Off the pageProcess & Function

Tim Janes

Contents

Chapter 11.011.02

Setting the sceneEssay QuestionIntroduction

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151515172123

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Chapter 22.012.022.032.04

Typography on the pageDesigning for the pageDesigners decisionsTypographic RulesThe funtion of typography

Chapter 33.013.023.033.043.05

Chapter 44.00

References

Off the pageDesigning off the pageSuper graphicsNon designerArtistDigital Design

ConclusionDesigner chooses funtion

Harvard References

OFF THE PAGEPROCESS AND FUNCTION

How does typography function away from the printed page and what challenges do designers face when designing ‘off the page’?

Off the page is a title I coined after seeing it mentioned in a short blog post. Geetika Alok is a graphic designer and typographer who divides her time between India and the UK, she has collaborated with agencies such as why not associates and A2- Type foundry. A recent project of her’s entitled “JOY” was produced for the september 2011 graphic design walk.

An online blog, Arts Thread reviewed the walk and say the following “Geetika Alok embraces play by taking graphic design off the page” (Zeuner, 2011). This quote sparked an interest into how an experienced print designer approached typography ‘off the page’ and in turn how typography can function away from the printed page. So what is Off The Page Typography? For the purpose of this report I shall define it as any situation where typography is used outside of traditional print. Perhaps the best definition would be any piece of design produced outside standard paper sizes and without the use of a standard printing techniques.

When embarking on my research I found myself asking why Off The Page typography interested me so much. The best place to start is what my intentions are within the report. There have been hundreds of articles, books and reports written on the technicalities of typography design, the majority of which focus on typography for print. There are also many texts, although less so, which focus on how typography can function in print. Yet there is very little written about how typography functions off the page, or how to approach typography off the page as a designer. This lead me to looking at the work of designers in the field of not for print typography. I hope to apply my knowledge of how type functions on the page to current work by current designers in the off the page field. By doing this I aim to discover what both fields share and what differs between them. I then hope to un-pick the ways that off the page type is different by analyzing the way the typography functions. The aim being to unearth some systems and practices which can help when using typography off the page.

1.01Question

1.02Introduction

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CHAPTER 1SETTING THE SCENE

CHAPTER 2TYPOGRAPHY ON THE PAGE

2.01DESIGNING FOR THE PAGE

2.02DESIGNERS DESCISIONS

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In order the establish what is different when designing off the page I first will examine how typography functions on the page. The oxford dictionary defines typography as “the art or procedure of arranging type or processing data and printing from it.”(oxford dictionary, 2011). The key element to this definition is “arranging type”. Arranging type on a page is the essential element to typography. With any piece of printed typography you can identify 3 areas for analysis. There are the considerations the designer takes and the reasons for the choices they make in the design. Then there are typographic rules, these are strict rules that typographers adhere to. Many texts have been written about the rules of typography such as Robert Bringhurst’s Elements of Typographic Style (Bringhurst, 2004) which has been through several editions as it is updated to keep up with modern typography. Finally you can analyze how a finished piece of typography functions on a page. This covers everything from the journey the eye takes around the page to inferences the viewer might make as a result of the typography. With in these 3 areas every piece of typography differs whether its in the designers methods, the typographic rules used or the way the type functions when finished.

The decisions designers make during their design process define their design style. There are many many decision making areas when dealing with typography but there are several which strongly effect the end design. Robert Bringhurst’s book, The Elements of typographic style, devotes 26 pages to the subject of typeface choice. It covers all areas of typeface choice including “the medium for which the face was originally designed” and “allow the face to speak in its natural idiom”. Bringhurst states that many of these areas are for the type purist however he gives an insight into how to choose a typeface for a piece of print design (Bringhurst, 2004). As well as the technical choices designers must make in typeface choice there is also an element of personal preference, A 2011 article for Smashing Magazine by Douglas Bonneville highlights personal choice as an important element in typeface choice “Many times, a typeface just strikes you for some reason as appropriate”(Bonneville, 2011). He goes on to explain that as designers we are trained to make things look good

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and we should be able to trust our typeface choices despite the rules set out by texts like Bringhurst’s. The best way to understand the considerations of typeface choice is to look at the work of current designers.

