Your dust jacket as well as the spreads should be posted to your blog.
Post only your three inside spreads on the wall in glass hallway.
Wrap your dust jacket around an actual book and post a photo of this book from 3 views (3 photos) to your blog and include the photos on your final TYPOGRAPHY CD.
CD: Turn in a CD with all of your work from the semester, all original files, organized into folders by project. Label the CD face with your name and "ART3990C TYPOGRAPHY FA2011."
Leave this CD in front of my office in the correct box (labelled TYPOGRAPHY) by 5pm, Wednesday, December 7th.
STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY AND ILLUSTRATION
STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY AND ILLUSTRATION in regards to the final project:
YOU MAY NOT use either found or stock photos or illustrations on this project. YOU MAY stage your own photos, create your own illustrations, or simply use texture and type as a way to create a look for your cover.
YOU MAY NOT use either found or stock photos or illustrations on this project. YOU MAY stage your own photos, create your own illustrations, or simply use texture and type as a way to create a look for your cover.
Your Final Typo
TYPOGRAPHY FINAL
For this project, you will use an actual book as a model for the dimensions of your jacket as well as for the dimensions of your page spreads.
Each spread should be set with a different typeface, a typeface that reflects the character of the narrator for that particular chapter. The text type, the body of your text must be clearly legible. For the text type you should use one of the five classifications, no novelty typefaces. There is more room to experiment and play with the paragraph indications as well as the chapter headings. You should use the actual text from the book.
Your dust jacket design should include the spine as well as the inside flaps. You have complete freedom as to what you do with the cover, such as whether or not you include any additional information about the book or author. All design should be in service to the content and style of the book, and your design should make the book attract attention on the shelf, from the front cover as well as the spine.
Typefaces by Classification
BLACKLETTER:
Fraktur
Cloister Black
Goudy Text
OLDSTYLE:
Bembo
Caslon
Dante
Garamond
Janson
Jenson
Palatino
TRANSITIONAL:
Baskerville
Bulmer
Georgia
Joanna
Perpetua
Times Roman
MODERN:
Bell
Bodoni
Caledonia
Didot
Modern No. 20
Torino
Walbaum
EGYPTIAN, SLAB SERIF, or SQUARE SERIF:
Century
Clarendon
Lubalin Graph
Memphis
Rockwell
Serifa
SAN SERIF:
Akzidenz Grotesk
Grotesque
Gill Sans
Franklin Gothic
Frutiger
Futura
Helvetica
Meta
News Gothic
Optima
Syntax
Trade Gothic
Univers
Fraktur
Cloister Black
Goudy Text
OLDSTYLE:
Bembo
Caslon
Dante
Garamond
Janson
Jenson
Palatino
TRANSITIONAL:
Baskerville
Bulmer
Georgia
Joanna
Perpetua
Times Roman
MODERN:
Bell
Bodoni
Caledonia
Didot
Modern No. 20
Torino
Walbaum
EGYPTIAN, SLAB SERIF, or SQUARE SERIF:
Century
Clarendon
Lubalin Graph
Memphis
Rockwell
Serifa
SAN SERIF:
Akzidenz Grotesk
Grotesque
Gill Sans
Franklin Gothic
Frutiger
Futura
Helvetica
Meta
News Gothic
Optima
Syntax
Trade Gothic
Univers
PROJECT 4: CD Package Design
For our next project, we will create a CD Package for a typeface from this list of typefaces by classification.
This booklet should display a minimum of three members of the type family (roman, italic, and bold) and give background information on both the typeface designer and the typeface itself, situating the importance of the typeface and typographer historically.
There should be a minimum of 350 words of historical information.
You may use black, white, and two colors.
The alphabet must be represented in upper and lowercase its entirety in roman, italic, and bold.
There is not a size (and consequently not a page number) specification for the booklet, other than that it must hold a CD. That gives us a minimum size specification of 4.75" and a minimum number of page designs at 4
One page must contain a letterform as part of the design. The height (either cap-height or x-height, depending on the case you choose) is a minimum of 4".
There should be an image of the original typeface.
You need to print this project twice, you will turn in one package and keep the second for your portfolio.
This booklet should display a minimum of three members of the type family (roman, italic, and bold) and give background information on both the typeface designer and the typeface itself, situating the importance of the typeface and typographer historically.
There should be a minimum of 350 words of historical information.
You may use black, white, and two colors.
The alphabet must be represented in upper and lowercase its entirety in roman, italic, and bold.
There is not a size (and consequently not a page number) specification for the booklet, other than that it must hold a CD. That gives us a minimum size specification of 4.75" and a minimum number of page designs at 4
One page must contain a letterform as part of the design. The height (either cap-height or x-height, depending on the case you choose) is a minimum of 4".
There should be an image of the original typeface.
You need to print this project twice, you will turn in one package and keep the second for your portfolio.
PROJECT 3: Early Letterform Publication
We will now create a 4 page booklet on the letterform used for project one: early letterform. For this project you will be re-editing your designs from project one to create a unified design theme for your publication. A minimum of one of your four designs should look completely different as you redesign your project towards the goal of a unified visual identity. It must be very clear which pages are symbol prominent, text type prominent, and display type prominent. The page sizes will remain the same but your designs are now more complex as they must function in and of themselves and also as a part of a two page spread and also as part of a four page booklet. The same four pages must now relate to each other in terms of their design approach. Your designs must be variations on a theme in the same way that musical stanzas are variations on a theme set forth in the first stanza of a composition.
PROJECT 2: GRIDS, Printing In Germany
Download text, images, and grid from the following URL:
http://www.designingwithtype.com/5/grids.php?whatImage=10
Create 2 OR 3 two page spreads dealing with the subject matter presented, 2 OR 3, whatever it takes, your choice.
ALL TEXT MUST BE USED
You may decide on the number and sized of images used.
Stick with our classic typefaces, you may use two of your choice.
Design visually (not mechanically) as if these spreads were going in a magazine - this allows you to look at the entire spread as it will appear in the magazine.
http://www.designingwithtype.com/5/grids.php?whatImage=10
Create 2 OR 3 two page spreads dealing with the subject matter presented, 2 OR 3, whatever it takes, your choice.
ALL TEXT MUST BE USED
You may decide on the number and sized of images used.
Stick with our classic typefaces, you may use two of your choice.
Design visually (not mechanically) as if these spreads were going in a magazine - this allows you to look at the entire spread as it will appear in the magazine.
EARLY LETTERFORM
Project 1: Early Letterform
Assignment:
Select a letter from the Phoenician or Greek alphabet, research the letter, and write approximately 100 words.
Create four two-color designs, each distinctively different, using black and red as shown in the examples. Incorporate your copy into each design. In the first design make the symbol the most prominent element. In the second make the display type the most prominent element. In the third make the text type the most prominent element. All design elements should be two-dimensional with flat color. In the final comp make the symbol the most prominent element again.
Each design should be 8" x 8" and printed on an 8.5" x 11" sheet of paper with marks and bleed.
It is your choice which of the colors, red, black, or white is used for the page, for the symbol, for the text and display type.
For your text and display type, use one of the 5 typefaces we have been working with thus far:
Garamond
Baskerville
Didot
Century Schoolbook
Helvetica
Consider the following issues:
Colors and textures created through letter, word, and line spacing.
Legibility based upon tracking and leading.
Shape created by counterform and the influence on the perception of the composition.
These will be among the topics discussed in critique.
The Original Project Brief
EXAMPLES:
The Cooper Union
Hong-ik University
Assignment:
Select a letter from the Phoenician or Greek alphabet, research the letter, and write approximately 100 words.
