-- Parts of the grid: what are the following: margin, column, alley, module, gutter, folio.

Margin: the inactive area on a grid that directs the viewer toward the visual elements.

Column: a vertical division of space on a grid that is used to align the visual elements.

Alley: the space between characters

Module: areas that support textual and visual contents in a design

Gutter: negative/inactive space between columns

Folio: the page number.

-- What are the advantages of a multiple column grid?

They are flexible and accommodate a range of visual elements suitable for projects like books, magazines, and publications with diverse content. These grids provide opportunities to create rhythm, drama, movement, and tension through the interaction of visual elements through the use of scale, orientation, and position.

-- Why is there only one space after a period?

Characters on a Mac are proportional rather than monospaced like on a typewriter. Therefore, you do not need an extra space to separate sentences. One space is enough to visually separate them; two spaces often creates a disturbing gap.

-- What is a character (in typography)?

A single type elements, including a letter, number, punctuation, or space.

-- How many characters is optimal for a line length? words per line?

40 is the most optimal, but between 25 and 70 characters is acceptable. 40 characters is equal to about six words of six characters per line. There are also several ways to measure the optimum line length. First, using the lowercase alphabet as reference, measuring 1.5-3 times this width. Second, using picas, there should be a 2:1 or 2.5:1 ratio between the measure in picas and the type size in points.

-- Why is the baseline grid used in design?

A baseline grid is used to align type along an imaginary line throughout a document. By snapping type of any size to a baseline grid it creates continuity of type throughout the design.

-- What is a typographic river?

Usually occuring in justified text, this when words separate and leave gaps of white space. A river is created when white space gaps align through the text.

-- What does clotheslining or flow line or hangline mean?

A horizontal line running across the page that pulls the viewer's eye from left to right.

-- How can you incorporate white space into your designs?

By using a modular grid, the space between text columns and images helps add white space.

-- What is type color/texture mean?

Type color is used to provide visual hierarchy, definition, contrast, and meaning. It can also refer to the amount of black and white on a page of text.

Type texture refers to the variation in typefaces that can be used together to create numerous visiual textures in a design.

-- What is x-height, how does it effect type color?

The x-height of a typeface is the height of the lowercase 'x'.

Because x-heights vary, fronts set in the same size, with the same leading can look different can have different colour coverage on the page.

-- Define Tracking.

Tracking adjusts the space between characters.

-- Define Kerning. Why doe characters need to be kerned? What are the most common characters that need to be kerned (kerning pairs)?

Kerning-removing small units of space between letters in order to create visually-consistent letterspacing. Unkerned words look vaive and unprofessional and can disrupt the communication of the word. HL (verticals)-need the most amound of whitespace; HO (vertical next to curve)-needs less space; OC (curve next to curve)-very little space; OT-curve and overlap whitespace; AT (large white space)-close kerning.

-- In justification or H&J terms what do the numbers: minimum, optimum, maximum mean?

When justifying text, these terms relate to the spacing between words in a text block. Minimum has the least amount of space between each word, while maximum has the most.

-- What is the optimum space between words?

Words should be spaced far enough apart so each is legible and so the color block created by the characters is not too strong. They should also not be spaced farther than the leading.

-- What are some ways to indicate a new paragraph. Are there any rules?

Indentation provides the reader with an easily accessible entry point to a paragraph. The indent length can be relative to the point size or determined by the grid.

First-line indent: the text is indented from the left margin in the first line of the second and subsequent paragraphs.

Running indent:an indent from the left or right margin that affects several text lines.

Hanging indent: the first line of the test is not indented, but the rest of the lines are.

On a point indent: an indent located at a specific place.

-- What are the rules associated with hyphenation?

Hyphenation controls he number of hyphens that appear in a text block. In justified text, hyphens solve spacing issues. More than two hyphens in a row is considered "ugly."

-- What is a ligurature?

The joining of two or three separate characters together to form a single unit. They prevent the collision or interference of characters. It is also used to solve printer issues.

-- What does CMYK and RGB mean?

CMYK=cyan, magenta, yellow, black. This is used in printers.

RGB=red, green, blue. This is used for on-screen documents.

-- What does hanging punctuation mean?

In justified text, the punctuation is sometimes allowed to extend into the right-hand margin area to make the margin look neater.