Experimental Jetset, perhaps one of the most prolific printed matter design agencies in todays design world has built a name for itself using just one typeface, Helvetica. They are now famous for using Helvetica and their style is dependent on it, however they have clear reasons for choosing it. In Gary Huswits’ film “Helvetica” Danny Van Den Dungen says “Hunting for the next typeface all the time took a lot of time and energy. It is impossible to find a typeface that is original because somebody will have already used it. But with Helvetica this problem is non existent because everybody is using it”(Helvetica Documentary, 2004). So for Jetset the choice is a face which is great for print and posters and has a neutral aesthetic to suit all briefs they receive. This is a clear personal preference of the design team yet it also suits their needs.

Other decisions designers take when working with typography include making judgements about audience. Referring back to Bonnevile’s Smashing Magazine article he states that “The first thing you have to do in order to choose a typeface is form a strong impression in your mind about how you want your audience to react to the text.”(Bonneville, 2011). For any piece of printed typography you need to establish what you want the audience to obtain from it, with this in mind typographers can choose to change the typography to obtain the best aesthetic for their needs.

The second way I want to examine how type functions and how it was created is by examining the rules of typography. I have already highlighted one well renowned text on the subject, The Elements of typographic Style by Robert Bringhurst. Other famous books include About Face by David Jury (Jury, 2004) and Typographic Design: form and communication which is now in its fourth edition (Carter, Day, Meggs, 2002) and Ellen Lupton’s Thinking with type (Lupton, 2004). Between them these books highlight hundreds of rules and guides to help designers with typography yet there are several areas which they all refer to, the first of which is Legibility.

“Legibility is achieved by controlling the qualities and attributes inherent in typography that make it readable. These attributes make it possible for a reader to comprehend typographic forms with the least amount of difficulty.”(p87, Carter, Day, Meggs, 2003). This quote from Typographic Design: form and communication provides an insight into what

2.03TYPOGRAPHIC RULES

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legibility is and why it is important. When approaching legibility designers have many choices such as the point size of the font, the contrast between colours and whether to justify the text. Form and Communication explains that “The smaller and more delicate the type, the more contrast is needed to ensure adequate legibility” (p87, Carter, Day, Meggs, 2003). With all these decisions necessary for good typography it is the role of the designer to make choices.

The best place to look for examples of designers decisions focused towards legibility would be in editorial design where words and text are a key focus. Gestaltens 2010 book Turning pages provides a great insight into todays world of editorial design. In its section about typography it discusses how the NewYork Times uses a certain size for its headlines to ensure the best legibility apart for in moments of great importance “Obama’s election being only the 5th time in its history that they used 96pt type” (Losowsky, 2010). This shows how careful the Times are with adjusting the legibility of their headlines.

Another area that typographic rule books will focus on is hierarchy. Ellen Lupton said “Hierarchy expresses an organizational system for content, emphasizing some data and diminishing others.” in her book Thinking with type (Lupton, 2004). This quote shows how you can analyze a piece of typography not just in terms of individual words and paragraphs but how different typographic elements work together. Hierarchy is one aspect of typography that can often be done wrong, Ellen explains that “hierarchy helps readers scan a text, knowing where to enter and exit and how to pick and choose among its offerings”(Lupton, 2004). If this is done incorrectly the text can become awkward for the reader. Bad hierarchy can lead a reader on a chase around a piece of text whilst also affecting the legibility, readability and aesthetics. Willi Kunz writes a section in his book, Typography: formation and transformation, about composition. In this section he examines the design of several printed documents. One analysis of a brochure for a business consulting firm explains how “The grid was developed after the hierarchy of typographic information was established”(Kunz, 2003).

2.04THE FUNCTION OF TYPOGRAPHY

Finally the last way I want to examine printed typography is in terms of function. How the page functions could be seen as a test of how well the designer has executed the previous two stages I have discussed. If the typography is good the user will be able to use the text with little effort. The first

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function of typography is to encourage a reader or viewer to make inferences. When a designer has established what he wants to achieve with the text he can make decisions with the typography which will subconsciously inform the reader. An article comparing graphic design and architecture in Eye magazine states “One way in which readers of content can make inferences is through their familiarity with genres or text types” (Waller, n.d). For example if a designer is working on a piece about london they may choose to use the iconic typeface from the London Underground system, Johnston. This would cause the reader to make associations between the typography and the subject of the text. However there is only so far a designer on the page can go with this. They are limited to image and words and although they can create depth with different inks and paper stocks the choices here are still within a series of constraints.

