Monday, January 24, 2011

Typographic Syntax

Hello, all. For formality's sake, I should probably introduce myself. My name is Anna Carol (both names, not one) and I am Mr. Goehner's TA.  Occasionally Mr. Goehner will ask me to write a blog post for you, so here I am. 

In class you have been talking about typographic syntax. I am excited to post about this because love this stuff! Hopefully I can give you some examples that inspire you and make it clearer what Mr. Goehner is looking for in your projects.









The top two photos are great examples of typographic syntax. Both use the "i" in similar ways to communicate two different ideas. They are simple, effective and don't rely on any illustration to communicate effectively. I make a big deal about having no added illustration because Mr. Goehner will make a big deal about it. Trust me. It will be clearer what I mean by saying not to rely on illustration if I give you a counterexample.

The bottom photo is an example of typographic syntax that communicates its point with the little curls on the "t." It's cute, right? But what would happen if you took the decorative curls off and just left the text? It wouldn't mean anything; it would just be a word. This is not what this project is about.

Typographic syntax is arranging the actual letterforms to enhance the meaning of the word. You can rotate them, stack them, make them varying sizes, replace letters with numbers or symbols or other letters. . . be creative! But if you are having to rely on elements added to the letterforms to communicate the meaning you should probably rethink your idea.

If you need some inspiration I suggest going to http://abduzeedo.com/tags/typography and looking at the Typographic Mania posts. Most of these are too illustrative for direct inspiration, but its creative typesetting and I think it's pretty exciting. 

Good luck!

14 comments:

  1. This is really helpful. Since we talked about typographic syntax in class, I've been paying attention to the logos that I see trying to figure out if they're relying on typographic syntax or illustration. It's intersting because before we really defined typgraphic syntax in class, I thought that most illustration would fall under typgraphic syntax as well, for example the 't' in mustachoied. I've come to realize that many more logos rely on illustration than typographic syntax, and that true typgraphic syntax is much harder to accomplish (but, much more satisfying) than illustration. I'm up for this challenge!

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  2. While I find the typographic topic interesting, I still struggle with the idea of creating a piece of work that relies entirely upon letters and placement of those letters to convey an idea. I personally prefer illustration that gives my eye something to study as well as my brain to think about.

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  3. I like how effective these images are by using good typographic syntax. It turns words into pictures and really helps to send across a point. Its not easy, however, to rely solely on type when we are so used to using images in all of our work.

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  4. I like the examples. This is something that is worth paying close attention to. I find that usually the most effective posters and designs are the ones that are simple and straight to the point and using this style is a way to achieve sending a certain message clearly and effectively.

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  5. When looking at something, it is often the text that catches my eye first. When the headline or main text of an ad is well done, it gives a depth to the image that says someone actually thought out the design instead of just finding an image and slapping some text on it. This kind of design and syntax takes more effort, but the result is well worth it.

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  6. Typographic syntax is trickier than I would like. I thought it was just always something you stumbled upon, but more often than not you have to find it. Until a little while ago I assumed art was mostly inspiration and a little execution/work thrown in. It is very much the opposite. Ideas are not always flashes of that lightbulb you know has just got to be above your head... they are the result of thought and work, with some soon-to-come inspiration thrown in.

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  7. Even though its tough to figure out yourself, I enjoy the concept of typographic syntax. For once It allows the room to be creative with the type while focusing the main attention to the typeface.

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  8. I think all of these are really cool. I like the mustachioed one the best. I am glad I learned about typographic syntax because now I will be more aware of graphic design work.

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  9. I must say I am in love with typographic syntax. Katlyn and I spent hours looking at examples on the internet the other day. My favorites are always the ones you look at for a second and your first reaction is "What? Why did they do that?" Then, just a moment later it hits you, and all you can think is "Wow. That's genius." But Megan is right, these things don't just pop out of thin air. I racked my brain trying to find ideas for my sketches, but it is tough. While searching, I always want to default to illustration, or "the mustache." And, illustration can be a powerful tool. But if you only think in terms of illustration you'll miss out the "killed."

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  10. I think that this is really cute. I like that it is simple and to the point. I liked that right off the bat I knew what the word was and how the letter "i" was manipulated to help get the point across.

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  11. I also found typographic syntax a tad difficult. I'm more of a visual/picture type of person, so thinking of how to just take letters and make them convey meaning stretches me. But I love the syntax for the exact same reason. I think it's because of the power of its simplicity. It's able to pack a very powerful punch without having to be flashy. Hopefully this will be something I can continue to apply to my own work.

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  12. It amazes me how something so simple and make something so interesting. I especially like the mustachioed design. The extra curls on the "t" are so subtle, yet it makes the design so much better. I could very easily see that design used as a logo for an Italian restaurant or even a high class clothing store.

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  13. I absolutely love these! One has to really think to make these work good! If I had to choose a favorite, I would go with the "falling" one!

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  14. FYI, that bottom image (mustachioed) is my design. My friend was browsing the Internet last night, stumbled across it on here, and told me about it. This was for my basic typography class and our teacher encouraged us to be creative with our designs (i.e. illustrative techniques and slight physical alterations). But thanks for the kudos, shout outs or whatever you want to call it!

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