Research Plan

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.