The power of typography | Mia Cinelli | TEDxUofM
Summary
TLDRThe speaker shares the transformative experience of becoming a designer, akin to acquiring a 'superpower' that enables them to question and critique the world around them. With a focus on typography, the speaker recounts the process of creating a typeface inspired by beautiful handwriting found in a museum, highlighting the importance of kerning, leading, and glyph design. They emphasize the influence of typography on communication, demonstrating how typefaces can convey different messages and evoke emotions, ultimately urging the audience to be more mindful of the type choices they make.
Takeaways
- 🌟 The speaker likens becoming a designer to gaining a 'superpower' that allows them to constantly question and analyze the design of everything around them.
- 🎨 The speaker's fascination with typography led them to create a typeface from beautiful handwriting they discovered in a museum.
- 🔠 The difference between a 'typeface' and a 'font' is explained: a typeface is a series of letters designed to belong together, while a font is a specific group within a typeface.
- ✍️ The process of creating a typeface involves designing individual letter forms, considering serif or sans serif styles, and ensuring the letters work together cohesively.
- 📝 The importance of kerning, the spacing between letters, is highlighted as crucial for maintaining the illusion of cursive and ensuring legibility.
- 📚 The speaker's first typeface, 'Fet', was inspired by historical cursive handwriting and needed to consider ascenders and descenders for proper letter spacing.
- 📏 'Letting', the space between lines of text, is also an important aspect of typeface design, affecting readability and the visual impact of the text.
- 🔡 Beyond the alphabet and numbers, typefaces include glyphs, such as symbols, to be usable in various contexts.
- 🗣️ Typography has a significant impact on the message conveyed by text, influencing how it is perceived by readers, much like tone of voice in spoken language.
- 📜 The 'Fet' typeface was designed to evoke a sense of time, precision, and historical context, suitable for applications like historical fiction, museum design, or wedding invites.
- 👀 The speaker encourages the audience to adopt their 'design superpower' to critically assess typography in their daily lives, recognizing its influence on perception and communication.
Q & A
What is the 'design superpower' mentioned in the script?
-The 'design superpower' refers to the unique ability of designers to constantly analyze and question the design and functionality of everything around them, from everyday objects to typography, and having the desire and capability to improve or create better designs.
What is the significance of the handwriting the speaker encountered at the FET historic town site and park?
-The handwriting was significant because it was the most beautiful the speaker had ever seen, inspiring them to create a typeface from it. This encounter sparked the speaker's 'design superpower' and led to a project of designing a script typeface.
What is the difference between a 'typeface' and a 'font' as explained in the script?
-A 'typeface' is a series of letters designed to belong together, like 'Bedoni', while a 'font' is a specific group of letters within a typeface, such as 'Bedoni Bold Italic'. All typefaces are made up of letter forms, and fonts make up typefaces in the same way chapters make up a book.
Why did the speaker choose to design a script typeface?
-The speaker chose to design a script typeface because they were working from cursive handwriting that they encountered, which naturally lent itself to the flowing, connected style of script typefaces.
What is 'kerning' in typography, and why is it important?
-Kerning is the space between any two letters that are close together. It is important because it affects the legibility and visual appearance of the text. Proper kerning maintains the illusion of cursive in script typefaces and prevents the text from appearing too cramped or too spaced out.
What is 'leading' in typography, and how does it relate to the design of the 'Fet' typeface?
-Leading is the space between two lines of typed text. In the design of the 'Fet' typeface, leading was important to accommodate the ascenders and descenders of the letters, ensuring that the typeface was visually balanced and did not have 'sword fighting' ascenders and descenders.
What are 'glyphs' in the context of typeface design?
-Glyphs are all the symbols that are included in a typeface, such as the at sign, number sign, and parentheses. They are necessary for a typeface to be usable in various contexts beyond just letters and numbers.
How does the design of a typeface influence the message it conveys?
-The design of a typeface can convey different moods and tones, such as being authoritative, honest, organic, friendly, or childlike. This 'visual inflection' can influence how the content is perceived by the reader, much like tone of voice does in spoken language.
