Advanced Typography: Task 1 Exercises
22 / 04 / 2025 -- 13 / 05 / 2025（Week1-Week 4)
SUN JIAYUE (0376224)
GCD61004 / Advanced Typography / Bachelor of Design ( Hons ) in Creative Media / Taylor's University
Task 1 /Exercises :
TABLE OF CONTENT
LECTURES
Week 1:(22 / 04 /2025):Typographic Systems
eight major variations
- Axial System: all elements are organised to the left or right of a single axis，The axis can be curved.
- Radial System: all elements are extended from a point of focus，Then expand based on a specific focus.
- Dilatational System : all elements expand from a central point in a circular fashion
- Random System: Elements appear to have no specific pattern or relationship.
- Grid System :a system of vertical and horizontal divisions.
- Modular System : series of non-objective elements that are constructed in as a standardised units.
- Transitional System : an informal system of layered banding.
- Bilateral System : all text is arranged symmetrically on a single axis
Fig 1.1 22/04/2025
WEEK 2:(28/04/2025)
Typographic Composition
Understand the principles of design composition：
The basic principles of supporting composition：Emphasis, isolation,
repetition, symmetry, asymmetry, alignment, perspective, etc.
Fig 1.2 28/04/2025
The Rule of Thirds:
The Rule of Thirds is a photographic guide to composition, it basically
suggest that a frame (space) can be divided into 3 columns and 3 rows. The
intersecting lines are are used as guide to place the points of interest,
within the given space.
Fig 1.3 28/04/2025
Environmental Grid:
This system is based on the exploration of an existing structure or numerous
structures combined. An extraction of crucial lines both.
Fig 1.4 28/04/2025
He includes both the objective and non-objective elements of this space, as
well as information, and communicates using the elements of this
framework.
Form and movement ：
Form and movement are based on the system of exploring the existing grid
system.
When a table is placed on one page, it will generate movement on multiple
pages. It doesn't matter whether the page is paper or a screen.
Fig 1.5 28/04/2025
WEEK 3 :Context & Creativity
The handwriting we study is because the original intention of the earliest
font design in mechanical manufacturing was to directly imitate handwriting.
The shape and lines of hand-drawn fonts can be influenced by the tools and
materials used for their production.
The evolution of the Latin alphabet：
Fig 1.6 06/05/2025
1.Cuneiform（3000 BC）
- It was the earliest practical writing system that emerged among human beings.
- The unique shape of the characters was formed by pressing the tip of an aloe vera pen into a wet clay board.
- The handwritten system of Egypt is combined with relief art.
- There are three different possibilities for the use of hieroglyphic images:
- They can accurately depict the meaning they want to express
- As a decisive factor, it indicates that the preceding symbols should be regarded as phonetic symbols and be able to reflect the overall meaning of the word
- The pronunciation symbol used to indicate "spelling out" a single word
Fig 1.7 06/05/2025
- The Phoenicians developed a phonetic alphabet consisting of 22 letters.
- The early Greek alphabet was composed only of capital letters, written between two wires, forming them horizontally.
- Greek usually adopts a reading method known as the "oxplow style", that is, one line is read from left to right, and then the next line is read from right to left.
Fig.1.8 06/05/2025
By the 4th century, the Roman alphabet had become increasingly rounded.
The curved form reduces the number of strokes, making the writing speed
faster.
5.The semi-circular matrix of the United Kingdom( 8th century AD):
Fig.1.9 06/05/2025
Ancient typefaces gradually evolved into a more inclined and compact font
form.
Why is handwriting so important in font/typesetting research?
- The earliest mechanically manufactured letters were directly imitated from handwritten designs.
- The materials and tools used for handwriting are rather special.
Week 4:Designing Type
- typeface Frutiger
- Verdana
Objective: This font has been meticulously designed to maintain extremely high clarity even at a very small screen size.
Fig.1.10 16/05/2025
- Johnston Sans
He provided detailed examples of letters and shapes and laid the foundation
for the printed text
The general process of font design：
- Research：
Understand the history of fonts, their structure and the norms of fonts. At
the same time, one should be familiar with knowledge such as terms, margins,
font sizes, and annotations.
- Sketch：
- Digitalization：
- Test：
- Deployment：
Fig.1.11 16/05/2025
After the font is put into use, there are still problems, so the
revision work will not end after deployment. Only by conducting tests
can we ensure that no problems occur.
Font design
The use of grids is conducive to the construction of letter shapes,
and it is also a feasible method for constructing, creating and
designing letter shapes.
Fig.1.12 16/05/2025
Construction and consideration
An important visual adjustment is to extend the curved shape outward
to the baseline and cap line. The line spacing between the letters
also needs to be adjusted.
Fig.1.13 16/05/2025
INSTRUCTIONS
MIB BOOKLET:
Task 1 Exercise
Exercise 1 :Typographic Sydtems
In the first exercise, we need to create our own layout through eight
layout systems.
-Size 200✖️200mm
-Color Black and 1 additional color
-Export as JPEG (300 ppi ) and PDF with and without guides
Week 1 Practical
When we started the design, we were asked to watch the video of
lecture1 to get to know the eight systems, so that it would be easier
for us to understand the key points of the systems.
