picture of Hami melon texture and made it.
Reason:
Five letters can be clearly found in the picture.
The Hami melon pattern is repetitive and varied, and has the characteristics of a mesh crack.
I also easily found five letters from it, "A F Y X H". Then I chose the letter A to try to evolve. After I initially made the letter A, I found that the mesh texture of Hami melon is difficult to reflect in the font, and such a crack effect is not unique and can also be replaced by the characteristics of plant vines.
 | |
|
So I changed my picture to a cell picture under a microscope.
Reason:
Five letters can be clearly found in the picture.
The cell is repetitive and varied, and has the characteristics of. And there are irregular wavy protrusions, with dots arranged inside.
 | |
|
I found the five letters "VLCIY" from it.
And evolved step by step, so that it retains the characteristics of the cell and also refers to the morphology and structure of the font. Above is my evolution process.
 | |
|
Above is my final refinement process.
In class, based on the feedback from Mr. Vinod, he wanted me to make some adjustments to the final font. I needed to make sure that every bump was the same. I could use mathematical methods to calculate a link, and then just copy and paste.
Below is the final version of my font.
 | |
|
Then I started making a poster. I chose another similar cell picture under a microscope. I wanted to make it into a poster for a science and biology movie.
 | |
|
I found that I couldn't use this photo directly and needed to process it. So I imported this photo into PS and used its AI enlargement tool to expand the picture to the appropriate size. And used the clone stamp tool to remove the inappropriate content in the picture.
 | |
|
Then, I found some film poster references on Google.
Then I started to make my poster. I followed the Bilateral system in the previous Typographic System. I added the logo and some common movie poster logos. I made two versions. In the end, I chose the one on the left as my final version.
| fig 2.3.8 Two Types of Posters I made Week 4 11/5/2025 |
Final Submission
 | |
|
 | |
|
 | |
|
 | |
|
 | |||
|
fig 2.4.7 Final Poster Progress - PDF Week 4 11/5/2025
fig 2.4.8 Final Poster - PDF Week 4 11/5/2025
FEEDBACK
Week 4
General Feedback：Vinod sir gave feedback to each work. And told us not to be too anxious about the bad feedback. We will not perform well in every task. The main thing is to do every task carefully and not think too much about the results.And in class, we were asked to fill in the details of the first four weeks of classes.
Specific Feedback：Vinod sir said my poster was good, well done.
Week 3
General Feedback：I listened carefully to the lecture. I also read the Further Reading. I studied Vinod's requirements in depth. I searched a lot of pictures and chose a photo of Hami melon texture as my reference image. But when I tried to make the letter A, I found that my font could not fully reflect the characteristics of Hami melon, because the texture of Hami melon looks very similar to rock cracks, and its characteristics can be replaced by the characteristics of other objects, and it is not unique. Then I chose a cell photo as my reference image and started to make it, which evolved step by step to the final result.
Specific Feedback：Vinod sir said my work was good, no problem. But I need to check the size of the bumps, make sure all the bumps are the same size, all the thickness should be the same. Everything can be remade using mathematical methods. Create a circle, make a slope, create a desired structure, connect it. Once this link is created, it can be directly copied.
Week 2
General Feedback：In class, Vinod commented on each of our assignments. He told us that we can learn important things from other people's feedback. He also told us that the important thing in this course is not whether we can get an A, but to keep learning and improving in the course.
Specific Feedback：
Axial: Correct, no problem, looks good
Dilatational: Meets the requirements, but the point in the middle is a bit big
Radial: The circle is too big, maybe it will be better if it is changed to outline
The slope of the text is too steep, too close to each other, and the angle can be looser
Transition: No problem
Radom: Very orderly, not random. Randomness needs to have a certain logic in the chaos.
Grid: Does not meet the requirements. Any design should exist within the margin. Vinod suggested that I could sketch first. Determine the distance between top and bottom. The margin space is always empty, and there can be no text. And there must be a gutter.
Modular: It should not be a cold and lonely island. Instead, there should be a certain connection between each other.
Week 1
General Feedback: Mr. Vinod introduced the MIB of the whole course to us in class. And the instructions of each exercise. I studied each video carefully and took notes of the video. I also searched for information carefully and made homework for 8 typesetting systems.
REFLECTION
Experience
Exercise 1
After listening to lecture 1 carefully, I still didn't understand the eight typographic systems very well. So I started reading books and looking for websites, hoping to get more information from them. But the whole experience of task 1 was quite painful for me, and I seemed to know nothing about the typographic system.
Exercise 2
It was easier for me. First, I found a lot of pictures on the Internet according to the requirement of "repetition, but with many changes". Since this is an ongoing project, I think there are many issues that need to be considered, such as whether the fonts extracted from the pictures can be used in subsequent posters? Can the extracted fonts reflect the characteristics of the pictures? Is this characteristic unique? Or can it be replaced by the characteristics of other objects? So I choose pictures very carefully. The production process is interesting.
Observation
Exercise 1
I found that I have many shortcomings in ex1. For example, I am quite weak in the contrast of thickness of information. Moreover, my thinking is quite rigid and limited. The designs produced are just following the rules. Especially in the dilatational system, this problem is particularly obvious.
Exercise 2
The font evolution process was relatively smooth, but when making the poster, the lack of typography was obvious.
Finding
Exercise 1
I think that making typesetting requires bold attempts and careful adjustments. The direct contrast between information and good-looking layout are equally important.
Exercise 2
To be honest, I am very afraid of continuous tasks. The first decision we make will have a lasting impact on subsequent work. Therefore, when facing a continuous task, I usually choose to do a lot of research and think clearly about the general direction of the follow-up. Only then will I start making it.
FUTHER READING
 |
| fig 3.1.1 Front Cover of Typography Design Form and Communication |
I also read some content about the grid system in this book.
fig 3.1.2 types of grid
Basic Grid: Simple horizontal and vertical lines used for basic arrangement.
Modular Grid: Small units composed of multiple evenly spaced horizontal and vertical lines, more suitable for multi-column layouts.
Column Grid: Used for column layouts, commonly found in magazines and web design, allowing designers to create multi-column layouts.
Golden Ratio Grid: A grid based on the golden ratio, often used in high-end design and artworks, creating elegant and harmonious layouts.
Comments
Post a Comment