Goals:
I hope to not only discover a method to systematically create a type that is legible and well-designed but to also compile these reasons in a simple guide that can somewhat put to rest discrepancies other designers and non-designers face when using type.
Primary Sources:
I have among other great resources available to me here at City College, a few well-regarded type experts in their field. I will interview Ina Saltz as well as Donald Partyka for their insights on type design and legibility, their findings, and opinions on the subject.
Secondary Sources (Working Bibliography):
Graham, Lisa. Basics of Design: Layout & Typography for Beginners. New York: Delmar, 2002: 184.
Apple’s TrueType Reference Manual Retrieved on 2009-06-21 <>
McGrew, Mac. American Metal Typefaces of the Twentieth Century (second edition). New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Books, 1993: 85-87.
Cullen, Kristin. Layout Workbook: A Real-World Guide to Building Pages in Graphic Design, Jul 2005: 92
Saltz, Ina. Typography Essentials: 100 Design Principles for Working with Type. Gloucester: Rockport Publishers, 2009. Print.
Ryder, John. The Case for Legibility. Moretus Press, Incorporated, 1979.
Goudy, Frederic W. Typologia: Studies in Type Design & Type Making with Comments on the Invention of Typography, the First Types, Legibility & Fine Printing. University of California Press, 1987.
Comparables:
I found this website to be interesting, on digital legibility of type.
http://www.tomontheweb2.ca/CMX/4D5E2/
This website focuses a bit more on layout legibility, but I think the first link is closer to the kind of ways I want to expose the readability of fonts, not only in digital space but physical visual space as well.
Prototyping:
I hope to have developed at least one typeface to conduct experimental trials or surveys that explore legibility and likability of my design to a number of subjects in-house, at home, in the workplace, and at random.
A series of tests will be conducted on the web, on paper, and by interview. I believe posting signs with type and asking whether the signs were noticed, legible, and likable will be reserved for interview subjects in-house; an online survey for those reading the text online or on mobile devices; and a printed survey for those reading the text on printed paper.
Timeline:
I hope to stick closely with the suggested calendar of the thesis workload. This and next week will heavily depend upon the source material, gathering examples of supporting ideas, and interviews.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
(New) Thesis Statement
Many conditions contribute to making type readable, but as design has no guide, there must be a systematic way of developing type that makes for a beautifully designed and legible typeface.
Updates Thesis Proposal
Many conditions contribute to making type readable, but as design has no guide, there must be a systematic way of developing type that makes for a beautifully designed and legible typeface. My thesis will explore the role of type—the visual manisfestation of the written language in a set of unified characters and glyphs—in our lives on a general basis and how we interact with such type. No doubt unless someone is blind, mostly all people interact with type on a daily basis. My objective will be to explore those daily interactions with type to determine how legible it is and how the design plays a part if any in our lives. What makes for a well-designed typeface? Do people—not designers—care about the design of a typeface or is it simply a requirement to be able to read it?
Being primarily interested in the inner-workings of our species—our societies, our traditions, and our cultures—it has become a goal of mine to examine certain constructs that make up our perceived realities. In the past, artists and photographers have attempted to point out those similarities and/or differences that make us human in exhibitions such as The Family of Man curated by Edward Steichen during the Great Depression. In an attempt to explore all such facets that make life interesting, I have decided to abstract one feature of our lives that we respond to on a daily basis—the written word. Of the many varieties to those words—the language in which it is written, the size, the shapes, the color, the presentation—it is clear that in order to effectively communicate with its audience, it needs to be legible. In addition to readability, one has to, I suppose, like to look at it long enough to gain whatever it is being communicated.
However, one of the common threads that unite much of the topics in this field revolve around how type should be be designed. Rather than engage in a purely aesthetic battle on what one designer may feel about type design, I will, in my own subjective manner, simply show how it is used, historically and currently by type designers. Upon briefly discovering the techniques offered by designers of old and new alike, I can systematically determine if there is a method to this design that makes type not only legible but likeable. In addition the main focus of my thesis will be that of exploring the reasons we use type, showing its variety of uses, and determining whether or not the system I develop can be used across platforms. This will all be accomplished by the development of at least 2-3 different typefaces for suggested use in print, display, and mobile environments.
Why is design and legibility important when viewing type(faces)?
What is the purpose of type/text?
How was type used before the modern age, and how is it used today?
Who uses type and why do they use it?
How does design inform type legibility?
In pursuing this as my research question, I will have first discussed the importance of (mechanical) type as a development of and a supplement to the written language.
