Understanding the anatomy of type is important in order to identify the characteristics that differentiate one typeface from another, to classify type, and to see how these aspects determine expressivity and legibility/readability. This exercise will help you to learn this anatomy through observing, drawing, and creating letterform.
- Identify and describe typographic form, proportion, measure and anatomy.
- Analyze and explain the contributing factors of readability, legibility and hierarchy as the fundamentals of effective typographic communication.
- Employ typographic classification to make informed decisions when selecting and combining typefaces.
- Laptop
- Adobe Illustrator CC
- Paper, Pencil, Eraser
- Black and white Laser printing credits
- Downloaded copy of the template: Exercise 1 – Drawing template
- Take 3 glyphs from your Project 1 research (e.g. h, o, f)
- Redraw these 3 glyphs
- Use them as a reference to imagine another 3-6 glyphs (e.g. a, g, P, Q, w, b)
- Find a font (using Type Kit or Google Fonts) similar to your reference
- Use these existing fonts to help you complete these letterforms (if needed)
- Sketch your 3-6 other glyphs with pencil on paper
- Ensure that all glyphs match proportion and style
- Redraw your glyphs in Adobe Illustrator using the template provided
- Save this version
- Print a black and white laserprint
- Mark potential revisions with a red marker pen
- Pin up this version
- Revise and improve on your last version
- Repeat steps 9 to 12 until you’ve made at least 12 versions
- Annotate the final drawing with terms of anatomy
- Submit package of final annotated drawing and at least 6 versions by end of class (Room 620, right across from the elevator doors. Garry is around until 5pm)
- Process
- Iteration
- Improvement
- Worth 5%