Typographic Design in the Digital Studio

by Amdur, David

• ISBN13: 9781401880934
• ISBN10: 1401880932
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-09-04
• Publisher: Course Technology

Summary

Today's digital design tools cannot guarantee good design any more than a shop full of power tools can guarantee fine woodworking. However, these tools offer tremendous typographic resources as well as unprecedented ease, speed, and control. Author David Amdur has written Typographic Design in the Digital Studio to teach today's students with today's digital tools. Students are guided to observe characteristics of type and reflect on how it functions. They are given strategies for choosing type that's appropriate for a given job and setting it in creative, attractive and effective compositions. Lessons in typography are reinforced with hands-on exercises so students can immediately put theory directly into practice.

Author Biography

David A. Amdur is Professor of Visual Communication at Brown College in Minnesota

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Typography Influences Us Everyday	ix
Typographic Skills Needed by Designers	x
Who Is this Book for?	xii
For PC Users	xii
How To Use this Book	xii
Chapter by Chapter	xiv
Acknowledgements	xvii
About the Author	xviii
Questions and Feedback	xviii
Contributors	xix
Dedication	xxi
Getting Started with Typography in the Digital Environment	1	(14)
Working in the Digital Environment	1	(6)
Two Ways That Computers Represent Images	7	(2)
Types of Computer Graphics Programs	9	(3)
Design Concepts Study Guide Chapter 1	12	(3)
The Voice of Type	15	(12)
Can You Hear the Type?	15	(3)
Introduction to the Anatomy of Letter Characters	18	(1)
Type Family: Variations on the Theme	19	(2)
Don't Faux It	21	(1)
Placing Type Over Pictures	22	(2)
Design Concepts Study Guide Chapter 2	24	(3)
Observing Abstract Form in Type Design	27	(14)
Learning to See Feelingly	27	(1)
Words Are Tools	28	(1)
Three Types of Terms	28	(1)
Elements, Qualities, and Principles in Letterforms	29	(2)
Composition: Putting the Parts Together	31	(4)
Design Concepts Study Guide Chapter 3	35	(6)
Exploring the Fundamentals: Making Display Type Work	41	(18)
Focus on Fundamentals	41	(1)
Stacked Display Type and Line Breaks	42	(1)
Putting the Stack in Order: Alignment	42	(2)
Fine-Tuning Alignment and Punctuation	44	(1)
Capitalization Formats	45	(1)
Text within Boxes	46	(1)
Adjusting the Spacing of Letters: Tracking	46	(2)
The Space Between Lines: Leading	48	(2)
Adjusting How Letters Fit Together: Kerning	50	(1)
Save the Kerning for Last (Almost Always)	51	(2)
Design Concepts Study Guide Chapter 4	53	(6)
Structure and Measurement	59	(14)
Six Categories of Type Structure	59	(2)
Type Measurement and Specification	61	(2)
Designing Typographic Logotypes	63	(3)
Design Concepts Study Guide Chapter 5	66	(7)
Resources of Style, Sources of Inspiration: The History of Typographic Design	73	(60)
Before the Alphabet	73	(3)
The Phonetic Alphabet and the Forms of Letters	76	(4)
Early Letter Spacing, Punctuation, and Layout	80	(1)
Medieval Manuscript	80	(3)
The Typographic Revolution	83	(1)
The Origin of Roman Type	84	(4)
The Modern Impulse	88	(3)
Victorian Type: An Aesthetic of Enrichment	91	(4)
The Arts and Crafts Movement: A Bridge from Victorianism to the Future	95	(2)
Art Nouveau	97	(1)
Typography of the Machine Age	98	(8)
Design at Mid-Century	106	(4)
Holes in the Armor: Postmodern Typography	110	(8)
Design Concepts Study Guide Chapter 6	118	(15)
The Nitty-Gritty of Body Copy: Keep'n It Readable	133	(20)
Choosing the Right Typeface	133	(1)
Type Color	134	(1)
Type Size	135	(1)
Columns	135	(1)
Leading Body Type	136	(1)
Tracking and Word Spacing	136	(2)
Rags: Bad, Good, and Special	138	(1)
Hyphens	138	(1)
Unwanted Widows and Lonely Orphans	139	(1)
Manual Interventions: Patching Up Blemishes	139	(1)
Paragraphing	140	(1)
Changing Type to Create Emphasis	140	(2)
Doin' the Numbers	142	(1)
Lists	142	(3)
Design Concepts Study Guide Chapter 7	145	(8)
Making Information Accessible	153	(20)
Two Principles of Information Organization: Hierarchy and Grouping	153	(1)
Strategizing for Communication: The Design Brief	154	(2)
The Grid: A Tool for Structure	156	(5)
Put It on the Tab	161	(1)
Tables	162	(3)
Design Concepts Study Guide Chapter 8	165	(8)
Type in Publications	173	(28)
It Pays to Advertise	173	(1)
Elements That Sell the Publication	174	(2)
Elements That Sell the Stories	176	(3)
Elements That Help Navigation	179	(5)
Grid Systems in Publications	184	(3)
Design Concepts Study Guide Chapter 9	187	(14)
Type Effects --- The Good, the Trite, and the Ugly	201	(10)
The Designer's Judgment	201	(1)
Drop Shadows and Embossed Letters	202	(1)
Text on a Curved Line	202	(1)
Shaped Text Blocks	203	(1)
Text Wraps	204	(1)
Beware of Ghosts	205	(1)
Pictorial Effects	205	(3)
Interaction of Type and Image	208	(2)
Design Concepts Study Guide Chapter 10	210	(1)
Off the Page --- Type in New Media	211	(22)
Type On Screen --- Through the Glass, Haphazardly	211	(3)
Show and Tell: Type in PowerPoint Presentations	214	(1)
TTTTWWW: Taking Type to the World Wide Web	215	(1)
Type Elements in Web Design	216	(2)
Live Text vs. Type Images	218	(1)
Applying Attributes to Live Text	219	(1)
Print-Friendly Web Content	220	(1)
Type in Flash Animations	220	(1)
Designing a Web Site	221	(3)
Design Concepts Study Guide Chapter 11	224	(9)
A Closer Look at Type Design	233	(14)
Detailed Anatomy of Letterforms	233	(2)
Optical Adjustments in Typefaces	235	(1)
`R' You Seein' the Type?	235	(1)
A Close Look at Serifs	236	(2)
Design Concepts Study Guide Chapter 12	238	(9)
Appendix: Type Specimens	247	(26)
Glossary	273	(16)
Selected Bibliography	289	(4)
Index	293