What is the purpose of the 'Fet' typeface designed by the speaker?
-The 'Fet' typeface was designed to evoke a sense of time, precision, and a bygone era. It is intended for use in historical fiction, museum design, love letters, or wedding invites, where its unique characteristics can enhance the message and atmosphere of the content.
Why is it important for non-designers to understand the principles of typography?
-Understanding typography is important for everyone because it influences how we perceive and interpret written content. Good typography can enhance communication, persuasion, and evoke emotions, making it a critical aspect of effective messaging across all professions.
Outlines
🔍 The Designer's Superpower: Seeing the World Through Typography
The speaker describes the unique perspective that comes with being a designer, akin to having a superpower. Designers constantly analyze and question the design of everything around them, from the mundane to the extraordinary. The speaker's focus is on typography, the arrangement of letters in space, which they discovered in a preserved ghost town. The speaker was captivated by the beautiful handwriting in a museum and decided to create a typeface from it, despite never having done so before. They had to learn the difference between a typeface and a font, and the importance of letter forms and serifs in type design.
🎨 Crafting a Typeface: The Journey from Handwriting to Script
The speaker embarks on the process of creating a script typeface from the handwritten samples found in a museum. They initially attempted to trace the letters but soon realized that this approach was insufficient for a functional typeface. The speaker then learned from other type designers and started with the lowercase 'A', iterating until they found a design they loved. From there, they used this base to create other letters that share similar shapes. The importance of kerning, the spacing between letters, is highlighted, as well as the need for proper letter spacing to maintain the illusion of cursive handwriting. The speaker also recounts a humorous story from seventh grade about bad kerning altering a message, emphasizing the impact of typography on communication.
📜 The Impact of Typography: Beyond Letters to Visual Communication
The speaker discusses the broader implications of typography, explaining that it's not just about designing letters but also about the space between lines (leading) and the inclusion of glyphs to make a typeface usable. They emphasize that typography is important for everyone, not just designers, as it influences how we perceive and interpret text. The speaker uses the example of a babysitter advertisement to illustrate how different typefaces can convey different messages and influence decisions. They conclude by sharing their motivation for creating the 'Fet' typeface, which was to preserve and carry forward the essence of a place and time that no longer exists, and to encourage the audience to be more mindful of the type they use in their own communications.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Designer
💡Typography
💡Typeface
💡Font
💡Serif
💡Sans Serif
💡Script Typeface
💡Kerning
💡Letting
💡Glyphs
💡Visual Inflection
Highlights
Designers possess a 'superpower' of constantly questioning and analyzing the design of everything around them.
Typography is the visual arrangement of letters in space and is omnipresent in our environment.
The story of discovering beautiful handwriting in a museum in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, inspiring the creation of a typeface.
The distinction between a typeface, which is a series of letters designed to belong together, and a font, which is a specific group within a typeface.
Serif and sans serif typefaces have different aesthetic and functional characteristics.
Script typefaces are designed to mimic cursive handwriting and require careful design to ensure legibility and connection between letters.
The process of creating a typeface involves tracing and refining letterforms to achieve a cohesive look.
The importance of starting typeface design with the letter 'A' due to its foundational role in forming other letters.
Kerning, the adjustment of space between letters, is crucial for maintaining the illusion of cursive in a typeface.
Letting, or leading, is the space between lines of text and affects the readability and aesthetic of a typeface.
Glyphs, including symbols and punctuation, are essential for a typeface to be fully functional and versatile.
Typography has a significant impact on the message conveyed by text, influencing perception and interpretation.
Typefaces can evoke different emotions and characteristics, such as authority, honesty, or friendliness.
The practical application of typography in real-life scenarios, such as choosing a babysitter based on the typeface used in their advertisement.
Soet, the typeface inspired by the handwriting found in Michigan, is designed to evoke a sense of history and precision.
The importance of typography extends beyond designers to everyone, as it influences how we read and interpret text.
The speaker's personal journey of creating a typeface to preserve and carry forward a piece of history.
The newly acquired 'design superpower' of the audience, enabling them to critically analyze and appreciate typography in their daily lives.
