Typographic

Axial
Radial

Dilatational
Random

Modular
Transitional

Systems
Axial
System

The axial system relies on the text being arranged on an axis

and working with text hierarchy and organization. A few
things to keep in mind when working with the axial system
are the fonts being used and the scale, kerning, and letting of
the text. The font is important to convey the hierarchy of text
and to create cohesion between all the text. The scale of the
text helps differentiate the text in each section. The kerning
and letting of the paragraphs create between paragraphs and
headings.
 Failed Iterations

For the axial system poster I made, a few

improvements can be made to the hierarchy, font
choice, and kerning of the letters. The hierarchy
can be improved on the date and time text to
differentiate from the description of the event and
the panelists. Increasing the size of the date and
time will create a distinction from the description
of the event.

Choosing the same or a similar font for the title

of the event will connect the subtitle and title.
In addition, changing the font of the
“panelists” will remove the association to the
subtitle. Lastly, the kerning of the description
text will strengthen the connection of the
description text.
 S y s t e m
R a d i a l
a
ing out from
w or ks w it h text branch in e.
stem sh
The radial sy to rays of sun
oi n t in th e d esign, similar
focal p

al point to grab the viewer’s

Radial Systems rely on a foc
information is pointing
attention and the supporting
towards the focal point.

The radial system does not need a lot of text to convey

a message.

The system
works best w
increase the ith single lin
focus on the es of text to
focal point.

Read
i
purp ng the tex
ose o t is n
layou ft o
t of t he system t as impo
he de r
sign. is to cre tant in th
ate v i
isual s system
inter t
est in he
the
A few critiques about my original designs were
the conflicting color palettes, having too many
lines, and having too many different fonts. The
color palettes in a few of my earlier designs were
too contrasting and distracting to the overall
design making it difficult for the viewer to focus
on the layout and information of the poster. My
earlier poster designs also had too many lines
of text. Having more lines in the radial system
reduces the attention to the focal point and alters
how the viewer analyzes the design. Lastly, my
earlier designs had too many different fonts
which reduces the hierarchy of the poster.

Failed Iterations
 m

l S yste
na

y.
t.
y a rvin men

enc
co ext.
Dil o
ist
e
nd g t
i
ov

ns
h e al m
at a t
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isu

ar n c
ev
eat

ch
r

w
oc le
tt ib

r
x g
ie
te e h
of re l i ng
re a
atu at ain
h e c urv n t s th aint
t
lt on g fo m
The dilatational system is bui i s usin t for
e s
A k ey t h ystem kb
ing with the dilatational s s wor
n t
In add t fo
ition, using two to three differen
 Failed Iteratio
ns

My r.
e a r l ie viewe
r desi of the
Th e gns w i o r sent,
overa th the di
latational sy t w ork i n g in fav
h y w as p e
r
ll layo stem had movement, but the movement was n o rar c
a lot ut of m the hie ue of
of t h e y design
s w er e m ca n a l lo w. While o t h er critiq
t ex t w stiff and not as fluid as the dilatational syste n
as com esign. A
peting w
ith other sectio m o ve m e n t in t h e d
ns of text which interfered with the
my ear hetic.
lier drafts sual aest
were that the fonts did not have a consistent vi
 The ra

the de
n d

sig
legibil n.
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The
r

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back andom
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e

eate an be c lexity o wever, d a back

om sy is not aligne
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isua n
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extu apped
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us on
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Sys
ed

M t hav k of v not
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Th the d
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Fa
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id

S
tion
em A few c
ha
Itera

more on nges that were

the illeg recomm
color. A ib en
dding c ility of the desig ded were to fo
and am olor help ns and u cus
pli ed with
backgro fied the differen creating tilizing
und. ces betw visual in
een the tere
text and st
the
Modular System
The modular system uses elements to contain
information. An important aspect of this
system is the type of modules used to store
information. Depending on the shape of the
module, the information will need to conform
to the shape.

Color is also important in

creating unity between the text and
modular elements. The
modular system can be very
repetitive and lackluster visually, so
finding a way to create visual interest
by using module
placement and the color is
essential to a successful modular
system.
 The main focus of my earlier drafts
was to create an interesting layout
using colors and shapes. While I was
able to succeed in that purpose, the
execution in the handling of the text
was not as successful. The hierarchy
was not as defined as it is in the final
design.

In addition, the colors were distracting and

created the opposite effect in the hierarchy. The
viewer would focus on the date of the event
instead of the title of the event. The adjustments
made from the drafts to the final poster were
made to fix the problems with the hierarchy and
the color.

Failed Iterations
Transitional
Transitional
System
The transitional system is about
visual movement and does not
emphasize legibility. Scale is
important in this system to create a
vvhierarchy through illegible sections
of text. Overlapping and cropping text
creates visual interest in designs.

However, it is important to note that the

consistency of strategies makes the transitional
system successful. For example, if the majority
of the text is overlapping, other sections of text
should not be cropped.

Those sections should also have overlapping to keep a consistent visual language.Those
sections should also have overlapping to keep a consistent visual language.
A few major critiques for my early designs of
the transitional system were that it was too
legible and did not engage the viewer visually.

Tightening the kerning and letting would create a

more stimulating visual effect as opposed to having
even spaces between sections of text. The
transitional system does not rely on legibility to
create a stimulating visual effect but instead focuses
on movement.

Failed
Iterations
Colophon

This booklet was created using

Adobe InDesign from April
2023 - May 2023. The contents,
graphics, title page, and
colophon were created by Josiah
Hawkins. The title font is
Tahoma Regular and the
paragraph font is Book Antiqua
Regular. This booklet was cre-
ated to explain and exemplify
typographic systems.