Pecha Kucha Presentation

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Written form of language is visible, spoken form is invisible. There are two forms written language can take: alphabetic and ideographic. Ideographic systems are based on graphic symbols that represent an idea or concept. They have a semantic basis. Alphabetic systems of writing are based on letterforms that represent units of speech and have a phonetic basis.

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When reading a graphic symbol a person interprets the meaning of the symbol based on his or her past experiences with the object. Languages such as Chinese and Japanese are ideographically based. In a strictly ideographic system pictures are connected to meaning but not at all associated with phonemes of speech. 

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In an alphabetic system, symbols are used to represent the phonemes of a language. The symbols have no inherent meaning, but instead represent the sounds of speech. By placing phonetic symbols, or letters, in a particular order the sound of a word can be represented. In most alphabetic systems, groups of phonemes are separated by spaces to represent the end of one word and the beginning of another

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Letters are inherently functional. Their purpose is to communicate. The level of legibility depends on the context in which the text is read. A legible letter should look like itself and not be mistaken for other letters. An A that no longer looks like an A, no longer functions as a letter. A letter or word whose visual style confuses or overwhelms the reader interrupts communication. 

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Our alphabet is based on the Roman Alphabet. The Roman Alphabet was a style different from the informal scripts and cursives of the time. The Roman Alphabet uppercase was used for inscriptions and carefully chiseled or painted with a brush. Script handwriting was used for books and legal documents. The influence of the context in which these different styles were used carry on today.

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Our capital letters are very similar to the Roman Alphabet’s uppercase letters. Our lowercase letters are derived from handwriting. Throughout history a great multitude of typefaces have been developed, each one being influenced by that which came before it. Current events, ways of thinking, and styles within a culture also have an important influence in the design of a typeface.

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Before a designer begins to create the letters he or she needs to have a concept. A designer must take into account what content the letters will say and the context in which the letters will appear. The design of a typeface is enhanced when the concept is well developed and implemented appropriately.

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When designing a typeface the designer must balance concept with function and legibility. Not all typefaces value legibility over concept. But the goal of such typefaces isn’t always to be the most legible. Sometimes letterforms can be difficult to recognize. These typefaces expressively embody concepts within the letterforms.

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A designer does not go through the alphabet A through Z. They instead separate letters and categorize them according to the unique characteristics of each letter. For example, p, d, b, and q are very similar and could be grouped together. By designing group by group a designer can make the letterforms more consistent throughout the typeface.

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Many designers begin with n and o for lowercase, and H and O for uppercase. These are used as control letters examples of square and round letters. By starting with these letters, stroke width, x height, axis, width, and other kinds of characteristics can be defined very early. The rest of the alphabet can then be developed based on the results.

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The next letters that are usually designed are similar to the control letters but introduce new design challenges. If a designer begins with uppercase H, he or she might then design uppercase E. It’s important to correct any problems in the design during this stage of the process. If left unadjusted the issue will be echoed throughout the entire typeface.

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Next in the process a designer might develop more challenging letters, such as capital B. Early in the design process a designer should combine letters into words to see how they look together. If they don’t look good adjustments must be made. The square, round, and diagonal characteristics of letters need to be fine-tuned to work together.

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A designer will often create some of the uppercase and lowercase letters simultaneously to get a feel of the relationship between the two cases. The one that is completed first or is considered more important depends on the use and concept. Lowercase has a great influence on the feel, legibility, and usefulness of a typeface.

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Uppercase is typically taller, wider, and occupies more space than lowercase in order to keep proportions between the two cases. In turn stroke weight is often slightly heavier in uppercase than lowercase to compensate. The uppercase may be condensed slightly to keep the capitals from overpowering the lowercase and to have more consistent widths

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Numerals can unfortunately be afterthoughts when designing a typeface, but they can help define the style and might sway a designer to use that particular typeface. Unlike letters, numerals are likely to be seen standing alone. A designer must consider this potential use when creating the numerals.

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“Old style” numerals are of varying heights and baselines to correspond to lowercase ascenders and descenders. They are meant to be used with lowercase text. In the 18th century, numbers appeared more and more in print, such as in charts and tables, and new style was developed . All numerals sat on the same baseline and had the same height.

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The purpose of punctuation is to organize, clarify, and modify written language. Punctuation marks, symbols, and accented characters have an important role in typography. Punctuation should be able to be read quickly and clearly. If punctuation isn’t clearly designed, the meaning or pronunciation of a word may change.

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The idea of using a family of fonts became fully developed once movable type became widespread..  A type family must have similar curves, structure, and height while still creating stylistic variations. Such variations can include: oblique, italics, extended, condensed, light, bold, and many more.

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A typeface can be categorized based on its visual rules. A typeface follows particular guidelines so the letters are unified and can work together. Shape, size, proportion, weight, terminals, and decoration are ways to define a typeface. A typeface must follow the rules throughout all of it’s letters in order to be successful.

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All of the letters within a typeface must work together equally well. The strength of a typeface is within the whole, not the individual. A successful typeface is well crafted and useful. Text is everywhere and is a powerful and important tool in communication.

 

About

I'm a sophomore at Herron School of Art and Design at IUPUI pursuing a degree in Visual Communication. This blog is dedicated to my research, activities, and findings related to my VC classes.