Advanced Typography - Exercises

29.3.21 - 26.4.21 (Week 1 - Week 5 )

Sajiya Mir (0340836)

Advanced Typography

Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media

Exercises

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 Week 1: Introduction 

Monday, 29 March 2021

For the first class today, we got to meet our lecturers Mr. Vinod and Mr. Asrizal. As we were pretty familiar with the Facebook file layout and how to find what from our Typography class in Semester 1, Mr. Vinod skipped that and explained the Module booklet. We got an overview of the assignments to come and how each project is graded. Then he gave a few mins break where we watched the prerecorded lecture 1. After watching the lecture, we got 1 hour to try out the first Typographic Systems, the Axial system. Once we were done, we were divided into break out rooms and shared our design with our peers, and get evaluated according to the following criteria:

1. Does the arrangement adhere to the prescribed system?
2. Is the hierarchy of information appropriate and conducive for communication?
3. Does the composition draw you in?
4. Does the design adhere to best practices in typesetting?

After receiving the feedback, we uploaded our work on Facebook for Mr.Vinod to see, and then Mr. Vinod did a short tutorial on the problems he saw on designs. Lastly, we took attendance, and we were done with our first class. 

 Week 2: 

Monday, 5 April 2021

We got feedback on our first exercise, typographic systems, this week. Before splitting into groups to receive feedback, we uploaded all eight systems to Facebook as a submission, and Mr. Vinod demonstrated how to provide helpful feedback by following the four criteria, similar to last week.

Mr. Vinod then showed some of the senior's work to give us an example of good design layouts. We spent the 45min giving each other feedback within our groups, and when we returned, Mr. Vinod gave us general feedback regarding our blogs and some design layouts. 

Lastly, he briefed us on our exercise 2 and showed up some examples to better understand how we should go about doing the task. 

 Week 3: 

Monday, 12 April 2021

Today's class followed the same sequences like the other classes. we first uploaded our images into Facebook, then we were broken into break-out rooms and received feedback from our peers first. The three criteria we had to judge on were: 

1. Are the strokes consistent in style & weight?


2. Comment on the refining process:
 Are the number of stages appropriate/enough?
 Has the form evolved while retaining crucial/core features?
3. 

What can be improved upon?


Then it was Mr. Vinods turn to look at our work and give his feedback. Then he went through some blogs to give general feedback. We also used Menti.com to give Mr. Vinod feedback about how we were coping with the classes also how we liked the new way of feedback. 

 Week 4: 

Monday, 19 April 2021

In today's class, we had to submit our final refined letter, and we had a quick break-out room with our peers to receive our final feedback. After that Mr. Vinod gave general feedback by looking at a few of our classmate's work and we were given a break. After the break, we were briefed on our next exercise and Mr. Vinod shared some previous work done by our seniors to give us a better understanding of what we were supposed to do. After that, we got time to make our own typography and image design. 

 Week 5:

Monday, 26 April 2021

Today's class was to receive feedback on our type and play part 2. we were broken into break out rooms to get peer feedback and today we had to judge based on these criteria:  

1. Is the interplay between the image and text seamless?

2. Does the image and text complement each other?

3. Does it type adapt well with the image?

4. How can it be improved upon?

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Lecture

Lecture 1: Typographic System 

According to Elam, there are eight typographic variations with an infinite number of permutations. Combined with hierarchy, legibility, and contrast. It provides a solid framework for learners to be guided while their intuition develops. These variations are:

1. Axial System: All the elements are organized to the left or right of an axis. The axis doesn't have to be straight or a single line.
2. Radial System: All the elements are extended from the point of focus. It can have more than one point of focus.
3. Dilatational System: All the elements expand from the central point in a circular fashion. Multiple rings around the point with information on either side. Determined by the hierarchy of information.
4. Random System: Elements appear to have no specific pattern or relations.
5. Grid System: A system with horizontal and vertical division.
6. Transitional System: An informal system of layered branding. Banding means dividing information into bands. 
7. Modular System: A series of no objective elements that are constructed in standardized units.
8. Bilateral System:  Text arranged in a symmetrical single axis. 

