TRASH TALK
HOW TO SPOT BAD DESIGN ::
Bad design—is without a doubt—one of the most annoying problems that we encounter in our daily lives—it’s all around us, bad design. It can be as easily detected from bad architecture (i.e. from McMansions that are everywhere in this country to poorly designed tract housing). Or worse yet, in an ad in the middle of your favorite magazine to a logo that is sprawled across a giant billboard. It’s everywhere, I’m afraid.
My favorite example is poorly designed logos—you’ve seen them, they’re covered in drop shadows and poorly executed typography. It’s frustrating as a design professional to be witness to such atrocities, but that’s what happens when someone who claims they can use Illustrator or Photoshop to be a “professional” graphic designer—and I use the word “professional” loosely. It’s frustrating when we as designers have to compete with amateur–style graphic design, when in fact, your average “Joe” wouldn’t know good or bad graphic design if it hit him/her in the face.
That’s why I’m here. To help you differentiate between good and bad graphic design.
Unfortunately, when you come across bad design, you may not immediately recognize its purpose—to control you and annoy you, but you will, however, soon realize that this boring logo with numerous drop shadows are difficult to differentiate between anything else. It just blends in with the rest. Just like the overuse of templates to create such horrific logos.
SCRIPT, CALLIGRAPHIC & HANDWRITING FONTS ::
Script and calligraphic fonts are in a class of their own and can overlap both text and display categories. They can be very elegant, formal and classy, or very humanistic, quirky and quite individualistic. Scripts and calligraphics are often used for invitations, announcements, headlines and initial letters: handwriting fonts are great for informal correspondence as well as ads and brochures requiring a more personal, informal look.
Please keep in mind when using a script or calligraphic font—they are typically not meant for a full length of text as they are very difficult to read.
I hope that by reading through this, you have learned a great deal about typography. Please keep in mind, that this is only just a glimpse of typographic rules. There are many more that are not mentioned here. The reason I wanted to share this knowledge with you is because it’s important to realize that because type is all around us, we must look at type as an art, not just a body of text. It’s beautiful in its own way, and as a graphic designer, I am constantly in awe with the proper use of typography. But one thing that we as designers have always learned in school is, “you have to know the rules before you can break them.” How true that is. How true that is.
Thanks for looking.
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TYPOGRAPHY 101 ::
For starters, one cannot succeed as a professional graphic designer unless they have the required essentials—proper use of typography. Thanks to one of my favorite books, Type Rules, I can properly describe to you each rule of thumb without looking like an idiot.
It’s not so easy to be proficient in typography—I myself am learning everyday, and I have my degree in graphic design. It takes time, it takes education, it takes experience, and it takes love for typography. I’m not saying that in order to be successful as a designer that you must have a degree—this is not the case. However, it takes a certain discipline to be a good designer, therefore, it takes knowledge to be proficient in the proper use of typographical treatments.
SANS SERIF & SERIF FONTS ::
One thing that is commonly overlooked, are the differences between sans serif fonts and serif fonts. Serifs can be described as extensions, protrusions, or more elegantly put, finishing strokes extending from the ends of a character. Although they are decorative and stylish in nature, they are said to enhance readability by guiding the eye from one character to the next. They also serve to distinguish typefaces
with similar shapes from each other.
A good rule of thumb when combining type is to mix a serif and a sans serif. There are usually strong design differences between them (unless they are part of a type family) which can achieve the contrast you are looking for.
DON’T distort your type with the features available in your page-layout program. Type that has been electronically expanded, slanted, emboldened and condensed looks very amateurish and is annoying to the eye.
In order to accomplish this, one must know the differences between kerning and leading—spacing between words and spacing between letters. You never want your type to appear too tight—you can accomplish this by adjusting your kerning (adjustment of the space between two specific characters). While leading (line spacing) refers to the vertical space between lines of type from baseline to baseline, and is usually measured in points (except for most word processing programs which offer a limited choice of single, one and a half, or double spacing). It is also referred to as leading, which is a term from the days when type was set in metal, and slugs of lead in varying thicknesses were inserted between the lines of metal type to add space between the lines.
HYPHENATION ::
Hyphenated words are a necessary evil in typesetting. They allow for a better looking, tighter rag, or a more natural block of justified type which needs less stretching. They also allow you to fit more words in a line. But let’s not forget the proper use of an em dash and an en dash.
UPPER CASE VS. LOWER CASE ::
Always stay away from setting text in all caps, as it dramatically reduces readability. We read words by their shapes, not by individual letters, and all-cap settings eliminate the information (ascenders and descenders) our brains need to read most easily.
PARTS OF A CHARACTER/LETTER ::
Arm—a horizontal stroke that is attached on one end and free on the other.
Arm/leg—The upper or lower (horizontal or diagonal) stroke that is attached on one end and free on the other (K)
Ascender—The part of a lowercase character (b, d, f, h, k, l, t) that extends above the height of the lowercase x.
Bar—The horizontal stroke in characters such as the A, H, e, f.
Baseline—The invisible line on which most characters sit.
Bowl—A curved stroke which creates an enclosed space within a character (which is then called a counter).
Cap Height—The height of capital letters from the baseline to the top of caps, most accurately measured on a character with a flat bottom (E, H, I, etc.)
Counter—The partially or fully enclosed space within a character.
Descender—The part of a character (g, j, p, q, y and sometimes J) that descends below the baseline.
Ear—The small stroke that projects from the top of the lowercase g.
Hairline—A very thin stroke most often common to serif typefaces.
Link—The stroke that connects the top and bottom part (bowl and loop) of a two-story lowercase g.
Loop—The lower portion of the lowercase g.
Serif—The projections extending off the main strokes of the characters of serif typefaces. Serifs come in two styles: bracketed and unbracketed. Brackets are the supportive curves which connect the serif to the stroke, creating a somewhat softer look. Unbracketed serifs are attached sharply, and usually at 90º angles.
Shoulder—The curved stroke of the h, m, n.
Spine—The main curved stroke of the S.
Spur—A small projection off a main stroke found on many capital Gs.
Stem—A straight vertical stroke or main straight diagonal stroke in a letter which has no verticals.
Stress—The direction of thickening in a curved stroke.
Stroke—A straight or curved line.
Swash—A fancy flourish replacing a terminal or serif.
Tail—The descender of a Q or short diagonal stroke of an R.
Terminal—The end of a stroke not terminated with a serif.
X-height—The height of lowercase letters, specifically the lowercase x, not including ascenders and descenders.