Cover Sheet

Individual letter forms have unique

parts which have changed in visual form

over the centuries. A nomenclature

helps identify major elements of their

construction. The evolution of lettering

styles over time is a result of optical

adjustments to the basic components by

type designers over the ages.

Anatomy of Type

When mixing families of type, you can

and cant do certain things based on your

experience with typography. Generally

serif and sans serif should be separate.

Serifs read better in large amounts of text

and sans serifs work better for titles.

Understanding Anatomy

Ringtailed

Ear

Loo

p

Ascen

der

Tail

Co

un

ter

Descen

der

Sh

ou

lder

Eye

Bo

wl

Lin

k

Str

oke

Sh

ou

lder

Capline

Meanline

Baseline

x-height

Ringtailed Ring-Ringtailed Ringtailed With Fill

Without Fill

Garamond BaskervilleUniversHelvetica Neue

When mixing families of type, you can

and cant do certain things based on your

experience with typography. Generally

serif and sans serif should be separate.

Serifs read better in large amounts of text

and sans serifs work better for titles.

Understanding Anatomy Anatomy of Type | Single Letter

RingtailedRingtailedRingtailed

When creating a visual hierarchy in

typographic space, a designer balances the

need for harmony, which unifies a design,

with the need for contrast, which lends

vitality and emphasis.

Anatomy of Type | counterpoint and counterpartAnatomy of Type | Cropping Studies

Anatomy of Type | Counterpart and Counterpoint

denotes counterpart relationships

denotes counterpoint relationships

When creating a visual hierarchy in ty-pographic space, a designer balances the need for harmony, which unifies a design, with the need for contrast, which lends vitality and emphasis.

As in music, elements can have a counterpart or a counterpoint relation-ship. Typographic counterparts are ele-ments with similar qualities that bring harmony to their spatial relationship. Elements have a counterpoint rela-tionship when they have contrasting characteristics, such as size, weight, color, tone, or texture. Counterpoint relationships bring opposition and dissonance to the design.

Every letter has a personality you can

identify. Fragmentation is not the goal in

and of itself. Everything is adjustable and

it’s a case-by case decision of how far to

go. The form you seek is one that to be able

to read the word. So this determines the

degree of fracture. It’s the “part”(letterform)

to”whole” (word). Both must be juggled

to value. You can’t use the same element

over and over just because it worked in

one place. Every example should change

somewhat. Because range is a persistent

goal of design, you want to invent in each

example. Expect some noble necessary part

of any assignment.

R igt ai l ed

Ringt i L e d

Ring at i Led

Ri taLed

na

nG i

Anatomy of Type | Typographic Kinetics Anatomy of Type | Counterpart and Counterpoint

While upper and lower case letters are

distinct in structure, they all are built by

combining 4 strokes; vertical, horizontal,

slanted, and curvilinear. These elementary

strokes form the foundation, a visual

“code” that is recognizable through our

long experience with reading and writing

regardless of style. Therefore, letter

forms derive their visual character from

combinations of these basic strokes and not

from being light or bold, wide or narrow,

Roman or italic, sans serif or serif. An entire

alphabet can be categorized using only six

basic underlying visual combinations of

strokes as the example illustrates.

Anatomy of Type | The Structure of Letters The Structure of Letters

XWV

EFHILT

AZ

KMNY

BDGJLOPRU

COQS

filthmn

k

vwx

z

abdjoprug

ceqsy

C

C

C TD B B

Since the time of the Greeks, capital letterforms have

consisted of simple geometric forms based on the

square, circle, and triangle. The basic shape of each

capital letterforms can be extracted from this Roman

letterform template found on the Trojan Columns which

is composed of a bisected square, a circle, a triangle, an

inverted triangle, and two smaller circles.

Using the initials of your designer, impose

the letterforms in a typgraphic study

that “interprets” a relationship to the form

of the chair they designed. The goal is to

discover relationships in form and division

of space. Then, using the designer’s name,

the name of the chair, and the date

of its manufature, imposbe the words in

a typographic study that demonstrates

relationships to the chair.

Anatomy of Type | Typographic Page with a Chair Anatomy of Type | Typographhic Page with a Chair

Weight and face

Size and weight

a

Anatomy of Type | Typographic Page with a Chair Anatomy of Type | Typographic Page with a Chair

Weight and face Size, weight and face

Size and case Size and weight

a

Anatomy of Type | Typographic Page with a Chair Anatomy of Type | Typographic Page with a Chair

No. 4

1, Po

mino

Size and width Case and size

Size and colorWeight and size

Anatomy of Type | Typographic Page with a Chair Anatomy of Type | Typographic Page with a Chair

Color, Weight and Slant

Case, Color and Weight

Size, Tone, and Case

Weight, Color and Size

No. 41 Pomino

“God created paper for the purpose of drawing architecture

on it. Everything else is at least for me an abuse of paper.”

Alvar Aalto, Sketches, 1978, 104.

The Alvar Aalto Museum, designed by Aalto himself, is located in what is regarded as his home city Jyväskylä.

Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (3 February 1898 – 11 May 1976) was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware.

Alvar Aalto

Type generally falls into two primary

categories; informational and or

expressive. It’s not uncommon to have

a strategy for both present in layouts.

Informational text is more common and

the form responds to long traditions

and conventions of size, spacing and

established habits of organization on the

page. In a book or website it is information

design that takes the lead. On a poster or

motion graphics expression could lead.

The ratio is determined by the designer

and the needs of the communication. An

emphasis or hierarchy must be clear and

decisive so the roles each plays in the

communication are clear. In design things

are not equal.

Anatomy of Type | Chair Hang Tag Anatomy of Type | Chair Hang Tag

The Alvar Aalto Museum,

designed by Aalto him-

self, is located in what is

regarded as his home city

Jyväskylä.

Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto

(3 February 1898 – 11

May 1976) was a Finnish

architect and designer.

His work includes archi-

tecture, furniture, textiles

and glassware.

No. 41 Pomino

“God created paper for the purpose of drawing architecture on it. Everything else is

at least for me an abuse of paper.” Alvar Aalto, Sketches, 1978, 104.

Alvar Aalto