y m o t a an e p y t f o

2013
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Anatomy of Type

Overlapping

Individual letter forms have unique parts which have changed in visual form over the centuries. A nomenclature helps identify major elements of their contruction. The evolution of lettering styles over time is a result of optical adjustments to the basic components by type designers over the ages.

Although all of these type faces share the same baseline, and are all relatively the same size, they clearly do not match up. When a designer is creating a typeface, they take into account the spacing between the letters, and what looks best and is the most legible. However, when combining families of type one must take into account if the typeface is serif or sans serif, because the two cannot by merged. No matter what family a typeface is in, they all share the baseline and the capline.

Capline

Meanline x-height Baseline

Stroke

Descender

Gummybear
Stroke Fillet Spur Tail

Gummybear Gummybear Gummybear

Bowl

Ascender

Shoulder

Counter

Serif

Eye

Legibility of a Word

Legibility of a Letter

Single Letter

From the beginning of time, the English language has always been read from the top of the word to the bottom. This is why when we cover the top half of the word it is much harder to read than if we were to cover the bottom half.

Most letters have their tell tale signs that indicate to us what they are. For example, the serif and spur side of an upper case G is much more clear than if you were to only see the counter side of it. If you were to only show the counter side, there is the possibility that it will be read as an upper case C as well. Becoming aware of these letter indicators will help you realize how much of a word you can remove before it is illegible.

Fundamental to all typographic design is the interplay between letterform and background. Every letterform denes a particular counterform. Form and counterform are reciprocal alues and completely interdependent and integral to a letters completeness as a design.

The counterform is not just what is left over in the background. The counterform is a new entity that emerge through interaction with the form, Typically these counterforms are either geometric or organic in quality depending on the structure or style of the letter. An awareness of this inter-relationship of form and counterform is essential in typographic design.

Gummybear Gummybear Gummybear

Anatomy of Type | Cropping Studies

Anatomy of Type | Counterpoint and Counterpart

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Counterpoint and Counterpart

Counterpart Relationships Counterpoint Relationships

Anatomy of Type | Counterpoint and Counterpart

Type Kinetics

When creating a visual hierarchy in typographic space, a designer balances the need for harmony, which unies a design, with the need for contrast, which lends vitality and emphasis.

As in music, elements can have a counterpart or a counterpoint relationship. Typographic counterparts are elements with similar qualities that bring harmony to their spatial relationship. Elements have a counterpoint relationship when they have contrasing characteristics, such as size, weight, color, tone, or texture. Counterpoint relationships bring oposition and dissonance to the design.

Each individual square and its lettform is seen as an independent typographic compostion that investigates form and counterform, gure ground relationships, asymmetry/symmetry, static and dynamic placement. The totems present sequential order and visual ow, while emphasizing rythmic pattern and should articulate aurally and visually the typographic details within each composition as well as a whole.

gu

GM
U

r B e a Y mB Y mb ear uM y
punctuation as dynamic ow. They also

M m

Gu

e ar

BA
E

Structure of Letters

Structure of Letters

The most elemtentary forms of letters are a visual code of simple strokes that is recognizable through our experience with handwriting. Each of the upper and lower case letters is distinct in structure. All are built by combining vertical, horiontal, slanted, and curvilinear strokes. Letter form derive their character from combinations of these basic strokes and not being light or bold, wide or narrow, Roman or italic, sans serif or serif. An entire alphabet can be categorized using only six basic underlying visual combinations of stroks as the example illustrates.

T
Since the time of the Greeks, capital letterforms have consisted of simple geometric forms based on the square, circle, and triangle. The basic shape of

B
each capital letterforms can be extracted from this Roman letterform template found pm the Trojan Columns which is composed of a bisected square, a circle, a triangle, an inverted triange, and two smaller squares.

EFHILT

lift

KMNY

xk

VXW

xvwy

AZ

BDJPRU

abdhpqrmnjgqu

CGQSO

ceso

Typographic Page with Chair

Using the initials of your designer, impose the letterforms in a typographoc study that interprets a relationship to the the form of the chair they designed. The goal is to discover relationshios in form and devision of space. Then, using the designers name, the name of the chair, and the date of its manufacture, impose the words in a typographic study that demonstrates relationships to the char.