Lecture 2:  Typographic Composition

Principles of design: when we think about composition, we think about the important principles that have to be applied to composition to make it a good one. Some of the principles are emphasis, symmetry, repetition, and balance. Emphasis and symmetry are easily translated into typographic compositions, but repetitions are a bit more difficult. They are not that easily usable. 

Rule of thirds is a photographic guide to compositions. Space is divided into three columns and three rows. The intersecting lines are used as guides. Generally never used in typographic but can be used for placement of text. 

The grid system is versatile, and it allows an infinite number of adaptions. 

An environmental grid is a system based on the exploration of an existing structure or numerous structures combined. An extraction of crucial lines is formed. Designers take this structure to organize information around it. Nonobjective elements are used to create a more unique and exciting mixture of textures. 

Form and movement is an exploration of an existing grid system. The placement of form over many pages can create movement. 

Lecture 3:  Context & Creativity 

- The study of typography is important because handwriting is the basis of form, spacing, and convention of mechanical type to try and mimic. The materials used to write handwriting gave it its unique characteristic letterform. 

Lecture 4:  Designing type

There are two reasons designers continue to design a typeface. One is because type design carries social responsibility. The other is to express themselves—the moral obligation of a designer when they see a problem that needs to be solved.

- Adrian Frutiger was a Swiss graphic designer; he designed as he believed his responsibility was to make the advancement of typography into digital typography. 

Typefaces: Univers and Frutiger. 

- Matthew Carter is a British type designer and responsible for Crosfield's typographic programs. He designed specifically for technical challenges such as legibility for early computers where the screen size was very small. The Verdana fonts exhibit characters derived from pixels rather than a pen.

- Edward Johnston is a designer that greatly influenced the London's underground typeface known as Johnston Sans. He designed for underground railway for its posters and signage. 

Process of type design:

1. Research: we should understand type history, which gives you context and perspective for your design. Type anatomy helps you understand—the different parts of the letter. Type convention helps you understand the unwritten rules of type design. Determine the types of purpose and what if would be used for.
2. Sketching:  Depending on designers, they can choose to sketch on paper and pen or using digital software. Both ways are acceptable. 
3. Digitization: Softwares such as FontLab and Glyphs to digitize typeface. Attention should be given to the counter form as well as the whole form. The readability of the typeface depends on it. 
4. Testing: This is an important component; it's the process of refining and correcting aspects of the typeface. This leads to important feedback that can increase readability and legibility. 
   
5. Deploy: The taste of revision doesn't end in deployment. Testing is important for the minor details.

Motivation can be intrinsic and extrinsic: 

• Intrinsic is a motivation that comes from within. When a designer enjoys making typefaces and is excited to create their own or when the designer identifies a demand or a problem that can be solved by a certain design type. 
• Extrinsic: When a designer has been commissioned to complete a task.   

Lecture 5:  Perception and Organisation  

Perception is what you see and therefore understand or are manipulated into seeing and understand. Perception in typography is the visual navigation and interpretation of the reader via contrast, form, and organization of the content. 

Contrast: can be brought about using bold/light, condensed/ extended, small/ large or negative/positive. COntrast is important to make distinction or emphasis, to help separate different types of information. Carl Dair posits seven kinds of contrast: 

1. The size provides the point that attracts the reader's attention. Bigger letters are seen before the smaller letters. Most commonly used for headings.
2. Weight describes how bold type can stand out in the middle of the lighter type of the same size. 
3. The contrast of form is the distinction between the capital letter and its lowercase equivalent or roman letter and its italic variant. 
4. The contrast of structure means the different letterforms of different kinds of typeface. 
5. The contrast of texture by putting together contrast of size, form, and structure into one block of text. Texture refers to the way lines of type look as a whole close up and from a distance. 
6. The contrast of color is often less emphatic value than black and white. GIves emphasize paying attention to the total value. 
7. The contrast of direction is the opposition between vertical and horizontal and the angle between them. 