Fig 3.1 InDesign Progress 22/04/2025
Fig 3.2 Axial Attempts 22/04/2025
Fig 3.3 Radial Attempts 22/04/2025
Fig3.4 Dilatational 22/04/2025
Fig 3.5 Random 22/04/2025
Fig 3.6 Grid 22/04/2025
Fig3.7 Modular 22/04/2025
Fig3.8 Modular 22/04/2025
Fig 3.9 Bilateral 22/04/2025
Final Design PDF：
Have a grid：
Exercise 2
In this week's exercise, our task is to create a font based on the
images we found online, then carefully analyze and study it, discover
the letters from it and then design it.
After the font design is completed, we will use the font for poster
design and image creation.
Progress：
1.Search for images
I searched for many photos on the web page with a uniform form.
Eventually, I decided to choose the patterns on zebras for font
production.
Fig 4.1Choose the theme (zebra pattern) Week 2 April 30, 2025
2.Analyze the pictures and recognize the images：
It is rather difficult to recognize the letters from the picture, so I
adjusted the color and made color adjustments to the selected ones.
Fig 4.2 Edit the photo week 3 May 6,2025
Outline and expand the photos to make the colors more distinct and the
shapes more prominent.
Based on the above photo, I found the five letters Y, V, I, C and K from
it, and I adjusted and designed the font for them.
Fig 4.3 Initial font week 3 May 6,2025
Font reference：
Among the 10 fonts given by the gentleman, I chose Futura Std as my
reference because the shape of this font is similar to that of mine.
Fig 4.4 The combination of text and font May 6.2025
Letter improvement：
I made adjustments in different ways to make the font more regular.
Fig 4.5 Font improvement May 6.2025
In the third week of class, the sir gave me some suggestions on my
letters, believing that I shouldn't simply process the contours with
lines.
This is the demonstration that the gentleman gave me in class.
Fig 4.6 May 6.2025
I made it myself based on the demonstration of the gentleman：
Fig.4.7.May 6.2025"C"
Fig.4.8.May 6.2025"V"
Fig.4.9.May 6.2025"K"
Part One: Final Result
Fig.5.1May 6.2025 Photo extraction
Refining Process:
Fig .5.2May 8.2025 Overall process
Fig .5.3May 8.2025 The extracted alphabetic form
Fig .5.4May 8.2025 Reference font
Fig .5.5May 8.2025 Final Font (Top) Letter Extraction (Bottom)
Font design integration （PDF）
In this exercise, Mr. Vinod guides us to make posters using the designed
fonts.
Since my font was extracted from the patterns on zebras, I collected
several photos of zebras, which I thought would match my font.
Fig .6.1.May 14.2025 Photo collection
Fig .6.2.May 14.2025 Poster photo
The following is the sketch of the poster I designed：
Fig .6.2.May 14.2025
After the fourth week of classes, Mr. Vinod gave me suggestions for
improvement on my design. He thought that my fonts were too scattered,
there were no film signs related to the fields, and the underground
background was too complex, so the white fonts couldn't be reflected. He
suggested that I could add a background color, which could clearly show
my white fonts.
Fig .6.3.May 14.2025 Poster modification
Fig .6.4.May 14.2025Add gradient colors
Poster icon：
Fig.6.5.May 14.2025
Final Design of the poster：
Fig 6.6.May 14.2025 Final poster（jpg.)
May 14.2025 Final poster（PDF.)
FEEDBACK
WEEK 1:
Mr. Vinoud clarified the instructions given by the Microsoft team and browsed the module information. Provide us with the relevant designs for the following. Tell us that each design photo needs to be marked with the time and relevant information, and assign us the homework for the first week.
WEEK 2:
In the second week, Mr. Vinoud First asked us to put our homework on facebook. Mr. Gave us homework comments and provided relevant improvement suggestions to make our design works more perfect. Then he told us about the design tasks that needed to be carried out in the next class.
WEEK 3:
In this class, Mr.Vinoud commented on our homework, pointed out the problems that occurred in our homework, and offered suggestions for improvement. At first, I didn't know how to modify the font I designed. Mr.Vinoud presented it with my computer and then told us the poster design plan.
WEEK 4:
This week, the gentleman commented on our poster. The problem with my
poster was that the background was too messy, which made the font
unclear. So after I made some modifications, the gentleman introduced
the relevant tasks of Project One to us.
Reflection:
Experience：
Exercise 1: At the beginning, I didn't quite understand what the
design system was and what the eight major layouts were. I started
to watch the videos given by the teacher and read books, but I did
encounter a lot of troubles at the beginning of the first project.
Exercise Two: In this exercise, I searched for many photos online
and analyzed the stripes and textures in them, but none of them
achieved the effect I wanted. Moreover, I had to consider whether
they would be suitable to be placed in the poster in the end.
However, the design process was very interesting.
Observation：
In Exercise One, I found that I had a deviation in my ability to
understand information and was lacking in the ability to analyze
problems, which led me to be reluctant to start designing this task.
And because of knowing some frameworks, one's thinking is limited.
In Exercise Two, my handwriting looked quite good on a white
background. However, if the background color was changed, the entire
effect would change. Fortunately, everything was remedied.
Discovery
In Exercise One, I wasn't very familiar with the way of font design,
so I kept making adjustments afterwards.
In Exercise Two, this is a coherent design, so the font design will
affect the subsequent related designs.
Further reading：
Fig.7.1.Kimberly Elam Printing system
This week, by reading this book, I gained a deeper understanding of the
theme of this week.
The following are the relevant notes I made when reading：
- These eight layouts all have similarities, but each system has its unique rules.
- The final design is based on the visual language of shape grammar.
- There is a very clear sense of purpose
- These shape grammars can be carried out through a regular combination system
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