Advanced Typography - Task 1: Exercises

Elements are dependent on communication in order to function
Additional criteria: hierarchy, order of reading, legibility, and contrast
Similar to what architects term "shape grammars" (set of shape rules that apply in a step-by-step way to generate a set, or language, of designs)

Examples

Figure 1.1.1 Transitional Systems Examples, Week 1 (22/4/2026)

AXIAL: all elements are organised to the left or right of a single axis

RADIAL: all elements are extended from a point of focus

DILATATIONAL: all elements expand from a central point in a circular fashion

RANDOM: elements appear to have no specific pattern or relationship

GRID: a system of vertical and horizontal divisions

TRANSITIONAL: an informal system of layered banding

MODULAR: a series of non-objective elements that are constructed in as standardised units

BILATERAL: all text is arranged symmetrically on a single axis

Week 2: Typographic Composition

Principles of Design Composition

Figure 1.2.1 Emphasis Example, Week 2 (1/5/2026)

Includes emphasis, isolation, repetition, symmetry and asymmetry, alignment, perspective, etc.
However, they are more relevant to imagery than complex units of information that includes different elements

The Rule of Thirds

Figure 1.2.2 Rule of Thirds Example, Week 2 (1/5/2026)

Photographic composition guide
A frame (space) is divided into 3 columns and 3 rows, with the intersecting lines used to place the point of interest

Typographic Systems

Figure 1.2.3 Grid System Examples, Week 2 (1/5/2026)

Most used is the grid system due to its versatility
Was further enhanced by what is now come to be termed as the Swiss (Modernist) style of typography

Figure 1.2.4 Post-modernist Style, Week 2 (1/5/2026)

Emphasised chaos, randomness, and asymmetry over legibility and readability
Asymmetry, random, repetition, dilatational, and radial systems began to take root

Environmental Grid

Figure 1.2.5 Environmental Grid Examples, Week 2 (1/5/2026)

Based on the exploration of an existing structure or numerous structures combined

An extraction of crucial lines (curved/straight) are formed, with information later organised around this super-structure

Form & Movement

Figure 1.2.6 Form and Movement Examples, Week 2 (1/5/2026)

Based on the exploration of an existing grid system
Can be used to see the turning of pages in a book as a slowed-down animation in the form that constitutes the placement of image, text, and colour
Placement of form on a page, over many pages creates movement

Week 3: Context & Creativity

Handwriting

Figure 1.3.1 Evolution of the Latin Alphabet, Week 3 (7/5/2026)

The first mechanically designed letterforms were designed to directly imitate handwriting
Became the basis or standard for form, spacing and conventions mechanical type would try and mimic
Shape and line of hand drawn letterforms are influenced by the tools and materials used to make them (sharpened bones, charcoal sticks, plant stems, brushes, feather, steel pens, etc.)

Figure 1.3.2 Evolution of Handwriting (Left to Right, Top to Bottom), Week 3 (7/5/2026)

Eastern Developments in Handwriting

Figure 1.3.3 Evolution of Middle Eastern Alphabets, Week 3 (7/5/2026)

Figure 1.3.4 Evolution of the Chinese Script, Week 3 (7/5/2026)

South Asian and Southeast Asian Scripts

Figure 1.3.5 Brahmi Script (450-350 B.C.E.), Week 3 (7/5/2026)

The earliest writing system developed in India after the Indus Script
Is one of the most influential writing systems; all modern Indian scripts and several hundred scripts in Southeast and East Asia are derived from Brahmi

Figure 1.3.6 Southeast Asian Scripts, Week 3 (7/5/2026)

Week 4: Designing Type

Adrian Frutiger

Figure 1.4.1 Univers (Left) and Airport Signage using Frutiger (Right), Week 4 (15/5/2026)

Figure 1.4.2 Frutiger Font Expansions, Week 4 (15/5/2026)