When choosing different typefaces in one text, make sure they are complementary to each other. 

Form refers to the overall look and feel of the elements that make up the typographic composition. It leads the eye from one point to the other. 

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Instructions

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Exercise 1: Typographic System

For the first exercise, we had to use the text examples to develop a design for all eight typographic systems. Text example :

The Design School, Taylor's University 

All Ripped Up: Punk Influences on Design or 

The ABCs of Bauhaus Design Theory or 

Russian Constructivism and Graphic Design 

Open Public Lectures: 

June 24, 2021 Lew Pik Svonn, 9AM-10AM Ezrena Mohd., 10AM-11AM Suzy Sulaiman, 11AM-12PM 

June 25, 2021 Lim Whay Yin, 9AM-10AM Page | 7 Fahmi Reza, 10AM-11AM William Harald-Wong, 11AM-12PM 

Lecture Theatre 12 

The first system was the Axial system; we had already begun working on this design in class, so I took the existing design and revised it to create a new one. I began by working vertically to ensure that all of the kerning and letter alignment was right. Then I experimented with various angles to see which worked best for the design. I made sure the design had a hierarchy, and I emphasized the word 'design' in the layout.

Fig.1.0 Axial System drafts

Fig.1.1 Axial System (Class exercise)

Fig.1.2 Axial System

Next was the radial system. For this system, I started making two circles on the page and then using them as the focal point for all the text. I used one circle to give all the information about the lectures and the other one for the title and the subtitle, making sure there was a sense of hierarchy in the design. 

 Fig.1.3 Radial System draft (1)

 Fig.1.4 Radial System (1)

I tried another design layout for this system, but instead of using the full circle, I used sections of the cirl to give it a more decorative element. Then I experimented with the placement of each text, making different circles different focus points. 

Fig.1.5 Radial System draft (2)

The design had a lot of white space, and it didn't feel that interesting, so I changed the background color to black and adjusted the text a bit more. I changed the color of the 'Lecture Theatre 12' to red to match the red curve and give the appearance that the information was related. 

Fig.1.6 Radial System (2)

For the Dilatational System, I tried working outward from a central point, placing the most relevant information inside into circles. For this system, I experimented with text alignment; some were aligned to the previous text, while others were misaligned. I also played with the opening of the circles by altering the angles at which they were facing. 

Fig.1.7 Dilatational System drafts 

Since I was dissatisfied with the design's execution, I wanted to try another. This time, I went for a more minimalist approach, with a subtle hierarchy. For the most part, the point size was consistent, and focus was achieved using bold and repeating the word in a gray. I wanted to incorporate a bit of red into the design to match the rest of my work, so I added the red stroke.

Fig.1.8 Dilatational System

 

There was not much planning behind his design. The majority of the text was placed at random. I concentrated solely on the design's readability and trying to show hierarchy in various styles.

Fig.1.9 Random System

Since I was more familiar with the grid structure, I came up with a few ideas. I had to concentrate more on the letter spacing and text alignment in all of these layouts. I tried to convey the title in layout 3 by forming the letters into a roof's shape. I was inspired by the 'ABCs' and tried to convey the title as individual letters in layout 4, but this took up too much space, and I wouldn't be able to fit all of the other details, so I had to adjust the design slightly.

Fig.2.0 Grid System drafts

Fig.2.1 Grid System 

I had two very different designs for the transitional system. The first one I tried out was making a path for the text to follow. I was not sure if this design applied as a Transitional system, so I had to do a bit of research to see a couple of examples to figure out the right way to do this. The next design I came up with was more transitional as the information was decided into different chunks.

