Typography- Graphic Design

Serifs

feet/ extensions that are finishing strokes of letterforms/ also known as footers

Bowls

rounded letters (like on the "a")

Arms

strokes that extend from the stem ("E")

Ear

sticks out of letter

Spine

curve ("S")

shoulder

curves

Leg

extends to baseline

Tail

hangs down

Cross bar

horizontal stroke in middle of letter ("H")

Cross stroke

crosses over stem ("f")

Bar

line in between the space of where a letterform connects ("e")

Counterspace

enclosed space within a letter ("a")

spur

think cowboy spur on boot

jot

dot that can be seen in lowercase "j" and "i"

terminal

endpoint of a letter

apex

when two strokes come to a point

link

connecting stroke

ligature

connection between a specific pair of letters/smooths connection for legibility

examples of ligatures

ff, fl, fi, ffi and ffl

French word for "no"

Sans

What are the five basic classifications of a type face?

Old style, Transitional, Modern, Slab serif, and Sans serif

Oldstyle

Roman serif type created between late 15th century and mid 18th century; low contrast between thick and thin strokes, thick bracketed serifs, long ascenders and descenders, body has smallish spaces

Transitional

stylistic bridge between Oldstyle and Modern; sharper and flatter serifs, tighter bracketed curve, stress in the curve is more vertical, higher contrast between thick and think strokes,

Modern

made its first appearance in late 18th century; extreme contrast between thick and thin strokes, ultra thin unbracketed serifs (horizontal or nearly horizontal)

Slab serif

emerged in mid 18th century; useful for signage, has weight and strong presence, serifs are usually unbracketed or square, lack of contrast between strokes (almost equal weight)

Sans serif

emerged in late 1800s; evolved from needs of advertising

What are the three main categories of Sans serif?

Grotesque sans serifs, Humanist sans serif, Geometric sans serif

Grotesque sans serifs (Gothic)

slight variations in stroke width, letters are fairly wide and rounded letters are often a bit squared off

Humanist sans serifs

proportions of classical Roman letters, if you look closely you will see some of the proportions of hand-letter Roman letters

Geometric sans serifs

reflect the modernist movement of the early 20th century; based on the geometric forms of the circle, square, and triangle;

On a typewriter, how are the letters spaced?

monospaced

Where are commas and periods placed when using quotations

inside of the quotation marks

What is a widow?

a word or part of a word that is hanging out at the end of a paragraph

What is an orphan?

a word or a part of a word at the top of a column

How many spaces do you put after punctuation on a computer?

one

Explain the Gestalt Theory

assembly of elements is perceived as more than the sum of it's parts

What are the Gestalt Laws?

Continuity, closure, common fate, figure/ground, proximity, similarity, and symmetry

A lowercase "w" is wider than a lowercase "i" on a computure

True

Who helped in the creation of the typographic measurement system?

Gutenburg

What did Gutenburg invent?

Printing press

What is alignment?

arranging letters well

What are the types of alignment?

Flush left, flush right, centered, justified, and random

Kerning

adjustment of the spaces between two specific letters

Tracking

adjustment of the space between a group of letters

Where will the narrowest space be in type?

With rounded letters side by side ("po")

Where will the medium wide space be in type?

With a straight side and a rounded side ("ho")

Where will the widest space be found in type?

When two straight typefaces are next to one another ("HH")

How many picas are in one inch?

6 picas

How many points are in one pica?

12 points

How many points are in one inch?

72

Fill in the blank: Heavy strokes can _________

distort small type

True or false: Never downsize acronyms or numbers.

False

What is the primary goal for type?

To visually communicate

What is the difference between text type and display type?

Text type is designed to be read in large quantities vs Display type is designed to be read in small quantities

What size should text type usually be?

8-10 point

What size should display type usually be?

14+ point

Should be "icing on the cake" for typefaces:

Display text

What is the minimum number of words per line in order to avoid gappy word spacing?

6

When do we stack text?

Never

Lines of text are measure in:

Picas

How did Debra Adler specifically redesign the prescription bottles?

Changed the typographic hierarchy, adding color, enlarging most important type, and using a more legible typestyle

What are dumb quotes?

Used for feet or inches

What are smart quotes?

Used for genuine quotations, the two pairs are flipped

Why is word spacing important?

Legibility and readability

What is one way to know how type faces go together?

Choose similar body heights and make the styles different for a contrast

When combining typefaces, they should do what?

Live harmoniously with one another

How do you organize and identify type?

Typographic classification

Instead of stacking text, what is an alternate solution?

Tilting the text onto its side

What is typographical hierarchy?

Visual organization

When is it acceptable to stretch and squash text?

Never

True or false: It is acceptable to artificially bold typefaces.

False

What is an alternate solution to artificially bolding typefaces?

Find a typeface that has a bold variation for it

Why are grids the building blocks of design?

saves time, unifies project, dividing space, arranging content, contains text, give structure, cohesiveness to project

True or False: Computer typography is proportional.

True

This is an example of what alignment?

Flush left (rag right)

This is an example of what alignment?

Flush right (rag left)

This is an example of what alignment?

Centered

This is an example of what alignment?

Justified

This is an example of what alignment?

Random (Assymetrical)

Monospaced

width of letterforms share the same between all other letterforms

What are the 3 don'ts of scale and contrast?

1. Make everything look important

2. Not being bold enough

3. Not understanding how to use contrast on complex/busy background

True or False: Typography can be emotional.

True

True of false: The more effects the better.

False

Give examples of enviromental design and way finding

Airports and Stadiums

What is the best way to educate the typographical eye?

Pay attention to the world around you, typefaces are everywhere

When can you break the rules of typography?

When you understand them

Type is measure in

points

What are proper proportions?

the way in which typographic elements interact with each other

What is the typographic theory of relativity?

the role of proper proportions in typography

What is a type family?

a group of related type faces which share similar design characteristics and are designed to work together

True or false: Type has a personality.

True

What are the three most common variations in a font family?

Weight, width, slope

Part of a letter than extends below the baseline are called:

Descenders

Typographical color is based on what four variables?

Typeface, size, leading, and tracking

Part of a letter than extends above the x-height are called:

Ascenders

X-height

the height of the type

What are the invisible boundaries of extenders called?

Ascender and Descender lines

Type sits on a ________

baseline

What is the invisible boundary around the shape of a letter?

body width

What is the shortest of all dashes?

Hyphen