Designing with TYPE
Typography is the art of designing with type. Type is the term used for letters in the alphabet, the numbers and the punctuation marks that make words, sentences, and blocks of text. The term typeface refers to the design of all the characters mentioned above, unified by common visual elements.
In class, I use a metaphor to explain the essential nature of typography to my students when I compare typography to architecture. I describe typography as a two-dimensional architecture upon which a foundation of visual communication can be built. Letterforms become the building blocks that create the structure to convey an idea or deliver a message.
Like architecture, typography has both form and function — it is a graphic as well as a readable element in a design. Letterforms can be altered and manipulated to become both the image and a message. Typography is a visual graphic language when it is used creatively and expressively and a verbal written language when it is combined with an image. As a form, type contains the design elements of line, shape, texture, size and value and can be arranged into graphic compositions. As a function, type contains content — it is the message or information to be communicated.
Type can enhance the meaning of the message by translating or transforming it. Different typefaces have different personalities and varied usages. Some typefaces are very formal and elegant, while others are casual and relaxed. Some typefaces evoke nostalgia for times past, and others suggest a modern attitude. The typefaces you choose as well as the size, leading, kerning and shape of the text block can all influence the tone of a message and directly affects how a viewer will perceive and interpret it.
At the very core of good typographic design is the graphic designer's critical interpretation of the message — the more astute the interpretation, the more effective the message. How can students get their ideas across more effectively? By building a solid foundation of typographic principles to use as a framework for reference.