A renown 20th century Swiss graphic designer known for typeface design (Univers & Frutiger)
PURPOSE: To create a clean, distinctive and legible typeface that is easy to see from both close up and far away
CONSIDERATIONS/LIMITATIONS: Letterforms needed to be recognised even in poor light conditions or when the reader was moving quickly past the sign

Matthew Carter

Figure 1.4.3 Georgia and Verdana (Web Fonts), Week 4 (15/5/2026)

Figure 1.4.4 Verdana in Print, Week 4 (15/5/2026)

Is the Royal Designer for Industry, contemporary British type designer and ultimate craftsman
Many of his fonts were creates to address specific technical challenges
PURPOSE: Has to be extremely legible even at very small sizes on the screen due in part to the popularity of the internet and electronic devices
CONSIDERATIONS/LIMITATIONS: The Verdana font exhibits characters derived from pixel rather than the pen/brush/chisel, which commonly confuses letters such as the lowercase i j l

Edward Johnston

Figure 1.4.5 Johnston Sans, Week 4 (15/5/2026)

Figure 1.4.2 Johnston Sans Type Application, Week 4 (15/5/2026)

Creator of the hugely influential London "Underground" typeface — Johnston Sans (1916)
PURPOSE: London's Underground railway ordered a new typeface for its posters and signage
CONSIDERATIONS/LIMITATIONS: The typeface has the proportions of Roman capital letters, making it rooted in history and traditional calligraphy, but has an elegance and simplicity that fitted the modern age

Process of Type Design

Figure 1.4.3 Type Design Process, Week 4 (15/5/2026)

RESEARCH: Understand type history/anatomy/conventions and terminologies > determine the type's purpose + different applications > examine existing fonts for inspiration/ideas/references/context/usage pattern/etc.
SKETCHING: Some designers sketch using traditional tools then scan them for digitisation, some use digital tool sets (e.g. Wacom) but can sometimes impede the natural movement of hand strokes
DIGITISATION: FontLab and Glyphs App are the leading softwares, attention should not only be given to the whole form at this stage but also to the counterform for readability
TESTING: Part of the process of refining and correcting aaspects of the typeface, the readability and legibility of the typeface becomes an important consideration
DEPLOY: Further revision, testing is important so that the teething issue remains minor

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2. INSTRUCTIONS

Figure 2.1 Module Assignment Briefs

Task 1: Exercises

(i) Typographic Systems

Explore the 8 typographic systems (axial, radial, dilatational, random, grid, transitional, modular, and bilateral) with the provided content.
All work should be done with only Adobe InDesign.

(ii) Type & Play

Select an image of a texture and identify potential letterforms within the dissected image.
Refine the extracted letterforms while maintaining core features of its origin.
Create a movie poster using the final extraction and a related image.

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3. PROCESS WORK: TYPOGRAPHIC SYSTEMS

3.1 Research

Figure 3.1.1 Inspirations, Week 1 (22/4/2026)

From the 3 content options, I ended up selecting "All Ripped Up: Punk Influences On Design" since I was already familiar with the topic. Then, I started by gathering my inspirations on Pinterest. I didn't have a set idea for any of the designs yet, so this helped give me a few ideas before starting.

3.2 Ideation

Figure 3.2.1 Sketches, Week 1 (23/4/2026)

I then proceeded with making some sketches. However, I only finished 4 sketches for axial before deciding to work directly on InDesign, mainly because I had some trouble visualising my ideas on paper.

AXIAL

Figure 3.2.2 Axial Layout Attempts, Week 1 (24/4/2026)

ATTEMPT #1: I did quite like the look of Variation #1, but the positioning of the text looked a little off. I tried again with a slightly different angle which seemed to fix the issue.

ATTEMPT #2: I tried a straight but angled axis for this one. From the 4 options, I was ready to pick Variation #4 as my final, but the longer I looked at it the uglier it seemed to get so I just left it as is.

ATTEMPT #3: I really only liked the fading effect in the word "ripped", the rest of the layout was a little awkward.

