Typographic Process Book by sarahemckinney

“ When a type design is good it is not because each individual letter of the alphabet is perfect in form, but because there is a feeling of harmony and unbroken rhythm that runs through the whole design, each letter kin to every other and to all.”

—Frederic Goudy

Typographic Process Book Sarah McKinney

Project 1

Prototypeface / Postcards Page 5

Project 2

Typography Brochure Page 11 3

Project 3

Typesetting Page 15

Project 4

Research Paper / Type Posters Page 31 4

Project 1 Prototypeface / Postcards InDesign | Illustrator | Photoshop

Project Objective

To design more accessible and unique postcards for adults between 20-30 years of age to share with the public, both hard copy and digitally. Create a unique card that can be proudly displayed by focusing on typography, page layout, color and concept by selecting 9 characters from an existing typeface and reconstructing them to convey emotion and great design.

Project Approach

The arrangement of the letter forms in Project 1 (pg. 7) elicits movement and allows the eye to create new letter forms through the relationships between positive and negative space, as well as between where one letter ends and the next begins. Keeping this in mind, I paid attention to these details when forming my new font Hex. Throughout the creative process, Hex took on a form similar to runes which is where the name is derived from (to me, runes evoke images of witchcraft and other esoteric ideas). Starting with an interesting sans-serif font called Millimetre, I originally started to add serifs to it. After deciding that didn’t “work” I moved on to creating what I started referring to as an anti-serif; the terminals of the stems draw inward to a width of four centimeters. This width also informed the width of the thinnest part of the body of the letter-form, while the thickest part matched that of the original typeface. The crossbars remain the same original thickness of the crossbars in Millimetre while the arms of Hex draw inward like the stems, to a final width of four centimeters. The final result has a runelike and somewhat primitive feel to it, as though it could be inscribed on a cave wall, but also has a feminine flow to it in the curves that defines the font. I chose a muted orange color for the black and white/ color version as it not only stands out against the black background, but mirrors the idea of the font being used in some kind of ritual (it’s very “Halloween-y”). In the full color version I chose a white background and softer, pastel-like colors to show an alternative use of the font as an almost whimsical mid-century style headline font.

Project 1: Prototypeface / Postcards “Hex”

Sarah McKinney Letterform Template

B x

S (Nc) flegrei regular

E (uc) Gill Sans Light

I started this project with an exercise in looking at text and different typefaces in a different way. I paid close attention to how the letter segments interacted with each other, and how that affected the movement of the images.

i (lc) Milka Aged regular

g g (lc) Millimetre Regular

R (uc) Garamond Regular

x (lc) Abril Fatface

B (uc) Luminari Regular

U (uc) Futura condensed medium

o (lc) Maku Regular

Next, I chose the typeface Millimetre as my base font to work from. I laid tracing paper over the grid of letters I chose, and worked on reconfiguring the typeface into what you see on the next page.

TEMPLATE: CALIGRAPHIC GRID

FOR SKETCHING PROTOTYPES.

PRINT OUT. USE TISSUE PAPER ON TOP OF GRID TO CREATE YOUR FORMS. YOU WILL BE ADJUSTING THE FORMS FOR FINAL SCANNING AND MANIPULATION IN ILLUSTRATOR.

WMA BQX KHE

I scanned these sketches into Adobe Illustrator and worked on forming my typeface there. Through trying different layouts of the letters, I decided on the name “Hex.”

Project 1: Prototypeface / Postcards “Hex”

Project 2 Typography Brochure InDesign

Project Objective

Using a simple typeface and 26 letters from the alphabet, which allows you to easily identify the anatomy of that typeface, choose at least 26 type anatomical descriptives, indicating one of each of the main elements. Use letter forms, numbers and/or special characters. You can use a phrase, a sentence or group of words; they can relate to your interests or cultural background.

Project Approach

I designed a gate fold brochure that has the words “Jazz music” on the front, divided down the middle on the left and right front flaps. When you open the right flap, the quote “Jazz washes away the dust of life” is completed with the left flap being left closed. When the left flap is opened, the quote “The Earth cannot move without music” is completed with the right flap closed. One design problem that needed to be addressed was whether or not to print the words “Jazz” and “music” on the inside of the brochure to complete the quotes when the brochure is fully opened. The idea was for the viewer to utilize the interactive element of completing the quotes by closing one of the flaps. In this scenario, if the entire quote was printed inside, the viewer would see either the word “Jazz” or the word “music” from the quote that is not currently being viewed hanging in space, out of place. However, if the brochure is fully opened, and the quotes are incomplete, they may not get the full context of the quote. To solve this problem, I mocked up a white on white and black on black glossy embossed text that fills in the quote while not being visually disruptive. Lastly, I chose the font Clarendon and a blue color similar to Blue Note Records jazz posters and album covers that utilize that font.

