Typography 1 Chapter 1

italics, obliques, didot, double-story, baseline, odile, bookman, bracket

VARIATIONS ON THEMES So far we have discussed roman and regular letterforms exclusively. But typefaces also take the form of _______ and _______. These letterforms lean to the right slightly, between five and eight degrees. Each glyph of a "true" italic is designed as a separate typeface consistent with its serif. An oblique of a sans serif such as Univers essentially mimics the character of the regular version, but at a slant. The classic _______ and its italic sister shown on the first line at right demonstrate how the shapes of the letters change: the lowercase a, for instance-a _______-_______ letterform that becomes a single-story-and the f. Such variety, which is useful for distinguishing one kind of text from another, could easily sacrifice family unity. Here again, the formal system plays a role. A skilled type designer applies typeface attributes, such as thick-to-thin and x-height-to-cap-height ratios, to all family members. The second line above shows a "faux" italic, created by imposing a ten degree slant onto the Didot regular font. Compared to the regular italic just above it, the degree of slant in the "faux" italic looks forced (because it is), and causes the letterforms to look as though they might tumble forward off the _______. Each letter also looks to be impinging on its neighbor's space. The true italic letters, by comparison, flow gracefully one to the other, and are balanced securely on the baseline. Today most software programs automatically insert true italics if the typeface family includes them, but some programs still force upright fonts into a rigid slant. Today true italics typically accompany serif typeface families, and sans-serif families include obliques, such as the italic version of DIN Light shown in the third line above. Type designers are certainly free to vary these traditions, and they do so often. Cholla (shown in the top line at right) is a sans-serif typeface, yet the type designer Sibylle Hagmann chose to design the italic in the tradition of a true roman italic. She also designed a vertical italic for her serif typeface _______ (in the bottom right line above right). Hagmann had first to recognize the characteristics of italic letters in relation to roman letters in order to design an italic with an upright posture that is italic enough to differentiate from Odile Regular. In other words, altered details change overall appearances. The text above is set in _______ Old Style Bold. The same letters on the right were altered in very minor ways. The original design, set at a reduced scale, appears to have a shorter x height than the altered one on the right, but the x-height was not touched. Ascenders and descenders were shortened, serif widths were reduced horizontal _______ were changed to angled brackets, and all the characters were slightly extended. Therefore, the right-hand version is slightly heavier and wider. The negative-to-positive-space ratio is slightly less uniform, causing the letters to look clumped. Our personal appearance is the sum of many small details, and the same is true of typefaces. Carefully observing individual parts in relation to those of others within and outside a given typeface family clarifies how the details accumulate into a unique visual presence, even when typefaces share common features. The possible nuances are limited only by the alphabet itself, the context within which it functions, and of course the imagination of the designer

text box

_______ _____ Any unit of a layout containing a body of text. In digital layouts, "text block" also refers to an area through which text flows; three columns of type, for example, would represent three text blocks. ILL. 31 PAGE 48

bracket

________ The transitional wedge-shaped form through which a serif joins a stroke. A "bracketed-serif typeface, or "adnate" typeface, graduates from thin to thick as it nears the stroke. In typefaces without brackets, such as "slab serifs," the perpendicular serif meets the vertical stroke without any transition. Typefaces without brackets are called "unbracketed" or "abrupt." ILL. 05> PAGE 47

set-width

________ The width of a letter, including the spaces to the left and right that keep adjacent letters from touching. Set width varies for each letter at each point size, but is calculated to create optically equal distances between most letter combinations. In photo and digital fonts, set-width is measured in units, a horizontal division of the em. Unlike letterspacing in metal type, the distance between digitally set letters can be reduced by removing units. ILL. 27> PAGE 43

stroke

______ Any continuous linear element in a letterform. The name refers to the hand gestures required to draw the letterform. ILL. 28> PAGE 41 A straight or curved diagonal line. The main diagonal portion of a letterform such as in N, M, or Y is the stroke. The stroke is secondary to the main stem(s). Some letterforms with two diagonals, such as A or V have a stem (the primary vertical or near-vertical stroke) and a stroke (the main diagonal).

symbols, lowercase, san-serif, script

Cultural systems in particular The design scholar Maleolm Barnard describes culture as a reciprocal exchange of beliefs and values, including the ways in which these are communicated, reproduced, and contested among a group, or groups, of people: "The beliefs and values may concern any and all aspects of the world and its contents as they are experienced by the group in question: nature, children, material goods, gender, other people and so on. Graphic design is a cultural activity in that it is one of the signifying systems in which those beliefs and values are communicated... reproduced or challenged. Its products and process are examples of culture in so far as they reproduce or resist the social order" Simply put, a "signifying system"'is any series of constructed ________ that refer to things and ideas for the purpose of communication: spoken words (signifying objects, people, and so on), written words (signifying the spoken word), and letterforms (signifying sounds). Because words in any form relate to the objects or concepts being called to mind (the signified), we cannot write or typeset "billboard" when we mean "garage" and expect anyone to understand what we mean. Back to Barnard's point. Design is a form of "cultural production" that signifies aspects of a society's belief and value systems. A catalog design for a Mercedes-Benz dealer might represent exclusivity and wealth, which reiterates and reinforces social values associated with prestige, and beliefs related to capitalism. Barely readable text scratched onto film for a punk music video reiterates and reinforces counter-culture values. Our design products (catalog/video) and processes (distributing printed catalogs/uploading digital video) communicate to consumers and fans respectively, who in turn confirm beliefs and values by accepting the signifiers as true to them. Cultural systems that affect perception and understanding involve economies, technologies, and aesthetics. Many societies in the global free market for instance, accept and have an appetite for extreme typographic variety in part because they have the means to produce it. Such technologies as digital media and and high-speed printing establish standards of information access and output quality, as well as possibilities for typographic form and delivery. Equally, aesthetic values play an important part in all subcultures, as is revealed by the fact that design professionals judge typographic choices as better or worse, tasteful or tacky, refined or amateurish. Designers tap into cultural histories as reference points that add meaning to words. And perhaps the most significant cultural system for typographers is language. Language is often understood as being bound by the body: mouths make sounds, facial expressions, body stances, and gestures impart messages. In design we use the term "language" metaphorically. Designers and artists employ visual languages, just as musicians employ sound language, dancers use movement languages, and programmers work with code languages. The Hungarian designer and educator György Kepes introduced the notion of the "language of vision" in 1944, describing visual communication as a language that knows "no limits of tongue, vocabulary or grammar and can be perceived by the illiterate as well as by the literate." It would be difficult to argue against the limitless potential for expressing visual form Understanding what that form means as a language, at any given time and in any possible place is, however, not at all simple. Everyone with eyes might be able to see form, but to construct an intended message "successfully" from visual form requires us to be familiar with that type of language. Language systems are shared by people who have a need and desire to communicate with each other. While language is elastic, it cannot be willfully or completely reshaped if it is to work as a communication tool, and so rules of language are relatively fixed, to offer some assurance that the ideas and feelings we want to express will be in sync with how the listener (or reader or viewer) will translate them. Like any such human-constructed system, though, languages are open to innovation within the rules, and they evolve over time with usage. New words enter the culture constantly. The form and function of existing words might alter over time; "txt," for instance, is a term that distinguishes activity on mobile devices from other written "text. Words can also be adapted as they migrate across cultures or media- "rendezvous and "portmanteau" are examples of French words now used as English, and today people working in white-collar businesses often "interface" with each other. We learn words and understand their meaning when we encounter them repeatedly, and experience in the context of their use. Today the term "9/11" resonates deeply for many people, whereas in 2000 it was simply a Catalan holiday, or maybe someone's birthday. Similarly, our interpretations of typography are informed by personal experience and the cultural norms to which we are exposed. Suppose a person has encountered only text set in capital letters. Then imagine this person one day encounters text set in what we recognize as ______ letters. The text would be so unfamiliar as to be absolutely illegible, essentially a foreign language. Say a person is accustomed to seeing street names typeset in a ______-______ gothic, and one day she stumbles into a part of town where all the street names are typeset in an elaborate ______. What might she surmise about the neighborhood?

Turnkey, defaults, Myriad, line spacing, Preset, figures (numerals), Master pages, Flash, templates

DEFAULTS, PRESETS, AND TEMPLATES If any aspect of the typographic future is certain, it is that smarter and more automatic software will be available-_________ programs that are primarily designed to anticipate production needs, but that also observe basic visual conventions. For instance, current software automatically designs nutrition labels using FDA specifications. Digital typefaces are quite impressive as well. A font renders accurately at nearly any scale on screen, adapting its appearance to utilize available pixels, through a process called "hinting." Such fonts also make typography reproducible in any medium, as refined as the medium will allow. It won't be long before digital images, vector graphics, and letterforms automatically scale to a specified area: simply type content into a designated space and watch it snap to fit the given parameter. How did software get so smart? Programming wizardry, of course. More importantly for typographers, though, the smartness that programmers build in to software often represents baseline standards-common writing traditions, reading conventions, and a few professional typesetting standards Imagine if our clothing options were reduced to comparable averages. We set out, let's say, to the College Student section of the department store (other sections might include Business Executive, Professor, or Landscape Architect). It turns out the preset choices are either men's or women's boot-cut five-pocket denim jeans, size medium; white or black T-shirts, also in medium; and black, white, or lime-greer trainers in women's size medium. Now, I happen to prefer extra-extra-large T-shirts and khaki shorts, and wear a smaller-than-average sneaker. My personal style also calls for a duck-patterned hoodie lined in yellow fleece. These anomalies are not included in the prescription for "college-student attire." Nor are such special options automatic in typography production software. Particularization is quite possible, and is intelligently facilitated by smart software. One just needs to know where to look, or, at the very least, to know that options beyond ___________ abound. Typographic defaults in most software typically include a prescribed typeface, like 12 pt ________ set on 120% point ____ _______ (14.40 pt), and several other average __________, like nonlining ___________ (___________). These standards are transferable to any context, yet they cannot possibly suit every content or intention. For instance, margins typically default to a uniform half-inch, even if we change a default page size from 8.5 x 11 inches to 2 inches square. Other standards are Times Roman or Arial set at 12 pt, no matter the column width, with equally average line spacing. Thankfully, smart software helps minimize the tedious details and decisions of some production processes. It saves rebuilding that which has been built millions of times before; or applies parameters-built specially by the typographer-to files universally. ________ _________ in many programs replicate and place elements perfectly and instantly-to the micromillimeter, from page 1 to 300 or frame 1 to 300,000. Print-production software registers the total page count minute by minute and automatically numbers pages in their correct sequence, even when we reorder entire sections. A single command to a style sheet adjusts line spacing or type size across any number of web or print pages. And complicated but manageable code, such as Cascading Style Sheets for a web browser or Action Script for ________, works ingeniously behind seemingly magical buttons in dynamic design applications, assigning characteristics and behaviors to screen assets on the fly Less charming are the standardized layout __________ offered in most word processing, print, web, and image-production software. Everything from business cards to magazines can be set up in each program with typefaces compositions, and colors built in. Chapter 4 delves further into these typographic compilations. In terms of the current discussion, these "newsletter" or "menu" designs will not suit any and all textual information, for the simple reason that not all newsletters and menus contain the same content. As to style, if we're looking for something generic, then templates deliver. Like defaults and presets, their uses are limited. They are handy for users who lack typographic skills and for people who just want to produce standard documents. For a typographer looking to make typography Work, though, the most that templates offer is evidence of commonly accepted averages. Software programs today are so much more sophisticated than the pre- and proto-digital practices of the past that we often wonder how designers accomplished anything before such brilliant developments came to our aid. But we also know that the proficient typographer possesses skills and experience, not just tools. Mastery is the ability to adapt to the conditions and contexts of every detail, resulting in nuanced decisions-a capacity that neither software nor templates can match, at least not yet.

