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Job no:80872 Title : RP-Typography Workbook Client : Pro-Vision Scn : #175 Size : 228.6(w)228.6(h)mm Co : M10 C0 O/P: CTP Dept : DTP D/O : 08.04.04(Job no:000000 D/O : 00.00.01 Co: CM0)
p78 Job no:8 Scn : #17 Dept : DT Text Black Typography Workbook 78 79
Linguistic Deconstruction
Verbal or conceptual cues within the content can also be used to break structure. The natural rhythm of spoken language, for example, is often used as a guide for changing weight, size, color, or alignment among lines of type; louder or faster words may be set in larger or bolder type or in italics, corresponding to stresses and lulls in actual speech. Giving a voice to visual language can help alter the structure of a text by pushing words out of paragraphs or forcing modules or columns into relationships where the natural logic of the writing creates the order. Breaking phrases and words apart in a running text calls attention to the individual parts of speech. As the space between them increases, the text takes on a matrixlike appearance and the presumed reading order may be changed. Although generally this would interfere with reading, in some cases the resulting ambiguity may be appropriate to the text, yielding associations between words or images that can be used to augment its literal meaning.
Linguistic deconstruction uses the syntax of language as a basis for dismantling the regular order of the typography. Above, syllables and initial letters split from their words; careful atten- tion to the spacing allows an intelligible reading while new
alignments are formed. Exploring the architecture of the words appropriately reflects the content of the poster.
U9 Visuelle Allianz |Germany
The elements of syntax— punctuation and line elements— are used to create texture and tension in the composition. The question and exclamation marks suggest this kind of speech and affect the calmness of the open spaces.
Qwer Design |Germany
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Job no:80872 Title : RP-Typography Workbook Client : Pro-Vision Scn : #175 Size : 228.6(w)228.6(h)mm Co : M10 C0 O/P: CTP Dept : DTP D/O : 08.04.04(Job no:000000 D/O : 00.00.01 Co: CM0)
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Spontaneous Optical Composition
Far from being random, this compositional method can be described as purposeful intuitive placement of material based on its formal aspects and making connections for the viewer based solely on those relationships. Designers may use this method as a step in the process of building a grid, but using this as an organizational idea is just as valid. The designer approaches the material much like a painter does, making quick decisions as the material is combined and the relationships first seen. As the optical qualities of the elements begin to interact, the designer can determine how those initial decisions affect the com- munication and make adjustments to enhance or negate the qualities in whatever way is most appropriate. One way of exaggerating the spontaneity of a composition is to perform a chance operation. The use of chance as an organizing principle seems counterintuitive. The unpre- dictable results, however, can often aid in communication from a conceptual standpoint by bringing out juxtapositions of material that might otherwise have escaped notice.
Typography Fundamentals Form and Function
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The designer finds a balance between intuitive composition and a rigid structure in this poster (below). A symmetrical dual-column structure is hinted at in the alignment of the type below the gyroscope with the gyro’s axis; but the type shifts around and through the machine, never really aligning with anything. The type elements are placed to create tension and counterpoint to the arcing lines of the gyroscope, giving a decep- tively unstudied appearance.
Qwer Design |Germany
In this poster (left), the seemingly random arrangement of flies and letterforms integrates type and image. The composition is so random, it’s possible the designer used chance operation— a purposely arbitrary method of composing, perhaps scattering— to help find an unstructured layout that doesn’t feel forced. Careful attention is paid to type placement for readability.
Uwe Loesch |Germany
Intuitive layout approaches result in aggressive, unforced solutions with a painterly or collagelike presence. The elements exist in direct, unstudied relation to each other, imparting a kind of honest freshness, and the connections between informational elements are organic and nonspecific. The typography in this study for what could become a CD sleeve is amorphous and translucent, reacting to the expressive forms that surround it.
Creuna Design |Norway
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Job no:80872 Title : RP-Typography Workbook Client : Pro-Vision Scn : #175 Size : 228.6(w)228.6(h)mm Co : M10 C0 O/P: CTP Dept : DTP D/O : 08.04.04(Job no:000000 D/O : 00.00.01 Co: CM0)
p80 Job no:8 Scn : #17 Dept : DT Text Black Typography Workbook 80 81
The vast majority of typographic design occurs in series- based projects. Most often, the visual logic of a typographic idea must be extended from one format into another: books, brochures, newspapers, reports, websites, packaging, animation sequences, film titles, exhibition spaces, print advertising campaigns, television commercials—so many projects contain multiple parts or happen over time. Series-based typographic applications force the designer to consider variables beyond the basics of composition. The number of items in the system, differing format sizes or media, informational similarities among components
versus informational disparities, the potential for undecided components, and the economic factors of production are all initial considerations. A typographic system shares many of the benefits provided by a grid, although a typo- graphic system need not necessarily make use of a grid. A system relies on establishing type styles, colors, and supporting elements that will mark its components as speaking in a single voice. The most obvious example of such a system is that of a corporate identity. But books, newsletters, and websites are also typographic systems.