Project 2: Typography Brochure

This spread shows the interior of the brochure. The words “Jazz” and “music” are mocked up here in light colors to mimic a white-on-white and blackon-black glossy ink so that the quotes are complete both when the flaps of the brochure are open, and when they are closed, without interrupting the flow of either quote when viewed as “completed” by the front flap obscuring one side or the other.

The cover text completes the inner quotes when each side is opened.

The secondary text is split across the front flaps.

Project 2: Typography Brochure

The quotes inside are completed when fully open with a transparent, glossy text.

Project 3 Typesetting InDesign

Project Objective

3.1: Create 4 pages, each page showing one of the following alignments: Set Left, Set Right, Justify, Center. Use the copy “Letters Have a Life and Dignity of Their Own.” 3.2: Design a page footer colophon. 3.3: Create 5 pages, each page showing one of the following indicators: Indent, Hanging Indent, Extra Leading, First Word, First Sentence or Phrase. Use the copy excerpted from “Manifesto Mania.” 3.3b: Explore these three methods of indicating the beginning of a text: Initial Cap, Drop Cap, First/Intro Paragraph. Use the copy excerpted from “Manifesto Mania.” 3.4: Typeset the text supplied including title, subtitle and byline and show three levels of typographic hierarchy.

Project Approach

I began by creating three variations of each exercise, and choosing the most successful of each to showcase the exercise. Each exercise takes font size, tracking, leading, hierarchy and overall aesthetic into mind, to best showcase the text on the page within the required parameters.

Project 3: Typesetting 3.1

Letters ve a life dignity their own 16

Sarah McKinney Project 3 Typesetting Left Alignment 8/11 Adobe Garamond + 25 Tracking

Typography is just that: idealized writing. Writers themselves now rarely have the calligraphic skill of earlier scribes, but they evoke countless versions of ideal script by their varying voices and literary styles. To these blind and often invisible visions, the typographer must respond in visible terms. In a badly designed book, the letters mill and stand like starving horses in a field. In a book designed by rote, they sit like stale bread and mutton on the page. In a well-made book, where designer, compositor and printer have all done their jobs, no matter how many thousands of lines and pages they must occupy, the letters are alive. They dance in their seats. Sometimes they rise and dance in the margins and aisles. Simple as it may sound, the task of creative non-interference with letters is a rewarding and difficult calling. In ideal conditions, it is all that typographers are really asked to do — and it is enough. — Robert Bringhurst, The Elements of Typographic Style

Sarah McKinney / Project 3 / Typesetting; Left Alignment 8/11 Adobe Garamond + 25 Tracking

LETTERS HAVE A LIFE AND DIGNITY OF THEIR OWN Letter-forms that honor and elucidate what humans see and say deserve to be honored in their turn. Well-chosen words deserve well-chosen letters; these in their turn deserve to be set with affection, intelligence, knowledge and skill. Typography is a link, and it ought, as a matter of honor, courtesy and pure delight, to be as strong as others in the chain. Typography is just that: idealized writing. Writers themselves now rarely have the calligraphic skill of earlier scribes, but they evoke countless versions of ideal script by their varying voices and literary styles. To these blind and often invisible visions, the typographer must respond in visible terms. In a badly designed book, the letters mill and stand like starving horses in a field. In a book designed by rote, they sit like stale bread and mutton on the page. In a well-made book, where designer, compositor and printer have all done their jobs, no matter how many thousands of lines and pages they must occupy, the letters are alive. They dance in their seats. Sometimes they rise and dance in the margins and aisles. Simple as it may sound, the task of creative non-interference with letters is a rewarding and difficult calling. In ideal conditions, it is all that typographers are really asked to do — and it is enough. — Robert Bringhurst, The Elements of Typographic Style

Sarah McKinney Project 3 / Typesetting / Center Alignment ; 8/11 Adobe Garamond + 25 Tracking

Project 3: Typesetting 3.1

Sarah McKinney Project 3 Typesetting Center Alignment 8/11 Adobe Garamond + 25 Tracking

Sarah McKinney Project 3 Typesetting Right Alignment 8/11 Adobe Garamond + 25 Tracking

Sarah McKinney Project 3 / Typesetting / Right Alignment; 8/11 Adobe Garamond + 25 Tracking

Sarah McKinney Project 3 Typesetting Justified Alignment 8/11 Adobe Garamond + 25 Tracking

Sarah McKinney Project 3 / Typesetting / Justified Alignment ; 8/11 Adobe Garamond + 25 Tracking

