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ANATOMY OF TYPE

UNDERSTANDING ANATOMY

Individual letter forms have unique parts which have changed in visual form over the centuries. A nomenclature helps identify major elements of their construction. The evolution of lettering styles over time is a result of optical adjustments to the basic components by type designers over the ages.

There is a large range that exists between historic families of serf and san serif type. The only two anatomical attributes that they share is the baseline and the stroke. For this reaon, the designer should never mix type families. The spacing and height will not coincide.The only exception to this rule is when the designer needs to achieve contrast.

SHOULDER

ASCENDER

APEX

STEM

COUNTER

EAR

STROKE

FILLET

BOWL

HAIRLINE

EYE

WITH FILL

Analogize
DESCENDER CROSSBAR SERIF LOOP LINK

CAPLINE

MEANLINE

BASELINE

Analogize Analogize Analogize

WITHOUT FILL SERIFA BODONI UNIVERS SABON

BEARDLINE

UNDERSTANDING ANATOMY

SINGLE LETTER

When cropping type the top half is more legible because your eye is programmed to read from left to right and top to bottom.

Fundamental to all typographic design is the interplay between letterform and background. Every letterform denes a particular counter form. Form and counterform are reciprocal values and completely interdependent and integral to a letters completenes as a design.

Analogize Analogize Analogize

CROPPING STUDIES

COUNTERPART AND COUNTERPOINT

The Counterform is not just what is left over in the background. The counterform is a new entity that emerges through interaction with the form. Typically these counterforms are either geometric or organic in quality depending on the structure or style of the

letter. An awareness of this inter-relationship of form and counter form is essential in typographic design.

COUNTERPART REATIONSHIPS COUNTERPOINT RELATIONSHIPS

COUNTERPART AND COUNTERPOINT

TYPOGRAPHIC KINETICS

When creating a visual hierarchy in typographic space, a desgner balances the need for harmony, which unies a design, with the need for contrast, which lends vitality and emphasis.

As in music, elements can have counterpart or counterpoint relationships. Typographic counterparts are elements with similar qualities that bring harmony to their spatial relationships. Elements have a counterpoint relationship when they have contrasting characterisitcs, such as size, weight, color, tone or texture. Counterpoint relationships bring opposition and dissonacance to the design.

Each individual square and its letterform is seen as an independent typographic composition that investigates form and counterform, figure ground relationships, asymmetry/symmetry, static and dynamic placement. The totems present sequential order and visual flow, while emphasizing rythmic pattern and punctuation as dynamic flow. They should also articulate aurally and visually the typographic details within each composi-

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THE STRUCTURE OF LETTERS

THE STRUCTURE OF LETTERS

The most elementary forms of letters are a visual code of simple strokes that is recognizable through our experience with handwriting. Each of the upper and lower case letters is distinct in structure. All are built by combining vertical, horizontal, slanted, and curvilinear strokes. Letter forms derive their charcter from combinations of these basic strokes and not from being light or bold, wide or narrow, Roman or italic, sans serif of serif. An entire alphabet can be categorized using only six basic underlying visual combinations of strokes as the example illustrates.

Since the time of the Greeks, capital letter forsm have consisted of simple gometric forms based on the square, circle, and triangle. The basic shape of each capital letterforms can be extracted from this Roman letterform template fond on the Trojan Columns which is composed of a bisected square, a circle, a triangle, an inverted triangle, and two smaller circles.

HEFTL KMNVWY IX AZ BCDGJOPRSU Q

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TYPOGRAPHIC PAGE WITH A CHAIR

Using the initials of the designer, impose interprets a relationship to the form of the chair they designed. The goal is to discover relationships in form and division of space. Then, using the designers name, the name of th chair, and the date of its manufacture, impose the words in a typogrphic study that demonstrates relationships to the chair.

WEIGHT

the letterforms in a typographic study that

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