During our third session on Wednesday, Sept 6th we not only covered The History of Typography and the Five Families of Type, but  we also were introduced to Typographical Anatomy.

  • If you missed the lecture on the History of Typography and the Five Families of Typography, you download the slides here.
  • We learned the parts of type of similar to our body parts. Download the TypeAnatomy sheet and keep it handy to help you identify the different parts of letters.
  • We watched the following two videos in class:

Typography tutorial: Anatomy: Parts and shapes of type

The History of Typography – Animated Short

  • We learned about the Five Families of Type, and the characteristics that distinguish them. The following videos will help you will this process.

Type Anatomy and Terminology

 

Type classification

 

How to identify Old Style fonts

 

How to identify Transitional fonts

 

How to identify Modern fonts

 

How to identify Slab Serif fonts

 

Homework — Due Monday, Sept 11

Type Journal

  • Draw in and label all parts of anatomy of the single word you began tracing in class. Use the Typographical Anatomy sheet as your guide. Label at 5-10 parts. Keep your work neat. Submit on Monday morning.
  • Search for examples of actual typefaces and their specific use. Find examples of work that use typefaces belonging to each of the five families of type. In what scenario are they used? You can use photos that you take or cut the examples from magazines or brochures. Tape or glue your samples to the plain sheet of paper that will fit in your journal. Be sure the identify the typeface, the family it belongs to and how it is used (headline for an ad, body text for a book, etc).
    For example: a typeface that belongs to the Modern classification of type is used on a heading for an ad. Do this for each of the 5 families.