-- What is the difference between a foot mark and an apostrophe? What is the difference between
an inch mark and a quote mark (smart quote)?

Inch and foot marks are straight up and down and do not change direction based on its positioning before or after a character. Apostrophe's and quote marks are curved and enclose the text which they surround.

-- What is a hyphen, en dash and em dashes, what are the differences and when are they used.

Hyphen-used to hyphenate words or line breaks.

En dash-the width o fa capital letter N in a particular font and size. It is used between words indicating a duration, like time or months, with a compound adjective if one of the elements consists of two words, or in place of the word "to."

Em dash-twice as long as the en dash or about the size of the capital M. Used to indicate an abrupt change in thought or when a period is too strong or comma too weak. There should be no space beside the em dash.

-- What is a widow and an orphan?

Widow-the last line of a paragraph consisting of fewer than 7 characters. Also, when part of a hyphenated word is left on the last line.

Orphan-When the last line of a paragraph is ended at the top of the next column.

Helvetica

I thought the film was an eye opener. I realize that a movie about a typeface probably can't get very interesting, so I suppose the film was well done.

I never knew how much Helvetica was used, in fact, I had never heard of it until we started this course. It is weird to think that the same typeface we used to make our compositions in project 2 is all over the place. I guess it just goes to show how diverse something as simple as type can be.

The one thing I didn't like about the film was how confused I felt when it was complete. Because it interviewed individuals who loved or hated this typeface, I am now unsure whether or not to use it in my work. Before the film I really like Helvetica, for there are so many variations in weight that you can create a lot of contrast, yet still have unity. However, I do not just want to be 'another one of those designers' that uses a typeface because it is a "default." This type is used because it is so legible, a valid argument corporations use when using Helvetica. For this same reason, designers have found it very useful. Until there is another typeface that is so simple and readable, myself, and the rest of the world, will continue to use it.

Erik Spiekermann

Part A
Erik Spiekermann, a designer, information architect, and writer, is best known as founder of MetaDesign and FontShop, not to mention his numerous typefaces. Spiekermann was born on May 30, 1947 in Stadthagen, Germany. Even at a young age, he was attracted to type, an aspect in his life that never changed. Growing up, his first home was located next to a neighbor who ran a Heidelberg Platen press. Spiekermann remembers being fascinated by the “whoosh, bang” noise of the press, a fascination that sparked his interest in type. When Spiekermann’s family moved to Bonn, his access to the press did not cease; in fact, his new home was located in front of Bonn University Press. At age twelve he was given a tabletop press and some metal type, which he single handedly used to create his school magazine.

At seventeen, Spiekermann moved to Berlin to avoid being drafted, a move that allowed him to study History of Art and English at Berlin’s Free University in 1967. All the while, he supported himself by running a letterpress printer and hot metal typesetter. It was during this time that he developed what would later become MetaDesign’s philosophy and design trademark. With scarce resources, Spiekermann “found the limitations of [his] materials and exploited them to the full.” Furthermore, he developed a style of always using a “narrow rectangle or bar bleeding off the confines of the page, usually in just one of two colors: black or red, with type dropped out in white,” for this provided a framework for the type. Finally, he “adhere[d] to the use of asymmetric layouts, carefully spaced text, both in terms of character fit and linespacing, and unjustified setting…, taking as much care with the spaces as with the type.”

After college, Spiekermann married Joan, and along with their son, moved from Berlin to London to begin work as a freelance artist in 1973. During this time he began working for large design firms, like Wolff Olins and Henrion Design, and type producers like Berthold and Letraset. Furthermore, he took up a teaching position at London College of Printing and he became involved with the leading advertising typesetters at Filmcomposition. Spiekermann’s involvement with large corporations in London gave him a view into the world of numerous clients, a system that he would later be applied to MetaDesign; for with 150 employees, MetaDesign is the country’s largest design corporation. He also discovered what he truly wanted to focus on in the world of typography. He began to call himself a typographic designer, stating that these designers “start from the word up; a graphic designer starts from the picture down.”