Create four two-color designs, each distinctively different, using black and red as shown in the examples. Incorporate your copy into each design. In the first design make the symbol the most prominent element. In the second make the display type the most prominent element. In the third make the text type the most prominent element. All design elements should be two-dimensional with flat color. In the final comp make the symbol the most prominent element again.
Each design should be 8" x 8" and printed on an 8.5" x 11" sheet of paper with marks and bleed.
It is your choice which of the colors, red, black, or white is used for the page, for the symbol, for the text and display type.
For your text and display type, use one of the 5 typefaces we have been working with thus far:
Garamond
Baskerville
Didot
Century Schoolbook
Helvetica
Consider the following issues:
Colors and textures created through letter, word, and line spacing.
Legibility based upon tracking and leading.
Shape created by counterform and the influence on the perception of the composition.
These will be among the topics discussed in critique.
The Original Project Brief
EXAMPLES:
The Cooper Union
Hong-ik University
1. Symbol Prominent
2. Display Type Prominent
3. Text Type Prominent
4. Symbol Prominent
PARAGRAPH INDICATIONS:
Use each of our five typefaces once to create five different designs demonstrating five different ways of indicating paragraphs as shown in the examples: Conservative, Moderate, Adventurous, Experimental, Outrageous:
Conservative = Garamond
Moderate = Baskerville
Adventurous = Bodoni
Experimental = Century Expanded
Outrageous = Helvetica
Use the text provided by the link below:
Paragraph Indications Text
Please view all 30 examples before beginning. Do not copy the examples, but rather come up with your own new and creative way based upon them:
Examples
(Unlike two of the examples, you cannot distort the typefaces)
You will make a total of 5 designs, again each on 10" x 10" squares.
1. Conservative = Garamond
2. Moderate = Baskerville
3. Adventurous = Bodoni
4. Experimental = Century Expanded
5. Outrageous = Helvetica
Your exercises should be posted to your blog and to the wall by the end of class on Thursday, September 15th.
Conservative = Garamond
Moderate = Baskerville
Adventurous = Bodoni
Experimental = Century Expanded
Outrageous = Helvetica
Use the text provided by the link below:
Paragraph Indications Text
Please view all 30 examples before beginning. Do not copy the examples, but rather come up with your own new and creative way based upon them:
Examples
(Unlike two of the examples, you cannot distort the typefaces)
You will make a total of 5 designs, again each on 10" x 10" squares.
1. Conservative = Garamond
2. Moderate = Baskerville
3. Adventurous = Bodoni
4. Experimental = Century Expanded
5. Outrageous = Helvetica
Your exercises should be posted to your blog and to the wall by the end of class on Thursday, September 15th.
TYPE ARRANGEMENTS
Begin by creating five pages to match the specifics found here:
http://www.designingwithtype.com/5/fiveclassic.php?whatImage=3
Post these 5 pages to your blog.
Next conform your designs to the specifications found here:
http://www.designingwithtype.com/5/Proj_text_arrangements.php?whatImage=1
Garamond = Justified
Baskerville = Flush Left, Ragged Right
Bodoni = Flush Right, Ragged Left
Century Expanded = Centered
Helvetica = Random
Post these 5 pages to your blog, print and trim them.
http://www.designingwithtype.com/5/fiveclassic.php?whatImage=3
Post these 5 pages to your blog.
Next conform your designs to the specifications found here:
http://www.designingwithtype.com/5/Proj_text_arrangements.php?whatImage=1
Garamond = Justified
Baskerville = Flush Left, Ragged Right
Bodoni = Flush Right, Ragged Left
Century Expanded = Centered
Helvetica = Random
Post these 5 pages to your blog, print and trim them.
NOTES ON DISPLAY...
The way in which you display your work is of paramount importance and figures significantly in the way it will be received. Treat your work as if it is important, as if you care about it, and the viewer just might be convinced. Translation: All work must be hung straight. Side edges must be parallel to the side of the bulletin board. Top and bottom edges must be parallel to the floor. All four edges must be tacked down. There should be an inch of space around all four edges of the design. Work that does not meet the above basic criterion is work that looks as if the designer does not care about it, and therefore is work the instructor will not care to grade. Translation: fix the sloppy way your work is hanging or you will get a failing grade on the exercise.
Next Set of Digital Designs...for TH 09/08
Foregrounding Typeface:
You will create two designs, each 6"x 6" printed on 8.5 x 11 paper on the color laser printer.
These designs should be trimmed to 6" x 6" and posted to the wall in the glass hallway by midnight Wednesday, September 8th. This is also the first digital design for which you must save the original .ai file as part of your your Typography portfolio, turned in on CD at the end of the semester in a folder called "Foregrounding Typeface".
1.Create a 6" x 6" design using a single typeface in 4 point sizes.
Two point sizes must be under 200 and two point sizes must be over 200.
The design must use on of our classic typefaces, three flat colors, and black.
Use no transparency and no filters.
The only word that can appear on the design is the name of the typeface, and this word must appear on the design a minimum of one time.
The entire alphabet must appear on the design in either upper or lower case.
All letterforms must be on a 0-180 degree horizontal baseline.
The background must be white.
2.Create a 6" x 6" design using Helvetica in 4 point sizes.
Two point sizes must be under 200 and two point sizes must be over 200.
The design must use on of our classic typefaces, three flat colors, and black.
Use no transparency and no filters.
The only word that can appear on the design is the name of the typeface, and this word must appear on the design a minimum of one time.
The entire alphabet must appear on the design in either upper or lower case.
All letterforms must be on a 0-180 degree horizontal baseline.
The background must be white.
Next Set of Drawings....for TU 09/13
For our next set of sketches, you will do a total of five drawings, each drawing on sheet of legal size paper. You will draw the name of each typeface in the roman or regular version of the typeface:
1. Garamond
2. Baskerville
3. Bodoni
4. Century Expanded
5. Helvetica
These drawings will be due on TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13th
1. Garamond
2. Baskerville
3. Bodoni
4. Century Expanded
5. Helvetica
These drawings will be due on TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13th
Due Thursday, September 1st
The Following Exercises should be posted to your blog Midnight, Wednesday, August 31st:
form/counterform:
DIGITAL:
For this exercise you will create a total of 10 designs, 2 for each typeface, again each on a legal sized document.
Illustrate the space between the lowercase letterforms e and a as well as the space between the lowercase letterforms r and s for each typeface, turning the negative space in between the two letters into positive space. Do not include any closed off counters, any counters inside bowls, or any counters cut off by the left or right edge of the frame, instead, depict the main letterspace, the main counterform between the two letters as a positive shape.
HAND DRAWN:
Choose either "ea" or "rs" to draw, the same for each of the five classic typefaces. Pay particular attention to the negative space between the letters, this will be the space at which I will look to judge the success of your drawing. Make a total of 5 drawings with the space in between 2 letters (1 counterform) on each drawing.
Thursday's Quiz:
For Thursday's quiz, please read pages 10 and 11 of your textbook as well as pages 48 and 49.
form/counterform:
DIGITAL:
For this exercise you will create a total of 10 designs, 2 for each typeface, again each on a legal sized document.
Illustrate the space between the lowercase letterforms e and a as well as the space between the lowercase letterforms r and s for each typeface, turning the negative space in between the two letters into positive space. Do not include any closed off counters, any counters inside bowls, or any counters cut off by the left or right edge of the frame, instead, depict the main letterspace, the main counterform between the two letters as a positive shape.
HAND DRAWN:
Choose either "ea" or "rs" to draw, the same for each of the five classic typefaces. Pay particular attention to the negative space between the letters, this will be the space at which I will look to judge the success of your drawing. Make a total of 5 drawings with the space in between 2 letters (1 counterform) on each drawing.