italic

One of three possible variations within a typeface family designating posture. Italics have a slanted posture, a calligraphic quality, and usually a narrower set-width compared with other variations in a family. Italics were invented in Venice at the end of the fifteenth century to use paper more efficiently by having the smallest set-width possible without a marked decrease in legibility. >PAGE 46

points, point size, figure-ground, foreground, background, strokes, legato sans, counter,

RELATIONAL FORM Form refers to shape, texture, color, structure, and any other attribute that constitutes the physical character of objects and elements. Form describes, in part, how elements appear to the senses. Note that I say "appear." Allow me to explain. Seemingly separate, solitary elements are neither separate nor solitary. A letterform, one element, might be staged on a screen, and therefore exists in relation to its background and to screen edges. A couple of elements, let's say two letterforms drawn on a sheet of paper, instantly establish a relationship with each other, as well as with the background and the paper edge. The whole-elements and the material that supports them-will eventually have a relationship with where it is placed in the environment. We may think we perceive the attributes of letterforms type size, weight, color, speed, and so on--as separate and concrete entities. An element appears to us to be large or heavy or blue or slow-moving, as if these qualities are inherent. But elements appear larger or smaller, heavier or lighter bluer or greener, faster or slower, only because they are in proximity to the formal attributes of other elements. For instance, lettering may look huge within the rectangle of a small sign, but if we increase the size of the rectangle, adding more space all around, the lettering suddenly appears smaller. We interpret one element in relation to the others The relationship of typeface attributes to application is another kind of relational equation-for instance, a certain font in relation to how small or large we scale it. At 14 ________ (pt), a thin monoline typeface threatens to vanish. Yet at 200 pt, all of its elegant details are revealed in full (1.17). Conversely, a fat serif font that looks sturdy and intelligent at a discreet 24 pt could appear oafish at 340 pt, depending on the arrangement, of course. Moreover, the ________ ________ in relation to the x -height of a given font is a relational equation, and can mean the difference between text that can be read with ease and text that makes a reader squint. A serif typeface with a large x height is quite readable at 8 pt because it was designed to be used for longer texts and sustained reading. Other typefaces not designed for this use, such as many scripts, are barely readable at 8 pt. The prime example of relational form in two-dimensional space is the ________-________ relationship, which is also referred to as positive space (figure) and negative space (ground). This constitutes the basic makeup of all marks, including typographic ones. The "figure" is the form of focus, the implied ________: the "ground" is the implied ________ upon which it sits. Actually, no material thing is positioned on a physical background. A blue circle surrounded by a yellow field is not a circle cut from blue paper sitting on a yellow surface. But that is how humans see it, and how designers talk about it. When type designers develop fonts, they typically draw shapes, such as ________ and curves, in dark ink or graphite on light paper. It makes sense to start there, since the more visibly distinguishable a shape is, relative to its ground, the more identifiable is, in this case, the glyph. Because these specialists know that the complete form consists of both strokes and spaces, they are as sensitive to the parts they do not draw as they are to the parts they do draw. Shapes for the typeface ________ ________ were drawn within and between letters, independent of the shapes defining the outermost edges. Compared to drawing strokes that incidentally produce negative spaces, this innovative formal concept yielded surprising relationships between the letter strokes and ________ spaces, and introduced a unique approach to typeface design. Typographers, too, initially approach type as dark or light shapes (figures) "placed" against lighter or darker "surfaces" (grounds). Again, if the intention is to deliver very readable text, the strategy makes sense. Type designers and typographers also exploit the twofold action of positive and negative space by deliberately forcing ambiguity between figure and ground. Space around letterforms, although technically the "ground," might advance forward to be the figure, and the ground might shape the letterforms. Black figures on a white ground might appear to shift in such a way that the white shapes become figures and the black shapes become the ground. The type E stages a playful dance, encouraging readers to perceive both states from one moment to the next. Chapter 3 returns to this phenomenon, and considers the theory of visual Gestalt, which is a way of explaining how we translate a collection of marks into meaningful shapes. It is important for the time being to recognize the fluid exchange between letterform characteristics as they are seen in relation to the spaces within and around them.

Hierarchy, slab-serif

RELATIONAL HIERARCHY ___________, aided by such structures as columns and margins, is the set of relationships among elements that cause some to be seen first, and others to be seen in some descending order. With hierarchy, typographic elements gain primary secondary, and tertiary (or lower) status descending emphases that lead readers through reading spaces (h.281. Hierarchy employs contrasts of all sorts, most notably of typeface, size, and weight. The relative position of elements, figure and ground relationships, and--in dynamic environments-duration, speed, and movement each contribute to hierarchy. Typographic hierarchy employed on a two-dimensional plane enlists our three-dimensional experience of space and time. It mimics the planes and depths that we encounter every day. Standing in the middle of a vast desert, we notice a giant boulder in front of us first, because it is close, and it is big. So we see it before we notice all of the other things we could look at. In hierarchy, this is called the first, or primary hierarchical level. Then we notice the yucca field a little farther away. It is smaller and fainter in relation to the boulder, but still large and distinct enough to have drawn our attention next, once our eyes wandered away from the boulder. This shift is equivalent to a reader moving from the primary level to a secondary hierarchical level. Over time, we notice the silhouette of mesas spanning the horizon far behind the yucca field. Their distance and smallness kept us from paying much attention to them when we first arrived (and then there was that boulder). We have now moved from the secondary hierarchical level to the tertiary level. We might just as readily have noticed the tiny flowers on the ground to the right of the boulder. Their diminutive details, as compared to the boulder and the yucca field, were not visually strong enough to pull our eyes then, but now we notice them. Degrees of visual prominence establish the order in which we see things. We can translate this to the two-dimensional plane common in typography: we comprehend the meaning of progressively smaller or fainter elements in the same way we understand objects in space. Larger, bolder elements seem nearer, and attract us more strongly than smaller, more timid elements. Elements in motion tend to command greater attention than static elements, especially if the moving elements are in proximity to static elements. If a jack rabbit suddenly hopped out from behind that boulder, its skittish movement, compared to the lifeless lump of rock, would draw our attention immediately. Hierarchy in motion-based media is a little more complex. Typography that moves is made of similar formal attributes to typography that remains stationary, but it has the added attributes of motion, obviously, and of time. Say two lines of text sit idly on a screen. The one on top is bold and red, and the line below is smaller and gray The hierarchy is clear: the topmost line of text constitutes the first level, the line beneath the second (it helps that we read in this order too). But if the second line is shimmying and the first line is static, the bottom line takes on the first hierarchical level because it draws attention first. If all elements are in motion, then the order in which they enter the scene establishes hierarchy, or the speed at which each element moves in relation to other elements. Spatial (distance-based) and temporal (time based) relationships among typographic elements also influence the order in which we see things. In two dimensions, readers are likely to jump from the first hierarchical level to the second if the two elements are spatially closer than any of the other elements. Formal parity can assist the leap as well. Readers naturally associate similar-looking things, so elements that share common visual attributes are likely to be seen in quick succession. For instance, if the first hierarchical level is a bright green, slab-serif 60 pt italic, and an element across the page is the same bright green, _______-_______ italic but smaller, the second element will readily attract readers directly after the first. Typographers put hierarchy to use in many more ways than I have presented here, and structures can be quite complex. Whereas this brief introduction has focused on the relational components of hierarchy and structures, the discussions in Chapters 2, 3, and 5 add more dimension to both. For now understand that hierarchy is a system of relationships among elements, and structure helps control those relationships.

typesetting

Voice Think of typographic style as the dress of the producers. Information issued by a government office will be "dressed" in a different style than materials produced by a toy manufacturer. Style establishes voice, the underlying attitude and position that readers interpret, based on their experience of what the style means. Signage in an airport typically speaks with level-headed confidence, offering assurances of safe travel. The hipness of a retail logotype can convince a passerby of a company's "street cred," even if it happens to reside on the thirtieth floor of a downtown high rise. A protest poster's "homemade" typography bespeaks an attitude of grassroots urgency In 1776 the authors of the American Declaration of Independence had the original document typeset in a traditional roman face. Copies, known as the Dunlap Broadsides, were distributed and posted across the thirteen states. But who would understand such a quotidian form as "official"? A month later a single "engrossed" copy of the Declaration was penned by hand on a rather large sheet of parchment and signed by the Congress. Although common ____________ and printing arguably represented the more democratic voice, the authors opted for a voice similar to that of authority, one shared by their former sovereign. Strangely, the engrossed copy that is proudly displayed in Washington, D. C. has come to be understood as the voice of democracy and independence rather than that of monarchy. A different voice is found in spray-painted messages, stenciled onto public walls. This form of graffiti can embody the voice of the dispossessed, or of youths (usually) claiming allegiance to them. But the visual form can also be put to rhetorical use for other ends [1.371. A recent campaign advertising the latest sequel in an already protracted movie series employed stencil and spray-painted type in its promotions. Now, the previous movies made millions of dollars, and the new one took millions more to make. Surely the producers could afford the typesetting costs. But the cost could not be further from the point. I paused at first, wondering what new tagger had been let loose around Los Angeles. Once I realized the "tags" were sprayed onto otherwise pristine billboards and bus-stop one-sheets, I knew the promoters were assuming a familiar voice, one associated with the street. Annoying? A little. Misleading? Not really. The tactic is simply an effective application of style to ensure that the advertising speaks in a particular voice. Voice is sometimes revealed in the form of typographic constraint. For instance, contemporary mail-scanners require that the type size and its placement on a flyer, for example, be recognizable to the machines. Consequently some mail has an "official" voice. Legislation might dictate type treatment based on issues of possible liability. The U. S. Food and Drug Administration regulates nutrition labels printed on most food packaging: the typography must not only meet readability averages but also establish the voice of a fair minded watchdog.

