“Typographical design should perform optically what the speaker creates through voice and gesture of his thoughts.” — El Lizzitsky

Define Weight

            The density or the lightness of the individual letterforms

Define Width

            The width of the font is how stretched out a letter is or how narrow it is.

Define Style

            Level of boldness or kind of letter within a typeface

Define Font

            The term “font” relates to a specific size and style of a given typeface

Define Typeface

The term typeface is used to describe a complete alphabet including letters, numerals, punctuation marks, accents, special reference marks etc.

Define x-height

            The height of the lowercase x

Define Cap Height

            The height of capital letterforms

Define Leading

            The spacing between lines of letters

Define Letterspacing (tracking)

Applying tiny spaces in-between small cap letters to make them more agreeable to the eye

How is type measured in inches, mm, points, or picas?

            Type is usually measured in points

Define Point

            A point is the smallest unit of measure and a division of the larger pica

Define Pica

A typographic unit of measure corresponding to 1/72 of its respective foot, and therefore to 1/6 of an inch

How many points in an inch?

There are 72 points in an inch

If a letter is set in 36 pts about how many inches tall is it?

            ½ of an inch tall

How many picas in an inch?

            There are 6 picas in an inch

How many points in a pica?

            The pica contains 12 point units of measure

Type Questions

Define the word “grid”

A grid is a structure made up of horizontal and vertical lines, and on it the designer places components such as headings, text, images, captions etc.

Why do we use a grid? What are the benefits or functions?

The designer uses the grid so that the information is in a sequential and logical manner and so that readers can easily navigate their way through the page.

What is a modular grid?

The module is an area calculated in depth by the text leading and width by the text line length.

Define and Illustrate: margins, columns, grid modules, flowlines, gutter

Margins: that usually empty space between the trim (where the page is cut) and the live printing area (primary text and graphics) of the page

Columns: Vertical divisions of space used to align visual elements

Grid Modules: Spaces created by columns, rows, and margins that support text and visuals. Content will determine the amount of active modules

Flowlines: Support for vertical columns by dividing the page into horizontal intervals to provide additional alignment points across a grid

Gutter: The inside margins or blank space between two facing pages

Define Hierarchy

Hierarchy is achieved through the proper and conscious implementation of visual prompts that emphasize significant content within the design while gradually minimizing the attention needed for other elements.

Define Typographic Color

Apparent blackness of a block of text resulting from the combined effect of the relative thickness of the strokes of individual characters, their width and point size, and the leading (line spacing) used in setting the text.

What are ways to achieve a clear hierarchy?

Ways to achieve clear hierarchy include exaggerating the size of text or image, by isolating a design element, or by employing additional graphics that call attention to a specific place in the layout.

Define White Space

A place on the page where no test or pictures are placed.  White space is the eternal quest of graphic designers who struggle to justify to clients or higher ranks the blank real estate in brochures, websites, stationary, and other design projects.

Define Contrast

Contrast operates on two levels: how the elements within the layout contrast and how the layout itself contrasts with its context.

Type Activity

Our activity was to find some objects that could spell out the word "Type".  This is what we came up with: