Typography - Practical Tasks: Exercises
TYPOGRAPHY | TASK 1: EXERCISES
20/04/26 – 29/05/26 (Week 01 – Week 06)
Liu Mengdi (0391487)
Typography
Tasks 1: Exercises
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. LECTURES
Lectures 0: Introduction
"Typography could be deemed the creating letters"
Calligraphy the writing styles.
Lettering draw out the letters
Typography is the art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible(needs to be clearly) readable and appealing(positive feeling).
Font refers to the individual font or weight within a typeface.
Typeface refers to the entire family of fonts or weight that share similar characteristics or styles, within those typefaces they may be fonts of different weights or styles.
Lectures 1: Development
Phoenicians wrote from right to left.
Greeks developed a style of writing called ‘boustrophedon’ (how the ox ploughs).
Etruscan (and then Roman) carvers working in marble painted letterforms before inscribing them.
Fig. 1.1.1 Timeline of the development of typography, Week 1 (21/4/2026)
Fig. 1.1.2 Text type classification, Week 1 (21/4/2026)
Lectures 3: Text (Part 1)
Kerning refers to the automatic adjustment of space between letters. when you writing a title , a headline, when using uppercase letters you kern,
Tracking refers to the addition and removal of space in a word or sentence
Loose tracking makes text easier to read
Letterspacing means to add space between the letters.
Flush left is the most closely mirrors the asymmetrical experience of handwriting. You’ll always have a dragging on the right.
Flush right places emphasis on the end of a line as opposed to its start. It can be useful in situations (like captions or an axis layout ).
Centered text should be used sparingly for small amounts of text.
Justified creates a symmetrical text shape by adjusting spacing, requires careful line breaks and hyphenation to avoid distracting gaps (rivers) in the layout. Must avoid this.
The typographer’s first job: clear, appropriate presentation of the author’s message.
- If you see the type before you see the words, change the type.
- Whenever you use script typefaces, you should never use capital letters.
X-height: Type with a relatively generous x-height or relatively heavy stroke width produces a darker mass on the page than type with a relatively smaller x-height or lighter stroke.
Fig. 1.1.3 X-height, Week 2 (27/4/2026)
10/13.5 = Point size 10pt, leading 13.5pt
leading is 3.5 points larger than the point size of the text.
Type specimen book requirements: Text should create a field that can occupy a page or a screen. Think of your ideal text as having a middle gray value , not a series of stripes.
Lectures 4: Text (Part 2)
Pilcrow
Used to indicate paragraph space.
Leading
- 2.5 to 3 points larger than the typeface point size.
- Hence, if the line spacing is 12 pt, then the paragraph space is 12 pt. This ensures cross-alignment across columns of text.
- The alignment that you use for your text should be justified.
- When you begin a new column of text, you should avoid that you can’t fit all the textual information in that column and the last line happens to go up.
- You can avoid it by reducing the column width a little, adjusting the column height on one side, and then introducing a second line at the top so that you have at least two lines.
Widows
To avoid widows or orphans, always use Option + Left Arrow key so that you adjust your letter spacing or kerning. Keep in mind that when you do kerning and letter spacing, you cannot do it more than three times or less than three times.
Tracking must be 5.
Orphans
Careful typographers make sure that no column of text starts with the last line of the preceding paragraph. (You can fix it by reducing the line length of the column.)
Highlighting text
- Change the type family that is used,
- or change the color of the text (you can only use black, cyan, magenta, and yellow).
- Whenever you change the type family, it is good to reduce the point size by 0.5.
Cross alignment
- One line of headline type cross-aligns with two lines of text type.
- The larger one should be twice the leading of the smaller one.
Lectures 4: Typo_2_Basic
Baseline The imaginary line the visual base of the letterforms.
Median The imaginary line defining the x-height of letterforms.
X-height The height in any typeface of the lowercase 'x'.