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CHAPTER 3OFF THE PAGE

3.01DESIGNING OFF THE PAGE

3.02SUPER GRAPHICMORAG MYERSCOUGH

Having looked at the analysis behind typography on the page I will now apply this analysis to some contemporary off the page typography. Most designers producing work in the off the page field will have experience in print design and therefore will be aware of the rules I have looked at. So the off the page typography should have undergone a similar design process. In this section I will select different areas of off the page typography and explore the methodology behind the work.

Super graphics is originally an architectural term however today it is used predominantly in the graphic design world. Commonly it could be defined as “Big graphics in an architectural setting” which is how Adrian Shaughnessy summed it up in the book Super graphics (Shaughnessy, 2010). Although super graphics can refer to any graphic design applied to architecture I am going to specifically look at typography. Although there are limited texts covering off the page typography Super graphics and Environmental Graphics has a few key texts available. One book that puts itself forward as filling the gap of valuable books about the area is Wayne Hunts Environmental graphics, Projects and process (Hunt, 2003). The book explains the process behind signage projects and focuses on how the graphics work within the buildings. This book lead me to think about how typography can interact with the building in similar ways to the page. An article in eye magazine entitles Places need signs discusses several area’s that typography could interact with a building. His first point is that the function of buildings change. When we looked at how printed typography functions the designer knows exactly what that piece of printed material will do for its entire life span. With buildings however the function of the building changes and like wise this affects the typography (Waller, n.d). Other ways that typography differs in Super graphics is with readability. Readability in print is just on the level of the individual word or sentence but in a building the entire set of graphics must work as one strategically.

Morag Myerscough is perhaps one of the most reputable practitioners of off the page typography currently. Her agency, Studio Myerscough, has built a name for itself by creating

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bright, bold, typographic signs and installations. One of her most famous pieces is an award winning way finding system for the westminster academy. The Westminster Academy employs typography as an integral part of the building, guiding you around the complex and informing the viewer on multiple levels. It is a great example of the way typography differs in off the page design. When looking at the decisions Morag had to take with the design the first thing to note is that the decision making was a joint process with the architects. Where as with print design the designer may make decisions about the page size to contain a certain style of typography in this project the typography had to fit within obscure shapes and locations. This has lead to some interesting typographic designs. A great example of this is the way the ‘Green Room’ signage appears cropped due to it being painted on a recessed wall. Although technically this would be considered bad typography by the likes of Bringhurst, Morag has used it as an opportunity to separate the words from the rest of the canvas and use contrasting colours and typographic styles even though they are present in the same space. This piece of design shows how moving away from the page into a 3D environment can give designers the opportunity to twist the rules of typography and make design choices they may otherwise have felt uncomfortable with.

If you look at the way the typography functions in the westminster project you can once again see difference between print and not for print design. I previously discussed how genre’s and text types can cause a reader to create inferences between a piece of text and its subject matter. But in the westminster academy the inferences have been between the design and peoples behavior. By creating a place students are proud of and a series of graphics they can relate to it has improved learning in the academy. Morag says “It is amazing the effect the graphics has had on the users in Westminster” (Myerscough, 2010). This shows that when designing super graphics you need to consider more than the subject of the words you are writing but also the purpose of the canvas they are being applied to and the unique attributes of that canvas in order for the typography to be successful. Her work for the academy included “An interpretation of the discipline of the academy” (Myerscough, 2011)

Of course typography is not just used by graphic designers and typographers. It is used everyday by people producing text documents, graffiti artists writing words on walls and family hand writing letters to one another. Stephen Powers is a graffiti artists turned sign writer who has established a style

3.03NON DESIGNERSTEVE POWERS

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for himself using big bold letters and words to regenerate run down communities. Powers is the creativity behind a project entitle ‘A love letter for you’ this project has been implemented in several cities in the USA and involves collecting information from the public in deprived or run down areas and using this to generate murals and signs.

Although Stephen has no formal training in typography he has spent close to 30 years writing letters on walls and henceforth has a deep understanding of this medium of design or art. His aesthetic is clearly recognizable, In a video interview for Megawords Magazine Powers says “we drew inspiration from the sign tradition and the graffiti tradition”(Powers, 2010). This was him talking about his project in Philadelphia where there is a heritage of sign writing and graffiti. This quote summarizes Powers visual style and explains how he takes inspiration from his surroundings to ensure his work fits into the community in which it is placed. This is one of the ways that Powers typography functions off the page. Similar to Morags, the typography needs to relate to the location it is placed in as well as what it is trying to say.

