Study Task 1 - Typographic Anatomy

Erik Spiekermann: Putting back the face into typeface

• “Tune is what people write. I do the sound”
• Starts by designing a, n, e, s and g to define the rest of the characters.
• When he wants to use a font that already exists he studies it, waits until the next day then draws it from memory as it would be different.
• “Physical and visual shape of language.” 
• Type is not just aesthetically nice but also makes communication more open and accessible. It breaks the system of the hierarchy where high ups had more power over the readers as they would make documents difficult to understand.
• When designing a font it’s important to keep in mind the rhythm of reading e.g what it looks like all together. Modernist style of typography is not noticing the design but it makes the document easier to read.
• “The silence in between is what i’m designing not the black letters.” 

Massimo Vignelli

• Font doesn’t need to be expressive.
• “I can write dog with any typeface and it doesn’t have to look like a dog. But some people think that when they write dog it has to bark.” 

In response to the above quote that Massimo Vignelli said, the task is to generate a random word and alter the letters M, h, p, x and i in one of Vignelli’s typefaces by applying the meaning of the word but not making it obvious. The word I got was “technical”. By looking at synonyms, I decided to approach the typefaces by altering them to be more practical and systematic, which to me meant more symmetrical and simplified. I chose to keep everything at the same width (3cm) and trace on top of them to be completely symmetrical and even. I chose to alter the Helvetica font as that font is known for its legibility and simplicity however my goal was to make it technically more legible which may or may not be more effective.