Kompozicia

PLAYING
type
with
50 graphic experiments
for exploring typographic design principles
lara mccormick
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(Text) (Ray) #175 Dtp:225 Page:1
To students, teachers, graphic designers, and typophiles
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(Ray) #175 Dtp:225 Page:4
contents
introduction 7 27 3-D Type 90

28 Found Letters in the Environment 94
type primer 8 29 ABCs 95
30 Type Specimen Poster 98
glossary of type terms 9
lettering play 103

letter and wordplay 11 31 Hand Lettering 101 104
1 Ransom Note 12 32 Pen-Written Origins of the Lowercase 108
2 Type as Image 15 33 Script Practice 112
3 Type as Pattern and Texture 18 34 Chalkboard Type 114
4 Typographic Pictures 21 35 Signage, Part 1: Appreciation 117
5 Expressive Type 23 36 Signage, Part 2: Letter Revival 120
6 Descriptive Word Pairs 26 37 Photo-Lettering 125
7 Drop Caps 28
8 Ampersands 31
9 Lucky Numbers 35
playing with context and application 129
10 Manipulating Type 38 38 Text in the City 130
11 Ligature Monogram 40 39 Type Constructions, Part 1 136
40 Type Constructions, Part 2 141
41 Talking Objects 146
project-based play 43 42 Food + Type 150
12 Homage to an Influential Typographer 44 43 Helvetica Recontextualized 154
13 Bauhaus Grid 47 44 Giant Cross-Stitch Type 158
14 All in the Family 50 45 Daily Reminders 162
15 Mixing Typefaces 52
16 Adding Flourishes 56
17 Script for Special Occasions 59
playing with type with friends 165
18 Using Found Type 62 46 Fence Messaging 166
19 Captivating Headlines 66 47 Love Letter 170
20 Type-Driven Logo 68 48 Betterpress 173
21 Branding with Type 70 49 Light Up Your Type 175
22 Type in Motion 74 50 Optimistic Words 178
23 Six Word Story 76
Resources 183
alphabet play 81 Contributors 184
24 Modular Type 82 Index 187
25 Handwriting 85 Acknowledgments 191
26 Opposites Attract 88 About the Author 192
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Irevertedeasily
tomywild
state,thatis
experimentation.
Jack Steinberger
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introduction
This book is for anyone who loves type. Lettering Play: Lettering involves practice GeTTinG ReADy: TyPe PRimeR
It contains fifty experiments that will and repetition. Like most things, the more Before you begin, review the Type Primer
educate you about type through a hands- you do it the better you get. This section section. This section provides a glossary
on, creative approach. You will improve will introduce different lettering styles of terms used in the experiments and
your type skills, explore new areas, play, and methods. important information on type anatomy
and be inspired! and classifications that will help inform
Playing with Context and Application: your work.
The intention of Playing with Type is to Applying type in unexpected places
get you to think differently about provides surprisingly great resultsand TAkinG PRoCess sHoTs
typography. It enforces principles of type lots of inspiration. Many of the experiments in this book are
and also pushes the form into new arenas. nondigital. In these cases, it is important to
Each spread is filled with images of Playing with Type with Friends: Use the record your process as your work unfolds.
project results and examples of the project projects on these pages and plan a type date Always take process photos while you work.
objectives applied in industry work. with friends, throw a type workshop, or Its much more interesting to see how a
even put together a type-based exhibition! project is created from the beginning than
The book is divided into six sections: it is to see only a photo of the final result.
HoW To Use THis Book
Letter and Wordplay: Well explore the At any time, you can flip through the book BACkGRoUnD
letter as image and pattern, manipulate and select an experiment. There is no The exercises in the book came from
letterforms, and visually express the order to the contents; you are encouraged different areas. While compiling the
meaning of individual words and pairs of to jump around, depending on your syllabus for an experimental type course,
words. Youll play with drop caps, typographic mood. I had trouble finding examples of projects
ampersands, numbers, and ligatures. that really pushed typographic sensibilities.
Each challenge in the book is different from While enforcing foundation principles,
Project-based Play: Working through the next. Most include detailed steps; some I wanted to make it fun and inspiring for
different projects, like posters, book covers, have process shots or a list of materials students. Those projects are included in the
logos, packaging, and more, youll explore needed, and others are a bit more elusive, book, as well as projects from typographic
branding across platforms, working with allowing you to find your own way. aficionados from a variety of avenues. All
grids, combining type, and incorporating of the contributors have the same things in
flourishes. At the bottom of each exercise page, you common: a love of type and a constant
will be directed to similar exercises in the hunger to learn.
Alphabet Play: Using different techniques book via a callout that begins with the
and approaches, you will create full sentence If you liked this, youll love this!
typefaces from A to Z and then display
them like a pro. Additional callouts will provide tips and
terms specific to each challenge. In most
cases, image captions include the name of
the typeface(s) used.
7
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type primer
Before you start, it is important to be versed in the basics of
typography. This section will give you the chops to fuel your
knowledge of the subject before playtime begins.
RR RR
major
typeface
classifications
sans serif serif slab serif script

