Comparison of the Different Types of Typography

“When designers think of typography, we invariably consider semiotics which consists of semantics (the relation between signs and the concepts they represent), syntax (the formal relation between signs in a system), and pragmatics (the study of signs in use). Depending upon our concept and our sensibility to typographic form, the type can be our main concern or the invisible carrier of our message.

In this sense typography becomes “the raw material that goes into communication, serving man and his exchanges. However, this definition does not take into account the expressive nature of typography. Type can take on a painterly quality creating an inviting visual texture much the same way as a Jasper Johns painting. It has been said that “art director/designer David Carson uses type the way painter uses paint – to create emotion, to express ideas.

” Carson uses new typographic forms in his layouts to express the meaning of his concepts and ideas. ” (Digioia). “When looking at the work of designer Neville Brody one gets the feeling that he too, is striving towards a painterly quality.Brody’s designs are visually and mentally dense and there is a certain emotive quality that his typography exudes.

It is the typography of our time and culture. It is dependent on the technology, pushing the technology in that Brody is interested in the formal qualities afforded to him by the computer. Brody himself says, “Digital design is like a painting except the paint never dries. It is like a clay sculpture that is always being twisted into new shapes without ever being fired.

” (Digioia). “Typography is the art and technique of arranging type, type design, and modifying type glyphs (symbolic figures).In traditional typography, text is composed to create a readable, coherent, and visually satisfying whole that does not distract from the content. The goal of good typography is to balance the relationship of letterforms on a page, in order to aid the reader in understanding the message being conveyed.

Thus, typography brings harmony between the functional and aesthetic aspects of the written alphabet. ” ;http://www. newworldencyclopedia. org/entry/Typography;.

“Typography is performed by a variety of professionals including typesetters, compositors, typographers, graphic artists, art directors, and comic-book artists.From its inception with the invention of printing using woodblocks and then movable type, until the Digital Age, typography was a specialized occupation. Digitization opened up typography to new generations of visual designers and lay users. Just as the invention of the printing press by Gutenberg revolutionized the world by making written material, particularly the Bible, available to the general public, so the opening of typography through digitization made the publication of material available to all and ushered in the Information Age.

;http://www. newworldencyclopedia. org/entry/Typography;. “The target audience is a mix of design practitioners, design educators, and design students.

My intent was to discuss how the differences between digital typography and traditional typography have led to a new design aesthetic and how this has changed the role of typography in graphic design. I supported my belief that the current state of graphic design is a continuum in the evolution of graphic form with many historical precedents which validate the new typographic forms.The role of the Macintosh in the proliferation of graphic design was investigated. Also explored were different theories of legibility as they pertain to appropriateness of content.

” (Digioia). “The visual concept of the application is the presentation of multiple levels of information. There are three blocks of copy on each page, each having the same content, but different typographic treatments. This allows the viewer the opportunity to access the information at a level of ease/difficulty that is comfortable to them.

One block of copy is set centered and justified in Bodoni book; this represents a more classical use of typography. The second block of copy is set flush left, ragged right in Futura book; this block represents a more modern use of typography. The third block of copy is set flush left in Beowulf; this ever changing typeface represents the transformation of traditional typography to digital typography. ” (Digioia).

I would also like to talk about the comparison between typography on the Web and typography in print. “Typography on the Web is different from typography in print in many ways, and although the principles hold across the media, the ways in which those principles are applied differ. Things that are “free” in print, such as resolution and a stable page size, are all but impossible on the Web, and things that are “free” on the Web, such as color, interaction, and rich media, are expensive or impossible in print.If you play to the strengths of the Web, then there’s no reason why web typography can’t be as effective as print typography.

” ; http://www. friendsofed. com/samples/159059231X. pdf;.

“We have already seen how limited user and author control of presentation was before CSS. The typographic possibilities offered by CSS are, by comparison to ;font;, vast. In fact, the more advanced CSS selectors begin to take CSS to a level where things impossible in print page layout applications are possible on the Web.CSS covers all the basic typographic options well: The author has control over type, size, color, interlinear space, and space above and below blocks of text.

This control can be exerted over block-level elements, such as ;p;, as well as inline elements, such as ;em; and ;strong;. The property inheritance offered by CSS means that you can cascade typographic decisions through a document, only overriding when you need to. In short, it’s powerful stuff. ” ;http://www.

friendsofed. com/samples/159059231X. pdf;.