TYPE2018: Ch. 1 + 2 Reflections

Chapter 1

Typographic Design: Form and Communication’s first chapter displays a huge variety of sources from our world’s history that were influential in shaping the world of typography. I have actually experienced some unexpected crossover between two of my classes. I am also enrolled in a World Civilizations history class right now. We’ve been discussing how much power and influence the ability to write a language was (pictures or letters associated with sound) for the world’s first societies. This is also around the time that we can confirm that certain caste systems were established. What I found super interesting was that in the earliest days of written language, scribes were in their own caste directly below royalty. Scribes could have such a high social status because they were so few and far between.

I found that a lot of the examples showcased to define the 1890s seemed familiar to me. The design of the series, American Horror Story, seems to mirror the catalog cover created by Josef Hoffman in 1899.

(1890s-1940s) I feel like I see very similar signs inspired by this design outside of small, independent stores in Chicago today, particularly in Lincoln Park.

(1893) This title page shocked me because it looks like certain well-done hand-drawn posters I’ve seen around college campuses. It still feels very on trend for today’s day in age. It has a very young energy about it.

Modern example:

Chapter 2

The second chapter was filled with super practical terminology to become acquainted with. It is essential that we learn these in order to think and talk specifically and critically about different type and letterforms. Every positive and negative space has a proper name. For example, the negative enclosed space created by a lowercase "e" is called an “eye”.

Type sits on an imaginary line called the baseline. Ascenders on lower case letters reach up to another imaginary line called the capline while descenders on lower case letters dip down to yet another imaginary line called a beard line. The height of lowercase letters starting from the baseline is called the x-height and where the top of these letters fall is considered the meanline.

Ch. 2 also classifies typefaces into historical periods. Serif fonts evolved from Old Style to Transitional to Modern. The most notable stylistic change over time is the increasing contrast between the thin and thick strokes of the letterform.