OBJECTIVES
> Begin to identify typographic characteristics & connotations
> Illustrate an understanding of typographic characteristics & connotations
> Appropriately diagram typographic terminology
> Explain (verbally) your understanding of typographic characteristics during a critique
PART ONE: CLASSIFICATION SKETCHES
Due: 8/30.
Sketching on the 11×17 worksheet I provided in class, replicate capital and lowercase letterform “a’s” of six different classifications of typefaces. As you draw, note the different personalities of each typeface as you see them. This is not a tracing exercise. Look. Observe the letterform’s characteristics. Sketch. Look. Sketch. Sign your name to the sheet. We will discuss in class.
PART TWO: TYPE HAS FORM
To be completed in class on 8/30.
Choose one letter of the alphabet and typeset it in 3 of the assigned typefaces.You should choose letter and typeface combos that you find visually intriguing. Print each out large enough that you can see the details on a 8.5×11 size sheet of paper. Create a series of (three) large letterform drawings using the letters supplied as a visual reference. Work at a large scale using either white or brown butcher paper (I will work to make this available in class). You can work directly on a wall or angle your desk up high. Loosen up and engage your arm and body to sketch out your letter. You should not attempt an exact replica with tightly drawn outlines, but try to translate the formal qualities of your letter in a new and beautiful drawing composition. You may turn, replicate, exaggerate, etc the letterform. Look closely at your letter’s stroke weights, counterforms (the negative white spaces within the letter) and overall shape. Pick a drawing tool appropriate for quick expressive sketches. Go for it and loosen up!
Typefaces: Futura, Helvetica, Optima, Garamond, Bodoni, and Clarendon. (choose three)
PART THREE: DRAWING WITH ANATOMY
Due: Present finals at beginning of class on 9/6.
Refine one of your rough compositions drawn during class into a final composition. Medium is up to you. Pencil, pen, charcoal, marker or paint (or any mark making tool you’d like to explore) are all allowed (no color!). To add a new informational layer to this phase of the project, incorporate labels to indicate the parts (anatomy) of your letterforms. Labels can be drawn directly on your paper, be applied to a separate material and stuck on to your composition, be tied, stapled or taped to your composition. Do whatever you want! (don’t forget composition, meaning and craft!) The labels should be legible when standing at around 6 feet away and should fit harmoniously into your composition. Be aware of how your label points to its respective area and how that area is defined visually.
Incorporate or add at least 5 labels from the list of words below:
• baseline • x-height • median • cap height • spine • stroke
• stem • serif • shoulder • arm • leg • ear • tail • spur • cross bar
• cross stroke • counter • bowl • finial • terminal • apex
• vertex • crotch • ascender • descender • bracket • stress • link
JCCC :: Typography 