Typography || Task 2

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Typography Task 2 Exercises

Jodiann Yeoh Chooi Kit 0352238
Module : Typography
Task 2 : Typographic Expression & Communication (Text formatting & Expression)

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LECTURES

WEEK 5: Typography Task 2 Progress Demo

https://youtu.be/rPwYO3ff4e0

In the lecture video, Mr. Vinod explains a brief process of sketching the thumbnail then digitising in Adobe Illustrator and to effectively express. The thumbnail is then exported and used 1 of the 3 articles provided as the body text. Text formatting is then applied which was touched on earlier on then applied the same way on this task.


INSTRUCTIONS


We were told to watch lecture video, "Typography Task 2 Process demo" which is available on mr. Vinod's YouTube. We were also directed to the typography facebook group files and told to view "Task 2 Editorial Task Options" where there were 3 article options to pick from.  He specified that it must be purely black & white(no colour), no type expressions are allowed, no images permitted. 

He said that the dimensions used in illustrator for making the thumbnail should be 200mm X 200mm as well as the Indesign's pages should have the same dimensions. 

I will be making the thumbnail in Illustrator then export it to InDesign where I will be doing the text formatting of my chosen article which is the 2nd option, "Be Good, Do Good, Follow The Code." The reason why I chose that article out of the 3 was because right off the bat, the heading has a direct message and after reading the articles, I feel that the 2nd one was the most interesting.

Task 2 Typographic Expression & Communication.

Week 5
Progression of Task 2

#Week7_2021 Task 2 submissions must include the following:
1. Layout Research
2. Sketches
3. Digital Progression
4. JPG submission (300dpi, grayscale, max quality)
5. PDF embedded


I chose editorial text option number 2, "Be Good, Do Good, Follow The Code."

Inspiration for thumbnail on the article I chose

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Fig 1. Inspiration from Pinterest

Editorial Layout | By VJ Type
Fig 1.1 Inspiration from Pinterest

I started off the task with sketches of what my thumbnail would be in adobe photoshop, I then proceeded to digitise it on Adobe Illustrator which Mr. Vinod specified is permitted. 

Fig 2. Sketch 1 of Thumbnail(Exploration)
Fig 2.2 Sketch 2 of Thumbnail(Exploration)
Fig 3. Draft of thumbnail of headline.

I wanted a dynamic looking thumbnail to fit the message of the article. A sense of morality, duty and pride in what one does, which is what the article is about, where designers..... thus why I feel I should create a design to reflect the strength of the message conveyed.

I looked at tutorials on Pinterest that shows these cool designs and how to make the effect above. It involves using the 3D effect, Extrude & Bevel, setting it to isometric right, blending, plastic surface effect and many more. It was quite a lengthy process to create it but was good exploration. However I did not feel like it was the one I wanted.

Font Used - Univers LT STD 75 Black
Dimensions - 200 X 200 mm

Fig 3.1 2nd Draft of thumbnail(Headline)

As for this design, my approach was to go for a modern, editorial look. I thought that the word "good" being used twice was repetitive so I used that to my advantage where I incorporated "do" & "be" into just one uniform design with the used of one "good". This creates a minimalistic approach. and I really aimed for a modern look and of course dynamism which is reflected through the arrangement of the lettering. It also creates movement and visual hierarchy where viewers are able to determine what's being shown.

I utilised kerning & letterspacing, tracking, leading, font size, the use of baseline shift and character rotation, all of which were used to create a form of subtle but obvious randomness. 

The reason why I've separated "Follow The Code" was to create a sense of balance as squishing in an overwhelmingly compact manner would not give space for the viewer to breathe. I felt that the contrast between the large bold "do good be good" and the lightness of Janson  font was a good sense of balance and weight.

Font used for "BE GOOD DO GOOD" - Gill Sans Bold
Font used for "Follow The Code." - Janson LT STD Roman
Dimensions - 200 X 200mm

Fig 3.2 3rd Draft of thumbnail(Headline)

I was satisfied with attempt No. 2 however I felt that there were too much negative space. To fix that, I used the very same design but used the rectangle tool to add a variation of sizes of rectangles and place them in places I felt were too empty. This I felt made the thumbnail look more visually aesthetic and creates a good sense of space.

I was finally fully satisfied with this design so will be using it as my thumbnail.

Starting the text formatting in InDesign

THINGS TO NOTE
- Font size (8–12)
- Line Length (55–65/50–60 characters)
- Text Leading (2, 2.5, 3 points larger than font size)
- Ragging (left alignment) / Rivers (Left Justification)
- Cross Alignment
- No Widows / Orphans
Font used - Univers LT Std 55 Roman
Font size - 9 pts
Leading - 11 pts 
Number of characters per text column - within the 55-65 character amount as shown below.
Spacing between paragraphs is also set to 11 pts and automatically converted to 3.881mm.

Fig 4. Screen grab of character count.

It remained within the 55-65 characters per line as suggested in previous lectures.

Fig 4.1 Before alignment of baseline grid

Fig 4.2 After alignment of baseline grid

Fig 4.3 Indicators of technique called highlighting

Fig 4.4 Indicators of hidden characters in text

Fig 4.5 Showing the form/ structure of text formatting using rectangle tool


Fig 4.6 Initial Final Design Task 2 JPEG

Fig 4.7 Initial Final Design Task 2 PDF 

After receiving feedback(specified in feedback section), I re-designed the thumbnail and the body text layout.

Fig 5. Showing the form/ structure of text formatting using rectangle tool.

Fig 5.1 Final Design JPEG 29/9/2021

Thumbnail info
Font used - Janson Text LT Std 55 Roman, Janson Text LT Std 75 Bold
Font size - 10 pts
Leading - 13 pts 
Number of characters per text column - within the 50-65 character amount as shown below.
Spacing between paragraphs is also set to 13 pts and automatically converted.

I changed the design of the thumbnail as Mr. Vinod said that I should re-design the whole thing again but to keep "Follow The Code." as it was a nice touch. I also changed the font of "Be Good, Do Good" to Janson Text LT STD font as he advised.

I decided to change the body text design by including it in the first page aswell rather than just the right page from earlier design as it felt too empty and I wanted to utilise the space. Mr. Vinod also felt that it looked too tight thus why I made the body text the way it is and increased the font size and leading to make it slightly looser to the eyes. This issue may possibly be due to the article having the most content than the rest, making it more restrictive, but I was able to work around it anyways

Each technique was done the same eg. Kerning, text alignment etc. 

Fig 5.2 Final Design PDF 29/9/2021

FEEDBACK

Week 6 (29/9/2021)
Mr Vinod stated that I should try to play around more with the body text and the thumbnail. He advised me to not be too fixated with the current thumbnail design and to change the whole thing except for "follow the code.". He told me to use the same font but to express it of course.

Week 7
That it was adequate but lacks idea.

REFLECTION

Week 6 (29/9/2021)
I agree that I do get attached to my initial designs as they are in a way my babies, but I do agree that I should explore more and step out of my comfort zone. After trying out more, I can see that I've improved in the way I structure my planning of the body text as well as the design of the thumbnail looked better and sleeker than before. Thus why I am grateful for the feedback provided by Mr. Vinod and Dr. Charles.

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