Karl Marx had one. The Unibomber had one. When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence in 1776, he drafted the manifesto that launched the American Revolution. Graphic design would not exist as we know it today if F. T. Marinetti hadn’t published his manifestos and instigated Futurism. By inventing the idea of art as a branded public enterprise, Marinetti compelled many poets, painters and designers after him to state their principles in compact, incendiary speech. A manifesto is a short document that “manifests” or makes public a set of ideas and goals. A manifesto is passionate, personal and vivid. Such calls to action went out of fashion during the mid-20th century, replaced by more businesslike, professionally oriented statements of purpose and principle. But at the turn of the new century, just as at the turn of the old one, manifestos came back. Businesses started using “brand manifestos” to spell out the defining features of their products, and software companies and design firms started posting manifestos to publicize their approach in an edgy, direct way. Designers seem especially drawn to manifestos. A well-written manifesto is like a well-designed product. It communicates directly, it is broken into functional parts, and it has elements of poetry and surprise. And drafting one is more like writing an ad than writing a novel. Manifestos typically have a social function — they serve to bring together members of a group. Ten years ago, Bruce Mau published his “Incomplete Manifesto,” written as a list of commandments. These principles became the established creed of Mau’s own design office, but they can be used by anyone. Other designers with intriguing and influential personal manifestos include product designer Karim Rashid and the infamous post-typographers Bruce Willen and Nolen Strals. Bruce Sterling’s “Manifesto of January 3, 2000” helped galvanize the contemporary green movement, which is the epicenter of manifestowriting today. Sterling, in addition to demanding an overhaul of all social, political and military systems, pushed designers to create “intensely glamorous environmentally sound products; entirely new objects of entirely new materials; replacing material substance with information; a new relationship between the cybernetic and the material” (iPhone, anyone?). Also in 2000, Rick Poynor published the “First Things First 2000” manifesto, based on a text written by Ken Garland in 1964, a controversial document that called for designers to use their skills to improve environmental, social and cultural life rather than to sell hair gel and dog biscuits. excerpted from Manifesto Mania by Ellen and Julia Lupton

Sarah McKinney Project 3 / Paragraph Styles / Indent / Justified Alignment; 9/11 Adobe Garamond + 10 Tracking

Project 3: Typesetting 3.2/3

Karl Marx had one. The Unibomber had one. When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence in 1776, he drafted the manifesto that launched the American Revolution. Graphic design would not exist as we know it today if F. T. Marinetti hadn’t published his manifestos and instigated Futurism. By inventing the idea of art as a branded public enterprise, Marinetti compelled many poets, painters and designers after him to state their principles in compact, incendiary speech. A manifesto is a short document that “manifests” or makes public a set of ideas and goals. A manifesto is passionate, personal and vivid. Such calls to action went out of fashion during the mid-20th century, replaced by more businesslike, professionally oriented statements of purpose and principle. But at the turn of the new century, just as at the turn of the old one, manifestos came back. Businesses started using “brand manifestos” to spell out the defining features of their products, and software companies and design firms started posting manifestos to publicize their approach in an edgy, direct way. Designers seem especially drawn to manifestos. A well-written manifesto is like a well-designed product. It communicates directly, it is broken into functional parts, and it has elements of poetry and surprise. And drafting one is more like writing an ad than writing a novel. Manifestos typically have a social function — they serve to bring together members of a group. Ten years ago, Bruce Mau published his “Incomplete Manifesto,” written as a list of commandments. These principles became the established creed of Mau’s own design office, but they can be used by anyone. Other designers with intriguing and influential personal manifestos include product designer Karim Rashid and the infamous post-typographers Bruce Willen and Nolen Strals. Bruce Sterling’s “Manifesto of January 3, 2000” helped galvanize the contemporary green movement, which is the epicenter of manifesto-writing today. Sterling, in addition to demanding an overhaul of all social, political and military systems, pushed designers to create “intensely glamorous environmentally sound products; entirely new objects of entirely new materials; replacing material substance with information; a new relationship between the cybernetic and the material” (iPhone, anyone?). Also in 2000, Rick Poynor published the “First Things First 2000” manifesto, based on a text written by Ken Garland in 1964, a controversial document that called for designers to use their skills to improve environmental, social and cultural life rather than to sell hair gel and dog biscuits. excerpted from Manifesto Mania by Ellen and Julia Lupton

Sarah McKinney Project 3 / Paragraph Styles / Hanging Indent / Left Alignment; 9/12 Palatino Regular + 10 Tracking