Fonts Used

ATTEMPT #1: Futura Std (Extra Bold Condensed, Bold, Heavy, Book)

ATTEMPT #2: Futura Std (Extra Bold Condensed, Bold, Heavy, Book, Heavy Oblique, Medium Oblique)

ATTEMPT #3: Futura Std (Bold, Heavy, Book, Heavy Oblique)

RADIAL

Figure 3.2.3 Radial Layout Attempts, Week 1 (25/4/2026)

ATTEMPT #1: I didn't like how this attempt was looking so I left it unfinished.

ATTEMPT #2: I did see this one working out but the layout was pretty boring since the text would basically just be arranged around a circle placed almost in the center of the page, so I scrapped this one too.

ATTEMPT #3: The layout for this one looked the best to me even if it was also kinda basic, but it was the best I could do at the time. The pointed star in Variation #1 looked like it was just placed there so I switched it to a circle and changed the background to black to make it look more filled out.

Fonts Used

ATTEMPT #1 / #2 / #3: Futura Std (Bold, Heavy, Book, Extra Bold Condensed, Medium Condensed)

RANDOM

Figure 3.2.4 Random Layout Attempts, Week 1 (26/4/2026)

ATTEMPT #1: I only had one attempt for random because I was really happy with how this one turned out. Though there are 2 variations because I was told by a friend that every element had to be random, even the names and times, so I changed that by seperating and rotating them a little bit.

Fonts Used

ATTEMPT #1: Bodoni Std (Bold Italic, Poster, Bold), Gill Sans Std (Shadowed, Bold Italic), Bembo Std (Regular), Serifa Std (75 Black, 65 Bold), ITC Garamond Std (Bold Narrow, Bold), Univers Lt Std (49 Light Ultra Condensed, 59 Ultra Condensed, 85 Extra Black), Futura Std (Book Oblique, Heavy, Book), ITC New Baskerville Std (Bold)

GRID

Figure 3.2.5 Grid Layout Attempts, Week 2 (27/4/2026)

ATTEMPT #1: Grids also only had one attempt with multiple variations. Variation #1 looked like all the elements were placed very awkwardly, so in Variation #2, I moved the dates and names to the bottom of the page. Variation #3 is basically the same as #2 but with the colours flipped and the "open public lectures" part was edited. Something about the pointed star looked very off in the whole design, so I removed it and reworked the title a little more for Variation #4, which ended up as my final.

Fonts Used

ATTEMPT #1: Futura Std (Bold, Heavy, Book, Light Condensed, Medium Condensed)

MODULAR

Figure 3.2.6 Modular Layout Attempts, Week 2 (27/4/2026)

Figure 3.2.7 Inspirations for Modular (Source: Image 1, Image 2), Week 2 (27/4/2026)

ATTEMPT #1: Another layout with only one attempt, this one was highly inspired by the posters in Figure 3.2.7. I did have to remake it multiple times with different versions of the font for it to fit the grid properly but I'm pretty happy with how this layout turned out.

Fonts Used

ATTEMPT #1: Futura Std (Medium Condensed, Bold Condensed, Light Condensed, Book, Heavy)

BILATERAL

Figure 3.2.8 Bilateral Layout Attempts, Week 2 (28/4/2026)

For being one of the simplest typographic systems, this one was unreasonably hard for me to make.

ATTEMPT #1: I felt like the layout was too basic, and the spacing was all wrong, so I scrapped this one.

ATTEMPT #2: This one is unfinished because I didn't measure the angle in which the information text is placed, but I didn't like how it turned out as well.

ATTEMPT #3: I ended up seperating the main title text and placing all the information between them. It looked quite empty after that so I incorporated some lines at the side.