Transcripts
something incredible happens when you
become a designer that I liken to
gaining a
superpower most people are walking
around the world thinking about what
they want to eat for lunch or what
they're doing at work but designers are
walking around the world looking at
everything and asking why does it look
the way it does and work the way it does
and who designed it and the great part
about this ability is that as a designer
I can do something about it the
obnoxious part about this ability is
that it's happening all the time I can
never shut it off and for me this is
happening particularly with
typography typography is the visual
arrangement of designed letters or type
in space and type exists everywhere
even if you find yourself in the middle
of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where
I'm from at fet historic town site and
park where I found myself in the summer
of
2012 I was there on a whim and what fet
is is it used to be a town where they
smelted iron ore that was Min what that
means is it's made into a more refined
version before it gets shipped off to be
made into steel and so this was a
company Town it was a really cool cool
bustling place where they did this for
about 20 years at the end of the 1800s
until it proved unprofitable and the
whole town kind of trickled out and now
it's a ghost town it's been really well
preserved as this architectural kind of
framework uh that now you can go visit
and they have a cool Museum there that
has artifacts from the town you can see
how people used to live there and in
this Museum they have these white framed
pieces of paper that were kind of up
against a wall which from a distance
looked entirely unremarkable but as I
got closer to them I was totally
floored this was the most beautiful
handwriting I had ever seen in my entire
life it was graceful and it was swooping
and it was Swift and it was fantastic
and suddenly like a ton of bricks my
design superpower caught up with me and
I knew in my heart of hearts that I
needed to make this into a type
face the problem was I had never
actually done this before I had worked
as a graphic designer and used a lot of
type but hadn't made a lot of type and
so I knew there were a couple things
that I was going to have to consider
moving forward if this is a project I
wanted to
do so the first thing to know I needed
to know is that a type face is different
than a font now most people use these
interchangeably but there actually is a
difference a type face is a series of
letters that are designed to belong
together so bedoni is a type face now
bedoni bold italic is a font which is a
specific group of letters within a type
face so fonts make up type faces in the
same way that chapters make up a
book all type faces are made up of
letter forms letter forms is the individ
ual design of any one letter and when
you're designing these letters you have
to consider if you want it to be a serf
or a sand serif type face so what seraps
are are these like great little feet
that exist on the bottom of letter forms
like you can see on the Century
F and Sans serif type uh San from the
French word meaning without uh doesn't
have these little wings or feet and so
they read a bit more like table
legs then there is script type faces
which is made to look a bit like cursive
and so when you design the letter forms
you have to add this cool little tail
onto what you're designing so that they
can connect with each other and read
like cursive and I knew because I was
working from cursive handwriting that I
needed to design a script so I thought
I've got this right I'm just going to
trace the letters and it's G to
work it really
didn't so I had this and this would have
worked really well for historical
preservation but what went on is that
these letters weren't even enough to
actually work as a type face and so then
I was kind of back to the drawing board
going all right uh how am I going to
actually do this and so I thought about
how other type designers had done this
before me and many of them start with
the letter A now I have to preface I
absolutely love lowercase A's which is
like a little weird and obsessive I
realized saying this in front of a very
large group of people but lowercase A's
are fun they're humble they're in just
about everything and so I started by
tracing this a which looked really funky
and the second a looked really funky and
probably somewhere until like the 39th a
also looked really funky but when I
finally got to this a that I loved I
knew it was a really great place to
start and I knew why other people
started there because once you have that
letter form you can use that to make an
o and a g and a p and a Q and A D and A
B because they all sh share that same
basee
shape similarly once you design an N the
m and the U come really quickly as does
the w and an H because they borrow each
other's
forms now once you've designed these
letters it's important to space them
correctly that's just as important and
so kerning is the space between any two
letters and letters uh that are close
together are tightly kerned and letters
that are far apart are widely kerned and
for fet which is what I call the tight
face Super Creative name I
know these have to be properly cured so
that it maintains this illusion of
cursive and that it reads really nicely