Fig.2.2 Transitional System

Fig.2.3 Transitional System

The modular system was quite similar to the grid system, and we had a video from Mr. Vinod demonstrating how to do it, so I was able to come up with a concept much more quickly. All of the text was correctly aligned and fit into its own 'modules.' To emphasize the word, color and bold were used.

Fig.2.4 Modular System

The last system was the Bilateral system. I divided the page into four equal parts with a vertical and a horizontal line for this layout. I then aligned all the text into the lines. Giving each text center alignment. Then I tried switching the placements of the text just to see how the information looks.

Fig.2.5 Bilateral System drafts

Fig.2.6 Bilateral System

After the feedback, I fixed the Axial, Dilatational, and modular systems. For the Dilatational system, I changed the composition slightly to use the page up a bit more and added the circle element.

Fig.2.6 Dilatational System revised.

For the Axial system, I got the feedback to extend so e of the words and balance out the white space on the left side. So I extended the line on top and extended the words "Open Public lecture." Finally, I realigned everything, so it fits better. 

Fig.2.7 Axial System revised.

Lastly, for the modular system, I tried coming up with a new grid system. Using the old layout words, I rearranged them and realigned them to fit the new grid.

Fig.2.8 Modular System revised.

– Final Outcome –

Fig.2.9 Final Axial System - JPEG

Fig.3.0 Final Radial System -JPEG

Fig.3.1 Final Dilatational System -JPEG 

Fig.3.2 Final Random System - JPEG

Fig.3.2 Final Grid System - JPEG

Fig.3.3 Final Transitional System - JPEG

Fig.3.4 Final Modular System - JPEG

Fig.3.5 Final Bilateral System -JPEG

Fig.2.9 Final Typographic Systems PDF

Exercise 2: Type and play Part 1

For our exercise 2 Type and Play part 1, we had to select images of human-made objects, structures, or nature. Then we had to analyze the image and dissect five letters. The image I chose was a handmade Morrocan door design.  

Fig.3.0 Image reference

After that, I retraced the design of the door using illustrator before dissecting the letter.

Fig.3.1 Traced Design

The letters I was able to find were A, M, P, X, and V. For the first attempt, I roughly drew the letter using the traced image as the template. I kept the lines as close to the actual design as possible. Then I extracted the letters and started constructing them.

Fig.3.1 Attempt to find letters

Fig.3.2 Letter found 'A.'

Fig.3.3 Letter found 'M.'

Fig.3.4 Letter found 'P.'

Fig.3.5 Letter found 'X.'

Fig.3.6 Letter found 'V.'

For the first construction, I tried adding the design details and made a rough outline of all five letters. 

Fig.3.7 First attempt to construct letters

Then using the outline, I started by refining the strokes and weight of the letters. 

Fig.3.7 Refining process 1

In my second refining process, I set up the guidelines for the cap height, x-height, baseline, ascender line, and descender line. Then I reconstructed the letters, and this time, I removed the overhanging lines for the letters A, P, M, and V.

Fig.3.8 Refining process 2

For the third refining process, I used Helvetica and Double rounded style font to reference my letters. 

Fig.3.9 Reference font

I changed the bowl of the 'P' to be more rounded. I also made the apex of the 'M' more squared to match the other letters.

Fig.4.0 Refining process 3

The next step was to refine the body width of the letter 'A,' 'X,' and 'M' to make them similar to the rest of the letters. 

Fig.4.1 Refining process 4

In this step, I experimented a bit; I tried adding the design elements I had used in the letters' first construction to see how it would look. I played around with the stroke width to see how it would fit. In the end, I decided not to use this design and continue with the old one. 

Fig.4.2 Refining process 5

In the last step, I checked the consistency of the stroke weight, x-height, and body width for each letter. 

Fig.4.3 Final Refining process

For week 3 we got an extension with our exercise two and we were allowed to further refine our letters. I used the feedback I got to make the letters 'A' and 'V' more condensed. I also used the image as a reference to make all the gap strokes constant. 

