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Anatomy of Type

Anatomy of Type | Understanding Anatomy

Individual letter forms have unique parts which have changed in visual form over the centuries. A nomenclature helps identify major elements of their construction. The evolution of lettering styles over time is a result of optical adjustments to the basic components by type designers over the ages.

The overlapping of four different type families, although in the same point size, have differing x-heights and kerning, showing how different type families are. This may affect the cleanliness of a piece that the designer is working on if certain families are used together. When mixing type familie s, its okay to mix type families that are very, very similar, or ones that are very obviously different.

Counter

Shoulder

Terminal

Spur

Eye

Shoulder

Serifs

Bowl

Hairline

Tittle

Eye

Capline X Height

Baseline

Grapevine
Descender Crossbar Stroke Stem Serifs Aperture Finial

Grapevine Grapevine Grapevine

Anatomy of Type | Understanding Anatomy

Anatomy of Type | Form/Counterform

When the bottom half of a word is covered, its easier to read than if the top half were covered. I was surpised at how much of a letter could be covered and that the letter could retain recognizability. I learned which parts of letters were the most important for recognizability.

Fundamental to all typographic design is the interplay between letterform and background. An awareness of this interrelationship of form and counterform is essential in typographic design. Every letterform denes a particular counterform. Form and counterform are reciprocal values and completely interdependent and integral to a letters completeness as a design.

The counterform is not just whats left over in the background. The counter form is a new entity that emerges through interaction with the form. Typically these counterforms are either geometric or organic in quality depending on the structure or style of the letter. In the counterforms of letters there exists a fascinating world of form waiting to be explored by the designer.

Grapevine Grapevine Grapevine

Anatomy of Type | Cropping Studies

Anatomy of Type | Counterpart and Counterpoint

Anatomy of Type | Cropping Studies

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Denotes counterpart relationships Denotes counterpoint relationships

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Anatomy of Type | Counterpart and Counterpoint

Anatomy of Type | Typographic Kinetics

When creating a visual hierarchy in typographic space, a designer balances the need for harmony, which unies a design, with the need for contrast, which lends vitality and emphasis.

As in music, elements can have a counterpart or a counterpoint relationship. Typographic counterparts are elements with similar qualities that bring harmony to their spatial relationship. Elements have a counterpoint relationship when they have contrasting characteristics, such as size, weight, color, tone, or texture. Counterpoint relationships bring opposition and dissonance to the design.

Every letter has a personality you can identify. Fragmentation is not the goal in and of itself. Everything is adjustable and its a case-by case decision of how far to go. The form you seek is one that to be able to read the word. So this determines the degree of fracture. Its the part(letterform) towhole (word). Both must be juggled to value. You cant because it worked in one place. Every example should change somewhat.

use the same element over and over just

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Anatomy of Type | The Structure of Letters

Anatomy of Type | The Structure of Letters

The most elementary forms of letters are a visual code of simple strokes that is recogniz- able through our experience with handwriting. Each of the upper and lower case letters is distinct in structure. All are built by combining vertical, horizontal, slanted, and curvilinear strokes.

Letter forms derive their character from combinations of these basic strokes and not from being light or bold, wide or narrow, Roman or italic, sans serif or serif. An entire alphabet can be categorized using only six basic underlying visual combinations of strokes as the example illustrates.

Since the time of the Greeks, capital letterforms have consisted of simple geometric forms based on the square, circle, and triangle. The basic shape of each capital letterforms can be extracted from this Roman letterform template found on the Trojan Columns which is composed of a bisected square, a circle, a triangle, an inverted triangle, and two smaller circles.

Stroke Catagories

Uppercase

Lowercase

EFHILT

jlt

KMNY

VWX

vwxy

AZ

BDGJPRU

abdghmnpqru

COQS

ceos

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Typographic Page with a Chair

Typographic Page with a Chair

Using the initials of your designer, impose the letterforms in a typographic study that interprets a relationship to the form of the chair they designed. The goal is to discover relationships in form and division of space. Then, using the designers name, the name of the chair, and the date of its manufacture, impose the words in a typographic study that dempnstrates relationships to the chair.

b
Size|Weight

b
Size|Width

Typographic Page with a Chair

Typographic Page with a Chair

B
Size|Weight

Size|Case

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Weight|Size Case|Width

Typographic Page with a Chair

Typographic Page with a Chair

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Typographic Page with a Chair

Typographic Page with a Chair

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Typographic Page with a Chair | Layout

Typographic Page with a Chair | Layout

Type generally falls into two primary categories; informational and or expressive. Its not uncommon to have a strategy for both present in layouts. Informational text is more common and the form responds to long traditions and conventions of size, spacing and established habits of organization on the page. In a book or website it is information design that takes the lead.

On a poster or motion graphics expression could lead. The ratio is determined by the designer and the needs of the communication. An emphasis or hierarchy must be clear and decisive so the roles each plays in the communication are clear. In design things are not equal.
Andre Bloc Bellevue Chair 1951
ith n w erma p nite more u er, k to see warm a rk I wo nt in y m nme ip. ith h W enviro tions his al rela n o s

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Andre Bloc Bellevue Chair 1951

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Andre Bloc was born in 1896 in Algeria and emigrated to France two years later. Originally trained to become an engineer, Bloc didnt start

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In 1951, Bloc created the Bellevue chair and the Bellevue house in Meudon, located in France in 1952. Made of bent plywood and varnished steel, the Bellevue chair is very limited and holds a lot of value because not many were

AN E M R, NIT RME U A O K T N A W . I IP SEE K I MENT ONSH R WO ON ATI MY NVIR L REL E A ITH W H HIS RSON WIT RE PE MO

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Made of bent plywood and varnished steel, the Bellevue chair holds a lot of value because not many were made. The S shaped curve of the chair was inspired by the owing forms in Jean Arps sculptures. Two V shaped legs extend off the back of the chair for support. It stands 82.5 inches tall, 39.5 inches wide, with a seat height of 42 cms. Bloc adapted many roles in his life: sculptor, painter, architect, designer, writer, editor, and exhibition organizer. As a man exploring a wide variety of artistic disciplines, Bloc understood the importance of an audience, with my work I seek to unite man with his environment in a warmer, more personal relationship.

made. The chair holds an S shaped curve inspired by the owing forms in Jean Arps sculptures. 39.5 inches wide, with a seat height of 42 cms.

sculpting until 1940, much later on in his life. His sculpture work began to take an abstract turn nine years later. He created some large-scale sculptures in Paris before launching Art daujourdhui, the rst periodical to be devoted to only abstract art.

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