Today we had our first session with Graham which was all about typography. Graham runs the Visual Communication course and specialises in typography.
The Guttenberg press in 1452 revolutionised typography. The press allowed books to be produced, before the press the only books that were around we religious. The introduction of books gave people the power to talk about different subjects. The current revolution: It no longer costs money to publish a book.
The first task Graham set us was to type out our first name in a font which best represents us:
We set out our laptops up into a mini installation and went through each of the names to try to figure out the personality of the person represented. This task was very interesting and also eye opening. Graham described how each of us have our own font; our voice.
We were then tested on our type knowledge. We looked at small caps, these are used for terms and conditions and small print so a message can be displayed which is not intended to be read. To use numbers in typography they are called figures. There can be lining figures and non lining figures. (lining - fitting between the baseline and x-height.
The first book was produced in a Black Letter font, this is because it looked like hand writing. Books were printed in hand writing because people were most used to it. Fonts which we use at the moment are primarily designed for print, we use them because we are used to them.
For a final task Graham gave us a job title and asked us to create a business card, using only text, which represented the career we were given. I was given Joiner.
I chose a serif font as I know that joiners work with wood quite often. I also decided to display my name in larger font than my job title because I think this is a better way to portray oneself and also seems more trustworthy.
When we went back to the mini installation with our designs Graham pointed out many different designs and mentioned that having the name of the person in a larger font than the title makes the person seem more approachable. I think this is very true and I hope that my business card would not be intimidating but friendly.
I found this session incredibly enjoyable and wish that we were given more sessions like this for other modules.
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