Fig.4.4 Revised Refining process

I was also advised to add a few design elements from the original image, for this process I removed some white strokes from the letters 'A' and 'P', also I added more lines to the rest of the letters following closely the design of the original picture.

Fig.4.5 Final Refining process (17/4/21)

– Final Outcome –

Fig.2.1 Final Letter 'A' JPEG (19/4/21)

Fig.2.2 Final Letter 'M' JPEG (19/4/21)

Fig.2.3 Final Letter 'P' JPEG (19/4/21)

Fig.2.4 Final Letter 'X' JPEG (19/4/21)

Fig.2.5 Final Letter 'V' JPEG (19/4/21)

Fig.2.6 Final Type and Play part 1 - JPEG (19/4/21)

Fig.5.1 Final Type and Play part 1 - PDF (19/4/21)

Exercise 3: Type and play Part 2

For type and play part 2, we were supposed to find an image and combine it with letters/words/sentences. The text must have a symbiotic relationship with the image. So the first image I pick was this underwater image of a woman. 

Fig.5.2 Picked Image 1 (24/4/21)

I chose the word 'Flow,' and during class, I made a quick arrangement of the letters. Mr. Vinod suggested that I enlarge the letters and make them appear as though they are underwater.

Fig.5.3 Progress 1 (24/4/21)

Following the feedback, I experimented with the liquify tool in Photoshop to make the letters resemble the waves. This part was more trial and error because I didn't want to do too much and distort the letters. 

Fig.5.4 Progress 2 (24/4/21)

After that, I created a pattern out of a fabric picture, which I then applied to each letter. Then I added the blending mode "divide" to achieve this effect. I picked this yellow colour to match the highlights of the dress and to make the letter looks like its a part of the image. 

Fig.5.5 Progress 3 (24/4/21)

Lastly, I rearranged the letters slightly and added the words "able to". I made these words much smaller so that there is a hierarchy present.

Fig.5.6 Design 1 (25/4/21)

After completing the first design, I wanted to try out another, so I picked another image. This time the image was from an editorial shoot for a magazine, and I like how the image was taken from a lower angle. 

Fig.5.7 Image picked 2 (25/4/21)

The word I pick was "encased," and I wanted the letters to be crammed into the box with her. So I tried arranging the word in two different ways: one where you read it from top to bottom, and another where you read it from bottom to top. I also attempted to make it more cohesive, but the result was not satisfactory for me.

Fig.5.8 Progress 1 (25/4/21)

I thought of using block letters for this design so it would give the image more depth. I tried using photoshops 3D mode and tried writing all the letters using it. 

Fig.5.9 Progress 2 (25/4/21)

Then I tried arranging the letters around with some in front, some in back, and one where her hand is going through the letter 'c.'

Fig.6.0 Progress 3 (25/4/21)

Once I was happy with the arrangement, I tried erasing the N and E to bring out her face forward. I also erased parts of the letter D to make her leg come protruding forward. Lastly, I added the shadow behind her head, near her arm, and some parts of the letters. 

Fig.6.1 Design 2 (25/4/21)

– Final Outcome –

Fig.6.2 Final Type and play - Part 2 (JPEG)  (26/4/21)

Fig.6.3 Final Type and play - Part 2 (PDF)  (26/4/21)

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Feedback 

Week 1:  

General Feedback: Diagonal lines are too extreme and may not be that appealing, so avoid using the diagonal lines at 45°. Do not color one whole side. This causes too much contrast to the design. Try to balance each size and avoid the usage of bright colors.

Specific Feedback (Peer feedback): My peers suggested making the dates bigger and, for the title, trying to make the graphic design in the same line.

Week 2:  

General Feedback: If your design doesn't work without the nonobjective elements, then there is a problem with the layout. Always work without any elements first, and then add if needed. Be careful with how you use the color of nonobjective elements. The color should assist in enhancing the information. (e-portfolio): distinguish the process work from the final work. Have an outline of 0.5 strokes around the image if you have a white background.

