Exercise: Lorum Ipsum

Working on a scheme for my company

New tool

My new tool to be closer to letters :-).

Exercise Lorum Ipsum

Research point: easy to read (magazines)

As first magazine I choose design magazine FONT. The typography looks very nice and easily readable. There are two columns on right side, Leading  space is good to read. Overall the typography is breathing here. There is used only sans-serif font for typography and it is probably only one type of font. It looks clear and comfortable.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHY magazine: the designer use two fonts here. It is readable but I think the main text should be same font as the headline. It is serif font and maybe here help to make the magazine more looking as popular education text some sans-serif.

All next magazine show me that when there are enough space for white around the text, and there are use few fonts (2 are enough for me, 3 are on the edge), there are few columns with a certainly numbers of word, all these attributes should/would work pretty well. All next examples I like and have feel of a balance between typography and photographs (layout).

Research point: Don't easy to read (magazines)

Here I choose a popular educational magazine where I have problem to read it because it is overloaded by information. Maybe a bigger leading help here. Also the lines between the columns should nor be there.

This photograph magazine has problem with fonts (I think). The shadow at headline is disruptive and also the compressed font for text is not comfortable for reading. There should help the change of fonts and maybe width of column which is close to me and the graphic tried to correct it by lines between them.

sws

I think that magazine should avoid to have the space between headlines and paragraphs so close. It does not look easily for reading for me.

Here I choose that magazine especially for its right side where are columns with small width. These columns are hard to read. I think it should be better to conect both columns in one.

Research point: Don't easy to read (newspaper)

I think that the czech newspapers are hard to read for me (I asked my business friend in USA to send me some newspapers, I will see if that situation is same). I choose one of them which is more readable comparing to others. It is the big one. I think that it is because that newspaper use only few type fonts and more readable than others. And this one has better (bigger) leading space. I did not realize it before that the leading space has big influence on how the text will be comfortable to read. All newspapers use for Headline serif type fonts. The newspaper DNES use bodoni type font in head lines and it is probably why I like the germany newspaper at the end. In the newspapers everything is crying for attention and our eyes (my eyes) have problem to read something. I need a lot of energy to read something especially when the text is long.

Leading: the space between the lines of text

I made two examples of leading. The left has leading same as font size and the second has leading 1,5 x type size (general rule for more readable text.

Exercise: If the face fits

On the left side are pictures where I thought the used typography in them is good. On the right are texts which I changed after when I just tried other fonts.
The first: woman's magazine. The left piece has headline Bauer Bodoni font and text is Garamond and that combination is much better than the right piece where is Futura and Helvetica font. The Futura and Helvetica combination have feel of a technical text. The Bodoni as head typeface is much more gentle and better fits to its context. The futura in as head line is a little bit boring.

The second: An advertisement in a parish magazine. The left piece has combination of Futura and Dutch 801 font and I though that it works well. I changed the fonts to combination of Baskerville and Futura and I think it works better. I think it is because the text "we desperately need ..." is more crying for someone to help and Baskerville fits better to the church (it is a font of buildings).

The third: A poster to advertise. The very first font which I imagined for this poster was Helvetica which I changed on Zurich after. I was surprised that there are designers which do not like Helvetica because is dull (is overused). The other font is Dutch. I liked it very much, even I thought that there is problem with communication because the poster have should be for boys aged 13-14. After when I changed the typefaces to Century Schoolbook and Futura it looked that the poster is much more better. I think that the right poster communicates more friendly to spectators.

The fourth: Engagement party. Fonts in left are Kaufmann, Futura and Life and Baskerville and Monotype Corsiva in the right. Here I thought that the left piece is good but after I changed it I was not sure. I like more the right piece because there is feel which is more gentle again.I think the Baskerville font make the celebration text more important, make feel that this celebration is about something very-very important.

Vernacular typography

I photographed some interesting "vernacular" typography. I especially like the one with sign "TABAK" where the author tried to make head line by filling the letters with red color. Also the picture with sigh "ROCK BAR JIZ BRZY" (TOP RIGHT) with letters in windows. You know I would be very like to have a ROCK BAR in my town but I am not sure what one would expect there. According to this sign it must be something special. I was very surprised how many vernacular typography are on streets, I did not realized it before, I keep my focus on that because they help better understand me feelings about typefaces.

Playing with Alphabet