G
Case + Weight

Case + Width + Size

g
Size + Case + Weight + Slant Weight + Width + Case

N
Face + Case + Weight

55
19
Width + Size + Tonality

c o c o n u t

George Nelson

george n

55

COC

nels

on

ONU T

elson

C
Tonality + Weight + Case + Size + Slant

NUT

1955

Tonality + Fracture + Face + Case + Slant

COCONUT

1955

george
nelson

EON G R O GE NELS
5t 195 coconu

Face + Color + Width + Size

Slant + Fracture + Case + Weight

COC O NUT

195 5

e ge n geor

CO
lson

UT N CO

55

l s o n

n e

Color + Weight + Width + Slant

Weight + Tonality + Width + Case

george

n e l s o n

5 195

NU

U N C

T
n e l s o

195

Color + Weight + Width + Slant + Case

Slant + Tonality + Width + Case

Chair Hang Tag

Type generally falls into two primary categories; informational and or expressive. Its not uncommon to have a strategy for both present in layouts. Informational text is more common and the form responds to long traditions and conventions of size, spacing and established habits of organization on the page. In a book or website it is information

design that takes the lead. On a poster or motion graphics expression could lead. The ratio is determined by the designer and the needs of the communication. An emphasis or hierarchy must be clear and decisive so the roles each plays in the communication are clear. In design things are not equal.
Good design, like good painting, cooking, architecture or whatever you like, is a manifestation of the capacity of the human spirit to transcend its limitations.

Good design, like good painting, cooking, architecture or whatever you like, is a manifestation of the capacity of the human spirit to transcend its limitations.

NUT

COC O NUT

195 5

l s o n

n e

George Nelson graduated from Yale with a degree in architecture, with a job at the rm of Adams and Prentice as a drafter already waiting for him. After years in the business he eventually gained enough notoriety to for his own rm called George Nelson Associates, Inc. in New York City. There he collaborated with several innovative designers such as, Irving Harper, George Mulhauser, , Bill Renwick, Suzanne Sekey, Ernest Farmer, and John Pile

The Coconut lounge chair was rst manufactured in 1955, in George Nelsons New York Studio. The chair is comprised of aluminum, sheet steel, chromeplated round steel, topped off with foam rubber and articial leather for comfort. George Nelson created this chair with the idea of mimicking the spontaneous lifestyle of the sixties. This eye-catching, round, and elegant, chair is a part of many museums worldwide.

COC ONU
George Nelson grew inspiration from nature, and the idea of modern architecture replicating its beauty, as well as not destroying it in the process. One of the most notable things Nelson helped create is what we know as the ofce cubicle, as well as the L-shaped desk. Because of this line of work he has had a great deal of inuence on interior workspaces.

nels

on

1955
T

GEORGE NELSON COCONUT CHAIR 1955

COCONUT CHAIR 1955

George Nelson graduated from Yale with a degree in architecture, with a job at the rm of Adams and Prentice as a drafter already waiting for him. After years in the business he eventually gained enough notoriety to for his own rm called George Nelson Associates, Inc. in New York City. There he collaborated with several innovative designers such as, Irving Harper, George Mulhauser, , Bill Renwick, Suzanne Sekey, Ernest Farmer, and John Pile.

The Coconut lounge chair was rst manufactured in 1955, in George Nelsons New York Studio. The chair is comprised of aluminum, sheet steel, chromeplated round steel, topped off with foam rubber and articial leather for comfort. George Nelson created this chair with the idea of mimicking the spontaneous lifestyle of the sixties. This eye-catching, round, and elegant, chair is a part of many museums worldwide.

CCNUT

Back

George Nelson grew inspiration from nature, and the idea of modern architecture replicating its beauty, as well as not destroying it in the process. One of the most notable things Nelson helped create is what we know as the ofce cubicle, as well as the L-shaped desk. Because of this line of work he has had a great deal of inuence on interior workspaces.

1955

GEORGE NELSON

george nelson

1955

O
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