Specific Feedback (Peer feedback): The dilatational system's title could be more interesting; try changing the color or making the point size bigger. For the random system, try to connect the dates to their names and time. For the transitional system to make it more random, try stacking some text on top of each other.

(Mr. Vinod feedback) Axial system: there is too much white space on the right side seems too much. Try extending the 'open lecture' and more leading and letter spacing. Dilatational system: Again, the same thing as the axial system, there are awkward spaces. Try utilizing the artboard a bit more.

Week 3:  

General Feedback: When tracing make sure the tracing is accurate so it already gives you a good starting point for your constructions. Add dates to the caption for the images.

Specific Feedback: (Peer feedback): The style and weight look good. It's consistent, they liked the second last design as it has more personality.

(Mr. Vinod feedback): Try adding the details back into the letter and see how that works. You can condense the letters 'A' and 'V' to mimic the letter 'M' as it's more condensed. Increase the gap of the letters to add back the characteristics of the original image.

Week 4:  

General Feedback: Try to figure out where to use your fonts and what problems they could solve. Always introduce consistency in your diagonal strokes.

Specific Feedback: (Mr. Vinod feedback): The letter 'A' looks a bit misaligned try leaning one side a bit more. The inner stroker can be made a bit bigger.

(Task 2):

General Feedback: Try to make sure that your text doesn't overwhelm your image.

Specific Feedback: Try making the letters bigger and try to give a water-like movement to it by using warp.

Week 5:  

General Feedback: The choice of image is really important, if there isn't much going on in the image there isn't space for interplay to happen. The other issue is the level of realisticness on the use of the type in the image. In somecases realistic is not a need but the cases th realism is needed to have a seamless stich between text and image.

Specific Feedback: (Peer feedback): Everything looks nice its just the direction of the letters need to be changed. They weren't sure what the word was or where to start reading.

(Mr. Vinod feedback): The flow design is good. The encased design it does give immpression of interplay, however there is some lack of shadows and the extrusion of the letter form. The level of realisticness is a bit lacking.

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Reflection 

Week 1:

Experience: Starting the module with already so much work to do on the first day sets the tone for the rest of the classes. It prepared us for what's to come. This exercise was very educational, and I got to learn some new ways to assemble my layouts. Some systems, such as the random and transitional systems, seemed to contradict what we had learned in the previous typography class because they didn't consider the text's readability or the kerning. However, we could express our creativity more in this exercise, making it an enjoyable one.

Observations: When you look at all of the various systems, you can tell that structured grided systems are used more often than random systems. This contributes again to what we already learned about the readability and readers being able to understand the given information. 

Findings: We gained a greater understanding of when to use which system after designing all of them ourselves. Since not all systems can be used, you must determine which system can best help you express the information given.

Week 2: 

Experience: Since this exercise was similar to our typography project, I already had a general understanding of how to proceed. It was interesting to see what I could letters I could come up with different images. I was unsure about the result because it didn't feel the most creative, and I wasn't sure if I could retain the original design in the letters. 

Observations: Throughout this process, I noticed that there was always something that needed to be fixed when I returned to the letters. Even with the final refining process, I don't believe I'm 100 percent done. I think I will still find minor misalignments and differences in strokes if I look at the letters again.

Findings: One discovery I made during the lectures was that the gestalt principle could be applied to typography.  I had assumed that the gestalt principle only applied to drawing and painting.

Week 3: 

Experience: This week, we got to continue refining our letter; this allowed me to rethink my design and, in the end, produce a final product I was satisfied with. One thing I did struggle with was how much design element I could add to my letter. In our previous typography class, we mostly followed guidelines to make the letters anatomically correct. The creative part was barely there since, in Advance typography, we are allowed to express the design element more. I was a bit conflicted if what I was doing was correct or not. Looking at the examples of my peers and getting feedback from them, Mr. Vinod helped with that conflict.