Fonts Used

ATTEMPT #1 / #2: Futura Std (Bold, Book, Heavy)

ATTEMPT #3: Futura Std (Extra Bold, Bold, Heavy, Book)

DILATATIONAL

Figure 3.2.9 Dilatational Layout Attempts, Week 2 (28/4/2026)

ATTEMPT #1: This first one was a failed attempt, I did not know what I was doing and had zero plan with the layout.

ATTEMPT #2: Similar to Attempt #1, but I felt like I was getting somewhere with the positioning of the names and dates.

ATTEMPT #3: I spent a really long time playing around with all the positioning of the text, but the base I had from Attempt #2 helped to establish a little bit of shape to work around.

Fonts Used

ATTEMPT #1: Serifa Std (75 Black)

ATTEMPT #2: Futura Std (Extra Bold, Medium Condensed, Extra Bold Condensed, Book, Heavy)

ATTEMPT #3: Futura Std (Bold, Book, Heavy)

TRANSITIONAL

Figure 3.2.10 Transitional Layout Attempts, Week 2 (29/4/2026)

Honestly I did not really understand this system in the beginning, every example I saw looked different and I had trouble coming up with a layout. But I just decided to settle on one form of this system and worked based on that.

ATTEMPT #1: I felt like this layout didn't look transitional enough so I left it as is.

ATTEMPT #2: Both variations are kinda similar but with different title designs, I also felt like these didn't look transitional enough.

ATTEMPT #3: I ended up making the text a lot smaller, but keeping and similar zigzag-like layout for the information. I added lines on the sides to guide the eyes and also to fill up the empty space.

Fonts Used

ATTEMPT #1: Futura Std (Extra Bold, Heavy, Bold, Medium Oblique, Light Condensed, Medium Condensed, Book)

ATTEMPT #2: Futura Std (Extra Bold, Extra Bold Oblique, Heavy, Bold, Medium Oblique, Light Condensed, Medium Condensed, Book)

ATTEMPT #3: Futura Std (Heavy, Bold, Medium Oblique, Light Condensed, Medium Condensed, Book)

Figure 3.2.11 Updated Axial Layouts, Week 2 (2/4/2026)

Based on the feedback I received in class, I tried to make the contrast between both sides not as strong. I felt like the full white background took a lot away from the design, so I also tried out black/pink and pink/white. Between the 2, I selected the black/pink version over the white/pink one because the contrast was less harsh.

Figure 3.2.12 Updated Transitional & Bilateral Layouts, Week 2 (2/4/2026)

Besides that, I was told to reduce the line weight to 0.5 pt for my transitional system, which I also later applied to my bilateral system.

3.3 Final Outcome

Figure 3.3.1 Final Axial System - JPEG, Week 3 (4/5/2026)

Figure 3.3.2 Final Radial System - JPEG, Week 3 (4/5/2026)

Figure 3.3.3 Final Dilatational System - JPEG, Week 3 (4/5/2026)

Figure 3.3.4 Final Random System - JPEG, Week 3 (4/5/2026)

Figure 3.3.5 Final Grid System - JPEG, Week 3 (4/5/2026)

Figure 3.3.6 Final Transitional System - JPEG, Week 3 (4/5/2026)

Figure 3.3.7 Final Modular System - JPEG, Week 3 (4/5/2026)

Figure 3.3.8 Final Bilateral System - JPEG, Week 3 (4/5/2026)

Figure 3.3.9 Collage of Final Typographic Systems, Week 3 (4/5/2026)

Figure 3.3.10 Final Typographic Systems - PDF, Week 3 (4/5/2026)

Figure 3.3.11 Final Typographic Systems with Grid - PDF, Week 3 (4/5/2026)

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4. PROCESS WORK: TYPE & PLAY

4.1 Research

Figure 4.1.1 Texture Options, Week 2 (1/5/2026)

I gathered a few interesting texture options on Pinterest of gravel, veins, cracked leather, and thorns. From these 4, I chose to work with the thorns as they seem to have the most interesting pattern.

4.2 Ideation

Figure 4.2.1 Thorns Image, Week 2 (2/5/2026)

I decided to use the word "THORNS", so I started by doing a very rough and quick extraction of the letters I could see.