In 1979 Spiekermann returned to Berlin and, along with two partners, Dieter Heil and Florian Fischer, founded MetaDesign. However, in 1983 all three men decided on a mutual split. It was not until 1990 that Spiekermann, Uli Mayer and Hannes Kruger joined together to give MetaDesign another try, a move that would soon result in Germany’s largest design firm. Throughout the years MetaDesign has contracted with BVG, Heidelberg Printing, Berlin Public Transport System, Apple, Adobe, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Lexus, VW, Audi, and more. This success was not solely accomplished in Berlin, but was a combination of the work from offices around the globe. With it’s success in Berlin, Spiekermann decided to create two more branches of MetaDesign. The second, started in 1992, was co-founded by Spiekermann with Terry Irwin and Bill Hill and is located in San Francisco, California. The last office was founded in 1995 in London with Tim Fendley and Robin Richmond. To further MetaDesign’s success, it was crucial that each office could learn from one another. The San Francisco office focuses on digital technology and interface design, while the London office, the smallest of the three, has a more experimental environment and focuses on product development and management consultancy.

During the development of MetaDesign, Spiekermann faced a constant challenge of advancing technology. His novel, published in 1987, Rhyme & Reason, focuses on this issue and how to “maintain typographic standards in the face of de-skilling and the computer revolution.” Spiekermann believed a rise in digital technology was on the way, and when it arrived, he embraced it. He found that his experience with hot-metal lessons gave him a greater understanding of the printing that creates these designs. This allowed him to make a smooth transition between the “print revolution of filmsetting and lithography of the 1970s and 80s, and beyond into the digital 21st century.” In fact, Spiekermann is known as Germany’s first designer to own an Apple computer.

In an interview by Spiekermann, he elaborates on many of the type aspects that designer’s face. Even with the advancing technology, he believes that “All good type designers I know sit down with a pencil first, no matter how fast they are on the screen.” He starts by designing the most important or frequently used weight of the font, usually regular. Once completed, he designs most bold and lightest weights possible for that typeface. After this step, technology helps advance the typeface by “calculating the in-betweens.” Furthermore, software comes in handy when a slight change in the type is needed, for you don’t have to redraw the entire thing.

Before one sits down to sketch out a font, it is important to remember one thing, “that you don’t actually design the black, you design the white: the space inside it and the space around it. That is very important. If you apply that to screenfonts, you can make a really legible screenfont.” Once a designer has this step ingrained, there is one other major concept to indulge in. Spiekermann believes that “The problem with designing typefaces is that 90% has to look like everything else, because an A has to be an A and a B has to be a B. But you have to use that other 10% of leeway to make it look different!” Optimizing this 10% is the key.” Spiekermann and his co-workers at MetaDesign have been able to optimize this percentage in numerous fonts. The most notable today are FF Info, ITC Officina, FF Meta, Folha, and Glasgow, all of which were developed for a client.

Spiekermann wanted to build a company around the idea that it would “look at the big picture (often beyond the brief), and take care of tiny detail. Our work can change a client’s culture, but it also manifests itself in how well a document can be read on their computer screens. MetaDesign is about turning powerful ideas into everyday experiences.” Making sure a design really works is another ideal behind MetaDesign. Testing the functionality of a design is key, for a wonderful logo is “worse than useless” if it cannot be printed or takes up all of your computers memory. Furthermore, he felt that “messy typography can destroy even the most profound design concept.” Finally, he wanted to prove that “it was possible to work on large corporate design projects and maintain really intelligent, high-quality deign solutions.”

While MetaDesign was booming, Spiekermann and his wife began another enterprise, FontShop, which would become the world’s first digital typeface foundry and distributor of fonts. After compiling 600 typefaces, the Spiekermann’s put together a mail-order catalogue available to all. With its quick success, like MetaDesign, FontShop spread world wide, opening offices in Canada, founded by Ed Cleary, and Britain, by Neville Brody where it became known as FontWorks. When the business began publishing its fonts, it became known as FontFonts, complete with over 1200 typefaces. The Spiekermanns’ business had made a name for himself, for “Designers knew that if we said a front worked, it did.”

In 2000 Spiekermann left MetaDesign and started UDN (United Designers Network), recently renamed SpiekermannPartners, a collaboration of many designers he has worked with throughout his professional years. They too have offices in Berlin, London and San Francisco. The business now has clients like Bosch, Deutsche Bahn, Pioneer Investment, Messe Frankfurt, and Nokia.