type size

the artifact and the delivery What is the artifact? Is it a newspaper, a movie screen, or a telephone book? How is the artifact manifested? Is it printed, projected, or built? Where does the delivery take place? In the subway in the living room? When does the delivery take place? During a piano recital, during an emergency? So many questions! Although I have singled out these four components of context they are not so easily separated. Typography exists in a confluence of all four: a distinct format (what), a certain medium (how) a singular place (where), and a span of time (when). Readers encounter animated text on scoreboards at the game while seated r jumping for joy in an arena. People read instructions i cookbooks while cooking in the kitchen. Readers pause amid the crowds to locate a store at a mall directory. Each situation is a unique combination of circumstances, and designers must anticipate all combinations at once. A few scenarios should illustrate the point. The message of a printed one-sheet (how and what) posted above the overhead rack of a subway car (where) is directed to commuters (the reader). This situation may call for bold typography so that passengers will apprehend the message in the fleeting moments between stepping onto the train and settling in (when), On the other hand, if commuters ride that line every morning and evening, the typography could be more subtle and complex, with the fair expectation that people will read it in intervals over the course of several commutes. Say the commuter becomes absorbed in her iPad (how) that sits on her lap (where) reading a magazine (what). When seated, she is able to engage with an interactive essay about some faraway place. This situation affords greater typographic subtlety. At some point our commuter looks up and realizes she missed her transfer stop. At the next stop she rushes off the train to find typography illuminated (how) within well-positioned (where) signage (what). The type is large enough to read at some distance, and is free of clutter, and so immediately directs her to the opposite platform, where she hops back on a train, backtracks, catches her usual connection, and arrives home on time. The "wheres" and "whens" in these scenarios point up an additional condition of situations: competing messages from other media in the environment-sometimes called interference. Whereas the space of a printed novel suffers little disruption, a novel delivered on an iPad potentially competes with other texts, videos, or websites calling from beyond the virtual margins. By contrast, a television ad lives and expires in seconds. Although the medium affords the benefit of repetition over a longer span of time, the messages must contend with rapid delivery, competing advertising, network programming, and, if the message fails to captivate, the channel changer. Often the same message is delivered in a number of different situations. Commercial brands and products, for example, profit from their message being delivered across any number of formats and media. Readers might encounter a slogan or a logotype stitched on a clerk's shirt, printed in a newspaper advertisement, painted on the side of a truck, stamped on in-store packaging, and rendered on a website. As always, several systems come into play, but I'll name only a few. Technological and physical systems govern the material nature of the typography: stitching, printing, painting, stamping rendering. Reading systems constrain the size and placement of typographic elements. Static text that is read at arm's length requires a different _______ ____, for instance, from text read twenty feet away, speeding by on the highway. Other chapters delve more deeply into the systems introduced here, as well as the contexts they produce. We now set out to discover the interrelated aspects of typographic form.

foundry, Template Gothic

Evolving Systems On the surface, systems seem immovable, but they are actually quite dynamic. Some, such as written language, change very slowly, while others, like technology, shift regularly and rapidly. The MP3 player and web browser that a person born after 1993 takes for granted were unknown to his parents in 198o. Neither did typography for tiny handheld and computer screens exist, yet today an entire industry of mini- and other low-resolution font production thrives. These systems evolve, and as a result, any single movement within one will affect larger systems as well as others with which the system is in contact. Even a simple little typeface, existing within systems of form, style, and reading, can alter the landscape of each. Emigre, an early "alternative" _______ and creator of several unconventional fonts, released _______ _______ in 1993. Many designers viewed it as radical and unreadable, or just ugly. The resistance merely indicates that the detractors adhered to formal and reading systems that excluded such options. Similar typefaces that challenged conventions emerged throughout the 1990s, which further reveals that the cultural moment favored, if not generated, idiosyncrasy. Still, few were as popular as Template Gothic, or as widely used. As the typeface was adopted, entire publications and advertising campaigns set in Template Gothic could be found. This once "illegible" and "ugly" typeface proved quite readable, if not attractive, once people became familiar with it; what had begun as a counter-culture blip ultimately altered what some societies considered viable. Did the typeface change? No-the cultural systems changed. I should point out that the typeface was not the only star responsible for reconfiguring the constellations. I mentioned that other typefaces gained popularity, which strengthened Template Gothic's viability. Designers using Template Gothic also challenged reading conventions through their design of subculture publications, music packaging, and posters. Strange compositions added to the typeface's radical feel. Not coincidentally, 1993 is the same year the World Wide Web became freely available, which, by the late 1990s had assisted in the wide distribution of the typeface. I doubt that Barry Deck, the designer of Template Gothic, predicted the influence his work would have. One cannot throw quirky anomalies into society and just sit back and wait for them to catch on. Systems are not only mutable, they are also organic. They change through shared experience and shifting circumstances, over time. Template Gothic's eventual inclusion into mainstream culture indicates that the ground had been prepared to some degree. People in graphic design and other disciplines, notably architecture and fashion, had been exploring low-brow visual languages since the mid-1960s. Recognizing that cultural systems affect typographic practice increases a typographer's ability to maneuver inventively, to harness these cultural contexts in a way that will allow readers to accept and interpret messages. To comprehend these phenomena more fully, we turn now to the concepts of connotation and denotation.

text reflow, text blocks

HIERARCHY AND STRUCTURE: STRUCTURE Structure is not dissimilar to a skeletal system in that it holds together and helps govern the relationships among parts. Take, for example, our own bodies. Our pelvic bone is fused to a spine bound to our rib cage stacked below our clavicle. Our structure supports verticality, unlike, say, a snake's. Structures, therefore, delimit where and how elements behave. And if nature is any indicator, structures can take just about any form. The most rudimentary typographical structure is orientation in relation to the top, bottom, and sides of any given two-dimensional space, or front and back, left and right in a three-dimensional space. If text is above or in front of an entrance to a shop, it will probably be read first, unless something more compelling in the window draws our attention away. If all elements are to be read, they cannot sit in the same place-say, piled up at the topmost edge of a screen. As soon as more than two elements are placed in some relationship to one another, structure comes into play. The elements might be loosely figured and appear to float autonomously, but they are tentatively tethered in relation to each other, as well as to the bounding framework. More complex structures help organize greater numbers of elements, supplying an underlying logic through a system of guides, such as regimented, intersecting lines in printed books, or a loosely defined path in dynamic media that guides elements as they move and intersect. Type can be placed anywhere within a given space, especially in the digital environment, where space is virtually limitless. Say we have a 5oo,ooo-word text that we want to publish on a website. Do we start at the upper left hand corner and pour the text into one continuous string? Well, that is one structure: a single line stretching from here to eternity. A delimiting right margin that forces line breaks results in lines following lines of text, which is another kind of structure-and better for reading, But if the browser window supports dynamic _______ _______, line lengths could stretch as wide as the monitor screen-not so good. Given the length of the essay, an even better structure might be similar to ones we currently find in newspapers. These structures distribute lengthy texts over columns. Much better for reading, but still a little daunting. How about linked _______ _______, where a click leads readers to the next or previous bit of text. This structure configures typography in smaller chunks, over a series of connected screens. Better still. Clearly, structure is necessary if we want to corral large amounts of text. Invisible paths moving in time across a might guide letterforms as they move and intersect. The same path might be used for all letterforms that animate on screen, a structure that holds elements together over time. Animated typography employs another kind of structure: the linear timeline that creates a beginning, middle, and end. Within that framework, key points of action for instance, the number of moments a rotating word pauses-structure motion sequences. These moments bring rhythmic structure to the action.

figure ground

_____ ______ The relationship between an element (figure) and the visual field on which it sits (ground]-sometimes called "positive and negative space." There is an implied hierarchy in the figure-ground relationship: a figure advances and ground recedes. In some compositions, however, equal amounts of figure and ground cause the eye to perceive the same elements as simultaneously advancing and receding. ILL. 11 > PAGE 40

cap-height

_____-_________ The height of capital or uppercase letters measured as the distance between the baseline and capline. Curved letters, such as C, O, and S, often extend above the capline to compensate optically for their diminished points of contact with the line. ILL. 06 PAGE 43

Template Gothic

________ ________ This font was designed by the American Barry Deck and distributed by the Emigre foundry in the early 1990s. It was drawn in only two weights. During the same period Deck created similar wry fonts, such as Mutant Industry Roman

character

__________ A single member of a typeface. Typefaces also include alphabetic and non-alphabetic characters (including numerals, punctuation, and any other forms that can be set within text). Page 42

language

__________ A system of communication through which members of a cultural group interact with each other and exchange meaning. Language involves the arrangement of written or spoken words into syntactical patterns controlled by a set of rules called grammar." By extension, music, architecture, and dance are also languages. Typographic language, as distinct from the literal meaning of text, refers to any visual system in which letterforms are included and can speak with a particular "dialect"; the typographic language of graffiti, for example, is clearly differentiated from language systems found in classical book typography. ILL. 15 PAGE 28

google earth

______ ______ A virtual globe, map, and geographic information program that renders a map of the Earth on any sized screen using images obtained from satellites and aerial photography. The program was originally called EarthViewer 3D; Google changed the name when it acquired Keyhole, Inc., the inventors, in 2004.

alternates

_______ Formal variations in characters supplied as glyphs within a typeface or as a completely separate variation of the typeface. Alternates often add decorative flourishes and calligraphic details to individual characters, join more than one character in a ligature, and offer variations that are easier to read at small sizes. ILL. 01> PAGE 42

Foreground, Background, Legato Sans,

________ The implied spatial area that appears to be positioned foremost in a composition in relation to a viewer. Equal to "positive space" or "figure." ____________ The implied spatial area that appears to be positioned behind elements in a composition in relation to foregrounded elements. Equal to "negative space" or ground. ________ ____ The Dutch designer Evert Bloemsma set out to create an ideal san: s serif for continuous reading, particularly when viewed on low resolution output devices. Light, Regular, and Bold versions including italics, were released in 2004 by the FontFont foundry

grotesque

__________ An early descriptor for sans-serif typefaces. The term today refers to sans-serif typefaces that harbor attributes of traditional fonts. ILL. 14 > PAGE 43