Thursday's Quiz:
For Thursday's quiz, please read pages 10 and 11 of your textbook as well as pages 48 and 49.
Due Tuesday, August 30th: LETTERFORM DETAILS
Part 1: DIGITAL
1. For each of our classic typefaces, choose a single letterform on which to concentrate.
2. Place this letterform on a 6" x 6" composition, taking note of its relationship to the negative space.
3. Increase the scale of the letterform, focusing in on a specific detail, a specific characteristic of the typeface. Repeat for a total of four designs for each letterform. You will produce a total of 20 designs, 4 for each of our 5 classic typefaces.
4. Post each of these to your blog, group by typeface, in either ascending or descending scale. These designs should be posted to your blog by midnight Monday, August 29th.
Part 2:HAND DRAWN
Choose the same letterform in the same case you used in part one to draw in each of our five classic typefaces. Draw not the entire letterform, but instead draw the same zoomed in detail for each typeface. You should make five drawings of the zoomed in details, in five different typefaces for a total of five drawings. You will create 5 drawings total. Although it did not matter for our first set of drawings, these letterforms should be solid ("colored in") ("shaded in") ("filled in"), providing contrast between their forms and counters. Please label each drawing with the typeface, the letter, and your name. These should grouped together and should be posted to wall in the glass hallway no later than midnight Monday, August 29th.
1. For each of our classic typefaces, choose a single letterform on which to concentrate.
2. Place this letterform on a 6" x 6" composition, taking note of its relationship to the negative space.
3. Increase the scale of the letterform, focusing in on a specific detail, a specific characteristic of the typeface. Repeat for a total of four designs for each letterform. You will produce a total of 20 designs, 4 for each of our 5 classic typefaces.
4. Post each of these to your blog, group by typeface, in either ascending or descending scale. These designs should be posted to your blog by midnight Monday, August 29th.
Part 2:HAND DRAWN
Choose the same letterform in the same case you used in part one to draw in each of our five classic typefaces. Draw not the entire letterform, but instead draw the same zoomed in detail for each typeface. You should make five drawings of the zoomed in details, in five different typefaces for a total of five drawings. You will create 5 drawings total. Although it did not matter for our first set of drawings, these letterforms should be solid ("colored in") ("shaded in") ("filled in"), providing contrast between their forms and counters. Please label each drawing with the typeface, the letter, and your name. These should grouped together and should be posted to wall in the glass hallway no later than midnight Monday, August 29th.
For Thursday, August 25th
1. Email the instructor a link to your TYPOGRAPHY BLOG. Please make sure your email has the following subject heading: ART3990C 2301 TYPOGRAPHY.
2. Create an online file storage account as a backup file storage account. All students will need two means of file backup: flash drive and/or external hard drive and/or online file storage
3. draw upper and lower case letterforms A and a for four of the 5 classic typefaces: http://www.designingwithtype.com/5/classifications.php
Each page should compare same cases from two different typefaces. This is a total of eight letterform drawings on four pages. Label each drawing with the typeface.
4. Read the Introduction p. viii + and section 1 Basics p. 1 - 13 from your textbook, A type primer by John Kane. Be prepared for a quiz on the information found on pp. 2-4 on Thursday (please bring a pencil to class).
2. Create an online file storage account as a backup file storage account. All students will need two means of file backup: flash drive and/or external hard drive and/or online file storage
3. draw upper and lower case letterforms A and a for four of the 5 classic typefaces: http://www.designingwithtype.com/5/classifications.php
Each page should compare same cases from two different typefaces. This is a total of eight letterform drawings on four pages. Label each drawing with the typeface.
4. Read the Introduction p. viii + and section 1 Basics p. 1 - 13 from your textbook, A type primer by John Kane. Be prepared for a quiz on the information found on pp. 2-4 on Thursday (please bring a pencil to class).
TYPOGRAPHY FINAL
For your final you will design a dust jacket for a book as well as set three spreads, each representing the first two pages of a different chapter from the book. The book you choose should be a book with a minimum of three narrators, and each narrator will get their own typeface.
For this project, you will use an actual book as a model for the dimensions of your jacket as well as for the dimensions of your page spreads.
Each spread should be set with a different typeface, a typeface that reflects the character of the narrator for that particular chapter. The text type, the body of your text must be clearly legible. For the text type you should use on of the five classifications, no novelty typefaces. There is more room to experiment and play with the paragraph indications as well as the chapter headings. You should use the actual text from the book.
Your dust jacket design should include the spine as well as the inside flaps. You have complete freedom as to what you do with the cover, such as whether or not you include any additional information about the book or author. All design should be in service to the content and style of the book, and your design should make the book attract attention on the shelf, from the front cover as well as the spine.
For this project, you will use an actual book as a model for the dimensions of your jacket as well as for the dimensions of your page spreads.
Each spread should be set with a different typeface, a typeface that reflects the character of the narrator for that particular chapter. The text type, the body of your text must be clearly legible. For the text type you should use on of the five classifications, no novelty typefaces. There is more room to experiment and play with the paragraph indications as well as the chapter headings. You should use the actual text from the book.
Your dust jacket design should include the spine as well as the inside flaps. You have complete freedom as to what you do with the cover, such as whether or not you include any additional information about the book or author. All design should be in service to the content and style of the book, and your design should make the book attract attention on the shelf, from the front cover as well as the spine.
Links to Inspire...
http://speckyboy.com/2011/01/06/30-beautifully-colorful-typographic-book-cover-designs/
http://bookcoverarchive.com/
http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/inspiration/beautiful-book-cover-design/
Here is a link to a New York Public Library exhibit, "Dust Jackets from American and European books, 1926 - 1947" Warning: some of these covers might be unsavory or even downright offensive. This is our history.
This blog might help in your search for a fiction novel with multiple narrators:
http://odysseybks.blogspot.com/2010/03/she-said-he-said-novels-with-multiple.html
http://bookcoverarchive.com/
http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/inspiration/beautiful-book-cover-design/
Here is a link to a New York Public Library exhibit, "Dust Jackets from American and European books, 1926 - 1947" Warning: some of these covers might be unsavory or even downright offensive. This is our history.
This blog might help in your search for a fiction novel with multiple narrators:
http://odysseybks.blogspot.com/2010/03/she-said-he-said-novels-with-multiple.html
ALL FINAL PROJECTS DUE BY 5PM FRIDAY AUGUST 5th
What you will turn in on August 5th:
FINAL EARLY LETTERFORM BOOKLET
FINAL TYPEFACE CD PACKAGE
FINAL BOOK COVER and THREE SPREADS
TYPOGRAPHY PORTFOLIO CD with all projects from this semester with original files and placed files in folder
FINAL EARLY LETTERFORM BOOKLET
FINAL TYPEFACE CD PACKAGE
FINAL BOOK COVER and THREE SPREADS
TYPOGRAPHY PORTFOLIO CD with all projects from this semester with original files and placed files in folder
FINAL TYPEFACE CD PACKAGE DESIGN DUE MONDAY AUGUST 1st
TWO COPIES IN TOTAL MUST BE TURNED IN BY THE FINAL DUE DATE OF WEDNESDAY AUGUST 5th
1st Proof due Wednesday August 27th for in class critique.
1st Proof due Wednesday August 27th for in class critique.
Research Blog Post for Monday, July 25th:
Please research at least three possible typefaces of interest for your next project.
On your Typography Research Blog, please post three paragraphs about three typefaces (one paragraph for each typeface for a total of three) from the list here, along with an image for each typeface.
