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11/16/05
Today we critiqued the Logos and then learned
about
Jan Tschichold's New Typography
New Typography is a style and principled set of typographic
rules explained in Jan Tschichold's 1928 book New Typography. Combine
or splice the rules of unity with the principles of New Typography and
a more precise, intelligent type design is manifested. The structure
provided by the rules of New Typography and the rules of unity tune a
type designers' senses into a world of hierarchy.
New Typography philosophy is an asymmetric system designed to create
visual movement and speed. From this velocity, type is carefully contrasted
and organized to create instantaneous, even subconscious comprehension
and universal readings of the typographic material. The laws are abstract
enough to allow for the evolution of personal style and cohesive enough
to give instant recognition to any type design which incorporates asymmetric
unbalances.
New Typography includes five principles, which guide the design in spirit
and create order. The five principles are: asymmetry, a positive deployment
of the negative space, the meaningful use of color, exploiting contrast,
and a lack of interest in visual balance. The principles are used in
conjunction with the laws of unity; which are expressed through the concepts
of continuation, proximity, repetition, and continuity. Unifying the
framed space creates a clear hierarchy via ordering differing elements.
Viewers receive a clear message from the type as they intuitively know
how to navigate upon seeing the type design. Simplifying and ordering
the composition to efficaciously make less and more precise eye movements
is the principle of economy. New Typography uses sanserif typefaces especially
because they are usually more uniform in their thickness than serif faces
and quicker to understand or read, visually. This is why sanserif faces
make up the typography on the expressways; imagine how difficult a gothic
face would be to read at 70 mph. However, limiting ourselves to one typeface
doesn't always allow for exploiting contrast. To better convey a message,
occasionally serifs, scripts, and specialty fonts are better equipped
for certain jobs.
Five Principles of New
Typography
1. Asymmetry
Asymmetry is superior to symmetry because movement is created as unlike
balance is achieved from the left to the right of the page. On the contrary,
symmetrical balance is static and stable. Forcing the eye into movement
is a manifestation of New Typography. The law of asymmetry should
be used in conjunction with the fifth principle, a lack of interest in
visual balance. In other words, New Typography allows for asymmetric
unbalance rather than asymmetric balance.
2. A Positive Deployment of the Negative Space
The negative space is best organized through an asymmetric grid, normally
referred to as the Mondrian grid. By justifying typographic material
to points on a line and using the principle of continuation, our eyes
move swiftly and assuredly through different parts of information in
an ordered manner. Through continuation, a method of unification, an
implied line is created and continued through the frame as the eye
connects points in a framed space. The Mondrian grid organizes the
negative space into rectangles. When the visual lines of the Mondrian
are rendered invisible, the rectangles combine and overlap, even though
they are on a flat plane when the lines are initially drawn. When the
rectangles combine they form a strong movement, especially if a vertical
and horizontal rectangle are combined. This movement achieves a deployment
in the negative space.
Combining the negative space to get a strong vertical and horizontal
movement make our eyes move swiftly from the negative space to the positive
elements (the message of the page).
3. The Meaningful Use of Color
Color is a navigational assistant in New Typography. For instance, if
there are three hierarchies in a composition, the viewer may understand
the first, second, and third level of hierarchy if the designer uses
one unified color in the three hierarchies with black (this is not
necessarily a rule for the web. On the contrary, I would almost be
willing to state the opposite, that a large use of white for many pages
would be encouraged). The viewer will understand the hierarchy of the
language prior to reading the message. The meaningful use of color
is a useful assistant to clarifying our navigation system; it is also
used as an abstract indicator, which can create lines of movement.
According to Tschichold, the use of color for strictly decorative purposes
is a lesser conceptual idea.
4. The Exploitation of Contrast
Tschichold's principles are worded very precisely; the exploitation of contrast
means taking differences and pushing them to extremes. To read typography,
it is difficult to read type at a 40% gray on top of a 20% gray because the
gray contrast is too low. Increase the contrast to black on white and the
contrast between type and ground is obvious. This helps to clarify the hierarchy.
We can simplify and make a more economic type message by combining the message
on one justified line, however to do this if we have several bits of information
and all the material is the same point size and the same font, visually we
can't immediately recognize there are different ideas in the different areas
and the space becomes "busy"; the only option becomes one of sifting
through the information from top left to bottom right, which when the principles
are used
correctly we find easily we can control that movement as well. By exploiting
contrast in the paragraph, disseminating the bits of information with bold
size and color changes, the information becomes instantly visually recognizable
and easy to separate the different concepts. Taking the separate bits and unifying
the information on a continuous line, the information stays economic and clear
with simple swift movements enhanced by the negative space. Exploiting contrast
is a large concept which can be investigating in many directions. Black contrasts
best with white, a full opposite; type is clearer on full value contrast. Vertical
movements or forms are best contrasted with horizontal movements or forms.
Warm and cool contrast well with each other. By taking this concept further
we find that 3-d space contrasts well with 2-d space and the hand, or organic
material really contrasts well with computer generated material. High or complete
contrast with low contrast can be altered to create hierarchies of contrast.
5. A Lack of Interest in Visual Balance
This is the true critical difference in New Typography as opposed to other
type theorems. This principle is used with the principle of asymmetry, except
we do not work towards asymmetric balance but asymmetric unbalance. The lack
of balance helps to increase speed and make more effective our positive deployment
of the negative space.
These principles, when combined with the principles of unity, allow
for effective, expressive type design that is precise like a rolex watch.
Principles of Unity
The Principles of Unity
1. Continuation
When a line is started in a framed space there is an implied continuation
throughout the framed space. This principle allows us to create type
hierarchies which relate to each other visually from continuation of
points
on justified lines. This principle helps to tie together images with
typography as well as relating type blocks with each other.
2. Proximity
This principle simplifies and makes more economic visual areas by overlapping
information rather than separating information. To see a circle and
triangle overlapped is just one eye movement. The same two shapes at
the top and bottom of the frame take two eye movements and are not
as economic. We can overlap 5 pt type in a block with a 50 pt solution
and our eyes will see both bits of information together and their extreme
contrast separates and makes obvious two separate ideas.
These two principles of unity work especially well with the 5 principles
of New Typography. The principles must be used in order to create clear,
simple hierarchies, in an economically expressed version of typography.
Once
these rules are understood and formed we can begin to probe variations and
in the spirit of contrast we can splice other theories in type together to
form hybrid approaches.
3. Repetition
Repeating points on a line help make strong continuation. Repeating graphics
and lines create movements. Another way to see repetition is as movement.
As the eye searches the nature of the repetition, it is in motion;
and motion is an underlying current used with new type principles.
4. Continuity
This means sameness. Keeping our font choices simple rather than complex,
seeing repetitions in their sameness.
However, the new type principle of contrast must always be obeyed, if
the type is too similar to the ground or image the type becomes difficult
to find; so this law of unity must be first tempered and analyzed with
exploiting contrast.
NEXT WEEK
Poster Assignment is due--the print should be 7 by
10 inches on 8.5 by 11 inch paper.
See Examples
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