because if things are too tightly cerned
then it turns into this crunchy
mess and if it's too widely cerned then
you've completely uh ruin the illusion
of cursive and kerning is important not
just for believability or legibility but
because it can actually change what it
is you're trying to say and my first
lesson in bad kerning was not in art
school but was actually in the seventh
grade with Mr Stewart this guy Loved
Bird Watching so he got up and he wanted
to share this with us so he got up on
the board and he wrote down the name of
a bird called the yellow bellied flicker
but he wrote it really quickly and his
letter spacing was just slightly off and
this completely changed the message
this is a true
story other things to consider is about
letting and letting is the space between
any two lines of typed text and it's
called letting because when type was
made of like movable metal they'
literally put chunks of lead between to
designate that space and for fet this
was really important because I had to
deal with ascenders and descenders so
what an Ascender is is it's the part of
the letter form that comes up and over
the x height which is the top of
lowercase letters and then there's the
uh descenders which come down below
What's called the Baseline which is
where lowercase letters sit and so if
something is too tightly Leed then you
end up with these like sword fighting
ascenders and descenders and that's
generally Bad News Bears
other things to consider is that when
you're designing a type face it's not
just 26 letters and 10 numbers you have
to deal with things called glyphs which
are all of the symbols that you have to
have in a typ face like the at sign and
number sign and and parentheses right so
that your typ face is actually
usable so there's at least like one
person in this audience right now who's
like good for you lady you made a tight
face
what's the
point there's one of you I know
it what's the
point the point is that typography is
important not just for designers and
type nerds like myself but for everyone
in this audience because everything you
ever read is in some kind of type face
and all tight faces are designed to say
something specific
and so when something is typed in a type
face then what is said is influenced by
how it is set and I call this a kind of
visual
inflection so just like when we speak
our tone of voice gives meaning to the
words we're trying to say so does type
so if I were to say I hope you all have
a great time today at tedex you know I
mean that because of the tone of my
voice right but if I were to
say I hope you have a great time at
tedex you know that I don't actually
mean that because of the inflection of
my voice and type works really
similarly type can be
authoritative it can be
honest it can be
organic type can say I'm friendly or I'm
childlike and if you're still not buying
this
let's imagine that you're going out on a
date and you need to get a babysitter
for your child so you go online and you
look up babysitter and this shows
up okay set in
Baskerville it's cool it's calm it's
professional it's collected this is
probably a person that you'd give a call
and say hey can you watch my kid tonight
but let's say that this situation has
changed slightly so you get online you
look up babysitters and this shows up
this is probably not the person you want
to leave your kid
with so in this way type should never be
an afterthought because it can persuade
and evoke and help us make choices
consciously or
unconsciously and
soet is a nice type face and I'm
obviously like a tiny bit
biased but it's not for
everything it works really well for
things like historical fiction or Museum
design or love letters or wedding
invites because it speaks of time of
precision and a Time Gone by but it's
not what you'd write like your Master's
thesis
in and that truthfully that wasn't the
point right I didn't design it to be the
end all be all of tight faces I designed
it to say something about a place that
used to exist and doesn't anymore and a
person who had a voice and doesn't
anymore and that swiftness and that
beauty and some way trying to preserve
that and carry a tiny bit of that from
the past to the present and hopefully
into the
future and so for all of you now having
heard this talk you now absorbed a
little bit of this design superpower
which which means when you leave you're
going to go look at all of the type
around you and you're going to wonder
who made it and why it looks the way it
does and what it means and you're also
going to see bad kerning Now everywhere
I'm so
sorry but you're all going to be able to
go into your chosen professions and
handle type A little better than you
could before because you can think about
what you want to say and how you want to
say it and you can make cont ious
deliberate decisions about the medium of
your message not just from the words you
choose but from the type you
choose thanks
[Music]
浏览更多相关视频
How Typography Elevates Design from Good to Great (Masterclass Part 2/3)
The ULTIMATE Guide To Typography For Beginners
Typography & Typesetting In UI Design (Adobe XD Tutorial)
Responsive Typography With Variables | Figma Tutorial
A Brief History of Type
Ti spiego l'inganno dei mercati finanziari (Lezione gratuita) #tradingonline
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)