Karl Marx had one. The Unibomber had one. When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence in 1776, he drafted the manifesto that launched the American Revolution. Graphic design would not exist as we know it today if F. T. Marinetti hadn’t published his manifestos and instigated Futurism. By inventing the idea of art as a branded public enterprise, Marinetti compelled many poets, painters and designers after him to state their principles in compact, incendiary speech. A manifesto is a short document that “manifests” or makes public a set of ideas and goals. A manifesto is passionate, personal and vivid. Such calls to action went out of fashion during the mid-20th century, replaced by more businesslike, professionally oriented statements of purpose and principle. But at the turn of the new century, just as at the turn of the old one, manifestos came back. Businesses started using “brand manifestos” to spell out the defining features of their products, and software companies and design firms started posting manifestos to publicize their approach in an edgy, direct way. Designers seem especially drawn to manifestos. A well-written manifesto is like a well-designed product. It communicates directly, it is broken into functional parts, and it has elements of poetry and surprise. And drafting one is more like writing an ad than writing a novel. Manifestos typically have a social function — they serve to bring together members of a group. Ten years ago, Bruce Mau published his “Incomplete Manifesto,” written as a list of commandments. These principles became the established creed of Mau’s own design office, but they can be used by anyone. Other designers with intriguing and influential personal manifestos include product designer Karim Rashid and the infamous post-typographers Bruce Willen and Nolen Strals. Bruce Sterling’s “Manifesto of January 3, 2000” helped galvanize the contemporary green movement, which is the epicenter of manifesto-writing today. Sterling, in addition to demanding an overhaul of all social, political and military systems, pushed designers to create “intensely glamorous environmentally sound products; entirely new objects of entirely new materials; replacing material substance with information; a new relationship between the cybernetic and the material” (iPhone, anyone?). Also in 2000, Rick Poynor published the “First Things First 2000” manifesto, based on a text written by Ken Garland in 1964, a controversial document that called for designers to use their skills to improve environmental, social and cultural life rather than to sell hair gel and dog biscuits. excerpted from Manifesto Mania by Ellen and Julia Lupton

Sarah McKinney Project 3 / Paragraph Styles / Extra Leading / Left Alignment; 8/11 Marion Regular + 20 Tracking

Project 3: Typesetting 3.2/3

Karl Marx had one. The Unibomber had one. When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence in 1776, he drafted the manifesto that launched the American Revolution. Graphic design would not exist as we know it today if F. T. Marinetti hadn’t published his manifestos and instigated Futurism. By inventing the idea of art as a branded public enterprise, Marinetti compelled many poets, painters and designers after him to state their principles in compact, incendiary speech. A manifesto is a short document that “manifests” or makes public a set of ideas and goals. A manifesto is passionate, personal and vivid. Such calls to action went out of fashion during the mid-20th century, replaced by more businesslike, professionally oriented statements of purpose and principle. But at the turn of the new century, just as at the turn of the old one, manifestos came back. Businesses started using “brand manifestos” to spell out the defining features of their products, and software companies and design firms started posting manifestos to publicize their approach in an edgy, direct way. Designers seem especially drawn to manifestos. A well-written manifesto is like a welldesigned product. It communicates directly, it is broken into functional parts, and it has elements of poetry and surprise. And drafting one is more like writing an ad than writing a novel. Manifestos typically have a social function — they serve to bring together members of a group. Ten years ago, Bruce Mau published his “Incomplete Manifesto,” written as a list of commandments. These principles became the established creed of Mau’s own design office, but they can be used by anyone. Other designers with intriguing and inf luential personal manifestos include product designer Karim Rashid and the infamous post-typographers Bruce Willen and Nolen Strals. Bruce Sterling’s “Manifesto of January 3, 2000” helped galvanize the contemporary green movement, which is the epicenter of manifesto-writing today. Sterling, in addition to demanding an overhaul of all social, political and military systems, pushed designers to create “intensely glamorous environmentally sound products; entirely new objects of entirely new materials; replacing material substance with information; a new relationship between the cybernetic and the material” (iPhone, anyone?). Also in 2000, Rick Poynor published the “First Things First 2000” manifesto, based on a text written by Ken Garland in 1964, a controversial document that called for designers to use their skills to improve environmental, social and cultural life rather than to sell hair gel and dog biscuits. excerpted from Manifesto Mania by Ellen and Julia Lupton

Sarah McKinney Project 3 / Paragraph Styles / First Word / Left Alignment; 10/14 Bodoni 72 Book + 25 Tracking