On your Typography Research Blog, please post three paragraphs about three typefaces (one paragraph for each typeface for a total of three) from the list here, along with an image for each typeface.
READING for July 20th
Please read the short essays on Peignot and Cooper Black here .
Summarize both of these essays, one short paragraph for each, and post one image related to each essay. Do all of this on your separate research blog.
Also please read the project brief in the blog post below and be prepared to ask me questions on Wednesday.
Also, please check you links and make sure everything is working here .
Summarize both of these essays, one short paragraph for each, and post one image related to each essay. Do all of this on your separate research blog.
Also please read the project brief in the blog post below and be prepared to ask me questions on Wednesday.
Also, please check you links and make sure everything is working here .
CD Package Design
For our next project, we will create a CD Package for a typeface from this list of typefaces by classification: link
This booklet should display a minimum of three members of the type family (roman, italic, and bold) and give background information on both the typeface designer and the typeface itself, situating the importance of the typeface and typographer historically.
There should be a minimum of 350 words of historical information.
You may use black, white, and two colors.
The alphabet must be represented in upper and lowercase its entirety in roman, italic, and bold.
There is not a size (and consequently not a page number) specification for the booklet, other than that it must hold a CD. That gives us a minimum size specification of 4.75"
One page must contain a letter whose height (either cap-height or x-height, depending on the case) is 4.75".
There should be an image of the original typeface.
You need to print this project twice, you will turn in one package and keep the other for your portfolio.
This booklet should display a minimum of three members of the type family (roman, italic, and bold) and give background information on both the typeface designer and the typeface itself, situating the importance of the typeface and typographer historically.
There should be a minimum of 350 words of historical information.
You may use black, white, and two colors.
The alphabet must be represented in upper and lowercase its entirety in roman, italic, and bold.
There is not a size (and consequently not a page number) specification for the booklet, other than that it must hold a CD. That gives us a minimum size specification of 4.75"
One page must contain a letter whose height (either cap-height or x-height, depending on the case) is 4.75".
There should be an image of the original typeface.
You need to print this project twice, you will turn in one package and keep the other for your portfolio.
For Tuesday, July 19th
Read Pages 76 - 113 in John Cane's A type primer.
Also, read this blog post, from the Designing With Type online resource:
( it can also be downloaded here: link)
Graphic Arts
The most significant event of the century—and one that dramatically affected the course of history—was Johannes Gutenberg’s invention of printing from individual pieces of cast type. The success of Gutenberg’s press was phenomenal. It is estimated that by the end of the century more than a thousand printing shops were operating in more than two hundred centers, and that 40,000 editions, or 10 to 20 million books, had been printed—a total that represents more books than had ever been produced before Gutenberg’s time.
Printing in Germany
Johannes Gutenberg was born in Mainz, Germany, some time around 1397. Little is know about his early years, but it is clear that he was the right man, in the right place at the right time.
Gutenberg was the right man because of his familiarity with the craft of the goldsmith and the diemaker. He was in the right place because Mainz was a cultural and commercial center. It was the right time because the Renaissance thirst for knowledge was creating a growing market for books that could not be satisfied with the traditional handwritten manuscripts.
Handwritten manuscripts were made to order and were usually expensive. They were laboriously copied by scribes who had either to read from a manuscript or have it read to them while copying. This process was not only time-consuming, but led to many errors, which had corrected. Adding to the expense was the scarcity and high cost of vellum and parchment. As a result, handwritten manuscripts were limited to a select few: clergymen, scholars, and wealthy individuals.
A relatively inexpensive means of producing multiple copies of books seems to have been developed just a little before Gutenberg began his experiments with printing. This was the so called block book whose pages had illustrations and minimal text cut together on the same block. The carved blocks were inked, and images were transferred onto paper in multiples by rubbing or by the use of the screw press. Block books were believed to have been made for semiliterate, preaching friars who brought the word of God to the urban working class and the poor.
Insight and Innovation
Gutenberg’s genius was realizing that printing would be more efficient if, instead of using a single woodblock to print an entire page, the individual letters were cast as separate blocks and then assembled into pages. In this manner, pages could be made up faster, errors could be corrected more rapidly, and, after printing, the type could be cleaned and reused.
Using his knowledge of die making, Gutenberg created several pieces of type, not in wood but in metal. It was this process of printing from cast type and not the process of printing per se—which already existed—that was Gutenberg’s great contribution to the graphic arts. Technically speaking, Gutenberg’s invention, the letterpress, was so well conceived that it remained the dominant printing process for almost five hundred years.
With his chief assistant, Peter Schoeffer, and his financial backer, Johann Fust, Gutenberg was now ready to set up shop and embark on great masterpiece, the forty-two-line Bible, so called because its columns were forty-two lines long. It is a great irony that just before the publication of the forty-two-line Bible around 1455, Gutenberg seems to have lost control of his establishment for the nonpayment of his debt to Fust. The operation was then taken over by Fust and Schoeffer and unfortunately, there is no evidence as to whether Gutenberg oversaw the completion of the job or gained any financial rewards for his efforts.
After the judgement, it is believed that Gutenberg set up another shop and continued printing books and other materials for another ten years. In 1465, he received a generous pension from the local archbishop but died three years later. According to an early source, he was buried in the Franciscan church
at Mainz.
Continuing a Legacy
After Fust and Schoeffer took over Gutenberg’s shop, the first book they printed and published was the Mainz Psalter of 1457. This psalter was notable for a number of reasons: it was the first book with a colophon showing the printer’s name, location, date of publication, and printer’s mark or device. It was also the first book in which the display initials were printed in color rather than painted by hand. The partners printed a number of important books, two of which were the Latin Bible of 1462 and a Cicero of 1465.
While on a book-selling trip to Paris in 1466, Fust died of the plague. After Fust’s death, Schoeffer continued publishing until his own death in 1502.
Also, read this blog post, from the Designing With Type online resource:
( it can also be downloaded here: link)
Graphic Arts
The most significant event of the century—and one that dramatically affected the course of history—was Johannes Gutenberg’s invention of printing from individual pieces of cast type. The success of Gutenberg’s press was phenomenal. It is estimated that by the end of the century more than a thousand printing shops were operating in more than two hundred centers, and that 40,000 editions, or 10 to 20 million books, had been printed—a total that represents more books than had ever been produced before Gutenberg’s time.
Printing in Germany
Johannes Gutenberg was born in Mainz, Germany, some time around 1397. Little is know about his early years, but it is clear that he was the right man, in the right place at the right time.
Gutenberg was the right man because of his familiarity with the craft of the goldsmith and the diemaker. He was in the right place because Mainz was a cultural and commercial center. It was the right time because the Renaissance thirst for knowledge was creating a growing market for books that could not be satisfied with the traditional handwritten manuscripts.
Handwritten manuscripts were made to order and were usually expensive. They were laboriously copied by scribes who had either to read from a manuscript or have it read to them while copying. This process was not only time-consuming, but led to many errors, which had corrected. Adding to the expense was the scarcity and high cost of vellum and parchment. As a result, handwritten manuscripts were limited to a select few: clergymen, scholars, and wealthy individuals.
A relatively inexpensive means of producing multiple copies of books seems to have been developed just a little before Gutenberg began his experiments with printing. This was the so called block book whose pages had illustrations and minimal text cut together on the same block. The carved blocks were inked, and images were transferred onto paper in multiples by rubbing or by the use of the screw press. Block books were believed to have been made for semiliterate, preaching friars who brought the word of God to the urban working class and the poor.
