Typograpghic Compendium

Solange Trujillo

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Table of Content

In a badly designed book, the letters mill and stand like starving horses in a field. In a book designed by rote, they sit like stale
bread and mutton on the page. In a well-made book, where designer, compositor and printer have all done their jobs, no matter
how many thousands of lines and pages, the letters are alive. They dance in their seats. Sometimes they rise and dance in the
margins and aisles.
Robert Bringhurst, The Elements of Typographic Style

Anatomy of Type.........................................................................................................................4

Understanding Type...................................................................................................................5

Anatomy of Cropping..................................................................................................................6

Typographic Kinetics..................................................................................................................7

Structure of Letters.....................................................................................................................8

Form/Counterform .....................................................................................................................9

Conterpoint/Counterpart............................................................................................................10

Modern Chair and Typography...................................................................................................11

Muti-page Typographic Layout and the Grid.............................................................................16

Anatomy of Type

Understanding Type

Individual letter forms have unique parts

Overlapping different families of type

The part of a word that is more legible

which have changed in visual form over the

shows the range that exists between

when covered tends to be the upper half of

centuries. A nomenclature helps identify

them. It shows how their spacing, height

the word. This has to do with the position

major elements of their construction. The

and width vary. What this means to the

of ones eyes; since they are located

evolution of lettering styles over time is a

designer is that all fonts are unique.

relatively high on our body we tend to

result of optical adjustments to these basic

When is comes to mixing families, there

read the upper parts of objects before

components by type designers over the

are certain things that can and cannot be

the bottom. One can remove most of the

ages. Manipulation or drafting letter forms

done. A main rule is that one cannot mix

letterform and still be able to read a word.

requires an application of these basic

families of type together. The only thing

What detemines this is what part of the

elements successfully.

that can be mixed is serif with a sans serif;

letter you remove. Each letter has a unique

it cannot be two serifs or two sans serifs.

characteristic and if that part is removed

The two anatomical attribute that all

the word or letter will become illegible.

families share are the baseline and the use

Serif

Finial

Ear

Counter

Shoulder

Ascender

Spine

of a stroke.

Capline

x-height

Meanline

Psychological
Psycholog
P
Psychologica
ycchological
hhlologii caall al
s yg

Bowel

Stroke

Loop

Link

Stem

Terminal

Hairline

Tail
Descender

Baseline

Psychological
Psychological
P sy cholo gica l

Anatomy Cropping

Typographic Kinetics

Typographic Kinetics assignment

Due next class.
Goals:
value distribution models:

value distribution models)

To emphasize rhythmic form /counterform pattern and punctuation as a kinetic evolution from left to right

Each individual square and its letter

Typography is unique in that it is both

form should be seen as an independent

visual and verbal. Every letter has a To articulate aurally and visually the typographic

typographic composition that investigates

personality you can identify even while

word.

form and counterform, figure ground

part of a word. In these examples,

relationships, asymmerty / symmetry,

fragmentation is not the goal in and of

Using compositions from your cropping inventory or make

static and dynamic placement.

details within each letter composition, as well as the whole

equal spacing between examples...

Every letter h
can identify.
the goal in an
is adjustable
case decisio
The form you

Directions:

itself, but to demonstrate the role of new, construct the following examples:

One each for the 4 value distribution models to the right.

legibility as it pertains to reading, the role

4 sequences left to right (normal reading direction)

of size and optical spacing and emphasize

rhythmic form /counterform pattern of

Each example should maintain the letter order of your word

light and dark. Its a case-by case decision

while pushing the readability to the extreme. But not too

to be able to
determines t
Its the part
(word). Both

extreme! If we cant read it then it needs correction.

of how far a designer can push formal

l a

ag

to be cropped. Maintain capline and baseline.

Vertical divisions between letters no longer matter,
kern between letters for even optical spacing.
1 sheet for a total 4 examples for next class.

ps

y c hl ogi a
Place this diagram with your 4 examples
to show how each example distrbution should appear.