Fig. 1.1.4 Week 4 (11/5/2026)
Apex / Vertex The point created by joining two diagonal stems (apex
above and vertex below
Arm Short strokes off the stem of the letterform, either horizontal (E, F, L) or inclined upward (K, Y).
Ascender The portion of the stem of a lowercase letterform that
projects above the median.
Barb The half-serif finish on some curved stroke.
Bowl The rounded form that describes a counter. The bowl may be either open or closed.
Bracket The transition between the serif and the stem.
Cross Bar The horizontal stroke in a letterform that joins two stems together
Ear The stroke extending out from the main stem or body of the letterform.
Em/en Originally refering to the width of an uppercase M, and em is now the distance equal to the size of the typeface (an em in 48 points, for example). An en is half the size of an em. Most often used to describe em/en spaces and em/en dashes.
Stress The orientation of the letterform, indicated by the thin stroke in round forms.
2. INSTRUCTIONS
Practical Tasks / Exercises 30% - Individual
Express the meaning of four of these words - Smile, Free, Radiant, Hope, Balance, Bloom. Distortion of any of the letters is not allowed. No color may be used in the exercises. Use only the 10 typefaces given.
(a) Type Expression
- One JPG layout in A4 size (1024 px @300 ppi grayscale) : File > Export > Export As > Format: select JPEG > tick: Use Artboards > Range: Select Artboard Number > Export > Color Model: Grayscale > Resolution 300ppi > Ok
- GIF Format: Grayscale and at 72ppi. Ensure that your Gif does not exceed 1024px (width and height) or 800px minimum.
(b) Text Formatting
- Minor exercises on kerning & tracking: Use your name to practice kerning and tracking.
- Main exercises: "Transform the World: The Unsung Architects of Modern Life" --- PDF & JPG
Learning Goal
To be able to compose and express using textual information.
To be able to format text for effective communication.
Timeframe
Week 1 – Week 5 (Deadline on Week 6)
Document 2.1 Module Information Booklet (MIB) of Typography.
3. PROCESS WORK
3.1. Research
3.1.1 Exercise 1 Type Expression
balance
n. a state where different things are equal or stable
bloom
help
v. to make it easier for someone to do something or improve a situation
n. assistance or support
Fig. 3.1.1.2 source: YouTuBe @National Geographic, Week 3 (7/5/26)
3.1.2 Exercise 2 Formatting Text
- minor exercises on kerning & tracking
I found that among so many fonts, the ten provided by Mr. Vinod still have the highest readability. So, while prioritizing readability as much as possible, I tried to create different visual effects.
- Formatting Text
3.2. Ideation
3.2.1 Exercise 1 Type Expression
These are my sketches. Based on Mr. Vinod’s feedback, I chose one sketch for each word to turn into a digital version.
I made a mistake during the animated part, and this was my failed version.
So I switched to "relax" for the animation, and it turned out way better.
Fig. 3.2.1.3 successful version, Week 3 (7/5/26)
3.2.2 Exercise 2 Formatting Text
- minor exercises on kerning & tracking
- Formatting Text
3.3. Final Outcome
3.3.1 Exercise 1 Type Expression
Fig. 3.3.1.1 Final Type Expressions - JPEG, Week 2 (30/4/26)
Fig. 3.3.1.2 Final Type Expressions - PDF, Week 2 (30/4/26)
Fig. 3.3.1.3 Final animated type expression "relax" (GIF), Week 3 (7/5/26)
3.3.2 Exercise 2 Formatting Text
3.3.2.1 minor exercises on kerning & tracking
In this part of the exercise, I learned to use kerning and tracking to make the spaces between the letters between words look more harmonious.