Turnkey, default, Myriad, Preset, Master pages, Flash

______ A product or service ready for immediate use, generally referring to such goods as an accounting or manufacturing system ___________ The base specifications of attributes and tools that are designed into software _________ A contemporary Humanist" sans serif designed by Robert Slimbach and Carol Twombly for Adobe Systems. Issued originally in 1992, the family has since been adapted for various technologies, including the version Myriad Web, which is optimized for the screen ______ Measures, colors, margins, and other attributes that open in production software and are set up by the manufacturer as the base properties. _______ _____ A feature in web-and print-production software that defines and stores common margins and grids, plus such repeating elements as folios, running heads, and navigation bars. Like style sheets, master pages eliminate redundant setup of identical elements during production. ________ A software platform initially developed by Macromedia, Inc., but developed and distributed by Adobe. The software is used to design interactive and animated vector oriented graphics.

symbol

______ A type of graphic sign which, through some conventional use or cultural understanding, represents a person, place, thing, or idea. The alphabet is symbolic "cow" and "vaca" both describe a farm animal, but in different languages, and it is only cultural agreement that allows speakers of each language to connect the letters to the animal. Other symbols bear some likeness to the things they stand for. The pictographic symbols for "barber shop" and "beauty salon" are understood, through context and social use, to signify gender-specific grooming serviceS. ILL.30> PAGE 30

hierarchy

______ An organization of elements in a composition that assigns greater importance to some elements than to others. Hierarchy in typography uses visual properties to distinguish and create emphasis among kinds of information. Scale, making one element larger than another, is one commonly used property, as is value, making one element darker than another. A common hierarchical convention, using the principle of value, is to set the title of a document in bold and the main text in roman. > PAGE 49

Tittle

______ The common term for the superscript dot above the lowercase i and j in German and Latin languages. The dot was added to the letter i in medieval manuscripts to distinguish it from adjacent vertical strokes in such letters as u, m, and n

Codify, Broadway Designed, Gotham, Comic Sans

______ To organize aspects or establish rules into a system or code. In the case of style, any set of visual codes can become codified through exposure and usage, such as the use of blackletter in Goth" style, or cut-out letters to signify ransom notes." ____________ ____________ Broadway Designed by the American Morris Fuller Benton and released by ATF in 1928, Broadway, and its variant Broadway Engraved, grew to be synonymous with jazz age and Moderne styles. Many versions have been drawn and distributed since its introduction. ________ An extensive family of sans-serif typefaces issued by the New York Hoefler/Frere-Jones foundry, Gotham began as a small family inspired by midtwentieth-century signage found at the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Designed by Tobias Frere-Jones Jesse Ragan, and Jonathan Hoefler. ________ _____ Vincent Connare based this design on comic-book speech bubble handlettering by John Costanza Batman: The Dark Knight Returns] and Dave Gibbons Watchmen). Since its inclusion in Microsoft's system software in 1995, the friendly" font has become ubiquitous and is, by some accounts, overused.

line spacing

______ ______ The distance from baseline to baseline in a paragraph of text. This measurement was originally called "leading" as a reference to thin strips of lead added between lines of handset metal type to increase the vertical distance between lines of type. ILL. 18 PAGE 56 is the vertical distance between lines of text. Most writers use either double-spaced lines or single-spaced lines—nothing in between—because those are the options presented by word processors. ... The traditional term for line spacing is leading (rhymes with bedding).

font

_______ A digital typeface sold singly or with other weight, proportion, or posture variations within the same family. Before digital typography, "font" referred to all the characters of a single typeface at a single point size. Metal type was sorted by point size, with all letters of the same typeface and point size stored in a single drawer; a font" consisted of all the letters in the drawer. PAGE 32 A set of characters that have the same design.

template

_______ A preset layout used to make pages visually similar in a multi-page document. Templates determine the appearance of such recurring elements as margins, column widths, folios, captions, and headlines. They streamline the decision-making process and maintain graphic identity in publications that must be produced quickly or by many different designers. Templates also establish repeating patterns through which readers determine how to navigate content. PAGE 56

bookman, text reflow

_______ Bookman is based on a Scottish Old Style Antique that has been copied and revived since its introduction in the mid-nineteenth century. Popular variants have included American Type Foundry's Bookman Oldstyle, with added swashes, and ITC Bookman, by the _______ _______ In web-based applications, expanding or narrowing a browser window often alters word and sentence placement relative to the visible area. As line length shortens, text "reflows" down the depth of the text area. In word-processing software, deleted or added text alters the placement of all text that follows.

johnston

_______ The English designer Edward Johnston designed uppercase letters, numbers, and a few symbols for the London Underground signage system, introduced in 1916. This sans-serif "Humanist" font was further developed by Eric Gill in the family Gill Sans, between 1928 and 1932.

uppercase

_______ The larger, capital letters in a typeface, which touch both the baseline and capline. The term "capital" refers to Roman stone inscription. "Uppercase" refers to the location of metal type in drawers used by typesetters; the larger letters were positioned in the type case above the smaller ones. "Majuscule" is another term for uppercase letters. ILL. 35 PAGE 41

counter

_______ The partially or fully enclosed space within a letterform. The visual impression of a typeface is influenced by how open its counters appear in relation to character strokes. ILL. 07 >PAGE 41 #9 and 4

Oblique

_______ The slanted version of a roman typeface, usually associated with geometric sans-serif typefaces. Italic typefaces also slant to the right but retain the more calligraphic qualities of humanist typefaces and scripts. ILL. 21> PAGE 46 an oblique is a roman font that has been skewed a certain number of degrees (8-12 degrees, usually). An italic is created by the type designer with specific characters (notably lowercase a) drawn differently to create a more calligraphic, as well as slanted version.

type setting

_______ _________ In metal type, the vertical height of a metal shaft containing a slightly smaller raised letterform. Today, type size refers to the height of the invisible bounding box containing a character. Printed type size is expressed in points, while screen-based type size is usually measured in pixels. ILL. 33 > PAGE 45

American Typewriter, Bickham Script, Cooper Black, Masthead

_______ _________ Joel Kaden and Tony Stan based their typeface on the first Sholes and Glidden typewriter of the late nineteenth century. Released by International Typeface Corporation [ITC) in 1974, the font adapted the monospace font to a variable width _______ _____ Richard Lipton designed this family for Adobe, taking inspiration from eighteenth-century writing masters, particularly the English engraver George Bickham. The family was released in 1997. It maximizes computational power by featuring hundreds of alternate capitals, ligatures, and swashed ascenders and descenders _______ _______ Designed by the American Oswald Bruce Cooper in 1921, and released by the Barnhart Brothers & Spindler type foundry in 1922. The typeface was originally popular in advertising, and has since lost and gained popularity throughout the decades. _________ A sailing metaphor for the top of the front page of a periodical, newspaper, or website that contains the name and date of the publication, along with other identifying information.

double-story

_______-________ The stacked features of the lowercase a and g in some typefaces. The bowl and finial of the a and the bowl and lower loop of the g represent two "stories." ILL. 09> PAGE 46 The enclosed or partially enclosed counter below the baseline of a double-story g. Definition: In a double-story g, the loop is the enclosed or partially enclosed counter below the baseline that is connected to the bowl by a link.

Bodoni, Snell Roundhand, unschooled, fat face

________ A typeface family originally designed by the Italian engraver and publisher Giambattista Bodoni in 1798. Bodoni was the first in the Modern or Didone class of typeface, characterized by unbracketed serifs and highly contrasted stroke-widths. _______ _________The English type designer Matthew Carter based this script typeface on the handwriting of the writing master Charles Snell, author of The Penman's Treasury Open'd (1694) Linotype originally released the font in 1966 _________: An adjective that describes work accomplished by those who have not been trained in design practices and aesthetics. The opposite of schooled. ____ _____: An extreme version of a Modern typeface (see Bodoni) attributed to Robert Thorne, who introduced the font in England around 1803. With greatly exaggerated and stroke contrast and "fat" serifs, this style is among the first designed for display and advertising rather than for book work

weight

________ A typeface variation based on the relationship between stroke-width and the size of counters. Variations in type weight are typically described as thin, light, book, regular, medium, semibold, bold, extra bold, or ultra bold. The value of text (how dark or light a setting appears) is a reflection of type weight. ILL. 36> PAGE 39

glyph

________ Any single character in a typeface. Letters of the alphabet, numerals graphic symbols, and punctuation marks are glyphs. Some fonts are made up of glyphs that are ornamental, such as dingbats. ILL. 13> PAGE 30 is an individual character. It might be a letter, an accented letter, a ligature, a punctuation mark, a dingbat, etc

Classic

________ In the realm of typography, classic typefaces are those that have endured over many years, if not centuries. Favored classics include such serif families as Bodoni and Bembo, and the sans-serif families Univers and Gill Sans

baseline

________ The invisible shared line on which capital and lowercase letters sit. Curved or pointed letters, such as o and v, often fall slightly below the baseline to adjust optically for their diminished points of contact with the line. ILL. 03 > PAGE 46 # 7

