Typography Unit 1: Lecture 2 Tutor Cal Swann

1. Introduction to Typography 1VDIS10020 : Lecture 2
Tutor Cal Swann
The shape of text: How we see the words

2. The shape of text: How we see the words
This lecture is about the shape of
text, how we see the general shape as
a first impression, what our overall
reaction is (based on our previous
experience), and to the way
perception works, into the detail of
the text and how appropriate
typography aids comprehension.
We are familiar with a lot of
conventions from our cultural
background, the way that text has
been presented to us since the scribes
laid out the early manuscripts.
Not much has changed over the years
but we see text on screens almost as
much as on paper these days.
Some main conventions as formats are
outlined here and I group these into
categories based on Professor Michael
Twyman’s seminal article in
Information Design Journal, Volume
3/1, 1982.

3. How a reader approaches a text
First impressions
Expectations
Keys to context
Interpreting the visual clues
Macro
level
layout
Signposts
Inside the text
Micro level
Comprehending
typography
Analysis
When a reader meets
a text, they react
almost like meeting a
person, immediately
weighing up who or
what is this – how
should I respond to
this character?
The clothes, body
language, eyes and
face can be seen
in a fast process of
deciding whether this
new acquaintance
is worth getting to
know.

4. Here are two publications about
much the same topic. We recognise
the first as a formal product from a
government body, the other is a
commercial publication. These are
not hard and fast categories, but you
get the drift.
The way the words are dressed are a
giveaway. Pin striped suit or casual gear?
Our cultural expectations condition our
reception of the message, how we might
go on to read the next stage.

5. Similarly, internal
pages will give visual
clues as to their origin
and intention.
Top left, a traditional,
centred layout for a
conservative
academic publication.
Next a more modern,
asymmetrical page
for a contemporary
journal.
Then, an academic
journal is treated
with a more
deliberately ‘designed
look’ to present a
visually sophisticated
environment.

6. Symmetrical layout
Like the two previous examples,
the general layout of most
publications follow either a
traditional
or modern style, providing
the first clue.
Traditional
symmetrical design
is synonymous
with classical painting
style where the
portrait appears
in the centre
foreground
Taken from Emil Ruder’s classic
publication ‘Typography’ (1969),
the relationship between formal
and symmetrical page layouts
and classical painting are shown
very simply.
We observe a portrait painting
as a foreground figure in a
window, which we layout
Traditional page see through
and into
a distant background.

7. Asymmetrical
design
uses the frame
of the page
in more
dynamic visual
arrangements
Asymmetrical layout
Modernist design
treats a page as a
flat surface, what’s
there is on the
surface,
and the edge of
the rectangle is an
integral part of the
dynamics of the
design. The variety
of modernist, or
post-modernist
layouts are infinite,
often with a sub
text that borrows
from yet another
design genre.
(Adapted from Emil Ruder)

8. Categories of text as visual structures
1
Continuous text
2
Interrupted text
3
Lists
4
Tables
5
Algorithms
6
Forms stationery
Internal text is usually structured in
several conventional layouts.
Professor Michael Twyman (Reading
University in the UK) described textual
formats and set up a number of
categories roughly as seen on the left –
my adaptation of Michael’s innovative
observation. Most typographic
treatments fall within these general
categories.
It is good for designers to know and
recognise how to deal with types of
information and how alternative
layouts might suit the work in hand.

9. 1 Continuous text
1 Continuous text
We might ask, ‘what is design, and is there a theory of design?’ Definitions of design are
notoriously difficult to articulate and vary tremendously both from the people outside
the design field, but also between the designers themselves. The Australian Academy
of Design, which was formed in 1990 following the Australian Design Summit of May
1989, at one stage used the catchphrase ‘anything that doesn’t happen by accident is a
design’. This slogan leaves the field wide open for everyone to have a go at designing,
but the object of the campaign was to raise awareness about design, and in particular,
how design could play its part in the growth of the Australian manufacturing and
economic development. It was intended to identify everyone who was dealing with
design in the management arena as designers of a kind – what had been described
as the ‘silent designers’ (Dumas, A Gorb, P, 1987). However, although everyone is
‘designing’ in whatever they plan to do, the particular designing that is performed by
‘designers’ is clearly something else. The Academy then borrowed from Zeisel (1987)
a more reasonable, but still very broad definition in ‘design is a process of imaging,
representing and testing a course of action’ (Miller, Peter, 1990).
Book typography is the
classic example of
continuous text.
We call it continuous
because we want to
read without
interruption what the
author writes.
10-12 words per line
provides the optimum
condition for
immersive (continuous)
reading.