Observations: It was a bit difficult to get the white strokes in the letters to be straight; when I rotated the strokes, the strokes became a bit rigged. I had to manually try to fix the strokes or leave them because moving them changed the angle I was going for.  

Findings: I noticed when trying to make my letters resemble my reference more. It took away from the original character I was going for, but the letter loses its legibility if I kept to the original shape. So through all the refining process, I had to find a balance between the both. 

Week 4: 

Experience: We began a new exercise this week that combines images and text. I had seen this design style before in magazines or on billboards, so it was fun to try it out for ourselves. Since there were so many choices, the most difficult part was probably deciding which picture to use. I decided to do two designs because I wanted to experiment with various types and thought it would be good practice.

Observations: I found that my text didn't match my picture because I wasn't properly expressing it. I knew I needed to think of ways to articulate my text before writing the letter on the image. Fortunately, we studied this in sem one during typography, so I was able to do it quickly.   

Findings: One finding I made was that adding text to an image doesn't always work. We needed to pick images where there is a single object or a person because when there are too many elements, it distracts from the text, and the design doesn't work. Another finding I made was when designing; I had to keep in mind that the text doesn't overshadow the image. 

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Further Reading

Fig.1.0 Typographic Systems

Constraints and options

• Like any typography project, there are constraints and options to give your designs variations. A few of these options are the line break, letter spacing, and the leading. When used correctly, these can create changes in texture and tone.
• Grouping is important as it increasing the readability and simplifies the composition.

Nonobjective Elements

• The use of nonobjective elements can articulate compositions.
• Nonobjective elements can emphasize certain texts; they can act as practical guides by directing the viewers' eyes and strengthening their message.
• This can be done by adding a rule, circles, or simply changing the letters' tone. 
• However, it is important to keep in mind that the elements don't overwhelm the message. 

Fig.1.1 Artifact

The Design Process

The design process changes between a world to mind and a mind to world direction. The world to mind focuses on making the design match the designer's idea about the world. If the design of the product is based solely on imagination, it risks having no relevance to others. The mind to world focuses on investigating how an idea fits into the world. If design focuses solely on facts and evaluation, it has no creative aspect. A good designer's job is to find a balance between the two.

1. Specification: at the first stage of designing, the task is to identify all the aspects of the problem at hand. A designer needs to combine his or her own experiences to understand the problem. 
2. Analysis: at this stage, the designer is no longer focused on his or her opinions but instead focuses on how the project fits into the world. At this stage, research is done. 
3. Creating: This stage is about creative thinking and exploration. The designer would generate a solution for the problem. 

Fig.1.3 Exploring Typography

Finding Inspiration (pg.251)

- Before starting your design, you should always study as many typefaces as possible so you already know what is out there or what typeface may have similar purposes as yours.

- Looking at typefaces in print instead of online can help you understand and appreciate the detailed nuances that make each typeface unique.

- Scrapbooking can also be another good source for an idea.

Choosing a rendering method (pg.256)

- When rendering original characters manually, don't just produce one character once, produce multiple. so that you can select the best one. 

- Also render a full set of characters so that you have consistency in the font's look and feel. 

Fig.1.4 Video game typography 

Usability is the most important consideration when choosing a font for your game, which makes sense given that players must be able to read instructions in order to play. Things to consider when picking a font:

1. Is the typeface equipped with all of the characters needed for other languages?
2. Is the font too difficult to read? 
3. Is the font readable at various point sizes?
4. Is there a sufficient number of font types (bold, italic, etc.) to cover a variety of contexts, such as titles and body text?

The typographical aesthetic is crucial in setting the tone for the game and creating an enjoyable experience for the players. Handwritten typeface, for example, has an impact on readability, particularly at smaller point sizes. However, this can have a positive impact on the game's mood.