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Type and Layout

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Aeira Goen
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12 views

Type and Layout

Uploaded by

Aeira Goen
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Introduction to

Typography
www.designingwithtype.com/5
Origins of the Alphabet
• Sumerians created the first
written language based on
abstract signs around 3000
B.C.E.

• Imprints of the signs, called


cuneiform, were made by
pressing a wedge-shaped
stylus into wet clay.
• The Phoenician alphabet was
based on the principle that
one sign represents one
spoken sound

• Below each sign is shown its


sound value, name and
meaning. Reads from right to
left.
• Early Greek capitals carved in
stone (c. 600 B.C.E.)

• The inscription is also an


example of boustrophedon
writing (as the ox plows) in
which lines alternated first in
one direction and then in the
other.
• The Ionic version of the Greek
alphabet, officially adopted by
the Athenians in 403 B.C.E.
• The Greeks adopted the
Phoenician alphabet, modified
the names, and added vowels.
• Trajan column inscription cut
in 114 CE.

• The letterforms are considered


to be the finest surviving
examples or early Roman
capitals

• Shown below is a closeup of


the fourth line from the top.
• Carolingian manuscript
showing the writing style
approved by Charlemagne for
adoption throughout the Holy
Roman Empire (c.800 C.E.)

• The letterforms became the


model for the our lowercase
letters.
• Giant Bible of Mainz hand
lettered around 1452 and
believed to have been the
model for Gutenberg’s
letterforms.
• Full page from Gutenberg’s
42-line Bible published around
1455.
• Humanistic formal script,
favoured by the Renaissance
scholars, was based on the
Carolingian script and the
inspiration for Nicholas
Jensen’s typefaces.
• Nicholas Jensen (1420-1480)
cut the first successful roman
typeface in 1470 as shown on
the opening page of Eusebius

• The type was based on the


formal Humanistic script

• Display initials and borders


were hand painted.
• Humanistic cursive,
Cancelleresca Corsiva, was a
popular writing style and the
model for italic typefaces.
• Aldus Manutius introduced
italics as a lowercase typeface
with Virgil’s Opera printed in
1501

• The typeface, designed by


Francesco Griffo
(c1450-1518), was based on
Humanistic cursive and
retrained roman caps.
Type Terminology
• Anatomy of Type

• Typefaces

• Typestyles

• Fonts

• Type Families

• Type Classifications
Anatomy of Type
• Characters | the individual letters, punctuation, numerals, and other elements

• Uppercase | the capital letters, or caps, of the alphabet (Caps/U.C./C)

• Lowercase | the small letters of the alphabet (lc)

• Baseline | an imaginary line upon which the characters seem to be standing

• Meanline | an imaginary line that runs along the top of most lowercase letters (a, c, e, i,
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 baseline

• Ascender | the part of some lowercase letters that rises above the meanline (b, d, or h),

• Descender | the part of some lowercase letters that falls below the baseline (p, y, and g)
Anatomy of Type
• Counter | the space entirely or partially enclosed within a letterform (b, d, and p)

• Serif and Sans Serif | the finishing strokes that project from the main stroke of a
letter are called the serifs. Type having no serifs at all is called sans serif.

• Small caps | a complete alphabet of caps that are the same size as the body, or
x-height, of the lowercase letters (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, etc)

• Modern figures | also called lining figures, these are numbers that resemble caps
by being uniform in height (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0)

• Old style figures | also called nonlining figures, these are similar to lowercase
characters in the way they vary in size and may have ascenders and descenders
(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0)

• Ligatures | two or more characters joined as a single unit (ff, fi, fl, ffi, ffl).
Via creativemarket
Typefaces
• Typeface refers to the specific design of an alphabet

• Each typeface is identified by a name

• A typeface may be named after the individual who


designed it (Baskerville, Bodoni, Caslon, Gill, Frutiger) or
refer to a country (Caledonia, Helvetica), or be named to
describe its appearance or character (Futura, Eurostyle,
Modern)

• The type you are now reading is Helvetica Neue


Baskerville
Bodoni
Caslon
Gill Sans
Helvetica
Futura
Typestyles
• Simply variations in the weight or width of the letterforms