10. 10
Sturdy Ms Muffet sat on a tuffet
Eating a bird of prey,
There came a big spider
Who sat down beside her
And asked ‘Where’s your curds and whey?’
‘I’m fed up with eating that stuff’ she said,
‘Like yourself, it’s insipid and light,
While I’d much rather munch
On bones I can crunch,
You’ll do for my supper tonight’.
Liz Mellon
Three years back, the Hinsleys of Dora,
Missouri, had a tough decision to make.
To buy a new mule.
Or invest in a used bug.
They weighed the two possibilities.
First there was the problem of the bitter
Ozark winters. Tough on a warm blooded mule.
Not so tough on an air- cooled VW.
Volkswagen advertisement c.1970
2 Interrupted text
In some situations we deliberately
interrupt the reading process, poetry
being a good example of such practice.
There is a close relationship between
the look of poetry and advertising copy.
Both writers want to slow the reader
down and make us focus on the words.

11. 11
2005
2004
2002
2001
2000
2000
2000
2000
2000
1999
Lists
Meeting Olaf Leu In Typographic 62. The Journal of the International
Society of Typographic Designers. UK
Icons of the Bush In Design Issues, Volume 19, Number 4, MIT Press, US
Action research and the practice of design In Design Issues,
Volume 18, Number 1, MIT Press, USA
Co-editor of the Conference Proceedings for the International
Conference ‘Re-inventing design education in the university’ held at Curtin
University of Technology, 11-13 December 2000.
Convenor of the International Conference ‘Re-inventing design education
in the university’ held at Curtin University of Technology, 11-13 December
2000.
See http://www.humanities.curtin.edu.au/html/des/DesEd2000/index.html
The design process as action research. Keynote speaker at: ‘Thinking
outside the square: the technology process’ Conference of the Design and
Technology Teachers Association of WA. 4-5 November 2000
Meanwhile, back on the ranch… Conference Paper for Foundations for
the Future: Doctoral Education in Design. La Clusaz, France
8-12 July 2000.
See: http://www.humanities.curtin.edu.au/html/des/DesEd2000/
preconference03.html
Facilitating postgraduate interactivity in the electronic channel.
Paper and presentation at the Conference on Quality in Postgraduate
Research: making ends meet. Adelaide 13-14 April 2000
MDes on line. http://lsn.curtin.edu.au/quality_in_practice/swan.html
Carpetbaggers and Shamans: or what happened to the twentieth
century vision of the architects of visual communication?
Paper presentation at Sydney Design ‘99. 27–29 September 1999 at the
Sydney Convention Exhibition Centre, Sydney, Australia
3 Lists
Historians believe
that making lists
came at the very
beginning of the
development of
our writing system.
Jotting notes one
after the other on
separate lines is a
very easy way to
find something,
especially if it is in
alphabetical order
(or by date as here).

12. 12
Tables
4 Tables
A relative to the list
structure, tables are
excellent ways to
compartmentalise
information that can
be cross referenced
vertically and
horizontally.
We can’t do
this with verbal
language.

13. 13
5 Algorithms
Algorithms were
developed around
WW2 and provide a
very economical way
of processing
information.
Like a table, but the
binary yes/no flow
chart allows readers
access to only that
information which is
relevant to them.

14. 14
6 Forms
Forms are another
way we use the
visible language
system to collate
and exchange
information in the
modern world.

15. 15
Reading text in different situations
Reading a novel is immersive reading, that is, we want to be totally involved in the story, the
author’s narrative should be absorbed with as little distraction as possible, the typography
invisible, that Crystal Goblet notion.
Other kinds of information may not be best served under the guidelines for book typography.
There are many different reading situations that require alternative formats.
Posters, advertisements, newspapers, notes and short articles, need not follow the twelve word
per line rule, for example. Breaking up the text – interrupting the reading activity – is
sometimes an advantage; small (bite-sized) chunks of text look more inviting to read, which is
why newspapers usually have a bitty look to the page. Poetry is a good example of interrupting
the reading with intentional pauses.
Text that is intended to attract attention might flout the rules of legibility. Announcements,
flyers, advertisements, posters, web pages, and so on, are all competing for attention and such
items are far removed from the situation of reading a book. It has been estimated that in a
modern city we are bombarded with over 1200 visual messages a day. Breaking the ‘rules’ of
legibility is one way of attracting attention, deviation is a way of grabbing the eye. But care has
to be exercised, breaking the rules without understanding the purpose can be irritating and
counter-productive. Applyin the appropriate format is the designer’s responsibility.

