Inspiration, sketches, type and color study

Final Recipe Card and process materials

Elements of Typographic Style

Elements of Typographic Style, 25-60. (Rhythm & Proportion, Harmony & Counterpoint)

1. Explain what typographic color is, and the four things that determine it.

Typographic color is the darkness or blackness of the letterform. The four things that determine it is the design of the type, the spacing between the letters, the spacing between the words, and the spacing between the lines.

2. When is ok to use justified type? When should you use ragged type?

It is ok to use justified type if it has a minimum of 38 to 40 characters per line. Ragged type should be used if there are big gapes in the justified type that makes it hard to read or makes it look strange.

3. How should you choose your leading setting?

When choosing your leading setting you need to look at different typefaces. Darker typefaces need more lead than lighter typefaces, larger body typefaces need more leading than smaller body typefaces. San serif needs more lead than serif. Superscripts, subscripts, mathematic expressions, full uppercase lettering often needs more leading.

4. List at least three of the hyphenation rules that you think are most useful/surprising to you.

Avoid more than three consecutive hyphenated lines, try not to leave end of hyphenation or any short word as the last line of a paragraph, try not to hyphenate proper nouns unless it is really necessary.

5. What are some things you can do to create contrast? What should you NOT do?

One way to create contrast is using the typefaces within the font family to create contrast. For example if the body text is times regular you could make the header times bold. This shows that the header is the general idea for the rest of the text. Another way to create contrast is making some parts all uppercase and some all lowercase.

One thing not to do to create contrast is using to many fonts. Using too many fonts is confusing and overwhelming for the viewer. It is also harder to pick two fonts that go well together. Another thing not to do to create contrast is when bolding specific words in a paragraph do not bold the punctuation around it. This way the words stand out more and you look at them as individuals and not just the whole thing that is bold.

Images, Color Study, Type Study and Comps

Elements of Typographic Style

Elements of Typographic Style, 9-11, 17-24, 93-118


1. There are several items introduced as "first typographic principles". Please list them and explain them in 1-2 sentences each.

One principle is legibility is important because you need to be able to read the text. If you cannot read it, it is not doing its job, which is to communicate a message.

Another principle is being able to be “in style” during any time period.

2. What are a few technical considerations when choosing type? Make sure to explain them if they are new concepts to you.

One technical consideration is what medium the typeface was originally designed for. Some fonts print differently on different printing equipment.

Another technical consideration is choosing a typeface that will print on the equipment you are printing on. Some fonts do not look as good digital as they did when they were printed on a printing press. Some fonts cannot be copied onto digital equipment as well.

Another technical consideration is choosing a typeface that is good for the paper it is being printed on. Some fonts are meant to be printed on a printing press and not digitally printed.

3. What are a few practical considerations when choosing type? Make sure to explain them if they are new concepts to you.

One practical consideration is choosing a typeface that works with the task as well as the subject. You do not want to pick a typeface that looks like a bicycle if you are writing about bicycles.

Another practical consideration is choosing a typeface that works with any type of special effect you are adding. If you are writing in numerals you want to pick a font that looks good in numerals.

Another practical consideration is choosing a typeface that comes in other styles like bold or italic. This could help break up paragraphs.

4. What are a few historical and cultural considerations when choosing type? Make sure to explain them if they are new concepts to you.

One historical consideration is choosing a typeface whose historical associations work with the type. You want to pick a font that works with the design not just because of the historical time period.

Another historical consideration is if a typeface is from the renaissance period it should be designed for something to look like that period.

One cultural consideration is choosing a typeface that you use just because its name has something to do with the design. Be sure to pick fonts that look good with the design not just with the subject.

5. Beginning on page 102 "The Multicultural Page", explain some of the guidelines for choosing typeface combinations.

Some guidelines to consider when choosing typeface combinations is picking one font family and using different typefaces in the font family like italics or bold. Another guideline to consider is respecting the integrity of roman, italic and small caps. This means that you use them when appropriate and use them separately. Mixing roman and italic is less successful. Another guideline to consider is using bold faces. You should really consider if they will add to your design by using them. Another guideline is choosing titling and display faces to add to the structure of the design. Make sure to consider the structure before choosing something like a script font.

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