Fig. 3.3.2.1.1 without kerning & tracking version - JPEG, Week 4 (14/5/26)
Fig. 3.3.2.1.2 with kerning version - JPEG, Week 4 (14/5/26)
Fig. 3.3.2.1.3 with tracking version - JPEG, Week 4 (14/5/26)
Fig. 3.3.2.1.4 with kerning & tracking version - JPEG, Week 4 (14/5/26)
Fig. 3.3.2.1.5 with kerning & tracking version - PDF, Week 4 (14/5/26)
3.3.2.2 Formatting Text
Fig. 3.3.2.2.1 Formatting text without grid version - JPEG, Week 4 (15/5/26)
Fig. 3.3.2.2.2 Formatting text with grid version - JPEG, Week 4 (15/5/26)
Fig. 3.3.2.2.3 Formatting text with & without grid - PDF, Week 4 (15/5/26)
HEAD
- Font/s: ITC New Baskerville Std Bold
- Type Size/s: 37 pt
- Leading: 39 pt
- Paragraph spacing: 0 pt
BODY
- Font/s: Univers LT Std 45 Light
- Type Size/s: 9 pt
- Leading: 12 pt
- Paragraph spacing: 0 pt
- Characters per-line: 65
- Alignment: Align Left
Page Margins
- top:12.7 mm
- left: 12.7 mm
- right: 12.7 mm
- bottom: 50 mm
- Columns: 4
- Gutter: 5 mm
4. FEEDBACK
Week 2
General feedback: We were asked to use Adobe Illustrator to digitalize our sketches. The font design should let people immediately recognize the word, and also feel the emotion that the design is trying to convey.
Specific feedback: The word 'balance' should look visually balanced to reflect its meaning; 'bloom' should place the letter 'B' in the center so it's the first letter people notice; 'help' should appear as if it's smiling to give a supportive feeling; 'relax' should to express a calm mood.
Week 3
General feedback: I digitized my sketch, but when I presented my work, Mr. Vinod said my explanation wasn’t specific enough and needed to be more convincing.
Specific feedback: The "balance" works well. The "bloom" idea is visible but not clear enough as a flower. "Help" suggests two arms, but it needs stronger visual clarity. "Relax" is fine, but it could feel softer and more relaxed.
Week 4
General feedback: Mr. Vinod said the expression and readability are not particularly strong, and the design does not communicate the intended word clearly.
Specific feedback: There are issues with readability, as the word may be read as "O, M, B, I, O" from left to right instead of "blue," so it is not communicating the actual expression particularly well. Choosing one of the other three versions would work better.
Week 5
General feedback: Mr. Vinod mentioned that my typography and text layout still lack consistency in terms of readability and spacing. He said I should pay more attention to things like paragraph spacing, leading, line length, and letter spacing so the text feels more visually connected, balanced, and easier to read.
Specific feedback: He pointed out that my paragraph spacing does not match the leading properly. He explained that if the body text is set at 9pt with 12pt leading, then the paragraph spacing should also follow the 12pt system to keep the alignment and spacing consistent. He also mentioned that some parts have too much letter spacing, which affects readability because it breaks the word shapes. In addition, he said the line lengths are too long, making the text more difficult to read comfortably.
5. REFLECTION
5.1. Experience
At the beginning, when I first opened Adobe Illustrator, I didn’t know where to start. But after watching Mr. Vinod’s lecture, I was able to slowly explore and learn how to use it. Even though the result I made was kind of a mess, it still gave me a strong sense of achievement.
5.2. Observations
In this module, I finally got the chance to explore something that I’m genuinely interested in. Even though all of my work sucks, I still really enjoyed the process.
I’m also really grateful for the feedback given by Mr. Vinod, because he always points out the problems very directly and gives us really insightful suggestions on how to improve. I think that’s extremely important for beginners, because it helps make sure we don’t keep going further down the wrong path.
5.3. Findings
I found that typography is not only about making text look visually appealing, but also about improving readability and communication. Small details such as spacing, alignment, and hierarchy can greatly affect the overall design and user experience.
6. FURTHER READING
This book talks about typography is not only about form, but also about communication, it shows how letters and layout help people read and understand better. It also introduces history of typography, different type styles, and some basic rules, to make the text look good and also easy to read.
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