Caslon, Univers, Verdana

________ Various serif typefaces originating in the typeface of the same name designed by English type cutter and founder William Caslon I. Adobe Caslon is a variant designed by Carol Twombly, based on original Caslon specimen pages printed between 1734 and 1770. ________ A sans-serif typeface designed by Adrian Frutiger and released by the French Deberny & Peignot foundry in 1954. The typeface was the first to use a numbering system to name its members More than twenty-five digital variations of the Univers family exist today _________ The American software giant Microsoft commissioned the type designers Matthew Carter and Tom Rickner of Monotype Imaging to design an very readable typeface for the screen. The result, Verdana, exaggerates glyph distinctions, for instance between the number 1 and lowercase l. The typeface became a Microsoft system font in 1996

encode/decode

________/__________ To transfer meaning from producers of objects to consumers of objects. The sociologist Stuart Hall describes encoding and decoding as the production and interpretation of culture. Filmmakers, photographers, and automobile designers, for example, imbue films, magazines, and sports cars with material qualities that consumers use in constructing meaning. Type designers also encode meaning in form that goes beyond the literal meaning of words. >PAGE 28

message

_________ A communication recorded for reception. By sending messages through visual and spatial cues, typography enlivens our experience of information in the absence of direct communication. The term can also refer to meanings received by a reader or intended by a typographer, or both. These different messages may not always correspond. For example, the intended message of masculine" might be delivered by the use of a "sophisticated" and "urbane" serif typeface, but when set next to an image of a galloping mustang it might color the message as "aggressive or "athletic" instead. In this case the typographer intended, and the reader received, the message masculine," but each with very different senses in mind. > PAGE 26

column

_________ A rectangular setting of body copy, defined by line length, margins, and the number of lines of text. Columns may be set flush left/rag right, flush right/rag left, centered, or justified (in which all lines begin and end at the edges of the column). > PAGE 26

bembo, Bureau Grotesque, Berthold City, Cholla

_________ A twentieth-century revival of the classic roman typeface Bembo, originally cut by Francesco Griffo in 1495. Designed under the direction of Stanley Morison and released in 1929 by the Monotype Corporation, this "Old Style" typeface is distinguished by minimal variation in thick and thin stroke weights, a relatively small x-height, and angled top serifs on lowercase letters. _________ _________ Based on Grotesque nineteenth-century typefaces, the original family was completed in 1989 by David Berlow for the Tribune Companies and the magazine Newsweek. It was issued by Font Bureau, and additional styles were drawn by Jill Pichotta, Christian Schwartz, and Richard Lipton. _________ ______ Designed by Georg Trump, this font family was released in 1930 by the H. Berthold AG type foundry in Berlin, Germany. This slab serif features a strong geometric structure, with frequent right angles and quarterround corners. _________ A family designed by Sibylle Hagmann in 1998-99 for the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, and later released by the Emigre foundry. The typeface is named after a cactus species indigenous to the Mojave desert.

foundry

_________ An organization that designs, produces, licenses, and distributes typefaces. The term refers to a time when type was cast in metal. Today's digital typefaces are downloaded from the web, yet the name persists. > PAGE 32

body

_________ Related paragraphs of text in a typographic composition. "Body" typically refers to the primary copy set at text point sizes and supported by headlines, captions, raised quotations, and folios with different typographic qualities. ILL. 04 > PAGE 51 is the text forming the main content of a book, magazine, web page, or any other printed or digital work.

meanline

_________ The implied horizontal line that delimits the height of such lowercase letters as a, r, and n. The curves of lowercase letters with ascenders, such as b, are also drawn to the meanline. The term implies a "midline" between baseline and cap-height, but in fact the meanline position depends upon the designed height of the lowercase letters. ILL. 20> PAGE 45

Guardian Egyptian, Type designer

_________ __________ An extended family designed by Paul Barnes and Christian Schwartz for a redesign in 2005 of British newspaper the Guardian. The font family plus a companion sans serif family, are used exclusively throughout the newspaper _______ ________ A person who earns some part of his or her living by designing, drawing, and digitizing fonts. These designers fashion each and every serif, swash, and stroke that comprise fonts and families-from 26 basic upper- or lowercase letters, to the 256 glyphs of a complete font, to thousands of glyphs in an OpenType family

typeface

__________ All letters, numerals, punctuation, and special characters that share specific visual characteristics. The look of a typeface is defined partially by the particular qualities of its strokes counters, and proportions (x-height to-cap-height and width-to-height relationships). A typeface is a subset of a type family. ILL. 32 > PAGE 30 typeface is a particular design of type, while a font is a type in a particular size and weight. In short, a typeface usually gathers many fonts. Garamond would be the typeface: It described all of the thousands of metal blocks a printer might have on hand and which had been designed with the same basic design principles. But a font was something else entirely. A font described a subset of blocks in that very typeface-but each font embodied a particular size and weight. For example, bolded Garamond in 12 point was considered a different font than normal Garamond in 8 point, and italicized Times New Roman at 24 point would be considered a different font than italicized Times New Roman at 28 point.

composition

__________ The arrangement of elements within a visual field or page. Composition is also a term that refers to typesetting.> PAGE 51

aperture

__________ The opening between strokes that makes a counter (see opposite) only partially closed. In such letters as a, c, and e the aperture is typically proportional to the x-height of the typeface. Typefaces with small x-heights frequently have large apertures so the counter appears open at small sizes. ILL. 02 > PAGE 42 is the opening between the counter and the outside of the letter

ascender

__________ The vertical stroke of a lowercase letter that extends above the meanline. The letters b, d, h, and k have ascenders. Some ascenders are taller than the capital letters, others stop at the capline. ILL. 08 > PAGE 45 #6

descender

__________ The vertical stroke of a lowercase letter that falls below the baseline. The letters g, p. q, and y have descenders. ILL. 08> PAGE 45

typesetting

___________ The composition of text in finished reproducible form. In earlier times. typesetters worked from a typewritten manuscript and retyped and coded text with specifications that determined a range of visual variables. Today, the designer applies these commands to text that is delivered digitally from the author or that the designer writes. > PAGE 54 the process of setting material in type or into a form to be used in printing also : the process of producing graphic matter (as through a computer system) The arrangement of individual characters of text into words, sentences, and paragraphs.

x-height

____________ The height of lowercase letters measured from the baseline to the meanline (the top of the lowercase letter, minus ascenders). The visual appearance of a typeface is defined by x-height, as are its legibility and readability when subject to various spacing strategies. Generally, typefaces with large x-heights (Helvetica, for example) require more line spacing to be legible than do typefaces with small x-heights (Futura, for example). ILL. 37 > PAGE 43

stroke-width

_____________ The weight or thickness of strokes typical of each typeface. All typefaces, regardless of appearance, have some variation in stroke-width. Even the strokes of geometric sans-serif typefaces, which appear to have a uniform stroke-width, narrow at certain points in the letterform. For example, were strokes to maintain a uniform weight where they join in the letter k, there would be too much visual weight at the site of convergence. Therefore, these strokes taper slightly to maintain optical evenness. The difference in the thicks and thins of strokes is called "modeling" or modulation." ILL. 28> PAGE 43

folio, body, Johnston,

role and expression We ascribe two main functions to typographic content: roles, such as a _______ or the _______ on a page; and expressions: for instance surprise, authority, repulsion, loudness, playfulness, scariness, lightness. According to our earlier definitions, roles have a denotative function, whereas expressions are connotative. If the folio of a magazine set in 9 pt Caslon simply locates pages within Ladies' Home Journal, the typographer will thereby have given more weight to its role than to a form of expression. Fulfilling its role, the folio leads readers to articles, its utility no different than if it were working for any other magazine-National Geographic or Boy's Life. By contrast, folios in a book entitled The Tao of Way Finding set at 72 pt _______ might assume the role of page identifiers as well. Designed at such a large scale, the folios express the subject matter by additionally referring to an historical moment in public signage, in 1916, when the London Underground commissioned the typeface and applied it to its new signage Periodicals feature all manner of subject matter, from political events to celebrity gossip to academic essays. Their content changes routinely: hourly in the case of blogs; daily in newspapers; weekly or monthly for journals. Metropolis, for instance, publishes diverse but related articles on design within each issue and across volumes. The typography, then, must assume various roles-pull quotes, bylines, captions-that will embody a range of content to issue. The magazine also wants to express its unique identity, as distinct from its news-stand rivals Architectural Record and Architect. For this task call on style. Akzidenz Grotesk will suit the magazine, owing to its stylistic affiliation with architecture. By the same token, a new periodical on the stand might prudently be launched under a different sans-serif masthead, or the designer might opt for something else entirely, to create and express from issue a unique identity for the magazine.

codified, broadway, Gotham, comic sans,

Style Styles are connotative. They rely on generalizations about periods, movements, and places, all of which are open to interpretation and variation. Styles arrive by way of a designer's subjectivity-one of the most volatile of cultural systems-and add meaning to message(s). At base, they reflect designer intent. More frequently, they reflect cultural trends and tolerances, reading conventions, and changing technologies. A designer working in a particular style draws on historical conventions yet interprets them afresh, the style's meaning shifts as times change, which heaps layers of complexity onto typographic form. Typefaces and treatments carry formal baggage. Their style might harken to a time as far back as ancient Rome, or to Art Deco design in the 192os and 1930s, or a movement as recent as grunge in the 1990s. The period in which typefaces were used, and the purposes they were used for, influence their meaning now. The region and historical moment of origin sometimes give typefaces their stylistic character, depending on how strongly they are associated with a visually distinctive period. And every period is visually distinctive. In the 1940s, Vogue's art director Alexei Brodovitch used an extreme version of Didot for the magazine's masthead and headlines. Its success and ultimate ubiquity helped to establish a lasting association of extreme thick-to-thin unbracketed serif typefaces with high fashion. As late as 1991 Hoefler/Frere-Jones crafted a new cut of Didot for the redesign of fashion-oriented Harper's Bazaar. Readers interpret ______ styles depending on their exposure to visual tropes, which will be discussed in Chapter 5. For instance, the typeface ______, designed and used pervasively in the 1920s and 1930s, conjures the jazz age for those who are aware of its origins. People ignorant of that history have, however, used Broadway for all sorts of non-jazz-age content, the reference be hanged. Since the 1930s, the font has become a popular option available from quick print shops. For decades business owners, shopkeepers, and real-estate brokers far and wide have chosen the face simply because it is the boldest option, or because it looks snazzy. Commercial websites selling furniture inspired by the mid-twentieth century will, nine times out of ten, sport clean, sans-serif typefaces of the same period because they connote "modern" to those who know. Meanwhile, Barack Obama's presidential campaign used the modern-inspired typeface ______, in glaring opposition to a stylistic convention that dominated American campaign graphics at the time: the use of traditional, serif typefaces. In a discussion about the typography, creative director Brian Collins noted that to set Obama's slogan words "Change" and "Hope" in ______ ______ would have made the concept feel "lightweight and silly," or, in Times Roman, "self-important. Gotham, by contrast, makes the words feel "inspiring, not threatening He concludes that "typography makes a real difference when it delivers words and ideas that are relevant to people. And for many, that seems to be the case here." Style is powerful when it melds with content in ways that resonate with cultures and subcultures, highlighting the interests and issues of the moment. The first Obama presidential election campaign will influence future American political graphics not because the typeface chosen for the campaign was powerful, but because the style of his message, applied somewhat contrarily in the context of campaign norms, is now associated with a certain set of values: "In the campaign the message is communicated through both content and form equally because of an implicit understanding of how form can also be content. The designed materials exude the campaign message from every tiny detail, making an impression that reaches far beyond vote getting. The tangibility of this campaign has inspired many thousands of new voters to register but more importantly has raised awareness about the democratic process itself." The designer Lorraine Wild proposes a tongue- in-cheek theory as to how style inevitably cycles through a "great wheel." First there is good design: that's at the top, naturally. In time good design devolves to mass-market style and eventually turns to cliché, the third stage. Cliché becomes an embarrassment (stage four), which leads to the "it's over" fifth stage, in which the style becomes stultified and obscure. The style nevertheless cycles through six, seven, and eight: it is resurrected by a few as a fetish; consequently hipsters turn the style into a revival; and ultimately a critical mass finds the style "interesting" again. The ninth stage returns the style full circle to the first stage, good design. Predicting how and when styles will shift is almost impossible, unless one has the influence and resources to shape the future.It depends on how the catalysts that fuel the cycle-those systems-interact. Lest anyone think he is immune, I should point out that typography is style as soon as we choose one approach to the exclusion of others. Each and every decision situates us somewhere on the style train. If we cultivate a unique style, we are the conductor. We may ride along with others, accepting some version of a style, or grumble from the caboose declaring style to be irrelevant or superfluous. No matter. When we settle on a typeface, we step onto the train. Enjoy the ride.