Insight and Innovation
Gutenberg’s genius was realizing that printing would be more efficient if, instead of using a single woodblock to print an entire page, the individual letters were cast as separate blocks and then assembled into pages. In this manner, pages could be made up faster, errors could be corrected more rapidly, and, after printing, the type could be cleaned and reused.
Using his knowledge of die making, Gutenberg created several pieces of type, not in wood but in metal. It was this process of printing from cast type and not the process of printing per se—which already existed—that was Gutenberg’s great contribution to the graphic arts. Technically speaking, Gutenberg’s invention, the letterpress, was so well conceived that it remained the dominant printing process for almost five hundred years.
With his chief assistant, Peter Schoeffer, and his financial backer, Johann Fust, Gutenberg was now ready to set up shop and embark on great masterpiece, the forty-two-line Bible, so called because its columns were forty-two lines long. It is a great irony that just before the publication of the forty-two-line Bible around 1455, Gutenberg seems to have lost control of his establishment for the nonpayment of his debt to Fust. The operation was then taken over by Fust and Schoeffer and unfortunately, there is no evidence as to whether Gutenberg oversaw the completion of the job or gained any financial rewards for his efforts.
After the judgement, it is believed that Gutenberg set up another shop and continued printing books and other materials for another ten years. In 1465, he received a generous pension from the local archbishop but died three years later. According to an early source, he was buried in the Franciscan church
at Mainz.
Continuing a Legacy
After Fust and Schoeffer took over Gutenberg’s shop, the first book they printed and published was the Mainz Psalter of 1457. This psalter was notable for a number of reasons: it was the first book with a colophon showing the printer’s name, location, date of publication, and printer’s mark or device. It was also the first book in which the display initials were printed in color rather than painted by hand. The partners printed a number of important books, two of which were the Latin Bible of 1462 and a Cicero of 1465.
While on a book-selling trip to Paris in 1466, Fust died of the plague. After Fust’s death, Schoeffer continued publishing until his own death in 1502.
RULES FOR POSTING WORK
Typography is about the details, and poorly displaying your work can obscure these details.
Your work should always be...
Tacked down at all four corners
Printed on clean, flat, unwrinkled paper.
The work should be hung straight and level, with the bottom edge parallel to the floor. Each page you hang on the wall should have 1" of space around the design...crowding two works together turns them into one.
Neatness
Cleanliness
Visibility
Reverence
Respect
Your work should always be...
Tacked down at all four corners
Printed on clean, flat, unwrinkled paper.
The work should be hung straight and level, with the bottom edge parallel to the floor. Each page you hang on the wall should have 1" of space around the design...crowding two works together turns them into one.
Neatness
Cleanliness
Visibility
Reverence
Respect
checklist of principles for organizing content on a page...from design author Robin Williams
PROXIMITY:
When several items are in close proximity to each other, they become one visual unit, a cohesive group. The proximity implies a relationship. Similarly, separating items not related as an organizational strategy also provides clues in terms of content, in terms of the relationships, and in terms of the hierarchy of elements on the page.
ALIGNMENT:
Alignment creates visual connections. Similarly aligned elements can be grouped, and grouping can be implied by either aligning these elements to the same invisible line or by conforming these elements to the same alignment based shape. Visual relationships are created through alignment.
REPETITION:
Repetition can be used to create rhythm through consistency, consistency can create coherence. Variation can then be used to draw attention. Organized variation can be used to create hierarchy and to influence rhythm.
CONTRAST:
Contrast is difference to varying degrees. Contrast works along a scale of difference to determine flow, to create a general speed of read. Contrast works along a scale of difference to determine the level of attention to detail your reader will give your design.
When several items are in close proximity to each other, they become one visual unit, a cohesive group. The proximity implies a relationship. Similarly, separating items not related as an organizational strategy also provides clues in terms of content, in terms of the relationships, and in terms of the hierarchy of elements on the page.
ALIGNMENT:
Alignment creates visual connections. Similarly aligned elements can be grouped, and grouping can be implied by either aligning these elements to the same invisible line or by conforming these elements to the same alignment based shape. Visual relationships are created through alignment.
REPETITION:
Repetition can be used to create rhythm through consistency, consistency can create coherence. Variation can then be used to draw attention. Organized variation can be used to create hierarchy and to influence rhythm.
CONTRAST:
Contrast is difference to varying degrees. Contrast works along a scale of difference to determine flow, to create a general speed of read. Contrast works along a scale of difference to determine the level of attention to detail your reader will give your design.
EARLY LETTERFORM
Assignment:
Select a letter from the Phoenician or Greek alphabet, research the letter, and write approximately 100 words.
Create four two-color designs, each distinctively different, using black and red as shown in the examples. Incorporate your copy into each design. In the first design make the symbol the most prominent element. In the second make the display type the most prominent element. In the third make the text type the most prominent element. All design elements should be two-dimensional. In the final comp make the symbol the most prominent element again.
Each design should be 8" x 8" and printed on an 8.5" x 11" sheet of paper with marks and bleed.
It is your choice which of the colors, red, black, or white is used for the page, for the symbol, for the text and display type.
For your text and display type, use one of the 5 typefaces we have been working with thus far:
Garamond
Baskerville
Didot
Century Schoolbook
Helvetica
Consider the following issues:
Colors and textures created through letter, word, and line spacing.
Legibility based upon tracking and leading.
Shape created by counterform and the influence on the perception of the composition.
These will be among the topics discussed in critique.
The Original Project Brief
EXAMPLES:
The Cooper Union
Hong-ik University
Type Arrangements: THE FIVE CLASSIC TYPEFACES
TO START WITH:
On a letter size document, set your name at 42 points in each of the five typefaces, both in U/lc and in all caps. Based on their difference, decide which typeface best fits your personality, and crop the other names out of your artboard. Post your name to your blog and describe why this typeface fits your personality.
For Wednesday, June 29th:
DISPLAY TYPE FOR EACH OF THE FIVE TYPEFACES:
Set display type in 72 point, solid, U/lc (uppercase and lowercase), and all caps.
Type set in all caps may require adjustments in letterspacing to achieve balance.
TEXT TYPE FOR EACH OF THE FIVE TYPEFACES:
Set all text type 11-point x 20 picas.
Start by setting the type solid, 11/11, justified.
Continue adding additional linespacing, or leading in 0p1 increments.
Compare the results for texture, readability, and color. Select the setting you deem best and experiment with different amounts of letterspacing and wordspacing, or tracking. Study the results and begin to form practical and aesthetic judgments.
Next vary the measure to see how line length effects, texture, color, readabilty, etc.
Finally, you will readjust the layout according to the following specifications:
Garamond - Justified
Baskerville - Flush Left, Ragged Right
Didot - Flush Right, Ragged Left
Century Schoolbook - Centered
Helvetica - Random
You will print a minimum of 20 pages, four for each typeface, two justified, two specified, each with variations in the leading, the tracking, and the measure.
Posted to the blog by midnight, June 28th, and to the wall by 8:45am June 29th:
Your best design, in your opinion, for each of the five typefaces. A total of five designs will be posted to the wall as well as the blog.
On a letter size document, set your name at 42 points in each of the five typefaces, both in U/lc and in all caps. Based on their difference, decide which typeface best fits your personality, and crop the other names out of your artboard. Post your name to your blog and describe why this typeface fits your personality.
For Wednesday, June 29th:
DISPLAY TYPE FOR EACH OF THE FIVE TYPEFACES:
Set display type in 72 point, solid, U/lc (uppercase and lowercase), and all caps.
Type set in all caps may require adjustments in letterspacing to achieve balance.
TEXT TYPE FOR EACH OF THE FIVE TYPEFACES:
Set all text type 11-point x 20 picas.