Karl Marx had one. The Unibomber had one. When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence in 1776, he drafted the manifesto that launched the American Revolution. Graphic design would not exist as we know it today if F. T. Marinetti hadn’t published his manifestos and instigated Futurism. By inventing the idea of art as a branded public enterprise, Marinetti compelled many poets, painters and designers after him to state their principles in compact, incendiary speech. A manifesto is a short document that “manifests” or makes public a set of ideas and goals. A manifesto is passionate, personal and vivid. Such calls to action went out of fashion during the mid-20th century, replaced by more businesslike, professionally oriented statements of purpose and principle. But at the turn of the new century, just as at the turn of the old one, manifestos came back. Businesses started using “brand manifestos” to spell out the defining features of their products, and software companies and design firms started posting manifestos to publicize their approach in an edgy, direct way. Designers seem especially drawn to manifestos. A well-written manifesto is like a well-designed product. It communicates directly, it is broken into functional parts, and it has elements of poetry and surprise. And drafting one is more like writing an ad than writing a novel. Manifestos typically have a social function — they serve to bring together members of a group. Ten years ago, Bruce Mau published his “Incomplete Manifesto,” written as a list of commandments. These principles became the established creed of Mau’s own design office, but they can be used by anyone. Other designers with intriguing and influential personal manifestos include product designer Karim Rashid and the infamous post-typographers Bruce Willen and Nolen Strals. Bruce Sterling’s “Manifesto of January 3, 2000” helped galvanize the contemporary green movement, which is the epicenter of manifesto-writing today. Sterling, in addition to demanding an overhaul of all social, political and military systems, pushed designers to create “intensely glamorous environmentally sound products; entirely new objects of entirely new materials; replacing material substance with information; a new relationship between the cybernetic and the material” (iPhone, anyone?). Also in 2000, Rick Poynor published the “First Things First 2000” manifesto, based on a text written by Ken Garland in 1964, a controversial document that called for designers to use their skills to improve environmental, social and cultural life rather than to sell hair gel and dog biscuits. excerpted from Manifesto Mania by Ellen and Julia Lupton

Sarah McKinney Project 3 / Paragraph Styles / First Sentence / Justified Alignment; 10/14 Palatino Regular + 25 Tracking

Project 3: Typesetting 3.2/3

Karl Marx had one. The Unibomber had one. When Thomas Jefferson wrote

the Declaration of Independence in 1776, he drafted the manifesto that launched the American Revolution. Graphic design would not exist as we know it today if F. T. Marinetti hadn’t published his manifestos and instigated Futurism. By inventing the idea of art as a branded public enterprise, Marinetti compelled many poets, painters and designers after him to state their principles in compact, incendiary speech. A manifesto is a short document that “manifests” or makes public a set of ideas and goals. A manifesto is passionate, personal and vivid. Such calls to action went out of fashion during the mid-20th century, replaced by more businesslike, professionally oriented statements of purpose and principle. But at the turn of the new century, just as at the turn of the old one, manifestos came back. Businesses started using “brand manifestos” to spell out the defining features of their products, and software companies and design firms started posting manifestos to publicize their approach in an edgy, direct way. Designers seem especially drawn to manifestos. A well-written manifesto is like a well-designed product. It communicates directly, it is broken into functional parts, and it has elements of poetry and surprise. And drafting one is more like writing an ad than writing a novel. Manifestos typically have a social function — they serve to bring together members of a group. Ten years ago, Bruce Mau published his “Incomplete Manifesto,” written as a list of commandments. These principles became the established creed of Mau’s own design office, but they can be used by anyone. Other designers with intriguing and influential personal manifestos include product designer Karim Rashid and the infamous post-typographers Bruce Willen and Nolen Strals. Bruce Sterling’s “Manifesto of January 3, 2000” helped galvanize the contemporary green movement, which is the epicenter of manifesto-writing today. Sterling, in addition to demanding an overhaul of all social, political and military systems, pushed designers to create “intensely glamorous environmentally sound products; entirely new objects of entirely new materials; replacing material substance with information; a new relationship between the cybernetic and the material” (iPhone, anyone?). Also in 2000, Rick Poynor published the “First Things First 2000” manifesto, based on a text written by Ken Garland in 1964, a controversial document that called for designers to use their skills to improve environmental, social and cultural life rather than to sell hair gel and dog biscuits. excerpted from Manifesto Mania by Ellen and Julia Lupton

Sarah McKinney Project 3 / Text Column Grids / Initial Cap / Justified Alignment; 10/13 Palatino Regular + 20 Tracking

Project 3: Typesetting 3.2/3b

hese principles became the established creed of Mau’s own design office, but they can be used by anyone. Other designers with intriguing and influential personal manifestos include product designer Karim Rashid and the infamous post-typographers Bruce Willen and Nolen Strals.

