Introduction to Typography

1. Typography / Logo Design
History of Typography
Definitions (Serif and Sans Serif)
Branding and Logo Design
Application to Unit 10 Graphics
Logo Examples
Vin Kelly

2. Aims
To offer an introduction to typography and
logo design

3. Objectives
• To give a brief history of typography
• Definitions (Serif & Sans Serif etc)
• Branding and logo design
• Application of lecture to Unit 10

4. Typography
‘the craft of composing type and printing
from it’
(dictionary.com)

5. Brief history of typography
Evolved over time following changes in
communication methods and printing
technology.

6. Pictograms
Simple shapes representing a basic
vocabulary of objects and concepts.

7. Ideograms
Symbols used to express more
complex objects and concepts.

8. Phonograms
Represent either syllables
or basic sounds

9. Type and technology
Technological advancement impacts on
typographic styles:
•stone-carved letters of ancient Roman
monuments
•hand-cut wooden type used in early
printing acid-etched metal type
•typefaces designed for modern digital
output

10. Type and technology
Other influences:
•social and artistic trends
•widening distribution
•changing applications of printed materials

11. 1400

12. 1500

13. 1700

14. 1800

15. 1900

16. 2000

17. Serif & Sans Serif
Serif type has "hands and feet" — serifs (or
curlicues) — on the ends of the strokes and
the characters are made up of both thick and
thin strokes.
eg
Times Roman, Garamond, Palatino, Bookman
and New Century Schoolbook
S

18. Serif & Sans Serif
Sans serif type has no serifs - the characters
are made up of lines of constant thickness.
S
eg
Helvetica

19. Serif & Sans Serif
Research shows that serif typeface is
more easily read
But serif can look old fashioned and
loses definition when displayed on
monitors below 14pt

20. Typefaces - examples
Bookman
Old Style

21. Typefaces - examples
Tahoma

22. Typefaces - examples
Impact

23. Definitions
Kerning - to alter the fit of certain letter
combinations i.e. adjusting the spaces
between pairs of letters
Tracking – to adjust the spacing
between characters in a line of text
K erning
Tracking along line of text

24. Definitions
Leading – derives from early printing - strips
of lead metal used for vertical spacing
between lines of type.
Now - vertical distance from the baseline of
one line to the baseline of the next.
Gaps between
Lines of text

25. Definitions
Here is some left aligned text blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah
blah blah blah blah blah
Here is some right aligned text blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah
blah blah blah blah blah
Here is some centred text blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah
blah blah blah blah
Here is some justified text blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah
blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah
blah blah blah

26. Anti aliasing
Causes the edge of objects to be
smoothed

27. Anti aliasing
Avoid anti aliasing for text below 10
point – reduces clarity
Photoshop implements anti aliasing
automatically – to turn it off:
Layer / Type / Anti-Alias none

28. Branding:
Visual identity of
related group of
products or services
from a common
source.
Logo is an important
part of brand image

29. Logo
A name, symbol, or trademark
designed for easy and definite
recognition,
(dictionary.com)
Vehicle for expressing philosophy
of company.
Protected by copyright

30. Logos - examples
1978 1995

31. Logos - examples

32. Logos - examples
Original Restyled

33. Logos - examples
Reference to the Bible story of
Adam and Eve; apple represents the
fruit of the Tree of Knowledge.

34. Logos - examples
Original Restyled

35. Logos - examples

36. Application to Unit 10 – Evaluation Task 2, Task 3
Evaluation – evidence of research into font
styles, font colours and layout schemes,
should be part of Task 2 Design Realisation
and Task 3 Implementation.
Why has a certain font and font size been
used?
Why was a certain colour chosen ?
(readability, evoking an atmosphere…..)
For large areas of text – use of columns,
grid, justification of text

37. Application to Unit 10
Create main body of text using
Illustrator 10
Be aware of readability – avoid
‘rivers of white’ and extremely
small font sizes.
Kerning and tracking – mention
any use of in your evaluations
The appropriate font should be
used to serve the purpose.

38. Application to Unit 10 – Illustrator Element
Create
a logo, incorporating text
(perhaps for your ‘design
company’, to be added to the
credits appearing on your
cover art)
and
your CLIENT Logo design for
the CD Covers.

39. Application to Unit 10 – Illustrator Element
Note:
In Illustrator - make your design at lot larger
than you actually need.
Save your Illustrator work as an .eps file.
DO NOT FLATTEN THE LAYERS
Save your Illustrator files alongside your
Photoshop files to be handed in on the same
disc.

40. Application to Unit 10 – incorporating text
Using files from the web
Scanned Images
Digital Photographs
Develop your client logo in ILLUSTRATOR.
Your client may have an existing logo for you
to work on and develop.
Your client may want you to start from scratch
and develop a completely new logo.
Produce your own personal Designer’s Logo.

41. Application to Unit 10 - incorporating text
Illustrator has many functions relating to text.
1. Turn on the type controls
2. Be aware of the technique applying ‘text to
a path’
3. You can also warp text in Illustrator,
Photoshop and Serif Draw 7.
4. Be aware of and identify your client’s text.
5. Look carefully at all materials your client
gives you (business cards, letterheads,
brochures etc.