Start by setting the type solid, 11/11, justified.
Continue adding additional linespacing, or leading in 0p1 increments.
Compare the results for texture, readability, and color. Select the setting you deem best and experiment with different amounts of letterspacing and wordspacing, or tracking. Study the results and begin to form practical and aesthetic judgments.
Next vary the measure to see how line length effects, texture, color, readabilty, etc.
Finally, you will readjust the layout according to the following specifications:
Garamond - Justified
Baskerville - Flush Left, Ragged Right
Didot - Flush Right, Ragged Left
Century Schoolbook - Centered
Helvetica - Random
You will print a minimum of 20 pages, four for each typeface, two justified, two specified, each with variations in the leading, the tracking, and the measure.
Posted to the blog by midnight, June 28th, and to the wall by 8:45am June 29th:
Your best design, in your opinion, for each of the five typefaces. A total of five designs will be posted to the wall as well as the blog.
Due Tuesday, June 28th
The Following Exercises should be posted to your blog by Midnight, June 27th:
form/counterform:
DIGITAL:
For this exercise you will create a total of 10 designs, 2 for each typeface, again each on a 6" x 6" square.
Illustrate the space between the lowercase letterforms e and a as well as the space between the lowercase letterforms r and s for each typeface, turning the negative space in between the two letters into positive space. Do not include any closed off counters, any counters inside bowls, or any counters cut off by the frame.
HAND DRAWN:
For each typeface choose either ea or rs. Pay particular attention to the negative space between the letters, this will be the space at which I will look to judge the success of your drawing. Make a total of 5 drawings with the space in between 2 letters (1 counterform) on each drawing.
Tuesday's Quiz:
For Tuesday's quiz, please reread pages 10 and 11 of your textbook. Also read pages 48 and 49.
form/counterform:
DIGITAL:
For this exercise you will create a total of 10 designs, 2 for each typeface, again each on a 6" x 6" square.
Illustrate the space between the lowercase letterforms e and a as well as the space between the lowercase letterforms r and s for each typeface, turning the negative space in between the two letters into positive space. Do not include any closed off counters, any counters inside bowls, or any counters cut off by the frame.
HAND DRAWN:
For each typeface choose either ea or rs. Pay particular attention to the negative space between the letters, this will be the space at which I will look to judge the success of your drawing. Make a total of 5 drawings with the space in between 2 letters (1 counterform) on each drawing.
Tuesday's Quiz:
For Tuesday's quiz, please reread pages 10 and 11 of your textbook. Also read pages 48 and 49.
For Monday, June 27th
Letterform Details:
Part 1: DIGITAL
1. For each of our classic typefaces, choose a single letterform on which to concentrate.
2. Place this letterform on a 6" x 6" composition, taking note of its relationship to the negative space.
3. Increase the scale of the letterform, focusing in on a specific detail, a specific characteristic of the typeface. Repeat for a total of four designs for each letterform. You will produce a total of 20 designs, 4 for each of our 5 classic typefaces.
4. Post each of these to your blog, group by typeface, in either ascending or decending scale.
Part 2:HAND DRAWING
Choose the same letterform in the same case to draw in each of our five classic typefaces. Draw not the entire letterform, but instead draw the same zoomed in detail for each typeface. You should make five drawings of the same letter part, in five different typefaces. You will create 5 drawings total.
Part 1: DIGITAL
1. For each of our classic typefaces, choose a single letterform on which to concentrate.
2. Place this letterform on a 6" x 6" composition, taking note of its relationship to the negative space.
3. Increase the scale of the letterform, focusing in on a specific detail, a specific characteristic of the typeface. Repeat for a total of four designs for each letterform. You will produce a total of 20 designs, 4 for each of our 5 classic typefaces.
4. Post each of these to your blog, group by typeface, in either ascending or decending scale.
Part 2:HAND DRAWING
Choose the same letterform in the same case to draw in each of our five classic typefaces. Draw not the entire letterform, but instead draw the same zoomed in detail for each typeface. You should make five drawings of the same letter part, in five different typefaces. You will create 5 drawings total.
For Thursday, June 23:
1. email the instructor a link to your TYPOGRAPHY BLOG
2. create an online file storage account
3. draw upper and lower case letterforms A and a for four of the 5 classic typefaces: http://www.designingwithtype.com/5/classifications.php
Each page should compare same cases from two different typefaces
4. read the introduction and section 1 basics from your textbook, A type primer
2. create an online file storage account
3. draw upper and lower case letterforms A and a for four of the 5 classic typefaces: http://www.designingwithtype.com/5/classifications.php
Each page should compare same cases from two different typefaces
4. read the introduction and section 1 basics from your textbook, A type primer
DEFINITION
use 1 of 5 traditional typeface classifications
create a two page spread on a landscape legal page that defines a word both verbally and through a visual reinforcement of meaning
use two typefaces on your page
read the following page:
read the following page:
http://www.pixelcola.net/typography/typ-1.jpg
(We will do this project twice, once with a classic typeface and once with a novelty font)
(We will do this project twice, once with a classic typeface and once with a novelty font)
Type on Disc (BOOKLET)
Create a booklet for a CD containing both the True Type and Open Type (.TTF and OTF.) versions of a typeface.
This booklet should display a minimum of three members of the type family (roman, italic, and bold) and give background information on both the typeface designer and the typeface itself, situating the importance of the typeface and typographer historically.
There should be a minimum of 200 words of historical information.
You may use black, white, and two colors.
The alphabet must be represented in upper and lowercase its entirety in roman, italic, and bold.
There is not a size (and consequently not a page number) specification for the booklet, other than that it must hold a CD. That gives us a minimum size specification of 4.75"
One page must contain a letter whose height (either cap-height or x-height, depending on the case) is 4.75".
There should be an image of the original typeface.
BLACKLETTER:
Fraktur
Cloister Black
Goudy Text
OLDSTYLE:
Bembo
Caslon
Dante
Garamond
Janson
Jenson
Palatino
TRANSITIONAL:
Baskerville
Bulmer
Georgia
Joanna
Perpetua
Times Roman
MODERN:
Bell
Bodoni
Caledonia
Didot
Modern No. 20
Torino
Walbaum
EGYPTIAN, SLAB SERIF, or SQUARE SERIF:
Century
Clarendon
Lubalin Graph
Memphis
Rockwell
Serifa
SANS SERIF:
Akzidenz Grotesk
Grotesque
Gill Sans
Franklin Gothic
Frutiger
Futura
Helvetica
Meta
News Gothic
Optima
Syntax
Trade Gothic
Univers
This booklet should display a minimum of three members of the type family (roman, italic, and bold) and give background information on both the typeface designer and the typeface itself, situating the importance of the typeface and typographer historically.
There should be a minimum of 200 words of historical information.
You may use black, white, and two colors.
The alphabet must be represented in upper and lowercase its entirety in roman, italic, and bold.
There is not a size (and consequently not a page number) specification for the booklet, other than that it must hold a CD. That gives us a minimum size specification of 4.75"
One page must contain a letter whose height (either cap-height or x-height, depending on the case) is 4.75".
There should be an image of the original typeface.