Bruce Sterling’s “Manifesto of January 3, 2000” helped galvanize the contemporary green movement, which is the epicenter of manifesto-writing today. Sterling, in addition to demanding an overhaul of all social, political and military systems, pushed designers to create “intensely glamorous environmentally sound products; entirely new objects of entirely new materials; replacing material substance with information; a new relationship between the cybernetic and the material” (iPhone, anyone?). Also in 2000, Rick Poynor published the “First Things First 2000” manifesto, based on a text written by Ken Garland in 1964, a controversial document that called for designers to use their skills to improve environmental, social and cultural life rather than to sell hair gel and dog biscuits. Karl Marx had one. The Unibomber had one. When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence in 1776, he drafted the manifesto that launched the American Revolution. Graphic design would not exist as we know it today if F. T. Marinetti hadn’t published his manifestos and instigated Futurism. By inventing the idea of art as a branded public enterprise, Marinetti compelled many poets, painters and designers after him to state their principles in compact, incendiary speech. A manifesto is a short document that “manifests” or makes public a set of ideas and goals. A manifesto is passionate, personal and vivid. Such calls to action went out of fashion during the mid-20th century, replaced by more businesslike, professionally oriented statements of purpose and principle. But at the turn of the new century, just as at the turn of the old one, manifestos came back. Businesses started using “brand manifestos” to spell out the defining features of their products, and software companies and design firms started posting manifestos to publicize their approach in an edgy, direct way. Designers seem especially drawn to manifestos. A well-written manifesto is like a well-designed product. It communicates directly, it is broken into functional parts, and it has elements of poetry and surprise. And drafting one is more like writing an ad than writing a novel. Manifestos typically have a social function — they serve to bring together members of a group. Ten years ago, Bruce Mau published his “Incomplete Manifesto,” written as a list of commandments. excerpted from Manifesto Mania by Ellen and Julia Lupton

Sarah McKinney Project 3 / Text Column Grids / Drop Cap / Left Alignment; 9/12 Avenir Roman + 40 Tracking

Project 3: Typesetting 3.2/3b

Karl Marx had one. The Unibomber had one. When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence in 1776, he drafted the manifesto that launched the American Revolution. Graphic design would not exist as we know it today if F. T. Marinetti hadn’t published his manifestos and instigated Futurism. By inventing the idea of art as a branded public enterprise, Marinetti compelled many poets, painters and designers after him to state their principles in compact, incendiary speech. A manifesto is a short document that “manifests” or makes public a set of ideas and goals. A manifesto is passionate, personal and vivid. Such calls to action went out of fashion during the mid-20th century, replaced by more businesslike, professionally oriented statements of purpose and principle. But at the turn of the new century, just as at the turn of the old one, manifestos came back. Businesses started using “brand manifestos” to spell out the defining features of their products, and software companies and design firms started posting manifestos to publicize their approach in an edgy, direct way. Designers seem especially drawn to manifestos. A well-written manifesto is like a well-designed product. It communicates directly, it is broken into functional parts, and it has elements of poetry and surprise. And drafting one is more like writing an ad than writing a novel. Manifestos typically have a social function — they serve to bring together members of a group. Ten years ago, Bruce Mau published his “Incomplete Manifesto,” written as a list of commandments. These principles became the established creed of Mau’s own design office, but they can be used by anyone. Other designers with intriguing and influential personal manifestos include product designer Karim Rashid and the infamous post-typographers Bruce Willen and Nolen Strals. Bruce Sterling’s “Manifesto of January 3, 2000” helped galvanize the contemporary green movement, which is the epicenter of manifesto-writing today. Sterling, in addition to demanding an overhaul of all social, political and military systems, pushed designers to create “intensely glamorous environmentally sound products; entirely new objects of entirely new materials; replacing material substance with information; a new relationship between the cybernetic and the material” (iPhone, anyone?). Also in 2000, Rick Poynor published the “First Things First 2000” manifesto, based on a text written by Ken Garland in 1964, a controversial document that called for designers to use their skills to improve environmental, social and cultural life rather than to sell hair gel and dog biscuits. excerpted from Manifesto Mania by Ellen and Julia Lupton

Sarah McKinney Project 3 / Text Column Grids / Intro Paragraph / Left Alignment; 10/12 Avenir Heavy and 10/13 Palatino Regular + 20 Tracking

“ ,egau Ln ni yan fo tsi yanm rofms, i s a - s t l e cn f o a i d m e t s y f o e c t a r v i n g i n s t h a e t s u c n a i m o ” e a d s .i

Project 3: Typesetting 3.4

Verbal and Visual Equations An examination of interactive signs excerpted from Typographic Design: Form and Communication