Figure 4.2.2 Quick Extractions, Week 2 (2/5/2026)

From these, I selected the nicest ones for each letter before proceeding with my actual extraction.

Figure 4.2.3 Extractions on Image, Week 3 (3/5/2026)

Figure 4.2.4 Extractions, Week 3 (3/5/2026)

After extracting my letters, I moved on to picking a reference font.

Figure 4.2.5 Reference Font Options, Week 3 (3/5/2026)

I was stuck between 3 fonts: Poor Richard, Costaline, and ITC Garamond Std. After a few tries, Poor Richard and Costaline were just not working out with my extractions, so I ended up using ITC Garamond Std as my reference font.

Figure 4.2.6 Extraction Placed on Reference Font, Week 3 (3/5/2026)

Figure 4.2.7 Height Adjustment with Baselines, Week 3 (3/5/2026)

Figure 4.2.8 Refinement Process, Week 3 (5/5/2026)

For the refinement, I mainly used the warp tool and direct selection tool. Initially (not shown), I made the letters too similar to the reference font, making it look like a wobbly version of ITC Garamond Std itself but with some extra thorns. To fix that, I warped the letters a little to look more like the shapes of how they were originally extracted. I also added more thorns to the letters to equal out the numbers on each.

Figure 4.2.9 Process Board, Week 3 (6/5/2026)

Figure 4.2.10 Further Refinement of Letter S, Week 3 (6/5/2026)

My feedback was to just fix the S a little, so I switched up the positioning of some thorns and also added a few in new spots. The sharp point at the top was added to kinda mirror the letter T in the full word.

Figure 4.2.11 Final Extractions, Week 3 (6/5/2026)

After the extraction was done, we had to create a movie poster using a related image and the final extracted text.

Figure 4.2.12 Thorns Image and Poster, Week 4 (11/5/2026)

This is my first selected image and poster, which is incomplete. I'm not really sure if the bright orange of the text was not working with the background (+ the effects), or if the background itself if just way too messy for the poster, so I scrapped it and started looking for a new picture.

Figure 4.2.12 Thorns Image #2, Week 4 (12/5/2026)

I picked a simpler image this time, with a clearer background and a main thorn as the focus.

Figure 4.2.14 Photoshop Editing Process, Week 4 (12/5/2026)

In Photoshop, I started by cropping the image, then added a grainy threshold effect by lowering the saturation + gaussian blur + grain + threshold, and removing the whites. After that, I played around with gradient maps and a lot of settings (curves, saturation, selective colour, etc.) until I was happy with the outcome, which I then added vignette to for added horror effect. I also masked out a thorn I wanted to overlap with the words by erasing around it and using the colour range tool under select to remove the background while keeping the grain effect.

Figure 4.2.15 Poster Outcome, Week 4 (12/5/2026)

I moved back to Illustrator to add in all my text and finished the rest of the poster. I ended up making Variation #2 right before class started because I felt that Variation #1 looked a little awkward. However, because of that, I made a mistake in the thorn overlapping the R as it wasn't masked out properly. Based on my feedback, I reduced the leading of the billing block and fixed the masking of the thorn. I also added a grain effect to the title text to make it blend in more with the background.

4.3 Final Outcome

Figure 4.3.1 Image Without and With Extraction, Week 4 (14/5/2026)

Figure 4.3.2 Extracted Letterforms on Baseline, Week 4 (14/5/2026)

Figure 4.3.3 Reference Font (ITC Garamond Std), Week 4 (14/5/2026)

Figure 4.3.4 Refinement Process, Week 4 (14/5/2026)

Figure 4.3.5 Final Letterforms on Baseline, Week 4 (14/5/2026)

Figure 4.3.6 Original Extraction (Top) and Final Letterforms (Bottom), Week 4 (14/5/2026)