• Roman | the first typestyle we learned and the most comfortable to read

• Italic | used mainly for quiet emphasis

• Regular | the basic form and weight from which all the other variations are derived

• Bold | a thicker, heavier version of the regular typeface, commonly used for
increased emphasis *(semibold, heavy, black, extrabold, ultra)

• Light | a lighter or thinner version of the regular typeface. An extremely light version
is often referred to as thin

• Condensed | a narrower version of the regular typeface

• Extended | a wider version of the regular typeface


Via career foundry
Fonts
• Traditionally, a font was one size
of one typestyle in a particular
typeface (Garamond roman,
Garamond italic)

• A font consisted of all the


characters required to set type in
a single size: uppercase and
lowercase letters, punctuation
marks, numerals, and special
reference marks

• Today, a font still refers to a


specific typeface and typestyle
but no longer refers to a particular
type size.
Via cooltext
Type Families
• All the fonts of all the
typestyles of a given typeface
(roman, italic, bold,
condensed, etc)

• Since all typestyles within a


family share common
characteristics, such as
design, x-height, cap height,
and length of ascenders and
descenders, they will appear
harmonious when combined.

Via brandguidelines
Type Classifications

• A typical classification contains typefaces sharing similar


visual characteristics

• The most familiar type classifications are Old Style,


Transitional, Modern, Egyptian/Slab Serif, Sans Serif,
Decorative/Novelty, Script, and Black Letter.
Via cristophermoorehead
Type Measurements
• Points and Picas

• Measuring Type in Points

• Type Sizes

• X-height

• Linespacing or Leading

• Letterspacing and Wordspacing

• Line Length in Picas

• Em-Quads, Units, and Set-Widths


Points & Picas
• Points are very small units used
to measure both the type size
and the size of the space
between lines of types

• Picas, which are the larger unit,


are used to measure the length
of a line of type

• 12 points = 1 pica (and approx.


6 picas in 1 inch)

• By comparing an inch to a point


and a pica, you can get a good
idea of their relative size.
Via bestfontforward
Measuring Type in Points
• Two dimensions of a piece of
type are relevant to today’s
designer: the width and the
depth

• The width, called the set-


width, is determined by the
particular letterform itself

• The depth of the type block


designates the size of metal
type. The dimension is
generally referred to as type
size or point size.
Via creative pro
Type Sizes
• Type sizes were divided into
two categories: text type and
display type

• Text type sizes, designed for


general reading, were 5, 6,7,
8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 14 points

• The traditional display sizes,


designed primarily for
headlines, were 16, 18, 20, 24,
30, 36, 42, 48, 60, and 72
points.
Via w3lab
X-height
• X-height is the height of the lowercase letter exclusive of
ascenders and descenders

• Different typefaces haven the same point size may appear larger or
smaller because of variations in their x-height

• Garamond and Bodoni have smaller x-heights, while Century


Expanded and Helvetica have larger x-heights.

• Typefaces with a small x-height generally have longer ascenders


and descenders and vice versa

• The effects of the x-height are very noticeable when types is set as
text.
Via allprowebdesigns & whatwhenhow
Linespacing or Leading
• Points are used not only to
measure the type size, but
also to measure the space
between lines of type

• To add space, strips of lead


were placed between the lines
of type. This process was
called leading

• Today leading is commonly


referred to as linespacing.

Via designtutplus
Via prototype & creativemarket
Letterspacing or
Wordspacing
• The terms letter spacing and word spacing refer to the space between letters and
words

• Adjusting the spacing between letters and words not only affects the number of
characters that can be set on a line, but also readability

• This adjustment affects the amount of space copy will occupy and the “color” of
the printed piece

• Adjusting the spacing between specific letters is referred to as kerning

• Adjusting the spacing equally between all the letters is referred to as tracking

• Generally, only a minimal adjustment is required for problematic letter


combinations such as Wo, Te, AT, etc

• Kerning is particularity critical when setting large type sizes and all caps.
Via uxdesign & iamsteve
Line length in Picas

• The pica is used to indicate


the length of a line of type-
called the line length of
measure

• Although inches and


centimetres may also be
employed to measure line
lengths, picas remain the
standard.

Via bestfontforward

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