TYPOGRAPHY WORKSHOP//SESSION TWO//OUGD504

TYPOGRAPHY WORKSHOP//LOOKING AT TYPE:
We were asked to look at our typeface that we'd looked at and think of three words that come to mind when looking at them:

We started to look closely at what type can say without actually paying attention to the word written down.  My typeface was Cochin, I felt the three words, classical, formal and wise fit the style of the type face.  After this task we were asked to come up with a brand/company/business that the typeface would successfully reflect, with my words I chose Oxford Dictionary, which I think fits those three words well.

We were then asked to come up with another brand that was the complete opposite of your typeface, I chose to go with Adidas, I feel this is something thats not formal because its casual sportswear and its definitely not seen as particularly wise within society.  Looking at type closely shows how much a typeface can effect the design and how important it is to get it right.

KERNING:

The second task we had to do was kern our name, kerning means keeping the spacing between letters the same, in branding kerning is really important.  Vertical letters such as a capital N are a lot easier to kern then an A or a V because they go at a diagonal angle.  The simplicity of kerning in terms of branding and identity can make all the difference when looking at what the word represents.  We looked at the word RAILWAY, kerned and not and the one that wasn't kerned looked rushed, unreliable etc whereas the kerned railway sign showed that this station looked high quality, on time and professional.

TYPE HIERARCHY:

We then experimented with hierarchy within type and had to reposition type and and hierarchy but still communicate a certain message.  We were given the words 'one, two, three' and asked to arrange it so that the viewer still read in that order but three had to be at the top of the page:

We were then asked to do the same thing again but without changing anything about the letter forms, point size etc.  To do this correctly you must turn the word 'two' upside down so it is not seen or read like a word, that way the viewers eyes go straight to the word 'three' because it is natural for us to read from the top.  This order would be read as 'three, one, two'.

By changing the position of the three and rotating it 90 degrees we now read the one first because it is the easiest option: (right)