I will examine the various uses of type and how it has meaning in the modern world from print, to film and television, to desktop and mobile computing. I am focusing my analysis on the legibility in reference to the design while I will also include examples of what is currently accepted as good typographic style and design.
I will develop at least 2-3 new typefaces. Display, print, and digital/mobile are the categories of type, showing in varying degrees whether or not the typefaces I create abide by the guidelines I have deductively compiled for maximum legibility and make for an elegant design.
Supporting materials may include a printed accordian book of typeface samples, marketing materials featuring my designed type, and website materials distinguishing printed type from digital type.
Graham, Lisa. Basics of Design: Layout & Typography for Beginners. New York: Delmar, 2002: 184.
Apple’s TrueType Reference Manual Retrieved on 2009-06-21 <>
McGrew, Mac. American Metal Typefaces of the Twentieth Century (second edition). New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Books, 1993: 85-87.
Cullen, Kristin. Layout Workbook: A Real-World Guide to Building Pages in Graphic Design, Jul 2005: 92
Saltz, Ina. Typography Essentials: 100 Design Principles for Working with Type. Gloucester: Rockport Publishers, 2009. Print.
Ryder, John. The Case for Legibility. Moretus Press, Incorporated, 1979.
Goudy, Frederic W. Typologia: Studies in Type Design & Type Making with Comments on the Invention of Typography, the First Types, Legibility & Fine Printing. University of California Press, 1987.
Being primarily interested in the inner-workings of our species—our societies, our traditions, and our cultures—it has become a goal of mine to examine certain constructs that make up our perceived realities. In the past, artists and photographers have attempted to point out those similarities and/or differences that make us human in exhibitions such as The Family of Man curated by Edward Steichen during the Great Depression. In an attempt to explore all such facets that make life interesting, I have decided to abstract one feature of our lives that we respond to on a daily basis—the written word. Of the many varieties to those words—the language in which it is written, the size, the shapes, the color, the presentation—it is clear that in order to effectively communicate with its audience, it needs to be legible. In addition to readability, one has to, I suppose, like to look at it long enough to gain whatever it is being communicated.
However, one of the common threads that unite much of the topics in this field revolve around how type should be be designed. Rather than engage in a purely aesthetic battle on what one designer may feel about type design, I will, in my own subjective manner, simply show how it is used, historically and currently by type designers. Upon briefly discovering the techniques offered by designers of old and new alike, I can systematically determine if there is a method to this design that makes type not only legible but likeable. In addition the main focus of my thesis will be that of exploring the reasons we use type, showing its variety of uses, and determining whether or not the system I develop can be used across platforms. This will all be accomplished by the development of at least 2-3 different typefaces for suggested use in print, display, and mobile environments.
Why is design and legibility important when viewing type(faces)?
What is the purpose of type/text?
How was type used before the modern age, and how is it used today?
Who uses type and why do they use it?
How does design inform type legibility?
In pursuing this as my research question, I will have first discussed the importance of (mechanical) type as a development of and a supplement to the written language.
I will examine the various uses of type and how it has meaning in the modern world from print, to film and television, to desktop and mobile computing. I am focusing my analysis on the legibility in reference to the design while I will also include examples of what is currently accepted as good typographic style and design.
I will develop at least 2-3 new typefaces. Display, print, and digital/mobile are the categories of type, showing in varying degrees whether or not the typefaces I create abide by the guidelines I have deductively compiled for maximum legibility and make for an elegant design.
Supporting materials may include a printed accordian book of typeface samples, marketing materials featuring my designed type, and website materials distinguishing printed type from digital type.
Graham, Lisa. Basics of Design: Layout & Typography for Beginners. New York: Delmar, 2002: 184.
Apple’s TrueType Reference Manual Retrieved on 2009-06-21 <>
McGrew, Mac. American Metal Typefaces of the Twentieth Century (second edition). New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Books, 1993: 85-87.
Cullen, Kristin. Layout Workbook: A Real-World Guide to Building Pages in Graphic Design, Jul 2005: 92
Saltz, Ina. Typography Essentials: 100 Design Principles for Working with Type. Gloucester: Rockport Publishers, 2009. Print.
Ryder, John. The Case for Legibility. Moretus Press, Incorporated, 1979.
Goudy, Frederic W. Typologia: Studies in Type Design & Type Making with Comments on the Invention of Typography, the First Types, Legibility & Fine Printing. University of California Press, 1987.
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