He is currently is an honorary professor at the Academy of Arts in Bremen and board member of ATypI and German Design Council. Along with these positions he has previously been the president of the International Society of Typographic Designers and the International Institute of Information Design. In 2003 he received the Gerrit Noordzij Prize for Typography. Also, in 2006 received an honorary doctorship from Pasadena Art Center. In 2007 Spiekermann was given the Federal German Design Prize. Finally, in May 2007 Spiekermann became the first designer to the elected into the Hall of Fame by the European Design Awards for Communication Design.

Spiekermann’s interest in type at a young age allowed him to make great advances in the world of typographic design. From a company consisting of only four men, he globalized MetaDesign to make it Germany’s largest design firm. Spiekermann formed it around the principals that “deep industry knowledge and experience, a global perspective, and a user-focused approach,” believing these would lead to success. With the knowledge gained from MetaDesign, his other business enterprises, and life itself, Spiekermann seems powerless in the world of type, and will continue to further his career.

Part B
Fonts designed by Spiekermann:

Berliner Grotesk BQ
FF Govan Dingbats One
FF Govan Dingbats Two
FF Govan One
FF Govan Three
FF Govan Two
FF Info Display
FF Info Office
FF Info Office Numbers One
FF Info Office Numbers Two
FF Info Text
FF Meta
FF Meta Boiled
FF Meta Condensed
FF Meta Condensed LF
FF Meta Correspondence
FF Meta Hairline
FF Meta Headline
FF Meta Headline Compressed
FF Meta Headline Condensed
FF Meta LF
FF Meta Serif
FF Meta Serif Black
FF Meta Serif LF
FF Meta Serif LF Black
FF Meta Subnormal
ITC Officina Display
ITC Officina Display Arrows
ITC Officina Sans
ITC Officina Sans (EF)
ITC Officina Serif
ITC Officina Serif (EF)
FF Unit
FF Unit Black
FF Unit Black LF
FF Unit LF
FF Unit Rounded
FF Unit Rounded At
FF Unit Rounded Black
FF Unit Rounded LF
FF Unit Rounded Ultra
FF Unit Ultra

FF Meta
-Sans Serif
-1984
-Originally designed for Deutsche Bundespost (German Federal Post), but never used.
-Designed to be readable and sturdy, working on the postage stamp scale, post boxes and post vehicles. Attention was paid to creating a face that was easily readable from an angle, and in a smaller point size.

Characteristics:
1) No Stresses
2) Mono Weight
3) The loop of the “g” does not close
4) The arm and leg of the upper and lowercase “K” do not connect with the stem.
5) Curved tops of lowercase letters. On letters with two stems, only the left stem is curved, except for the letter ‘u’
6) Slightly taller x-height
7) The left arm of the “y” does not completely match the right portion of the letter



Part C
1984
- The first Apple Macintosh goes on sale.
-The Space Shuttle Challenger is launched on the 10th space shuttle mission.
-Ronald Reagan calls for an international ban on chemical weapons.
-The longest game in Major League Baseball history.
- The Summer Olympics are held in Los Angeles, California.
- Reagan and Vice President George H.W. Bush are re-nominated.
- The Space Shuttle Discovery takes off on its maiden voyage.
- Ronald Reagan defeats Walter F. Mondale in the U.S. Presidential Election.

Some work:




Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lfE3Q4kiSE&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McZSUjP1AcE&feature=related


Bibilography

"1984." Wikipedia. 7 November 2008. 8 November 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984>.

"Erik Spiekermann." Wikipedia. 9 Aug. 2008. 12 Oct. 2008
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/erik_spiekermann>.

MetaDesign. 7 November 2008 <http://www.metadesign.com/>.

Pipes, Alan. Production for Graphic Designer's. 2nd ed. Upper Sadde River, NJ: Prentice
Hall, 1992.

Sweet, Fay. MetaDesign: Design from the Word Up. New York, NY: Watson-Guptill
Publications, 1999.

Uleshka. "Erik Spiekermann - typography and design today." PingMag. 31 Oct. 2005. 12
Oct. 2008 <http://pingmag.jp/2005/10/31/erik-spiekermann-typography-and-design-today/>.

"View Fonts by Erik Spiekermann." Font Shop. 12 Oct. 2008
<http://www.fontshop.com/fonts/designer/erik_spiekermann/>.

Baker, Chelsea. “Erik Spiekermann.” DesignMind. 12 October 2008
<http://designmind.frogdesign.com/articles/numbers/erik-spiekermann.html>.