Type Lectures 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5

LECTURE 1- WHAT IS TYPOGRAPHY  

• The solution to a problem of communicating through design.
• The effective delivery of a message through the use of visual language.

VISUAL LITERACY

• The ability to construct meaning from visual images and type.
• Interpreting images of the present, and range of cultures.
• Producing images that effectively communicate a message to an audience.

VISUAL COMMUNICATION 

• Is a process of sending and receiving messages using images and type. 
• Is based on a level of shared understanding of signs, symbols, gestures and objects. 
• Is affected by audience, context, media and method of distribution.

KEY ELEMENTS OF GRAPHIC DESIGN

• Frame
• Format
• Figure/ Form
• Ground 
• Composition 
• Visual Dynamics 
• Type
• Image
• Colour
• Layout
• Legibility 
• Readability 

ALL THAT IS NECESSARY FOR ANY LANGUAGE TO EXIST IS AN AGREEMENT AMONGST GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT ONE THING WILL STAND FOR ANOTHER 




STONE

SABLE

BONE

WOOD

LEAD

SILICONE

LECTURE 2- The Language of Type

LECTURE 3- Visual Literacy




All that is necessary for any language to exist is an agreement amongst a group of people that one thing will stand for another.

This means ... ' 

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth

And the earth was waste and void

And darkness was upon the face of the deep

SYMBOL

Symbolises an apple.

SIGN

A sign for Apple Mac. Computers.

SIGNIFIER

Signifies quality, creativity, lifestyle

 independence…

LECTURE 4- Type, Character & Hierarchy




TYPE IS SPEECH MADE VISIBLE 

'...A hierarchy (Greek: hierarchia (ἱεραρχία), from hierarches, "leader of sacred rites") is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) in which the items are represented as being "above," "below," or "at the same level as" one another. Abstractly, a hierarchy is simply an ordered set or an acyclic directed graph

A hierarchy (sometimes abbreviated HR) can link entities either directly or indirectly, and either vertically or horizontally. The only direct links in a hierarchy, insofar as they are hierarchical, are to one's immediate superior or to one of one's subordinates, although a system that is largely hierarchical can also incorporate alternative hierarchies. Indirect hierarchical links can extend "vertically" upwards or downwards via multiple links in the same direction, following a path. All parts of the hierarchy which are not linked vertically to one another nevertheless can be "horizontally" linked through a path by traveling up the hierarchy to find a common direct or indirect superior, and then down again. This is akin to two co-workers or colleagues; each reports to a common superior, but they have the same relative amount of authority. Organizational forms exist that are both alternative and complimentary to hierarchy. Heterarchy (sometimes abbreviated HT) is one such form...' - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hierarchy

LECTURE 5- Visual Literacy

VISUAL SYNECDOCHE (Statue of Liberty) 

This term is applied when a part is used to represent the whole, or vice versa. Quite simply, the main subject is substituted for something that is inherently connected to it. This substitution only works if what the synecdoche represents is universally recognized and understood, rather than taken at face value for its literal meaning.

VISUAL METAPHOR (Apple Logo)

A visual metaphor is used to transfer the meaning from one image to another. Although the images may have no close relationship, a metaphor conveys an impression about something relatively unfamiliar by drawing a comparison between it and something familiar.

VISUAL METONYM (Taxi)

A visual metonym is a symbolic image that is used to make reference to something with a more literal meaning. For example, a cross might be used to signify the church. By way of association the viewer makes a connection between the image and the intended subject. Unlike a visual synecdoche , the two images bear a close relationship, but are not intrinsically linked. And unlike visual metaphors, metonyms do not transfer the characteristics of one image to the other.

'In trying to separate words from pictures we have to accept that 

words are ‘pictures of letters’" - David Crow

LEGIBILITY ...

is the degree to which glyphs (individual characters) in text are understandable or recognizable based on appearance

READABILITY 

is the ease in which text can be read and understood. It is influenced by line length, primary and secondary leading, justification, typestyle, kerning, tracking, point size, etc.

END OF THE ANATOMY OF TYPE