Carreon CH 1, 3 & 6

Chapter 1:

Chapter 1 presents 3 timelines of typography evolution throughout different eras. The first era (from the origins of writing to Gutenberg’s invention of movable type: 3150 B.C – A.D 1450). One of the first things that caught my attention was image 9 on page 3, its an image of the 22 characters of the Phoenician alphabet and how we begin to see similarities in characters with the roman alphabet that is commonly used in most languages today. A second note that caught my eye was image 38, the type on the image was formatted in a grid as early as 1450. In the second era (from Gutenberg to the 19^th century A.D 1450-1800) image 46 presents yet another view of how simple two column grids were being used for early printing types. During the French Renaissance we begin to see type being used with better aesthetics and design. Image 59 shows a combination piece including typography, illustration and decorative initials. The third era (the nineteenth century and industrial revolution A.D 1800-1899) clearly shows the birth of new typefaces and mixes os serif and san serif fonts and adjusting of font weight. Type compositions are more elaborate combining images, text, color, different typefaces and using compositions for display and promotions.

Chapter 3:

This chapter presents the importance of syntax  “connecting of typographic signs” (49). The typographic composition should be concerned with not only the anatomy of the letterform, but also the words, lines, columns, and margins. What makes a typographic sign visually dynamic is not solely the black of the letter form, but also the counter form and the negative space around it in the composition. The word consists of multiple letterforms put together and completely separate of the things they represent, however, they could be designed to reveal their meaning. The book uses the example of the word JOY, the simple letter forms alone do not represent what “joy” literally means, however, combined with a star and glass, the viewer sees emotion invoked into the letterforms. The chapters talks about how line forming in type forms and is organized in columns, (vertical or horizontal), this then establishes a hierarchy of dominant and subordinate text. The chapter also talks about visual accentuation and visual punctuation, just as the writer uses standard punctuation marks to separate words, and clarify meaning, so must the designer use visual punctuation to separate, group and emphasize typographic messages.

Chapter 6:

Chapter 6 talks about the typographic message. Type is not solely type for the sake of type, but to convey a particular message. In the early twentieth-century, typography was a form of communication. The type was designed and positioned into a design piece to convey a message. The author of the book gives the example of the ping pong poem. The placement of the letters and words in the composition are placed so to resemble the bouncing of an actual ping pong ball, thus reinforcing and strengthening the message. This connection between type and meaning , form and meaning, intensify visual communication. In a piece written by Timothy Samara, the author defines a graphic designer as “a communicator, someone who takes ideas and gives them visual form so that others can understand”. Timothy Samara presents 20 rules for good design, among those, rule number one is to have a concept “if there is no message, no story, no idea, no narrative, or no useful experience to be had, it’s not graphic design. It doesn’t matter how amazing the thing is to look at; without a clear message, It’s an empty although beautiful, shell”. This rule presents a perfect sum-up of chapter 6 of Typographic Design: Form and Communication. The image below shows a great example of what this chapter talks about, the typography in the composition should be clear and well formed to get the message across effectively and without making the viewer confused.