Graphic Communications Chapter 4

Distinctive designs of visual symbols that are used to compose a printed page. Ie: Magneto, Times New Roman, Baskerville, Garamond, Gothic, Papyrus

Characters are the individual visual symbols in a particular typeface A, F, H, @, 5, 9,

The art of expressing ideas in printed form through the selection of APPROPRIATE TYPEFACE.

▪ Example: using a modern style typeface for a new electronic device.

Dell Computers

Leading the Way in Technology

UppercaseLowercaseBody HeightAscenderDescenderBase LineWaist Line

CounterPoint sizeHairlineStemStrokeSerifSet Width

Nicolas Jenson from France Designed the style known as “Roman” in

1469, based on monuments made by Romans nearly 1500 years earlier.

Developed a lower case alphabet based on his “Roman” Uppercase alphabet.

Claude Garamond, 1540▪ Elegant and refined typeface influenced by

Roman Anton Janson, 1675▪ Lightened lines for better printing

William Caslon, 1722▪ Lighter lines, open designs

John Baskerville, 1750▪ Designed solely for printing

Giambattista Bodoni, 1780▪ Greater difference between light and heavy

elements

Roman (Serif) Times New RomanSans serif Myriad ProSquare serif RockwellBlack Letter Old EnglishScript French ScriptNovelty Showcard Gothic Italic Italic (of any

typeface)

Families- bold, italic, bold italicSeries- range of sizes of each typeface in

a familyFont- consists of all the characters

that make up the typeface

Points- vertical height of type Picas- line length and composition

depth Em- height and width of “M”

12-point type: 12 points wide and 12 points high

En- half of an em Units- splitting an em into equal

spaces Set size- width of a character

Tracking- Tight, normal, loose Justifying type- lines are equal in

lengthKerning- closing space between

certain characters to improve appearance and readability

How easy or difficult it is to read printed matter (Readability)

Consider the purpose readability, aesthetics

Factors: Visibility, letter forms, definition, type

size, line length, and leading