Typography Notes/Worksheet

Typography Worksheet:

1. Ascender line – the line at which determines the height of the ascender.
2. Baseline – a line that all the characters rest on.
3. Ascender height – the height of the upper part of a letter.
4. Cap height – the height at which capital letters reach.
5. Descenders – the lower portion of a letter that goes under the baseline.
6. Ascenders – the upper portion of a letter that goes past the mean line.
7. X-height – the distance from the top to the bottom of the main portion of a letter.
8. Cap line – the line at which expresses the top of a capital letter.
9. Mean line – the line that expresses the high at which the main portion of a letter reaches.
10. Descender line – this line expresses the length of which descenders reach.

Define Serif: Serifs are the little extra extensions on a typeface that make the readability smoother.
Define Sans-Serif: San-Serif is where the font lacks the extra extensions called the serif.
When do you use Antique Fonts?

  Antiques are the fonts that have a long history and are used to evoke a period feel.
At most how many words should be Decorative Fonts at a time?

  Rarely appropriate for more than three words at a time.
What does a script font resemble?

  Handwriting.
What element of design does script represent? (From elements lesson)

   It represents line.
Why use Symbol Fonts?
  Can provide embellishments into text or create a complement to a specific font.

Define Typography:

  Typography is the art and process of arranging letters and symbols and such for media purposes.
Why do designers need a solid foundation in typography?

  Because everything you touch, see, and create is impacted by the use of writing styles and techniques.
Kerning:

  Kerning is the space located between letters that may need to be adjusted to look pleasing.
Leading:

  Leadings are the space between lines of text.
Tracking:
  Where there are excessive white spaces throughout a text body creating “rivers” of white on the page.

 

When do you use the following?
Center Alignment: To draw attention (newspaper headers, book titles, and report titles)
Right Alignment: For professional looks (corporate business letters, return address labels, business cards, and other formal styled projects)
Justified Alignment: Creates perfect alignment on both left and right margins (mostly reserved for newspaper print and body text for text books <difficult to work with> )

Styling

What is remembered: good styling or bad styling?

  Bad styling is more remembered and intrusive. Good styling is clean and easily read quickly therefore, not remembered.
What is legibility?

  Legibility is the ability to easily read text.
Type size smaller than 7pt is:

  This is difficult to read.
Type size smaller than 3pts is:

  This is definitely not readable.
Type range for legible type is:

  The type range is from 8-14 pt.

What do you use for long passages?

  For long passages, it is best to use Serif fonts.
What case do we use for Body?

  Upper- and lower- case because the irregular shapes make legibility easier.
What is measure?

  This refers to the width of the text column.
What can you tell me about Ragged Edges?

  These are uneven lines caused by a left or right alignment. (one side is straight and the other is uneven from different sized words)

Text as Image

What are some ways text can be used and what font types do you use for each?
  Text is used in typography- art with words. In this the texts can be used to exhibit moods and feelings with words and a picture. The fonts can be serif or san serif, natural or geometric, blocky or thin, and densely packed or spaced. All this creates different feelings.

Choosing and Using Type: 

**Read ALL of it.  Answer the following:

Why is choosing and using the right font important? (Two reasons)

  1.  Type is an unconscious persuader. It is emotional at a subliminal level.

  2.  Type is also expresses who you are and what your text is.

What are the two most important things to remember?  

    1.  Type is on the page to serve text. Text should be made easy to read and create a suitable background. Type should NOT overpower the text.

   2.  There are no good and bad typefaces; there are just appropriate and inappropriate typefaces. Think about the audience and who the reader will generally be to choose the appropriate typeface.
What is appropriate? What do you have to consider?

  When taking typeface into consideration you must look at the audience and the feeling a text should have. If a the main concept of a text is to be easy to read for anyone, then a font with a large x-height should be used. Also, you can look at feelings such as casual and friendly. Or themes such as traditional can be used too.

Tell me the rules:  (there are 10)

  1.  Body text should be between 10-12pt and 11pt for best printing. <ensure to use the same font looks such as typeface, type size, and leadings>

  2.  Use enough leadings (line-spacing). <always add at least 1-2pts. To the typesize>
  3.  Don’t make lines too short or too long. <optimum size: over 30 characters and under 70 character.>

  4.  Make paragraph beginnings clear. <use indent or block style for paragraphs (only one).>

  5.  Use only one space after a period, not two.

  6.  Don’t justify text unless you have to. <hyphenations if you do.>

  7.  Don’t underline ANYTHING. <especially not headlines or subheads.>

  8.  Use italics instead of underlines.

  9.  Don’t set long blocks of text in italics, bold, or all caps. <harder to read.>

  10.  Use more space above headlines and subheads than below them <avoid setting them in all caps.>