BLACKLETTER:
Fraktur
Cloister Black
Goudy Text
OLDSTYLE:
Bembo
Caslon
Dante
Garamond
Janson
Jenson
Palatino
TRANSITIONAL:
Baskerville
Bulmer
Georgia
Joanna
Perpetua
Times Roman
MODERN:
Bell
Bodoni
Caledonia
Didot
Modern No. 20
Torino
Walbaum
EGYPTIAN, SLAB SERIF, or SQUARE SERIF:
Century
Clarendon
Lubalin Graph
Memphis
Rockwell
Serifa
SANS SERIF:
Akzidenz Grotesk
Grotesque
Gill Sans
Franklin Gothic
Frutiger
Futura
Helvetica
Meta
News Gothic
Optima
Syntax
Trade Gothic
Univers
for February 15th:
Spread using Grid:
Create a four page article on two double page spreads using the text and images provided by Designing with Type online here.
(We will not be using the Designing with Type online grid, rather we will be creating our own grids to be used for our pages. (One page grid will be used for all for pages.)
Each page is 8" x 8" and should be printed on a single 8.5x11 sheet.
Each double page spread should be posted in the glass cases outside the lab, one spread above the other by 8am February 15th. Include text type, display type, heads, subheads, captions, and folios.
Please refer to the following examples from Designing with Type online:
Creating Emphasis
Grids
Create a four page article on two double page spreads using the text and images provided by Designing with Type online here.
(We will not be using the Designing with Type online grid, rather we will be creating our own grids to be used for our pages. (One page grid will be used for all for pages.)
Each page is 8" x 8" and should be printed on a single 8.5x11 sheet.
Each double page spread should be posted in the glass cases outside the lab, one spread above the other by 8am February 15th. Include text type, display type, heads, subheads, captions, and folios.
Please refer to the following examples from Designing with Type online:
Creating Emphasis
Grids
Johannes Gutenberg (from Designing With Type online)
Johannes Gutenberg was born in Mainz, Germany, some time around 1397. Little is know about his early years, but it is clear that he was the right man, in the right place at the right time.
Gutenberg was the right man because of his familiarity with the craft of the goldsmith and the diemaker. He was in the right place because Mainz was a cultural and commercial center. It was the right time because the Renaissance thirst for knowledge was creating a growing market for books that could not be satisfied with the traditional handwritten manuscripts.
Handwritten manuscripts were made to order and were usually expensive. They were laboriously copied by scribes who had either to read from a manuscript or have it read to them while copying. This process was not only time-consuming, but led to many errors, which had corrected. Adding to the expense was the scarcity and high cost of vellum and parchment. As a result, handwritten manuscripts were limited to a select few: clergymen, scholars, and wealthy individuals.
A relatively inexpensive means of producing multiple copies of books seems to have been developed just a little before Gutenberg began his experiments with printing. This was the so called block book whose pages had illustrations and minimal text cut together on the same block. The carved blocks were inked, and images were transferred onto paper in multiples by rubbing or by the use of the screw press. Block books were believed to have been made for semiliterate, preaching friars who brought the word of God to the urban working class and the poor.
Insight and Innovation
Gutenberg’s genius was realizing that printing would be more efficient if, instead of using a single woodblock to print an entire page, the individual letters were cast as separate blocks and then assembled into pages. In this manner, pages could be made up faster, errors could be corrected more rapidly, and, after printing, the type could be cleaned and reused.
Using his knowledge of die making, Gutenberg created several pieces of type, not in wood but in metal. It was this process of printing from cast type and not the process of printing per se—which already existed—that was Gutenberg’s great contribution to the graphic arts. Technically speaking, Gutenberg’s invention, the letterpress, was so well conceived that it remained the dominant printing process for almost five hundred years.
With his chief assistant, Peter Schoeffer, and his financial backer, Johann Fust, Gutenberg was now ready to set up shop and embark on great masterpiece, the forty-two-line Bible, so called because its columns were forty-two lines long. It is a great irony that just before the publication of the forty-two-line Bible around 1455, Gutenberg seems to have lost control of his establishment for the nonpayment of his debt to Fust. The operation was then taken over by Fust and Schoeffer and unfortunately, there is no evidence as to whether Gutenberg oversaw the completion of the job or gained any financial rewards for his efforts.
After the judgement, it is believed that Gutenberg set up another shop and continued printing books and other materials for another ten years. In 1465, he received a generous pension from the local archbishop but died three years later. According to an early source, he was buried in the Franciscan church
at Mainz.
Continuing a Legacy
After Fust and Schoeffer took over Gutenberg’s shop, the first book they printed and published was the Mainz Psalter of 1457. This psalter was notable for a number of reasons: it was the first book with a colophon showing the printer’s name, location, date of publication, and printer’s mark or device. It was also the first book in which the display initials were printed in color rather than painted by hand. The partners printed a number of important books, two of which were the Latin Bible of 1462 and a Cicero of 1465.
While on a book-selling trip to Paris in 1466, Fust died of the plague. After Fust’s death, Schoeffer continued publishing until his own death in 1502.
Gutenberg was the right man because of his familiarity with the craft of the goldsmith and the diemaker. He was in the right place because Mainz was a cultural and commercial center. It was the right time because the Renaissance thirst for knowledge was creating a growing market for books that could not be satisfied with the traditional handwritten manuscripts.
Handwritten manuscripts were made to order and were usually expensive. They were laboriously copied by scribes who had either to read from a manuscript or have it read to them while copying. This process was not only time-consuming, but led to many errors, which had corrected. Adding to the expense was the scarcity and high cost of vellum and parchment. As a result, handwritten manuscripts were limited to a select few: clergymen, scholars, and wealthy individuals.
A relatively inexpensive means of producing multiple copies of books seems to have been developed just a little before Gutenberg began his experiments with printing. This was the so called block book whose pages had illustrations and minimal text cut together on the same block. The carved blocks were inked, and images were transferred onto paper in multiples by rubbing or by the use of the screw press. Block books were believed to have been made for semiliterate, preaching friars who brought the word of God to the urban working class and the poor.
Insight and Innovation
Gutenberg’s genius was realizing that printing would be more efficient if, instead of using a single woodblock to print an entire page, the individual letters were cast as separate blocks and then assembled into pages. In this manner, pages could be made up faster, errors could be corrected more rapidly, and, after printing, the type could be cleaned and reused.
Using his knowledge of die making, Gutenberg created several pieces of type, not in wood but in metal. It was this process of printing from cast type and not the process of printing per se—which already existed—that was Gutenberg’s great contribution to the graphic arts. Technically speaking, Gutenberg’s invention, the letterpress, was so well conceived that it remained the dominant printing process for almost five hundred years.
With his chief assistant, Peter Schoeffer, and his financial backer, Johann Fust, Gutenberg was now ready to set up shop and embark on great masterpiece, the forty-two-line Bible, so called because its columns were forty-two lines long. It is a great irony that just before the publication of the forty-two-line Bible around 1455, Gutenberg seems to have lost control of his establishment for the nonpayment of his debt to Fust. The operation was then taken over by Fust and Schoeffer and unfortunately, there is no evidence as to whether Gutenberg oversaw the completion of the job or gained any financial rewards for his efforts.
After the judgement, it is believed that Gutenberg set up another shop and continued printing books and other materials for another ten years. In 1465, he received a generous pension from the local archbishop but died three years later. According to an early source, he was buried in the Franciscan church
at Mainz.
Continuing a Legacy
After Fust and Schoeffer took over Gutenberg’s shop, the first book they printed and published was the Mainz Psalter of 1457. This psalter was notable for a number of reasons: it was the first book with a colophon showing the printer’s name, location, date of publication, and printer’s mark or device. It was also the first book in which the display initials were printed in color rather than painted by hand. The partners printed a number of important books, two of which were the Latin Bible of 1462 and a Cicero of 1465.