point and pica

_____ ___ _____ The traditional units of typographic measurement. A point (or pt) is roughly 1/72 of an inch. There are twelve points in a pica. The baseline-to-baseline vertical measurement of lines of type in a column is usually expressed in points, while the horizontal length of a line of type is expressed in picas. ILL. 22> PAGE 40 72 points= 6 picas= 1 inch

swash

______ A decorative flourish that extends strokes and serifs. Swashed letters may be alternates for selected letterforms or the basis of a complete typeface, as in swash capitals. ILL. 29> PAGE 42

folio

_______ A page number, from the Latin for "leaf."> PAGE 51 printed page number.

type size, meanline, ascenders, descender

aggregate effects The example below combines similar weights of Cholla, Bureau Grotesque, and City, though the _______ _______ have been adjusted to create consistent x-heights. What originally appeared to be minor differences end up being fairly significant. The words now look wonky and uneasy. Cheezy Chili and fries Similar typefaces set in paragraphs compared next to one another further demonstrate how the details add up. Cholla Slab Bold occupies more space than City Medium for the same amount of text; in typographic terms it yields fewer characters per line. The differences between the two typefaces in set width and letterspace- less observable details at larger sizes-are exaggerated when the respective characteristics amass. Cholla Sans Bold turns out to have a narrower set-width than City Medium, and overall i looks both slightly lighter and softer. The paragraphs at left are set at the same type size, yet Bureau Grotesque Book is noticeably bigger. Chapters 3 and 6 examine why typefaces that share the same point size are not always visually equal. Without knowing why at this moment, we can still conclude that while the width-to-height ratio of Bureau Grotesque is similar and its vertical stroke-width about the same, its x-height-to-cap-height ratio and _______ differ substantially. Take note, too, of the short _______ and _______ in the h, t, y, and p, compared to the other typefaces The Adobe cut of _______ Regular shown below is proportionally average for old-style serif romans, with an x height-to-cap-height ratio slightly greater than 1:2, not unusual for a classic book face originating in the eighteenth century. By contrast, _______ 55 clocks in at about a 2:3 ratio. _______, the most recent arrival of the three, has nearly a 5:6 ratio. Are typefaces perhaps expanding over time like the universe? Actually, no. Ratios change as technologies and tastes suggest or encourage variation. Verdana was designed in response to the increasingly popular and problematic reading space of the monitor-to improve type legibility on screen. With the bright open counters and relative hugeness of the lowercase, Verdana functions brilliantly at very small scales, utilizing every pixel efficiently. Different circumstances inspired the older two fonts, but the same proportional logic was in force.

Google Earth, context

CONTEXTS Designers often say "context is everything." How can it be everything, given that systems (cultural, technological, cognitive, and so on) are so all-encompassing? Still, if I knew something about building, I would construct the word CONTEXT" in ninety-eight-story wide letters to span an impressive stretch of desert, in neon pink so the word could be read from some distance on _________ _______. Huge. As far as typography is concerned, _______ is the set of conditions and circumstances present at any given time, in any given place, including the motives and abilities of makers and readers, the material nature of the artifacts, and the particulars of delivery. Context is produced by converging systems, among them the societal systems within which makers and readers exist, and the physical and technological systems that form and convey artifacts. To get at the contexts that concern typographers, we need to ask six questions. Who initiates the work? Who are the readers? What is the artifact? How is the artifact manifested? Where does the delivery take place? When does the delivery take place? The answers to these questions begin to describe the context

American Typewriter, bickham script, cooper black, masthead

DENOTATION AND CONNOTATION Spoken communication relies on word denotation and connotation, as does visual typographic language. Text elements always denote something-that is, have a literal meaning-and also always connote additional meanings by evoking associations. The English noun "neighborhood," for instance, might be denotatively defined as "a district forming a community within a town or city." This meaning describes "what it is" literally, based upon cultural use. The connotations of "neighborhood" might then additionally signify comfort, domesticity, or goodwill-established by the association of the word with lived experiences. Typographically speaking words can never assume a quintessential denotative form free of connotation. Would "9/11" set in a typewriter font or heavy sans serif describe "what it is" more definitively that if it were handwritten or lettered in brush script? Let me offer a hint: no. Text elements are not reducible to pure denotation because the form itself biases word interpretation in one way or another. This fact becomes clear when nonsensical words are typeset in different typefaces: Belngo Eioh, Jenoyc Rehi, Qvpah Ceus Although these letter combinations are not from the English language, we try to construct meaning from them for a couple of reasons. First, strings of letters imply the formation of words. Letterforms, in the context of other letterforms, trigger understanding of language systems. More importantly, each typeface suggests forms we might have seen before: from left to right, ______ _______ reminds us of education; _______ _______ of elegance; and _______ _______ of a low-budget offer. These cultural meanings are reinforced when connotations of form agree with those implied in the word: Teacher Day, Caravaggio, Wheel'n'Lube The words and form suit each other here because we have seen the type applied over and over again to communicate similar kinds of message. Others may read the combinations differently, though. It could be said that he closest typography gets to representing the literal, to being denotive is when word meaning, form, and the experience of readers coalesce. Let's change the text to see if the typefaces yield different connotations: The Weekly, Winter Sale, Pumpernickel The connotations above are very similar to the previous ones. The difference is that now the typographic meanings are more particularized, more nuanced. The formerly generic connotation of American Typewriter is now honed, in its use for a _______, to connote a local newsletter; Bickham Script alludes to the elegance of the holidays; and Cooper Black now connotes homestyle baking. Form can also add a layer of connotation not necessarily denoted by the word. To see this in action, let's arbitrarily switch the typefaces: The Weekly, Winter Sale, Pumpernickel The "Weekly" set in Cooper Black now connotes a more official newsletter, or perhaps a community newspaper; "Winter Sale" now suggests just your average, everyday sale; and "Pumpernickel" looks as if it were baked with the finest ingredients. Another way to see the dynamic connotative relationship between form and content is by setting words in typefaces that have no obvious connection to, or are perhaps in conflict with, word meaning. To see that, let's change the text: Jolly Belly, Garage Sale Deal, Clown Toss "Garage Sale Deal" set in such an elegant script opposes the denotative meaning of garage sale ("a sale of miscellaneous household goods, often held in the garage or front yard of someone's house"), as well as the connotative meaning ("a sale of assorted oddments that could produce undervalued treasure"). Such a discrepancy has its function, though. Were the message painted on a car dealer's show window, it would clearly not refer to the familiar, domestic, community garage sale. The larger context (showroom window) particularizes the connotation with a clue that helps stabilize the meaning, in this case an allusion to one's own garage and the new car that might go in it. Imagine the rather ambiguous "Jolly Belly" stitched on the tag of a stuffed dog toy, and the same word and typeface silk-screened in white on a red T-shirt sold at Christmastime. "Jolly" and "belly" still denote "cheerfulness and the "stomach area," respectively, yet the typeface and the context of their application yield wholly different connotations. I recommend taking the time to consider what those might be. Clearly we have moved from connotation in typography to the contexts of application and use, with good reason. The contexts of application and use are major factors in communication So, now would be the perfect moment to discover how contexts are formed.

uppercase, character, posture, alternate, swashes, aperture, tittle

DYNAMIC RELATIONSHIPS micro relationships Shaping the alphabet into a cohesive typeface is no small feat. Not only are ________ and lowercase letters different from one another, but also, type designers introduce distinct contours and details that together distinguish their typeface from others. Type designers harmonize the unique characteristics of each glyph by applying some systematic, relational logic- a formal system that governs the whole. Although each glyph is different, many share common parts. For example, similarly shaped open spaces in letters, called counters, are found throughout the alphabet, as are vertical, horizontal, angular, and curved strokes. If strokes terminate in serifs, the serif shape repeats throughout, whether abrupt and angular, as in slab serifs, or gradual and curvilinear, as in bracketed serifs. Strokes that terminate without serifs, or with partial serifs, do so across the alphabet. Whether the type designer's goal is overall visual evenness in a sans serif typeface or a highly embellished display face, formal systems work to unify the parts. Proportion is one such system. Each _________ within a proportional typeface is constructed relative to other characters, following certain traditions. For instance, the lowercase a and e are typically similar in width and narrower than other characters, such as the capital B, P, and R, which are also proportionally consistent in comparison to, say, the wideness of the M or the narrowness of the I. This is not to say that all typefaces adhere to this particular logic. Some typefaces turn the whole idea upside down: the M might be super-narrow and I super-wide. Still, the characters submit to a formal system. Once the designer has devised a set of overarching rules that apply to each glyph, variation might be added to the system. Modifying stroke thickness creates lighter or bolder fonts, and modifying _________ constructs slanted versions of the typeface, or italics. _________ letters might also be added, such as capitals with showy _______. Each addition is submitted to the overall logic of the formal system to maintain visual affinity. Swashes tacked onto a display face that is not designed to support them can result in visual conflict. Whether the disharmony communicates oddness, or suggests a designer's unsophisticated eye, the result is certainly not a unifying system. The alphabet is filled with shape anomaly. Every letter is different because we need to be able to distinguish between an e and an h. The type designer's challenge is to balance character individuality with formal unity. Although no one letter or number is allowed to stand out defiantly from the others in a lineup, each still has a singular job: to stand resolutely as the letter or number it symbolizes. If the ________ of a c is too small, it may take on the appearance of an o, which not only compromises o's job, but also leads to mutual resentment. If the _______ sits over the vertical stroke too closely, it may be mistaken for an I. Dismissing such details as minor can have unwelcome consequences. The word "illusion" might read as "Illuslon." Not good.