By Ben Day & Philip Meggs

Language, in any of its many forms, is a self-contained system of interactive signs that communicates ideas. Just as elocution and diction enhance and clarify the meaning of our spoken words, typographic signs can be manipulated by a designer to achieve more lucid and expressive typographic communication. Signs operate in two dimensions: syntactic and semantic. When the mind is concerned with the form of a sign, it is involved with typographic syntax. When it associates a particular meaning with a sign, it is operating in the semantic dimension. All objects in the environment can potentially function as signs, representing any number of concepts. A smog-filled city signifying pollution, a beached whale representing extinction, and confetti implying a celebration—each functions as a sign relating a specific concept. Signs may exist at various levels of abstraction. A simple example will illustrate this point. Let us consider something as elemental as a red dot. It is a sign only if it carries a particular meaning. It can represent any number of things:

balloon, ball, or Japanese flag. The red dot can become a cherry, for example, as the mind is cued by forms more familiar to its experience. The particular syntactic qualities associated with typographic signs determine a specific meaning. A series of repeated letters, for example, may signify motion or speed, while a small letter in a large void may signify isolation. These qualities, derived from the operating principles of visual hierarchy and ABA form, function as cues, permitting the mind to form concepts. Simple syntactic manipulations, such as the repetition of letters, or the weight change of certain letters, enable words visually to mimic verbal meaning. In language, signs are joined together to create messages. Words as verbal sign, grouped together in a linear fashion, attain their value vis-à-vis other words through opposition and contrast. Words can also evoke meaning through mental association. These associative relations are semantically derived. Since typography is both visual and verbal, it operates in a linear fashion, with words following each other in a specific sequence, or in a nonlinear manner, with elements existing in many syntactic combinations.

Sarah McKinney / Project 3 Exercise 4, Modular Grid / Hierarchy / Scale and Style, 1 Typeface Family / Title—45/40 and 30/40 Avenir Black Oblique; Subtitle—18/18 Avenir Heavy; Byline—12/14 Avenir Roman and 12/14 Avenir Medium Oblique; Body text—9/12 Avenir Book and Medium Oblique +25 Tracking

Verbal and Visual Equations

By Ben Day & Philip Meggs

Sarah McKinney / Project 3 Exercise 4, Modular Grid / Hierarchy / Scale and Style, 2 Typeface Families / Title—55/57 and 45/57 Futura Bold and Medium; Subtitle—20/23 Minion Variable Concept Italic ; Byline—12/14 Futura Condensed Medium; Body text—10/13 Minion Variable Concept Regular +25 Tracking

Project 3: Typesetting 3.4

Verbal and Visual Equations An examination of interactive signs excerpted from Typographic Design: Form and Communication

By Ben Day & Philip Meggs

Language, in any of its many forms, is a self-contained system of interactive signs that communicates ideas. Just as elocution and diction enhance and clarify the meaning of our spoken words, typographic signs can be manipulated by a designer to achieve more lucid and expressive typographic communication. Signs operate in two dimensions: syntactic and semantic. When the mind is concerned with the form of a sign, it is involved with typographic syntax. When it associates a particular meaning with a sign, it is operating in the semantic dimension. All objects in the environment can potentially function as signs, representing any number of concepts. A smog-fi lled city signifying pollution, a beached whale representing extinction, and confetti implying a celebration—each functions as a sign relating a specific concept. Signs may exist at various levels of abstraction. A simple example will illustrate this point. Let us consider something as elemental as a red dot. It is a sign only if it carries a particular meaning. It can represent any number of things: balloon, ball, or Japanese flag. The red dot can

become a cherry, for example, as the mind is cued by forms more familiar to its experience. The particular syntactic qualities associated with typographic signs determine a specific meaning. A series of repeated letters, for example, may signify motion or speed, while a small letter in a large void may signify isolation. These qualities, derived from the operating principles of visual hierarchy and ABA form, function as cues, permitting the mind to form concepts. Simple syntactic manipulations, such as the repetition of letters, or the weight change of certain letters, enable words visually to mimic verbal meaning. In language, signs are joined together to create messages. Words as verbal sign, grouped together in a linear fashion, attain their value vis-à-vis other words through opposition and contrast. Words can also evoke meaning through mental association. These associative relations are semantically derived. Since typography is both visual and verbal, it operates in a linear fashion, with words following each other in a specific sequence, or in a nonlinear manner, with elements existing in many syntactic combinations.

Sarah McKinney / Project 3 Exercise 4, Modular Grid / Hierarchy / Scale and Style, 2 Typeface Families + Graphic Element (color) / Title—85/40 Superclarendon Italic, 65/40 Superclarendon Light, and 45/40 Suoerclarendon Light; Subtitle—20/18 Gill Sans SemiBold; Byline—10/12 Superclarendon Italic ; Body text—9/12 Gill Sans Light Left Aligned +10 Tracking

Project 4 Research Paper / Type Posters InDesign | Illustrator

Project Objective

1a. Choose a famous Swiss Designer and write a 250 word research paper about them. Include samples of their work. 1b. Typefaces have been split into classifications known as the Vox System. Each of these typefaces has it’s own characteristics that can be assigned to a group depending on whether it has serifs, the variations in thickness in the stroke, and other aesthetic qualities. Research the various periods and design from its influence. Visually communicate the evolution of type. Practice the principles of typography that we have studied. Then design a series of three posters that visually communicate the classifications of the typefaces you have chosen, that will educate the viewer; choose two Serifs and one Sans Serif font.