An example of Stephen using typographic rules and techniques in his work can also be seen in the Philadelphia project. Looking back at Bonneviles article in which he stated that “The first thing you have to do in order to choose a typeface is form a strong impression in your mind about how you want your audience to react to the text”. Powers definitely takes audience seriously and it is a deciding factor in all his work. He often takes user generated content which in itself gets the audience involved but he likes to go a step further and make the audience appreciate the work as fitting in with the community. When he talks about his Love letter for Syracuse project he says “Hand painting allows everyone to take ownership” (Powers, 2010). He has made a deliberate choice with the typography which allows the audience to feel the typography is crafted specifically for them, something which most traditional typography perhaps lacks.

One of Powers biggest projects was a love letter he wrote on the outside of the Macy’s department store in New York City. This project revitalized a building famous for its ugliness using only typography. Powers put a lot of thought into typeface choice for this project seeking something which would both please his audience, function within the surrounding area and reflect the content of the text. For all his projects Powers approaches the typography with the function in mind, when talking about the Macy’s project he talks about looking for visual cues in the surrounding area and introducing them into the work. Powers noticed the way-finding signs in the

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Macy’s car park had a typeface he liked so he chose to keep this aesthetic and mimic it on the outside of the building. “We painted 20ft letters from signs which were only 8 inches and in doing so the letters became really industrial looking” (Powers, 2011). At Macy’s Powers has managed to reflect both the industrial feel of the building whilst also adopting the character of its existing graphic elements. Creating this balance could be seen as a perfect use of typography yet from a non designer. This example also throws up another issue when designing on this scale which is what typography and characters will look like at this scale. Powers took a typeface which hadn’t been designed for use on this scale and blew it up which in his opinion changed its character.

This example breaks many of the rules of typography but it could be argued that it was necessary for the project to succeed in the way it has. A trained typographer would say that the kerning is wrong and that the characters don’t represent the original typeface. However for Powers to achieve other elements of typography such as its function he had to use the techniques he did.

Wiener approaches typography with a fresh palette when compared to the other examples I have chosen focus on. With his background as an artist he has no preconceptions around typography which may or may not alter his typographic choices. He is concerned with what the words in his work say just as much as how they say it. However it is the how they say it which I will focus on.

As an artist Weiner has always had an interest in typography, his hunt for a typeface to use in his work led him to Franklin Gothic which he says “Reminded me of working class dutch letters which I have always had an interest in”(Weiner, 2009). So his knowledge of type goes deeper than most artists. Therefore the typography in his art would be regarded well in traditional print terms. But how does Wieners work differ from printed typography? In an interview conducted by Michael Tyburski Weiner states that he has “Attempted to devote the majority of my adult life to placing art within stuctures, where they would function regardless of the culture they find themselves in”(Weiner, 2009). This quote shows how Weiners work differs from the Super Graphics work of Morag or Powers. Where as their work must reference the purpose of the structure Wieners must sit alone as a piece of art therefore the function of his typography is different from both super

3.04ARTISTLAWRENCE WEINER

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graphics and from traditional print design where the function is to infer the meaning of the text itself.

Weiner’s process of choosing typography is similar to that of experimental jetset in that he has chosen one typeface and stuck with it. He is renowned for hating Helvetica and explains why in several interviews. “Its totally authoritative, it does not adapt itself to things and all information that comes out in helvetica is saying the same thing. Its saying that this is cultural, this is intellectual and this is intelligent. I am rather afraid that words don’t start of being cultural intellectual or intelligent”. Due to the nature of printed graphic design you are often presenting data or Intelligent information so perhaps Helvetica is the perfect typeface in many cases. But Weiner was choosing a typeface in a different way. He wasn’t concerned with function but wanted a typeface which was neutral so the words rather than the typeface could do the talking.

So far all my examples of off the page typography has looked at murals and words on walls. Although all these examples are very different essentially they are using the same canvas. Another area where typography is becoming increasingly important is in digital design. With the digital take over taking place all around us typography in places such as on screen and the web is becoming more and more important. Through out my investigation of off the page typography there has been a noticeable lack of texts, however there have been some written on the subject of digital typography. These cover everything from the technical side of using typefaces in digital design to the website “The elements of typographic style applied to the web”(Rutter, 2005). This website takes Bringhursts text, The Elements of Typographic Style, and applies them to website design. It provides plenty of information but most of this refers to the rules and techniques of using typography in print, even though it is a very different format.