(Helvetica) (Caslon) (Rockwell) (Snell Roundhand)
type anatomy Typographic characters have basic component parts. The easiest
way to differentiate characteristics of type designs is to compare
the structure of these components. The following terms identify
some of the components of letters.
ascender ascender line
double-story a crossbar bowl ligature spur tittle cap line

mean line
cap height
x-height
single-story a tail counter descender stress or axis
descender line baseline
8 playing with type
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glossary of type terms
Ascender Font Typeface
The part of lowercase letters (such as k, b, A font is the digital format that enables the A set of characters that contain common
and d) that ascends above the x-height of printing of typefaces. design features.
the other lowercase letters in a face.
Glyph Typographic color
Baseline The specific shape, design, or representation The apparent blackness of a block of text.
The imaginary line on which the majority of a character. Color is a function of the relative thickness
of the characters in a typeface rest. of the strokes that make up the characters
kerning in a font, as well as the width, point size,
Decorative The adjustment of horizontal space between and leading used for setting the text block.
Type that is designed and used exclusively individual characters in a line of text.
for ornamental purposes and shouldnt be Weight
used for body text. Leading The relative darkness of the characters in
The amount of space added between lines the various typefaces within a type family.
Display of text to make the document legible. Weight is indicated by relative terms such
Type that has been designed to look good at as thin, light, bold, extra bold, and black.
large point sizes, often for use in headlines. Letterspacing
Adjusting the average distance between Word spacing
Face letters in a block of text. Also referred to as Adjusting the average distance between
One of the styles of a family of faces. For tracking. words to improve legibility or to fit a block
example, the italic style of the Caslon family of text into a given amount of space.
is a face. Ligature
Two or more letters tied together into a X-height
Family single letter. The height of the body of lowercase letters
A collection of faces that was designed and in a font, excluding the ascenders and
intended to be used together. For example, Tracking descenders.
the Caslon family consists of Roman and The average space between characters in
italic styles, as well as regular, semibold, a block of text. Also referred to as
and bold weights. letterspacing.
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Asthesayinggoes,
typeisabeautiful
groupofletters,
notagroupof
beautifulletters.
Matthew Carter
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letter and wordplay
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1 ransom note
Design a ransom note using found type.
Use newspapers, magazines, and other

printed matter. Your note should be brief
and witty, stating your actions and
demands. Make it visually compelling and
dramatic with an applied design sensibility.
Gather the assets for your note by cutting

out a variety of letters. Use larger letters for
your message, and incorporate smaller
type as texture. Tear the paper to add an
unexpected element. Alter, cut, distress,
rearrange, or manipulate the type. Push
yourself to use the material in a creative
way. You can also use a photocopier to
replicate and scale the material.
Composition size is 8" 3 8" (20 3 20 cm).
Scan the final composition. You should

always keep a digital record of work done
by hand.
I look forward to lunch every day, so what could be
worse than discovering that your sandwich has been
stolen? To further the impact, I placed the ransom
letters on a napkin, signaling the end of the
sandwich was near.
Designer: Elizabeth Man
If you loved this, youll love these!

