Find as many examples of type as you can from a range of sources, including newspapers, magazines, flyers, leaflets, online, and printed ephemera. Broadly classify them into serif and sans-serif groups. Explore your computer to see whether you have any of the typefaces mentioned on the previous page. Find other examples on your computer that relate to these classifications. Print these off and begin to create a collection of type samples.
Identify
Choose five different typefaces from your classification collection and now look for examples of how they can be used for reading in different contexts. For example, which typeface would be appropriate for a magazine, a science book or newspaper? Have you collected a typeface that might be suitable for all these subjects?
As a way of testing out which typefaces might be appropriate for a particular job, also consider them as inappropriately as you can – find contexts in which they don’t work, look ugly or feel ‘wrong’ in some way. Do this by experimenting visually with your typeface choices.
Reflect
Consider and reflect on the nature of the type you are collecting. Examine and annotate printouts with your own impressions of the letterforms. Use descriptive words that express something of the form and character of the typeface. Follow the same process for your ‘wrong’ typefaces as well.
Develop
Trace some interesting, unusual and everyday letterforms onto clean paper. This will help you to understand the distribution of weight of line within a particular letterform. Draw over the tracing to enhance the line and fill in the letterform with an even dark grey tone – HB pencil is fine – to recreate the impression of print.
Document and present
The work you produce for this exercise will feed directly into your assignment, so collate your notes, printouts, traced letterforms and samples of type you have gathered. Consider how these could be inventively and visually integrated, and how your ideas could be creatively developed further for your assignment.
Font collections – books
For the start, I’ve collected some books and took a photo of the fonts. I put all the covers in one page and all the body text in another page.
Based on my collection, I’ve noticed that for the non fiction text books a sans serif font has used for the title. For the fiction books, a serif font has been used for the title.
The body texts are mostly serif fonts as they are more legible.
Font collections – Wordmark
I’ve typed “Type Samples“ on Wordmark website and had a list of serif and sans serif fonts on my laptop. Then put them in two groups; Serif and Sans Serif.
Font collections – favourite
The image underneath is a screenshot of my favourite fonts on my laptop.
Then I chose; Garamond, Museo Slab, Raleway and Lust Slim.I used them in different sizes on Illustrator to be able to compare them together.
Analysing fonts
Tracing
For the next part, I’ve printed of some words using different fonts; serif, sans serif, script, then traced them.
Self – reflection
I’ve been always fascinated by typography. Wherever I look, one of the first thing that get my attention is the font and how they’re presented. After this exercise, I am even more aware of fonts around me. Specially, the tracing exercise was helping me to get closer to each typeface and their characteristics.
This exercise showed me how much type can influence the feel of a piece of work.
I believe to increase my knowledge, I need to collect more font samples.
I’ve got favourite fonts that I’ve used normally. Sometimes I need to come out of my comfort zone and have some bold choices in using my fonts in my work.
Sources
- Wordmark. At: https://wordmark.it. (Accessed: 29/05/2022)
Maryam: OCA Graphic Design 