Figure 4.3.7 Collage of Image, Dissection and Extraction, Reference, Refinement and Final, Week 4 (14/5/2026)

Figure 4.3.8 Poster (JPEG), Week 4 (14/5/2026)

Figure 4.3.9 Poster (PDF), Week 4 (14/5/2026)

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5. FEEDBACK

Week 2
GENERAL FEEDBACK: Mr. Vinod mentioned quite a few points: (1) We read by recognising shapes, so overlapping letterforms reduces readability. (2) Small, light/thin text on dark backgrounds can bleed when printing and become illegible. (3) Every element should have a function, elements used to enhance cannot compensate for weakness in composition. (4) Proximity creates tension; when things are too close, it creates tension, obstructing the readability. (5) If a chosen font has no small caps, downsize it by 0.5 pt. (6) When using a bold condensed typeface, inter-letter spacing must be introduced.
SPECIFIC FEEDBACK: For axial, Mr. Vinod said to avoid high contrast occupying half a page, as it causes eye strain. Everything else is okay, but reduce the line weight in transitional to 0.5 pt to reduce distraction.

Week 3
GENERAL FEEDBACK: Form thickness should remain the same across all letters and sharp points should be slightly rounded or cut off.
SPECIFIC FEEDBACK: The positioning of the thorns in the letter S can be further refined.

Week 4
GENERAL FEEDBACK: Zooming into an image too much makes it lose its clarity.
SPECIFIC FEEDBACK: Mr. Vinod said that the billing block in a movie poster is not usually meant to be read, and advised me to reduce the leading. He also said to be careful when using serif fonts as they tend to disappear against the background.

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6. REFLECTION

Experience

When starting the typographic systems task, understanding the different systems was harder than expected because I didn't fully understand how some of them worked. It also took me almost two hours just to complete one system, but that is poor planning on my part since I only did sketches for the axial system. Due to this, I spent most of my time experimenting and changing things up over and over while working. For finding type, it looked pretty easy to manage at first. However, the part where we had to adjust the extractions based on the reference font was also a little confusing because I wasn't sure how much it had to look like the font. Overall, though both were a little stressful at times, I enjoyed the process for each.

Observations

While doing these tasks, I realised that having a plan beforehand is very important because it can save a lot of time during the design process. I also noticed that even the smallest changes in layout could affect the overall look a lot more than I expected. In finding type specifically, I became more aware of how difficult it is to balance the originality of the extraction while still following a reference.

Findings

All in all, I learned that this class requires a lot of patience and experimentation. Even though I was quite stressed at times worrying if I was able to complete the tasks before the class, I personally think it still allows for much more creative freedom compared to Typography from semester 1. I liked that I could explore more ideas and experiment with different approaches instead of following strict rules.

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7. FURTHER READING

Figure 7.1 Typographic Systems by Kimberly Elam Cover Page, Week 2 (26/4/2025)

This book really helped when it came to designing the layouts for the first task, it explains multiple different ways to go about each of the 8 typographic systems, with provided examples as well. Reading this helped me better understand all of the different systems and also gave me ideas on how to construct my own for the task.

Figure 7.2 Finding Type (Source: KreatifBeats), Week 3 (6/5/2025)

Broken down steps for this task:

1. Finding an image

Should be strong, consistent, and repetitive in nature

2. Deconstructing the image

Outline the image or just the identified shape
Shapes and forms of the chosen image should be studied

3. Identifying the letterforms

Does not need to look exactly like the letter as long as the basic shape is prevalent

4. Extracting the letterforms

Extracted letterforms are placed on a baseline to be studies and compared with each other
Identify the core characteristics

5. Identifying a reference typeface

Serves as a guide for the overall aesthetic and to also be a point of reference when determining the shape or form of a letter

6. Refining letterforms

Introduce consistency in height, width, and contrast
Deliberate on retaining or removing characteristics
Decide what areas requite simplification
Retain the quality and core characteristics of the original object of the selected image

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