While on a book-selling trip to Paris in 1466, Fust died of the plague. After Fust’s death, Schoeffer continued publishing until his own death in 1502.
class for TUESDAY, FEB 1
Starting off February with a bang, we will critique the EARLY LETTERFORM project on Tuesday, February one. All four or your designs should be posted on the typo boards in the glass hallway by 8:30 am, Tuesday, February 1st. Your four designs should be posted in a single horizontal line.
CLASS for THURS. JAN. 27
On Thursday we will correct all quizzes and turn them in, in your envelopes, along with the first thirty trimmed exercises (typeface zooms and counterforms).
EARLY LETTERFORM
Project 1: Early Letterform
Assignment:
Select a letter from the Phoenician or Greek alphabet, research the letter, and write approximately 100 words.
Create four two-color designs, each distinctively different, using black and red as shown in the examples. Incorporate your copy into each design. In the first design make the symbol the most prominent element. In the second make the display type the most prominent element. In the third make the text type the most prominent element. All design elements should be two-dimensional. In the final comp make the symbol the most prominent element again.
Each design should be 8" x 8".
It is your choice which of the colors, red, black, or white is used for the page, for the symbol, for the text and display type.
For your text and display type, use one of the 5 typefaces we have been working with thus far:
Garamond
Baskerville
Didot
Century Schoolbook
Helvetica
Consider the following issues:
Colors and textures created through letter, word, and line spacing.
Legibility based upon tracking and leading.
Shape created by counterform and the influence on the perception of the composition.
These will be among the topics discussed in critique.
The Original Project Brief>>>
EXAMPLES:
The Cooper Union >>>
Hong-ik University >>>
Assignment:
Select a letter from the Phoenician or Greek alphabet, research the letter, and write approximately 100 words.
Create four two-color designs, each distinctively different, using black and red as shown in the examples. Incorporate your copy into each design. In the first design make the symbol the most prominent element. In the second make the display type the most prominent element. In the third make the text type the most prominent element. All design elements should be two-dimensional. In the final comp make the symbol the most prominent element again.
Each design should be 8" x 8".
It is your choice which of the colors, red, black, or white is used for the page, for the symbol, for the text and display type.
For your text and display type, use one of the 5 typefaces we have been working with thus far:
Garamond
Baskerville
Didot
Century Schoolbook
Helvetica
Consider the following issues:
Colors and textures created through letter, word, and line spacing.
Legibility based upon tracking and leading.
Shape created by counterform and the influence on the perception of the composition.
These will be among the topics discussed in critique.
The Original Project Brief>>>
EXAMPLES:
The Cooper Union >>>
Hong-ik University >>>
TYPE ARRANGEMENTS
TYPE ARRANGEMENTS
Rearrange the paragraphs you have created for the Five Classic Typefaces exercises to meet the following specifications:
Garamond: Justified
Baskerville: Flush Left, Ragged Right
Didot: Flush Right, Ragged Left
Century Schoolbook: Centered
Helvetica: Random
Please be sure to read the design concerns listed with each example:
Rearrange the paragraphs you have created for the Five Classic Typefaces exercises to meet the following specifications:
Garamond: Justified
Baskerville: Flush Left, Ragged Right
Didot: Flush Right, Ragged Left
Century Schoolbook: Centered
Helvetica: Random
Please be sure to read the design concerns listed with each example:
Paragraph Indications
PARAGRAPH INDICATIONS:
Using the text provided by the text link below, use each of our five typefaces once to create five different designs demonstrating five different ways of indicating paragraphs shown in the examples: Conservative, Moderate, Adventurous, Experimental, Outrageous
Paragraph Indications Text
Please view all 30 examples before beginning. Do not copy the examples, but rather come up with your own new and creative way based upon them:
Examples
Using the text provided by the text link below, use each of our five typefaces once to create five different designs demonstrating five different ways of indicating paragraphs shown in the examples: Conservative, Moderate, Adventurous, Experimental, Outrageous
Paragraph Indications Text
Please view all 30 examples before beginning. Do not copy the examples, but rather come up with your own new and creative way based upon them:
Examples
Type Classifications
FIVE CLASSIC TYPEFACES and characteristics
Type Classification Exercises (same basic layout for all five typefaces)
Old Style:
1615
Other examples of Old Style Typefaces:
Adobe Caslon Pro
Caslon
Garamond Premier Pro
Garamond
Adobe Garamond Pro
Garamond
Goudy Old Style
Goudy Old Style
and more:
Dante, Adobe Jenson, Palatino
Aldine, Bembo, Caslon, Dante, Galliard, Palatino, Plantin, Sabon
Transitional:
1757
Other examples of transitional typefaces:
Georgia
Times
Times New Roman
Joanna
Perpetua
Bulmer, Cochin, Fairfield, Janson Text, Mrs Eaves, Usherwood, Veljovic Book, Zapf International
Modern:
Didot (link to Bodoni)
1784-1811
Other examples of modern typefaces:
Modern No. 20
Bodoni, Didot
Bernhard Modern, Fenice, Filosophia, Modern, Modern Wide, Torino, Waldbaum
Egyptian/
Slab Serif:
1915
Other examples of Egyptian typefaces:
Century, 1894
Clarendon, Rockwell
City, Egyptian, Glypha, Lubalin Graph, Quadraat, Serifa, Stymie, Swift
Sans Serif:
1957
Other examples of San Serif typefaces:
Franklin Gothic Book
Franklin Gothic Medium
Futura
Gill Sans
Grotesque, Franklin Gothic, Frutiger, Meta, News Gothic, Optima, Syntax, Trade Gothic
Akzidenz Grotesque, Meta, Scala Sans, Univers
Anatomy Defs
type terminology lexicon from a type primer, John Cane, Prentice Hall, 2003:
Baseline-The imaginary line defining the visual base of the letterforms.
Median-The imaginary line define the x-height of the letterforms.
X-height-The height in any typeface of the lowercase 'x'.
Stroke-Any line that defines the basic letterform.
Apex/Vertex-The point created by joining two diagonal stems(apex above, vertex below).
Arm-Short strokes off the stem of the letterform.
Ascender-The portion of the stem of a lowercase letterform that projects above the median.
Barb-The half-serif finish on some curved strokes.
Beak-The half-serif finish on some horizontal arms.
Bowl-The rounded form that describes a counter. The bowl may be either open or closed.
Bracket-The transition between the serif and the stem
Counter-The negative space within a letterform, either fully or partially closed.
Cross Bar-The horizontal stroke in a letterform that joins two stems together.
Cross Stroke-The horizontal stroke in a letterform that intersects the stem
Crotch-The interior space where two strokes meet
Descender-The portion of a stem of a lowercase letterform that projects below the baseline
Ear-The stroke extending out from the main stem or body of the letterform.
Em/en-Originally referring to the width of an uppercase M, an em is now the distance equal to the size of the typeface(an em in 48 pt. type is 48 points) An en is half the size of an em.
Finial-The rounded non-serif terminal to a stroke.
Leg-Short stroke off the stem of the letterform, either at the bottom of the stroke or inclined downward.
Ligature-The character formed by the combination of two or more letterforms.
Link-The stroke that connects the bowl and the loop.
Loop-The bowl created in the descender of the lowercase G.
Serif-The right angled or oblique foot at the end of the stroke.
Shoulder-The curved stroke that is not part of a bowl.
Spine-The curved stem of the S.
Spur-The extension that articulates the junction of a curved and rectilinear stroke.
Stem-The significant vertical or oblique stroke.
Stress-The orientation of the letterform, indicated by the thin stroke in round forms.
Swash-The flourish that extends of the stroke of a letterform.
Tail-The curved or diagonal stroke at the finish if certain letterforms.
Terminal-The self-contained finish of a stroke without a serif, a catch-all term.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)