4
color red only

o
c
s h l o ia l

p y

necessary pa

Explore shape vs stroke. Dont let the background ove

letters. Scale and shape control value.

a
g
y
l
c
p h 0
c
sycho g ci a
s

value. YRXFD
ement over a
it worked in o
ample should
Because ran
of design, yo
each exampl

Remember...We should be able to read the word.

If it becomes too abstract to read, revise for readability

invention before readability is lost. Delete stroke on clipping paths. Not all letters need

<

Everything should be visually aligned

>

< UC here>

< LC here>
Sturucture of Letters

Form/Counterform

While upper and lower case letters

Fundamental to all typographic design

are distinct in structure, they all are

is the interplay between letterform and

built by combining 4 strokes; vertical,

background. An awareness of this inter-

horizontal, diagonal, and curvilinear. These

relationship of form and counterform is

elementary strokes form the foundation, a

essential in typographic design.

Basic strokes :

EFHILT

ABCD

KMNY

abcd

itfj

< Univers regular 55, 18/66

< Assignment:
>
visual code that is recognizable
through

our long experience with reading and

Print
out and Trace - Use Univers regular 55 72 pt.
writing regardless of style.
Therefore,
font,
U&L,
auto leading.
letter forms derive their
visual
character

Usingbasic
trace strokes
paper break down the letters into
from combinations of these

underlying
strokeorpatterns. This will help you with the
and not from being light
or bold, wide

vwxy

categorization.
narrow, Roman or italic,
sans serif or serif.
An entire alphabet can be categorized

Categorizationusing only six basic underlying

visual Based on these 6 stroke

combina-tions,
categorize the upper and lowercase
combinations of strokes
as the example

AZ

BDGJPRU

abdghmnpqru

SCOQ

esco

illustrates.

alphabet in the Univers regular 55 font. Create a layout

using three columns on the page (see left diagram)
1) stroke types, 2) uppercase letters, 3) lowercase
letters.
Typeface for alphabet- Univers regular 55, 18/66,
both the upper case and lowercase letters.
Scale strokes. Use 33.3%.
.

Final weight for the six stroke categories is 1pt.

< RevisitThese
pageimages
26 andare
write
a description
important
to the
explaining
the importance
of these
evolution
of type because
they provide
images to
evolution
of letters
typography.
thethe
structure
of the
we use today.
Use 8/10Without
Universthese
Light.
>
defining features of type,
words would be illegible. They originated
from ancient Rome and their measurement
system.

Counterpart/Counterpoint

Modern Chair and Typography

Every letterform defines a particular

Typically these counterforms are either

Using the initials of your designer, impose

counterform. Form and counterform

geometric or organic in quality depending

the letterforms in a typographic study that

are reciprocal values and completely

on the structure or style of the letter. In

interprets a relationship to the form of

interdependent and integral to a letters

the counterforms of letters there exists

the chair they designed. Now begine use

completeness as a design.

a fascinating world of form waiting to be

of the designers full name, the name of

The counterform is not just whats left

explored by the designer.

the chair, and the date of its manufacture,

over in the background. The counterform

impose the words in a typographic study

is a new entity that emerges through

that demonstrates relationships to the

interaction with the form of letters.

chair.
Counterpart
Counterpoint

Arne Jacobsen
No. 3100 Ant
1952

J
Size and Width

Size and Weight

Weight and Face

a
Size and Case

1952

Arne
a c o b s e n

Arne Jacobsen

Weight and Slant

Size and Face

j
ant

1
9
5
2

2
5
9

1
ne

en

s
ob

Ja

Ar
Face and Weight

Size and Weight

acobsen

rne

Muti-page Typographic Layout

and the Grid

Type generally falls into two primary

In a book or website it is information

categories; informational and or

design that takes the lead. On a poster or

expressive. Its not uncommon to have

motion graphics expression could lead.

a strategy for both present in layouts.