weights,

FORMAL SYSTEMS The logic that governs proportions among font glyphs, gradual _______ across a family of fonts, or page organization, is what I call a "formal system. Such human-devised rational systems have evolved over time, and employ parts of other systems. Technological systems, mentioned above, include the tools, machines, and software we use to give form to, and to deliver typography. Because typography is visible, and exists in a tangible way on real surfaces, it is physical, so physical systems must be acknowledged as a major driver in typographic production. Perceptual systems, informed by human physiology and psychology, affect how humans perceive and interpret the visual world. Technology and typography are constant companions, and therefore technological systems figure prominently in my discussions of formal systems. Similarly, the materials of typography, a subset of physical systems, are central. We will not be getting into perception in too much detail. For the time being, we will take it for granted that the processes of seeing and making typography rely on our capabilities of perception.

lowercase

_________ The smaller letters in a typeface that sit between the baseline and meanline or possess an ascender or descender The distinction between minuscule (smaller letters) and majuscule (capital) letters in a typeface dates to the tenth century. The term also refers to the location of metal type in drawers used by typesetters; the smaller letters were positioned in the type case below the larger ones. ILL. 19 > PAGE 32

x-height, cap-height, bembo, stroke-width, set-width, Bureau Grotesque, Grotesque, point size, Berthold City, Cholla, unbracketed serifs, terminals, letter-spacing

Ratios When more than 250 distinguishable Latin-based glyphs come together as words, lines of text, and paragraphs, the details add up to typeface "personality". The reasons for this are many, but a primary one is that the ratio of parts to parts within the typeface, and among the family, are consistent. The _________ and _________ of the four _________ members shown below are the same. Only the thickness, or weight, of each varies: the __________________ increases relative to a constant height. In other words, the stroke-to-height ratio shifts, causing a thickening of the characters. Additionally, the ___________ of each font expands, which changes the height-to-width ratio. Increasingly thick-to-thin ratios in the strokes of the Bembo family create heavier and heavier weights in relation to the Regular version. Compare the stroke of the B in the Regular and Extrabold. The horizontal strokes expand in smaller increments than do the vertical strokes. _________ _________ Book has a stroke-to-height ratio similar to its family member Bureau _________ Compressed Book, so the weights of both typefaces are technically the same, as are the cap-height to x-height ratio. The set-widths, however, differ dramatically. The compressed does look more uptight and crowded and visually more active, but not much heavier. It is also denser, because the space within and surrounding each character is much smaller. The thick-to-thin ratios of the horizontal and vertical strokes vary across the Bureau Grotesque family, in part to accommodate the extreme set-width range, from quite narrow to very wide. Compare the lowercase e of the Book weight to that of Compressed Book, for instance. Still, within each weight the stroke-width ratios aren't as appreciable as are the counter-to-stroke ratios, as in the o of the Bold and Condensed Bold. Unity is produced through the consistent application of these fine differences across the alphabet, within any given typeface. The difficulty or ease with which a typeface can be read is determined in part by _______ _______ in relation to the x-height of a given font. A serif typeface designed for long-term reading might be quite legible at 9 pt because its x-height is demonstrably larger than, say, a script. The latter might be illegible set at the same size, owing to its typically small x-height. _______ _______ is characterized by a rectilinear shape in traditionally round letters, such as the lowercase o, e, and c. This one idea is central to the logic of the typeface and permeates the alphabet, as do slab serifs and a relatively uniform thick-to-thin stroke ratio of the vertical and horizontal strokes. These and other minutiae not only distinguish City from other faces, but also help to consolidate the family When contrasts are introduced-such as thinner or thicker stroke-widths to fashion light and bold weights-the rectilinearity, slab serifs, and stroke ratios maintain the resemblance. The o, e, and c are slightly squared in ________ Sans Bold as well, although not as pronouncedly as in City Medium. Additionally, x-height-to-cap-height ratios and weights are similar. The formal logic holding Cholla together as a system, compared to City, is most evident in Cholla's lack of serifs (hence the descriptor "sans"). Whereas the strokes in City terminate with stark _______ _______, Cholla letterforms end in subtly rounded _______. Additionally, Cholla sports characteristic notches throughout the character set, as seen in the lowercase a and n, and the uppercase B. The differences between City Medium and Cholla Slab Bold, a member of the Cholla family, are less obvious. The width-to-x-height ratios differ, as demonstrated by the fact that City sets narrower. The equally square unbracketed serifs of Cholla Slab Bold are longer, and the ______________ is consistently more open, which together creates a wider set-width. Cholla's counters, too, are more open than those of City Medium. Compared to Cholla, City is strongly horizontal and looks like a row of mortared bricks Cholla is softer and bumpy, like smooth stones loosely bound together. Next to Bureau Grotesque Book, though, Cholla looks sturdier, more architectural.

letterspacing

The uniform alteration of the spaces between three or more consecutive letters in a word. Alteration of the single space between two letters is called kerning. ILL. 17 > PAGE 44

glyphs, classic, typeface

SYSTEMS IN GENERAL Systems are numerous, and many are in constant flux. Our language system, for example, consists of interconnected, dynamic forces and governing principles that include grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation. If spoken, the aspects of language are dictated by vocal and aural mechanics, another system. The success of both form and message is predicated on our understanding of the give and take of these dynamic systems, including production, reproduction, and distribution technologies; writing and reading conventions; material properties; and common cultural knowledge, to name some central ones. Systems can be closed or open, to greater or lesser degrees. The system of on/off lights in two kinds of road-construction signs serves as a basic example. The sign on the top accommodates only static or flashing arrows. The system is quite closed, then, as compared to the more open system of the sign beneath it, which has a grid of multiple lights that can display unlimited _____. As the opening to this chapter indicated, systems combine to generate the underlying circumstances within which graphic design functions. As invitation to an estate sale might seem to call for a _______ _____, printed on a small card tucked inside an envelope to be mailed, because these are simply the right choices. A no-brainer. In fact, they Work because these details fit within a certain set of cultural expectations; because the postal system allows a small card to be mailed; and because these choices eliminate a multitude of other less elegant ones, such as letters typed out in an email. If the producer cannot afford postage, a consequence of some economic system, then the effectiveness of the invitation, for all its apparent appropriateness, is clearly compromised.

composition

TYPOGRAPHIC MESSAGES ANATOMY OF THE MESSAGE content and function Designed artifacts are visual stories: pronouncements and narratives, transmitted through a synergy of content and form, that include image, motion, _______, sound, and color. The meanings associated with both form and content invite people (readers), who share visual and written languages, to construct messages almost instantly We need a disclaimer here. As typographers, we have little control over the written content at our disposal, unless of course we write it ourselves. Likewise, we are rarely in charge of production budgets and distribution means, unless, again, we ourselves are the producers. The aspects over which we do have a modicum of control, though, are typographic roles and forms of expression, which are embodied in style to establish a voice, discussed later. These aspects interact with content and linguistic systems to generate entertaining, instructive, convincing, promising, surprising messages (and every other kind!) that are interpreted by the reader. Typography's chief function is to give form to content. When form joins content, the two together impart messages. Many practitioners see typography as principally pragmatic, arguing that letterforms, including beautiful letterforms, serve reading first and foremost. Certainly web catalogs, news magazines, and pharmaceutical labels need to be read. The functional and messaging possibilities of typography, however, are rich beyond practical beauty.

margin

_________ The space around the edge of a page and that surrounds columns of text. "Gutters" are the spaces between columns. When setting up a digital document, software frequently asks for the size of margins and gutters thus determining the size of columns by the space that is left over. > PAGE 26

letterform

The design of individual letters and their parts, including the relationships among strokes, counters, and serifs. While all typography involves considerations of letterform, the term also encompasses the various calligraphic traditions, such as the uncial, which preceded the invention of movable type and have contributed to type design ever since. ILL. 16 PAGE 26 is a term used especially in typography, paleography, calligraphy and epigraphy to mean a letter's shape.

family

________ All the variations, including different variations in weight, proportion, and posture, of a single typeface. The full collection of the font Hoefler Text, designed by Jonathan Hoefler in 1991, has twenty-seven different variations including Roman, Italic, Black Swash Small Caps, and Fleurons & Arabesques. Hoefler Text is a typeface family and Hoefler Text Black Italic Alternate is one variation within that family. The illustration shows the family Elido. ILL. 10> PAGE 36

san serif

___ ___ A typeface without serifs. The terminals tends of strokes) have no perpendicular lines. Sans-serif faces were used on signs and buildings in England as early as 1816 but did not become popular until 100 years later, when they were used by the European avant-garde to reflect its fascination with machine forms and geometry, as well its rejection of nostalgic references to the past. ILL. 25 PAGE 32

serif

____ Short perpendicular shapes at the ends of strokes in a letterform. It is thought that serifs originated with stone carvers as they tapped the end of each stroke with a chisel to emphasize the alignment of letters. Some serifs are bracketed graduating in width from where they join the stroke to their end. "Adnate" serifs flow continuously from the stroke, while "abrupt" serifs are noticeably angled ILLS. 25/26 PAGE 27

slab serif

____ _____ A heavy, block-like, usually unbracketed serif. Slab serifs are often thicker than the strokes in the typeface. Typefaces with slab serifs are called Egyptian" and emerged early in the nineteenth century as precursors to sans-serif or grotesque typefaces.> PAGE 50

family, Guardian Egyptian, type designer

the initiator Who is initiating or conceiving the work? Where does it originate? All sorts of people and enterprises commission design. And every person and enterprise is entrenched in a number of potent systems. At the risk of oversimplifying, imagine each individual' system as an orbit with considerable gravitational pull. A contemporary architect works within several orbits, one of which is the design system, where values shift regularly. Another is the societal system, where issues rise and fall in importance. The relevance of the architect's work to contemporary design tugs at him, as does the desire to respond to such social trends as the will to build environmentally friendly structures. The editor of a magazine is drawn by the publishing system. She feels the pull to release relevant articles and maintain or increase her readership. The art director at Big Cool Records is a member of a corporate system, of music production and distribution systems, and of the fashion system. Her concerns, then, are fierce competition, the demands of artists, attorneys, and agents, exorbitant costs, tight deadlines, and of course the fickle fans of musicians. How on earth can these things matter to typographers? Whether we design with and for an architect, an editor, or an art director (or accounting firms, video-game producers, auto manufacturers, municipal managers, or hotel chains), our orbit (typography) intersects with theirs. Design decisions are constrained by the concerns of the people who initiate and sponsor the work. When staff of the UK daily newspaper the Guardian initiated a redesign, they commissioned a new typeface _______, _______ ________. The concerns of newspaper executives in this case were to maximize space and readability, which proposed certain possibilities for the _____ _____, and ruled out others. Designers also produce work for themselves. They are then initiators. A type designer who produces typefaces of his own accord does so within the orbit of type design, rather than the orbit of a commissioner. Recall the initiator of Template Gothic. His orbit compelled him to be familiar with current design trends; to have some knowledge of the evolution of type design; and to follow his own interests. A type designer is free to explore letterforms motivated by his own inclinations. He might not be concerned with how many characters fit on a line, or how legible the typeface is. If this same type designer is asked to produce a typeface for a festival, his orbit suddenly interacts with those of industry executives.