I have already shown how moving away from print can create the need for typography to function in a different manor so it seems illogical that a text about type design on the page can simply be re purposed for off the page design advice. However there are people using digital typography in ways that on the page typography cannot function.United visual artists or UVA are an art and design practice based in London. They describe their work as “at the intersection of sculpture, architecture, live performance, moving image and digital installation” (UVA,n.d). Much of their work is experimental, using new technologies and techniques to put on light and moving image shows. One of their long standing projects is touring with the band Massive Attack

3.05DIGITAL DESIGNUNITED VISUAL ARTISTS

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and creating their live stage show. This show focuses on presenting information and data to the audience during the bands performance so typography is inherently important. UVA graphic designer Matt Clarke describes the show as “Ash, Chris and I came up with the crazy idea that the set would change every day, it would all be text and information based. We were going to 37 different countries and we’d translate it into all these different local languages.”(Clarke, n.d). This highlights many challenges already, for example coming up with a visual style which worked across so many languages and that could be adapted every night. On top of this there was also many technical problems they were faced with. The system used to display the fonts would only read bit-map files rather than the standard TTF files. They then display the typography on modular displays, yet they only have a limited number to work with so they have to use very low resolution typefaces. Clarke says “so you are designing for modularity, and for legibility of text while creating depth and sculptural qualities”)Clarke, n.d). This quote highlights how in this situation typographic rules and standards had to be bypassed in order to create the show. However in turn this led to them being a lot more creative with the layout of the typefaces and forced them to work within the limitations of each typeface. UVA are already experimenting.

However the interesting part of UVA’s work becomes apparent when you hear them discuss the design decisions they have made. They say that “We didn’t want it to look like a piece of motion graphics – it had to look like a real information board, so the fonts had to work in very low resolution”. This shows that the choice to use modular displays and bit map fonts was carefully considered in order for them achieve a certain aesthetic. They then go on further explaining the ‘message board’ concept. “Unlike the first show design, where you were looking into a computer screen in terms of the aspect ratio, the 2008 show for Massive Attack is more sculptural, less a monitor, more a message board, but it was all designed around a font.”(UVA, n.d). UVA have used their off the page canvas to enhance the typography and make it easier for the viewer to infer the message board concept. They are making the most of being off the page and manipulating their canvas to enhance the typography, rather than just contain it. Twisting the function of typography in this way allows designers to use typefaces in ways that they may previously not have done in plain printed matter.

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CHAPTER 4CONCLUSION

4DESIGNER CHOOSES FUNCTION

From analyzing what designers and artists in the “off the page” field have created and the ways they approach their work I have found many ways that using typography off the page differs from its more traditional uses. However there are also many similarities, which is what I expected. By focusing my analysis on the function of the typography and the process the designers undertake it has allowed me to see decisions designers can take to improve typography away from the page.

Basic principles of typography are often still applied off the page and after all no designer can say for sure that their work will never appear in print. Much off the page work will appear in print in photographic form. In which case the basic principles of typography come into play again. Due to this my comparison between the rules of typography or typographic choices and off the page type design revealed very few differences. Off the page typography still makes use of good typeface choice, kerning, hierarchy and legibility. Apart from technical issues with scale the designers seem to use the same principles they have learnt from working with on the page typography.

However the differences between the two became apparent once I started to examine how the typography functions. When you look at type off the page your expectations are suddenly changed. There are a lot more variables which can contribute to typographic factors such as legibility or the general look and feel, this could be seen as a change in canvas. I have found that once the canvas changes from a standard page the type functions very differently to if it was static and printed. The reason for this difference in function is down to the decisions the designers made, because they are aware of the canvas they have to work with they longer only think typographically. The key finding here is that canvas directs how your typography will function and for truly excellent off the page typography the designer should create and manipulate their canvas, not just apply typography to an existing one.

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References

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3. Bringhurst, R 2004, The Elements of typographic style, 3rd edition, Hartley and Marks, USA

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International, NY13. Myerscough, M 2010, Super Graphics, Unit Editions, UK14. A career in design (Interview), 2011, Design Council15. Powers, S 2010, A love letter for you, Interview [online],

Available from: http://vimeo.com/10507724 [Accessed: 06.12.2011]

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www.uva.co.uk/about/biography [Accessed: 10.01.2012]21. Noel Douglas n.d, Attacked by music, type & light

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