Advanced Typography: Task 1 Exercises

23.4.2025 - 21.5.2025 / Week 1 - Week 5
Omar bin Shafik / 0371439
Advanced Typography / Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media
Task 1 / Exercises

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LECTURES

Week 1:

Typographic Systems

According to Elam, there are 8 major variations:

• Axial
• Radial
• Dilatational
• Random
• Grid
• Modular
• Transitional
• Bilateral

Can be complex because they are dependent on communication to function properly. Additional aspects like hierarchy, order of reading, legibility and contrast also come into play. Typographic systems are essentially a set of rules that can be followed to help with decision making. This can take away intuition in some ways, it also serves as a solid framework that helps learners be guided while developing their own intuition in their explorations.

Axial:

All the elements are organised to the left or right of a single axis. The axis can be placed at any angle and be bent.

Radial:

All elements are extended from a point of focus. There can be multiple points of focus.

Dilatational: 

All element expand from a central point in a circular manner. There can also be multiple central points.

Random:

Elements appear to have to specific pattern or relationship.

Grid:

Common, everyone uses it. 

Transitional:

An informal system of layered banding.

Modular:

A series of non-ojective elements that are constructed in as a standardized units.

Bilateral:

All text is arranged symmetrically on a single axis.

Week 2:

We were given feedback on our first exercise and given a short brief on our second exercise: Finding Type. For our second exercise, we are to take an image of a subject that has a lot of variation but still enough repetitiveness to recognize certain shapes. We are to extract letters from said image and follow a reference typeface and refine it to a point where it is recognizable as a type but it's origins are still evident. Next week, we are to make a poster using the letters we developed during class.

Lecture: Typographic Composition.

Design Composition

Usually think about the dominant principles:

• emphasis
• isolation
• repetition
• symmetry
• asymmetry
• alignment
• perspective

These abstract notions seem ambiguous when translated into typographic layouts. The ideas mentioned and application into real-life content (images, textual information and color) can feel disparate, though some can be more easily translatable than others.

Fig 1, Emphasis, Week 2 (28.04.2025)

Fig 2, Rule of Thirds, Week 2 (28.04.2025)

Typographic Systems

There are 8 systems, with the system that is used most being the Grid System (or Raster System), derived from the grided compositional structure of Letter Press printing. It has been further enhanced by what is now come to be termed as the Swiss (Modernist) style of Typography.

Fig 3, Examples on how to use the Grid System, Week 2 (28.04.2025)

Although the Grid System may seem ancient, because it is so versatile, it has proven to still be useful up till now.

Environmental Grid

Fig 4, An example from lecturer Brenda McMannus, of Pratt Inst. from the book: Typographic Form and Communication, pp211, Week 2 (28.04.2025)

Based on the exploration of an existing structure or several structures combined. Creates a unique and exciting mixture of texture and visual stimuli.

Form and Movement

Fig 5, Form and Movement, Week 2 (28.04.2025)

Based on an exploration of the Grid System. Developed to get students to explore the options that the grid offers, dispel the seriousness of the grid system, and to see the turning of the pages in a book as a slowed-down animation in the form that constitutes the placement of image, text and color.

Week 3:

Lecture: Context and Creativity

Why is handwriting important?

The first mechanically produced letterforms were designed to directly imitate handwriting. Handwriting would become the basis or standard for form, spacing and conventions mechanical type would try and mimic.

Timeline:

• Cuneiform c., 3000 B.C.E.
• Hieroglyphics, 2613-2160 B.C.E.
• Early Greek, 5 B.C.E.
• Roman Uncials
• English Half Uncials, 8 C.
• Carolingian Miniscule
• Black Letter, 12-15 C. CE
• Movable Type, 11 C.-14 C.

Week 4:

Lecture: Designing Type

Adrian Frutiger was is a renowned designer whose forte was typeface designing and is considered responsible for advancing typography into digital typography. His valued contribution include the typefaces "Univers" and "Frutiger".

The typeface "Frutiger" was made in 1968 specifically for use in a newly built international airport in France. The goal of making the typeface was to make a clean, distinctive and legible typeface that is easy to see close up and far away. 

Matthew Carter made "Verdana" for Microsoft in 1996. The typeface was made to be legible even at very small sizes due to the popularity of the internet and electronic devices. 

Edward Johnston created the typeface "Underground" which would later be know as "Johnston Sans". London's Underground railway ordered a new posters for its new posters and signages and thus, this typeface was made.

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INSTRUCTIONS

Fig 6, Advanced Typography MIB (PDF), Week 1 (23.4.2025)

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EXERCISE - 1

For Exercise 1, we had to do 8 different layouts for the 8 different type systems. 

• Axial
• Radial
• Dilatational
• Random
• Grid
• Modular 
• Transitional
• Bilateral

1. Axial

Fonts used:

Univers LT Std (oblique, bold oblique, condensed, bold condensed, light condensed, light, roman)

Fig 7, Axial Tests, Week 1 (23.4.2025)

For axial, I tried to experiment with straight and slanting middle lines. Thought it could make it look more interesting.

2. Radial

Fonts used:

Futura Std (book, bold, heavy)

Bodoni Std (regular)

Fig 8, Radial Tests, Week 1 (24.4.2025)

For rotational, I tried to make it look like soundwaves to try and relate it to like punk music.

3. Dilatational

Fonts used:

Serifa Std (bold, roman)

Fig 9, Dilatational Tests, Week 1 (24.4.2025)

Again, I tried to make it look like soundwaves.

