Typography Essentials: Part 1

Understanding Typography
Part One

A brief history of written and printed communication,
the function of typography in graphic design and the
essential typographic terminology.

Early Writing Systems

Photo Source: http://www.sanford-artedventures.com

Earliest known attempts to communicate with imagery
was around 25,000 B.C.

This was primarily pictorial forms (i.e cave drawings)

Early humans used symbols to communicate ideas

Pictographs

Systems of symbols that represent concepts
in a consistent manner

Simplified drawings represent objects

Example is Egyptian system of hieroglyphics
Photo Source: A Typographic Workbook, Kate Clair

Advantage of this system is the ability to
communicate universally (no language barriers)

Image Source: http://bit.ly/bHhnx3

Pictographs

Systems of symbols that represent concepts
in a consistent manner

Simplified drawings represent objects

Example is Egyptian system of hieroglyphics
Photo Source: A Typographic Workbook, Kate Clair

Advantage of this system is the ability to
communicate universally (no language barriers)

Image Source: http://bit.ly/6gAvue

Early Alphabets
Phoenician

The Phoenicians developed an alphabet
of 22 symbols around 1000 B.C

Symbols related to the sounds in the language

Consonants only; no vowels

Eliminated the need for people to memorize
thousands of symbols

The term Phonetics comes from this concept

Early Alphabets
Greek

Greeks expanded on Phoenician alphabet

Added vowels and named each character

First system for reading left to right and top
to bottom

Early Alphabets
Roman

Romans developed the Greek alphabet further

Modern alphabet that we now use

Added lowercase versions to letters, condensed
forms of text and cursive writing that flowed more
naturally by hand

Writing During the Dark Ages

Books were hand-produced for hundreds of years

Primarily religious (illuminated manuscripts)

Due to the painstaking effort (often years) to create
a single volume, books were considered very
valuable treasures

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Invention of the Printing Press

German metal carver Johannes Gutenberg,
invented the printing press in mid 15th century

Letters carved onto a small metal plate, punch

Letters arranged to form blocks of text. Molten
metal poured over the top to make a mold

Used to print books in larger quantities than had
previously been possible

This invention changed the world, allowing rapid
production and distribution of printed ideas

The Bible was first complete book ever printed

Photo Source: www.artemis.austincollege.edu

What Role Does Typography
Play in Graphic Design?

Helps clarify a message that the designer sends to an audience

The properly selected font has a huge impact on getting a message
across to an intended audience

A poorly chosen font or bad typographic layout can detract from
or even block the message all together


Poor typography will prevent a reader from connecting with a design,
and at worst may make your message illegible!


Typography can provide an element of expression
to accompany a message

A carefully crafted typography increases emotional
impact of a message much more than just plain type
by itself, adding another dimension to a message

A well-conceived typographic composition allows
the designer to connect with the reader

Photo Source: Type Rules, Ilene Strizver


Letters and numbers can be arranged in a
clever way that strengthens the message

Photo Source: Design Basics, David Lauer and Stephen Pentak


Of course, some of the most innovative
and creative typography breaks all of the
established rules!

Photo Source: The End of Print, David Carson

Photo Source: www.davidcarsondesign.com

Typographic Terms

Typeface: Refers to the upper and lowercase letters and numbers
of a specific design/ font.
Examples: Helvetica, Times, etc.

Characters: The individual letters, numbers and punctuation
used when setting type

Uppercase: The capital letters of the alphabet

Lowercase: The small letters of the alphabet

Typographic Terms

Baseline: An imaginary line on which the characters seem to be standing

Meanline: The imaginary line that runs along the top of most lowercase letters,
such as i, c, e, m, n, u,v, w and x

X-Height: The height of the body or main element of the lowercase letterform,
which falls between the meanline and the baseline

Cap Height: The imaginary line that runs across the top of capital letters and
ascenders in a line of type

Serif vs. San Serif Letterforms

Serif: Letters with finishing strokes, or brackets, that project from letters
Gives letters finished appearance
Letters flow together, making serif typefaces easy to read
Often used in books, magazines and newspapers

San Serif: Type with no serif
Also has no variation in the width of its strokes; computer generated look
Useful for signs and large-scale text meant to be seen from a distance
Text is harder for a reader s eye to follow in large blocks of text

Script Fonts

Script fonts are decorative and suggest a hand written appearance.
Often used to suggest formality. Difficult to read in large bodies of text;
most effective when used as headings or sub headings in a layout.
Ex: Porcelain

Decorative and Novelty

General term used to describe fonts that can’t be easily categorized.
This includes dingbats and contemporary specialty fonts.

Dingbats used most effectively as a decorative element within a
layout or a heading/ sub heading to separate information on a page.

Typestyles

Roman: Upright letterforms; represents the majority of typeset copy

Italic: Slanting version of a typeface; meant to accompany Roman style letters
Usually slants at a 12–15 degree angle

Oblique: Type that is simply slanted to the right

Typestyles

Regular: The standard weight of a typeface (also called normal )

Light: A thinner/ lighter version of the regular typeface. Also called thin

Bold: A thicker, heavier version of the regular typeface

Typestyles

Condensed: A narrower version of the regular typeface to fit letters into
small space; also called compressed

Extended: A wider version of the regular typeface; also called expanded

Type families: A combination of all typestyles (roman, bold, italic, etc) of a font
Typestyles share common characteristics (design, x-height, etc)

Typographic Measurements

Two basic units of measurement used to describe type:

Points: Very small units used to measure both type sizes and the spaces
in between the lines of type.

Picas: Larger unit of measurement. 12 points= 1 Pica (6 picas in 1 inch)
72 point type = 1 inch

Typographic Measurements

Text Type: Refers to smaller sizes of type, usually between 5 and 14 points
Used to print books, magazines, newspapers, etc.

Display Type: Refers to the larger sizes of type used to call attention, such as
newspaper headlines or posters; usually 16-72 point type or larger

Typography Essentials: Part 1

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Typography Essentials: Part 1