Typography: The Appearance of Print

The appearance of text helps portray a message that can be even stronger than the words your are trying to pass on. This week we are looking at the use and existence of Typography within Kim Golombisky and Rebecca Hagen's book, White Space is not your enemy, "Type: What You Don't Know Can Hurt You". To quote this weeks reading, 

"The best designers are experts in type and typesetting because they understand that well-styled type not only sets the document's tone but also directly impacts its readability, legibility, and visual hierarchy." (86)

Typography adds value, texture, contrast, and overall emphasis on the topic being discussed. A different use of the aspects of typography can completely change the outcome interpretation or readability of an article, novel, or advertisement. 

Figure 1: Beginning Graphic Design: Typography

Important terms that make up Typography:

    Font - The complete set of characters in a particular size and style of type. (Includes special characters)
    Typeface - A series of fonts or a collection of fonts that creates a font family. (Times Bold, Times Roman)
    Glyph - An individual character of a font. (Includes LC, UC, Punctuation marks, and Special characters)
    Font Size - The overall height appearance of text. (Changes from font to font)
    Leading - Pronounced "Ledding", The technical term for line spacing. 
    Kerning - The spacing between characters

Figure 2: 10 Points is 10 Points Right? from Type: What You Don't Know Can Hurt You.

Figure 3: Kerning. from Wikipedia.org

Prompt:

After reading and watching the video above, find an example of something that uses Typography in a unique way. I urge you to find an example on campus, However, this is not required.

1. Does typography provide an emphasis on the overall message of your selection?

       2. How are the terms listed above used in your selection?

       3. Does any form of Arrangement or Literal Elements from last weeks reading come into play?