posture

_____ The angle of a typeface that distinguishes the upright roman variation from the slanted italic or oblique. ILL. 24> PAGE 42

Terminal

_____ The end of a stroke in a letterform that does not connect to another stroke a serif. Terminals can be flat, round, or tapered with finials and tails. PAGE44

Unbracketed serif

_____ ____ Serifs that meet the stroke at an abrupt, perpendicular angle. Also called "abrupt." ILL. 34 > PAGE 44

point size

_____ ____ The measurement used to designate the size of a letterform. Originally, point size referred to the vertical measurement of the body, a piece of lead or wood that held a raised letterform for printing (which allowed lines of type to be set one on top of the other without the letters touching), rather than to the actual size of the letterform itself. Today, digital point size refers to the height of an invisible "bounding box" in which the letterform sits. ILL. 23 > PAGE 40

Odile, Didot

_____ (in the bottom line above right) Hagmann had first to recognize the characteristics of italic letters in relation to roman letters in order to design an italic with an upright posture that is italic enough to differentiate it from Odile Regular _______ A group of Modern, or Didone, typefaces named for the Parisian Didot family. Firmin Didot cut the letters and his brother Pierre used the types in printing. Several revivals of Didot have since been designed and issued

element

_________ A distinct part of a visual composition, such as a photograph, word, or graphic shape. PAGE 26

figures (numerals)

The set of characters standing for the arabic numerals from zero through nine. Typefaces sometimes have both lining figures, which share a baseline and cap-height, and old-style figures which are of different heights and dip below the baseline or extend above the x-height. ILL. 12 > PAGE 56

language, Bodoni or Snell Roundhand, encode, decode, unschooled, fat faced

Systems and Context Relational Typography As with all decisions that bring made things into being, the choices typographers make are influenced by certain circumstances: production, application, and intended function. To call typography relational, then, points up the fact that the systems at play set up particular conditions each time we design. We make one decision, and we make the next in relation to the previous one. The conditions of the screen will impel us to make choices in relation to that medium, which would differ from the conditions of print. Whether or not we acknowledge the relational nature of typographic production, as well as the conditions of interpretation, it is always present, and always active Our wayward estate-sale placard is a case in point. It does not Work for its intended purpose because collectors of luxury items live within a cultural system, in this case a particular social class that has certain tastes and expectations, and whose members share a social _________ that each one comprehends. No doubt these people have received other notices in the mail in which the designer employed visual codes associated with the experience of "estate sales"-perhaps personally addressed invitations handsomely typeset in ______ or _______ _____ and printed on cream-colored paper. In this instance, printed communication and reader expectation are two of the conjoining systems that establish the context within which the typographer ______ content and readers ______ or interpret it-processes that we will discuss in greater detail in the next chapter. Content is the subject matter of the placards: event details, an indication that the location is an "estate" rather than a "garage," etc. Content is figured within yet other systems, most notably that of written language. These variables combine to form the complex activity sometimes referred to as message construction or communication Clearly, making typography Work is not that simple here in Typogyroscopic land. Let's revisit the garage-sale placard to gain a bit of perspective. Say the form consists of marker-drawn letters and arrows rendered on a piece of cardboard. The properties could change-the letters might be stenciled spray paint on plywood, for instance-but the handmade quality still falls within "garage-sale placard" conventions. The placard's form is familiar to people who have learned how such announcements look and function. Taped to lamp posts on the street-the physical context-the message is clearly directed at bargain hunters passing by in cars and on foot. Meanwhile, the coincidental collector driving past understands that the event will probably fail to offer him anything of value. Imagine now a street not far from where the sale is taking place. Overhead the same text, in the same marker letters, is hand-rendered and scaled up to fill a billboard. Local people would be unlikely to attribute this notice to a fellow resident because billboards work within a system of commercial advertising, which presumes a ready supply of cash and probably access to a very tall ladder. The more probable conclusion is that a clever adman appropriated the form of garage-sale placards to sell something. Yet the combination of __________ form and garage-sale announcement content, in the billboard context, results in a confusing message. The billboard names no seller, and no product or service is identified. There is just this strange text announcing a garage sale in the neighborhood. The two contexts, reader expectation and billboard advertising, have interfered with the intended message, even though the form changed only in scale and the content not at all Imagine that the form changes further. The text might be set in a beautiful ______ ______, the work professionally designed, printed, and neatly pasted. Now it is most definitely not publicizing a local garage sale, no matter what the text says. Why? Because, based on our experience with billboards, designed text signals advertising. Change the content to copy selling garages, and the pieces come together to make a little more sense. Let's make one last alteration: print the same billboard-advertising content with the same type and design on a small flyer, then tack it to a lamp post just below another garage-sale notice. What will the neighbors conclude? The forms of both printed flyer and handmade placard still communicate commercial promotion and local announcement respectively-even though they occupy the same lamp post. Again, their readers understand that both types of communication are plausible, if not expected, within that particular context.

aesthetics

The term "________" means the study of beauty and its effect on human experience, but in common usage it also means an arrangement of sensory attributes that create a particular visual style or feel of something. Typographically, a "biker" aesthetic might refer to capital letters circling patches sewn into a leather jacket, blackletter tattoos with scripted flourishes, and Harley Davidson" engraved in chrome. On the other hand, "runner" typography might recall the digital numerals on stopwatches or the bold names of Nike or Converse molded in the soles of shoes or screen-printed on active wear. Typographers achieve an "aesthetic" through sensitive use of formal and material references that evoke a cultural context or social group. > PAGE 26

letterforms, elements, columns, messages, typographer, aesthetic, vinyl letters, serifs, portmanteau

Interconnection Typography lands on our eyes complete, an amalgam of details subsumed by the whole like a settled landscape stretched out before us. As we approach the particular scene of this page, large-scaled elements command attention first, Subsequent smaller-sized texts composed of individual marks called _________ collect into what we know to be paragraphs, contained within margins. It may appear that all the visual _______ here-from the smallest comma to the equal _______- have sprouted as naturally as leaves to limb. This landscape, however, quite contrived, pointing indirectly to several interconnected social and physical systems. The typography here represents a slew of assumptions and prescriptions shared by the writer (me), the designer (me again) and the reader (you), all of which help translate the elements into _________. Already we see typography playing its basic roles: to give form to recognizable marks-what we call an alphabet; and to gather them into ordered words that ultimately compel a reader to begin deciphering. The more practiced the __________, or the more familiar a reader is with the elements and arrangement, the more complete and natural the work appears. Even so, regardless of any other creative skills, if a targeted reader is able to understand the words, then the typography will have accomplished its most fundamental job. Typography might not be beautiful in a popular ______ sense, but if it gets an idea across, it works. Take, for instance, the temporary placards that people make to announce garage sales. The words might be handwritten with a fat marker on drawing paper, or constructed from ______ ______ stuck to cardboard. The result might be downright ugly by some standards, but it adequately announces the location and day of the event. Because the placard does not look professionally produced, it conveys the fact that a local resident is hosting a garage sale. Were the words somewhat difficult to make out, but colorful and bold, then the host's enthusiasm would be clearly expressed, which is another sort of message. Large, carefully drawn letters might emphasize the location of the garage sale, to be readable in a split second by someone speeding by on a bike. Glittering ______ would impress upon the cyclist that this is a very special garage sale indeed. If the aim is to zip people to the sale in eager anticipation, then this second placard works better than the previous one. Say the event is an estate sale at a whitecarpeted home where carved mahogany bed frames, antique china, and heritage silver are to be auctioned to the highest bidder. Would either of the previous posters work? Strictly from the standpoint of conveying basic information, absolutely. The location and time of the sale are clear enough. But do any of the placards effectively communicate "Estate Sale"? "Heavens no." All manner of bargain hunters would show up at 6 a. m. looking for dollar deals, only to be asked kindly to remove their sneakers before crossing the threshold. Meanwhile, connoisseurs lounging at home would miss out on new treasures, and the sellers would miss out on profits. Typography that works is acceptable for locals. You, on the other hand, will rather want to make typography Work! To do so requires an understanding of typographic principles, certainly. But you are also accountable to other systems within which typography functions-those that produce typography, for instance, or establish conventions. Cultures technologies, materials, languages, readers, and the design profession (to name but a few systems) all impose inescapable constraints and generate the contexts that trigger appropriate communication. These interconnected systems add up to a knotty situation, one that I think warrants a ____________. I call it typogyroscopic. Imagine a series of dynamic rings of varying sizes, linked and nested. Together, they not only dictate orientation, but they also influence and inform every typographic decision you have made, and will make from this moment forward. Were you positioned at any one point inside this twisty-turvy world without a sense of the whole, ignorant of and unskilled in negotiating its forces, the only way to find balance would be to cling to a handful of details. But these fine particulars neither offer a perspective nor yield clues about how to make a decision within this realm of endless possibilities. So let us start out, gingerly, toward equilibrium.

script

_____ A typeface that mimics handwriting. Like cursive writing, script typefaces have connecting strokes that join letters to one another.> PAGE 32

Typographer, Vinyl letters, Portmanteau

____________ A person trained in graphic design with particular expertise in the subject of typography _____ _______ Alphabets (and other glyphs) cut from adhesive-backed vinyl often sold in small sheets at hardware and stationery stores A typical typeface is Helvetica, but businesses that sell signs also cut vinyl letters to specification in nearly any typeface and configuration. ______________ Literally, a large leather trunk with two hinged compartments. Figuratively, the term refers to a compound word built from two other words: in this case, "typography and "gyroscopic.