Class Info
- Date: Thursday, November 3, 2022
- Meeting Info: 6:00pm – 8:30pm, Room P114
Topic
- Continue lettering project as per individual styles and approaches.
- Make corrections and edits
- Project 2: Submission and presentations DUE next class
- Projects due Tues, Nov 7th via Google Drive
- In-class presentation on Tues, Nov 7th
- How to prepare presentation (review measurements from previous class)
Objectives
- Students continue to develop their creative skills and personal styles in relationship to typography and lettering
- Further develop software application/presentation skills.
Activities
Watch: How the NYC Subway was Saved by a Typeface
- At the end of the video, the narrator asks the viewer a question. In a few sentences write your answer to the video in the comments section below.
Complete work on the Project 2
- Continue lettering project as per individual styles and approaches.
- Make corrections and edits
Text Portrait
If we have time, we will attempt this, using a portrait of yourself. If not you can try it on your own.
To-Do After Class
Graphic Assignment
- Prepare for in-class presentation and file submission
- Project 2 Final Versions of Expressive Type and Lettering DUE next class
- Submit Project 2 via Google Drive
I am completely indifferent to Helvetica as a typeface. I think seeing it so often has made it a default sans serif in my mind. The subways are still chaos, but at least we can read the signs I guess.
I think the use of a unified type in the subways is a good thing. It does not really matter which one it was, Legibility is very important and Helvetica is a very simple neutral font thats straight to the point and easy to read.
Using Helvetica as a standard use on all the signs of the MTA was a good decision. Helvetica is a good and easy font to read, that would allow people to know directions quick and easy. Using one font made everything look more unified and look cleaner.
Helvetica is one of the most used san serif type face in the designing market. The versatility allowed the font to be easy to read at any angle you come across. The use of it in the MTA was necessary as your perspective can come from all sides.
It is indeed an upgrade that Helvetica help people navigate using the subway. It makes it clear of what people are reading. Giving that Helvetica is a sans-serif type, it’s a simplified type that we all use to. I can’t imagine navigating in the subway back in the day and not be able to get to my designation without Helvetica.
Video about Helvetica.
I never noticed the type face while reading the train every day. However, I never had a problem reading the signs that help me navigate through the subway system. I think this is the beauty of the Helvetica font. It is simple enough for its function of being able to read a sign from any point of view.
Helvetica without any doubt had been an improvement for the MTA across the years, is very easy to read and the directions are mostly understandable so you don’t get that lost. However, is still a chaos even Helvetica came here to save the MTA, the system is kinda hard to understand sometimes but it gives a very clean look compare to how it was in the 50s and 60s.
Switching from the scattered and disorientation typefaces previously used by the various transit companies to the Helvetica was the best decision the MTA has made. The typeface is synonymous with NYC across cinematography and print media. For daily subway riders it provides clear and easy to follow signs and instructions, the bold type and large font size are perfect for such a massive system. I can only imagine what a nightmare trying to navigate 42nd st was before the change.
I believe Helvetica was a great choice for New York City. I did not know the MTA had a different typeface at some point, so it was really interesting to know how disorganized it actually was. That being said, New Yorkers are always on the move, always late, and always have somewhere to be fast. With a direct type face like Helvetica, it stays the same from any angle, standing or walking. In a fast-paced environment this leave almost no room for mistaking a word or street for another. Therefore, it makes life easier when you can quickly read something and know where to go.