4. Random

Fig 10, Random, Week 1 (24.4.2025)

I didn't really know what to do for this.

5. Grid

Fig 11, Grid Tests, Week 1 (24.4.2025)

Nothing much to say. Grid is grid. I tried making it look as uniform as possible. I also just tried experimenting with visual elements and colors.

6. Modular

Fig 12, Modular Tests, Week 1 (24.4.2025)

For modular, I made boxes and tried experimenting with their placements, center or off to the side. 

7. Transitional

Fonts used:

Gill Sans MT (bold, regular)

Fig 13, Transitional Test, Week 1 (25.4.2025)

For Transitional, I also couldn't think of much and tried looking at other's works and tried imitating them.

8. Bilateral

Fig 14, Bilateral, Week 1 (25.4.2025)

For bilateral, I couldn't really think of much to do. I asked Mr. Vinod and he said to just make it go straight down the middle. 

Fig 15, Axial Final, Week 2 (30.4.2025)

Fig 16, Radial Final, Week 2 (30.4.2025)

Fig 17, Dilatational Final, Week 2 (30.4.2025)

Fig 18, Random Final, Week 2 (30.4.2025)

Fig 19, Grid Final, Week 2 (30.4.2025)

Fig 20, Modular Final, Week 2 (30.4.2025)

Fig 21, Transitional, Week 2 (30.4.2025)

Fig 22, Bilateral Final, Week 2 (30.4.2025)

Fig 23, Exercise 1 Compilation, Week 2 (30.4.2025)

Fig 24, Exercise 1 Gridded Compilation, Week 2 (30.4.2025)

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EXERCISE - 2

Finding Type

For Exercise 2, we had to take an image, either from the internet or by ourselves, and identify shapes in the image which could be used to become letters. We then had to process those shapes into letters from a chosen font. After that, we then had to take those letters and make a movie poster using the letters we processed, using the original image we took the shapes from or an image related to the original as the background of the poster.

Fig 25, Process 1, Week 2 (30.4.2025)

Here, I took an image myself and identified shapes in it that could be used as letters. I then chose a font (Univers LT Std, Black), and processed the shapes to conform to the chosen letters. 

Fig 26, Chosen Reference, Week 2 (30.4.2025)

I traced the shapes using Photoshop, used the liquify tool to process the shapes to look more like the font, then used the image trace function in Illustrator to turn the shapes into vectors.

Fig 27, Process 2, Week 2 (30.4.2025)

After some feedback from Sir Vinod, I added more details to the letters, cracks, to relate it more to the source image. 

Fig 28, Final Outcome, Week 3 (7.5.2025)

Fig 29, Final Letters PDF, Week 3 (7.5.2025)

Fig 30, Final Outcome PDF, Week 3 (7.5.2025)

Movie Poster

Using the letters, I made a rough for the poster. 

Fig 31, Poster Process, Week 4 (14.5.2025)

Sir Vinod said that the letters were too small, the details couldn't be seen from afar so he told me to make it bigger, which I later did. 

Fig 32, Poster Final, Week 4 (14.5.2025)

Fig 32, Poster Final PDF, Week 4 (14.5.2025)

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FEEDBACK

Week 1:

This week, we were given a brief for the course, shown what to do for our tasks, and started on our Exercise 1.

Week 2:
First thing to do is research, then sketch, then start designing. Whenever doing something that slants, never have it go 45 degrees or further. (applicable to Axial). Radial system should always have type leading to a point on the layout. When exporting be sure to make it a 
1024 px (300 ppi) JPEG. For Eportfolio, it is fine to reference senior's works, follow our feeling on whether our eportfolios follows the standard of our senior's work or if we could improve more upon it.

Week 3:

General:

The letters should have consistent line weight between each letter. The shapes should have a flat end and not end in a point. 

Specific:

The cracked texture the type is based off of can't quite be seen through the type. A simple way to fix this is to integrate the texture of the cracks into the type itself. 

Week 4:

General:

The image used for the poster should be related to the image used for the type. Time for submitting Task 1 is getting close. Be sure to submit everything as per explained in the first week through the eportfolio, e.g. process work, final work, JPEGs and PDFs (PDFs gridded and ungridded for exercise 1)

Specific:

Since I made such fine details, I should make the letter bigger since if viewed from a distance, the details are very hard to make out. Make the spacing between letters smaller and make them bigger so that they demand more space. Move the "A film by" sentence up. 

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REFLECTIONS

Experience

For exercise 1, I found it pretty hard for me to think of different layouts for the type systems. I couldn't think of anything and ended up dragging the assignment to the next week. Other than that, the video lectures were informational, and exercise 2 I found to be much more fun to do.

Observations

For exercise 1, I looked at different senior's works as well as my peers to find out how they did for their exercises. I tried following what they did in their eportfolios and adjusting to my preferences. In exercise 2, I learned to pay attention to details in the letters and how to stylize them according to the image used effectively.

Findings

During exercise 1, I was able to learn about the different type systems and how they were used in different medias. I also found out about how they made movie posters interesting with how they changed the type to fit in with the aesthetics of the movie poster.

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FURTHER READING

The Vignelli Canon on Design by Massimo Vignelli

Fig 33, The Vignelli Canon on Design by Massimo Vignelli, Week 14(23.7.2025)

I read the chapter on Visual Power. It mentions that throughout time, Design has usually bee preferred to be visually powerful. Good Design is thought to be an expression of  creative strength bringing forward clear concepts expressed in beautiful form and color, where every element expresses the content in the most forceful way.