Project Approach

1a. I chose Wolfgang Weingart, known colloquially as the “father” of New Wave or Swiss Punk typography. I treated the title typography with a similar treatment and aesthetic to his, utilizing free movement, rhythm and shape to communicate an idea, while at the same time using grids to align my content. 1b. I started with about 30 different thumbnail ideas, and narrowed those ideas down to two designs. We went over them in class critique, and through that process I chose a design that originally had a visual element of extended serifs and stems that bisected the poster visually, but required breaking the title of each font into two parts. After further critiquing, it was decided that the titles being visually broken harmed the readability of the name, but extending the serifs and stems didn’t work when the titles weren’t broken onto separate planes (they would intersect the names). I ultimately ended up removing the “extensions,” but kept the rest of the overall feel and design of the original idea. For the title treatment, I ended up using lower opacity versions on the title behind the main title, using different typefaces from the chosen family to add emphasis and enforce hierarchy.

Project 4: Research Paper / Type Posters 1a

e W i n

r g

o an W l fg g

The title treatment of my research paper on Wolfgang Weingart is meant to evoke a similar style to Weingart’s own style and rhythm.

experiment. He later taught classes at Basel, showing his students how to use the elemental rules of Swiss design, as well as how to break them. He allowed his students to find their own styles, rather than impressing his own on them; regardless, they took to his teachings and started referring to his as the “Weingart style.”

Wolfgang Weingart (b. 1941) was internationally known as both a graphic designer and typographer. While his work is categorized as Swiss Typography, he is often referred to as “the father” of New Wave (or Swiss Punk) typography. He passed away this year on July 12th, 2021.

He stated “When I began teaching in 1968, classical, so-called “Swiss typography” (dating from the 1950s), was still commonly practiced by designers throughout Switzerland and at our school. Its conservative design dogma and strict limitations stifled my playful, inquisitive, experimental temperament and I reacted strongly against it. Yet at the same time I recognized too many good qualities in Swiss typography to renounce it altogether. Through my teaching I set out to use the positive qualities of Swiss typography as a base from which to pursue radically new typographic frontiers.” by Sarah McKinney

Weingart attended the Merz Academy in Stuttgart from 1958 to 1960, where he learned typesetting and printmaking, focusing on linocuts and woodcuts. Later, during a typesetting apprenticeship at Ruwe Printing, he was introduced to designer Karl-August Hanke who became his mentor and encouraged him to study in Switzerland. It was there, in Basel, that Weingart met Emil Ruder and Armin Hoffmann, resulting in him moving there and enrolling at the Basel School of Design. Weingart reportedly became disappointed with the lessons at Basel, and stopped going to some of them, favoring the typeshop at the school where he could

My first tight pencil comps used vertically aligned titles with the typeface names being broken in half in an extreme way.

Project 4: Research Paper / Type Posters 1b

I then aligned the titles horizontally, but the same readability issue kept arising with the typeface names being broken in half, aligned on different planes.

I ultimately abandoned the divided and extended titles for a cleaner look, utilizing “ghost” versions of the title font in different typefaces from the family. The lower-opacity versions behind the title add a sense of depth and movement.

Project 4: Research Paper / Type Posters 1b

I designed this book with sound and rhythm in mind. Music is important to me, as an artist, designer and a musician, and tends to creep into a lot of the design work I do. Throughout the duration of this course, I started to see the strong connection between music and typography. Like music, typography utilizes pattern and rhythm, along with intentional breaks, to allow the reader to make sense of the letters arranged on the page. This informed the design of the book: the cover type creates the shape of a sound wave, and this design is echoed throughout the book in the design elements that support the text. For example, the shape of the sound waves echoed in the typesetting exercises reflect the edges of both the rag and justified text. For the layout, I treated this process book similar to a magazine; there are pull quotes and introductory titles similar to magazine spreads. I pulled the colors from the cover of the book, dropping the opacity down to about 15% to keep the addition of the colors from pulling attention away from the content.

Design/layout Sarah McKinney Cover typeface Outward Block Quote typefaces Contralto Big Demi Bold/Regular; Bebas Neue Book; Athelas Bold Copy typefaces Avenir Black/Medium/Book/ Book Oblique/Light Oblique; Athelas Regular UC Berkeley Extension Graphic Design Typography Fundamentals Instructor Victoria Arriola DESIGNX450.9-023 UNEX-2021-Fall