The ratio is determined by the designer

Informational text is more common and

and the needs of the communication. An

the form responds to long traditions

emphasis or hierarchy must be clear and

and conventions of size, spacing and

decisive so the roles each plays in the

established habits of organization on the

communication are clear. In design things

page.

are not equal.

a
ANT
1952

Today, Arne Jacobsen is remembered primarily for his furniture

designs. However, he believed
he was first and foremost an
architect. According to Scott
Poole, a professor at Virginia
Tech, Arne Jacobsen never used
the word designer, notoriously
disliking it.
Most of his furniture designs were
the result of a cooperation with
the furniture manufacturer with
which he initiated a collaboration
in 1934 while his lamps and
light fixtures were developed with
Louis Poulsen.

In spite of his success with his

chair at the Paris Exhibition in
1925, it was during the 1950s
that his interest in furniture design
peaked.

Solid wood was increasingly

replaced by materials such as
steel and plywood, significantly
reducing the need for complex
structures.

A major source of inspiration

stemmed from the bent plywood
designs of Charles and Ray
Eames. He was also influenced
by the Italian design historian
Ernesto Rogers, who had
proclaimed that the design
of every element was equally
important from the spoon to the
city which harmonized well with
his own ideals.

Arne Jacobsens chair is an

outstanding example of this
newfound simplicity. It consists
of only a few parts, can be
produced at low cost, and is
extremely lightweight.

In the early fifties, the Danish

furniture industry adopted a new
manufacturing process.

Arne
Jacobsen
77 x 52 x 51.5

The seat and back are made up

of an ordinary piece of plywood,
while the arrangement and
form of the three steel tube legs
attached to the underside of the
seat in the center enable the chair
to be stacked.
Clashes between communism
and capitalism dominated the
decade, especially in the Northern Hemisphere. The conflicts
included the Korean War in the
beginnings of the decade and
the beginning of the Space Race
with the launch of Sputnik I.
Along with increased testing of
nuclear weapons (such as RDS37 and Upshot-Knothole), this
created a politically conservative
climate.

Interior

Exterior

rne

acobsen

Arne Jacobsen
1952

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Today
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rd de
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and li ulsen.
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L

Arne Jacobsen
Today, Arne Jacobsen is
remembered primarily
for his furniture designs.
However, he believed
he was first and
foremost an architect.
According to Scott
Poole, a professor at
Virginia Tech, Arne
Jacobsen never used
the word designer,
notoriously disliking it.
Most of his furniture
designs were the result
of a cooperation with
the furniture manufacturer with which he
initiated a collaboration
in 1934 while his lamps
and light fixtures were
developed with Louis
Poulsen. In spite of his
success with his chair
at the Paris Exhibition in
1925, it was during the
1950s that his interest in
furniture design peaked.

A major source of inspiration stemmed from the

bent plywood designs of
Charles and Ray Eames.
He was also influenced by
the Italian design historian
Ernesto Rogers, who had
proclaimed that the design
of every element was
equally important from
the spoon to the city
which harmonized well
with his own ideals.

In the early fifties, the

Danish furniture industry
adopted a new
manufacturing process.
Solid wood was
increasingly replaced
by materials such as
steel and plywood,
significantly reducing
the need for complex
structures.
Arne Jacobsens chair
is an outstanding example of this newfound
simplicity. It consists of
only a few parts, can
be produced at low
cost, and is extremely
lightweight. The seat
and back are made up
of an ordinary piece
of plywood, while the
arrangement and form
of the three steel tube
legs attached to the
underside of the seat in
the center enable the
chair to be stacked.

rne

acobsen
Ant

at the
chair
ith his during
w
s
s
e
s
is succ 925, it wa iture
e of h
In spit hibition in 1 terest in furn
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1952
51.5
x
2
5
77 x
44cm
t
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Plywo