16. 16
Negotiated stages
Negotiated stages
Stage 1. Choosing a topic – Allocating a supervisor consultation
Stage 1. Choosing a topic – Allocating a supervisor – – Consultation and negotiation. Stage 2. Drafting the learning contract – Approx 500 words:
and negotiation. Stage 2. Drafting the learning contract – Approx 1 Cover:
title and subject code – name and address – title of address
500 words: 1 Cover: title and subject code – name andtopic – signature date
– supervisor's signature. 2 Focus. 3 Rationale. 4 Aims 2
– title of topic – signature date – supervisor’s signature.objectives. 5 Format
Focus.3research plan. 6 Aims objectives. 5Agreement on contract and timetable
Rationale. 4 Assessment. Stage 3. Format research
for completion Stage 3. Agreement on contract Stage 4. From
plan. 6 Assessment. with supervisor by end of week 3. and timetableweek 4 onwards carrying out the project – Meetings/ 3. Stage 4. supervisor at least
for completion with supervisor by end of weekcontact withFrom
every fortnight. Stage 5. Progress reports presented for peer
week 4 onwards carrying out the project – Meetings/ contact group review
three times during every fortnight. times to Progress by week
with supervisor at least semester, (sessionStage 5. be agreed reports 3). Stage 6.
Final presentation at end of semester– Documented report on
presented for peer group review. 3 times during semester, (session the project
around 9000 by week 3). Stage 6. Final presentation
times to be agreedwords or, 4000 words plus design proposal.at end of
semester– Documented report on the project around 9000 words or,
4000 words plus design proposal.
Left: This is applying a
continuous text book
format to information
that is not continuous
reading material.
The book format saves
space but it is obviously
not reader friendly.
The following shows a
couple of examples of
how those categories
may be more
appropriately displayed.

17. 17
Negotiated stages
Negotiated stages
Stage 1.
Stage Choosing a topic a Allocating a supervisora supervisor – consultation
1. Choosing – topic – Allocating –
Consultation and negotiation.
and negotiation.
Stage 2.
the
Stage Drafting 500 learning contract – contract – Approx 500 words:
2. Drafting the learning
Approx
words:
1 Cover: titletitle and subject code – name and address – title of topic
1 Cover: and subject code –
name and date – supervisor’s signature. 2 Focus. 3 Rationale. 4
– signature address –
title of topic –
Aims signature date – Format research plan. 6 Assessment.
objectives. 5
supervisor's signature.
Stage 2 Focus.
3. Agreement on contract and timetable for completion with
3 Rationale.
supervisor byobjectives.
4 Aims end of week 3.
5 Format research plan.
6 Assessment.
Stage 4. From week 4 onwards carrying out the project –
Meetings/ contact with supervisor at least every fortnight.
Stage 3.
Agreement on contract and timetable for completion with supervisor by end of week 3.
Stage Stage 4.
5. Progress reports presented for peer group review. 3 times
From week 4 onwards carrying out be agreed by week 3).
during semester, (session times tothe project –
Meetings/contact with supervisor at least every fortnight.
Stage Stage 5. presentation at end of semester– Documented report
6. Final
Progress reports presented for peer group review 3 times during semester,
on the project around 9000 words or, 4000 words plus design
(session times to be agreed by week 3).
proposal.
Stage 6.
Final presentation at end of semester–
Documented report on the project around 9000 words or, 4000 words plus design proposal.
A much better
structure is to present
this material as a list,
where each stage is
clearly isolated by a
new line and space to
make it easier to read.
Applying typographic
coding by using bold
face and /or italic
makes for more
clarification.

18. 18
Stage 1
Stage 2
Negotiated stages
Another example of
treating the same text.
Stage 3
Stage 4
Stage 5
Stage 6
Not boxed tables but a
Choosing a topic – Allocating a supervisor – combination of table
Consultation on From week
and negotiation. Progress
and list format.
Agreement
Final
Stage 1.
Choosing a
Drafting
Stage learning Drafting the learning contract reports
– Approx 500presentation
topic
the 2.
contract and
4 onwards
contract
timetable for carrying out
presented for at end of
words:
Allocating a
completion
the project
peer group
semester
500 1 Cover: title and subject codereview 3 and
– name
supervisor
Approx
with
address – title of Meetings/
topic – signature date –
words:
supervisor by
times during Documented
Consultation
end of week 3 contact
report on
supervisor’s signature. with semester,
and
1 Cover:
supervisor at (session times the project
2 Focus.
negotiation
title and
least every
to be agreed around 9000
code 3 Rationale.
subject
fortnight
by week 3)
words or,
name
4000 words
and 4 Aims objectives.
address
plus design
topic 5 Format research plan.
title of
proposal
signature 6 Assessment.
date
Stage 3.
Agreement on contract and timetable for
supervisor’s
completion with supervisor by end of week 3.
signature
Stage 4.
From week 4 onwards carrying out the project –
2 Focus
Meetings/ contact with supervisor at least
every fortnight.
3 Rationale
Stage 5.
Progress reports presented for peer group
4 Aims
review 3 times during semester, (session times to
objectives
be agreed by week 3).
Stage 6. Final presentation at end of semester–
5 Format
research
plan
Documented report on the project around 9000
words or, 4000 words plus design proposal.
6 Assessment
Visual information –
information design –
may often be presented
in clear graphic
structures.
Typographic design is
more than mere textual
layout, it is an
important part of
information design and
requires analytical and
creative thinking.
Tutor Cal Swann