12 playing with type Type As Pattern and Texture, page 18; Typographic Pictures, page 21
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The joke at the office I currently work in is that the office managers will often
post passive-aggressive notes in the kitchen, along the lines of Whoever put
the carbonated beverage in the freezer needs to stop NOW. What better way
to counter a passive-aggressive note than [with] an aggressive-looking ransom
note? I wanted the message to take up as much of the allotted space as
possible, to best convey the aggression. The crumpled body copy and scratched-
up background surfaces are meant to further hint at the writers agitation.
Designer: Christine Park
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I was looking through all these
luxury magazines and the
thought just came to me.
Designer: Libby Clarke
I used sales receipts for the pony, since they

are also monetary transaction documents. The
background is made from obituaries, so if you look
closely, this ransom note is more menacing than
it may first appear.
Designer: Rose Greenstein
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2 type as image
Create a series of compositions where type

is used as image.
Observe the figure/ground relationship

that occurs when playing with positive/
negative shapes.
Create a 5" 3 5" (12.7 3 12.7 cm) square within

which to work. With one character from
Helvetica, create a series of compositions
that plays with figure/ground reversal and
explore the relationship between negative
and positive shapes. You can repeat the
same letter.
Start with thumbnail sketches for your

initial ideas. Created by hand, using a Helvetica Regular Z
Designer: Kristian Rodriguez
For construction, you can put together your
compositions by hand or on the computer.
Working by hand offers a tactile experience
that often generates unpredictable results.
Figure/ground
If you are working by hand, print your
letterform. Using white and black paper, Figure/ground organization helps artists and designers when composing a
trace and cut out your letterforms for your 2-D piece. In its basic sense, it refers to a cognitive ability to separate elements
compositions. based upon contrast, that is, dark and light, black and white.
Figure/ground reversal is a technique in which an existing images foreground

and background colors are purposely swapped to create new images.

Type as Pattern and Texture, page 18; Typographic Pictures, page 21 letter and wordplay 15
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Series created by hand,
using Helvetica Bold
Designer: Leonardo Porto
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Created by hand, using Helvetica Regular C,
and wrinkling the paper to add texture
Designer: Kristian Rodriguez
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3 type as pattern and texture
Create a pattern using a single letter from

one typeface.
Select a single letterform. Copy and repeat

the letter in columns or rows to make
an overall pattern. Change the spacing of
the letters in the rows to create variation.
Continue to create new variations by
changing the size of the elements, creating
overlapping rows of elements, and altering
the color, size, and orientation of elements.
As a grid takes shape, it alters the

identity of the separate elements in favor
of a larger texture. Creating that larger
texture is what pattern design is all about.
By understanding how to produce patterns,
you learn how to weave complexity out of
Above: Constructed by hand using a Opposite page, top: Repitition of D
elementary structures.
photocopieradding a tactile texture in one composition, Y in the other.
to the patternthe letter Typeface: Helvetica Neue
S has been rotated and tiled.
Designer: Leonardo Porto
Typeface: Bellevue
Opposite page, bottom: Here, semicolons
Designer: Brianna Hussey
are used to create a dynamic pattern.
Typeface: Helvetica Neue
Designer: Kristian Rodriquez

18 playing with type Type as Image, page 15; Ligature Monogram, page 40; Modular Type, page 82
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The Saks Fifth Avenue logo
has been placed in a black
square and subdivided into a
grid of sixty-four smaller
squares. Various combinations
form a series of typographic
textures.
Company: Pentagram Design
Designer: Michael Bierut
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4 typographic pictures
Create a picture using type only.
Select a photograph or sketch an image to

use as the guideline for your picture. Begin
by making thumbnails of your composition.
Move to the computer when you are ready.
Based on your best thumbnail, use type to

build your picture. Incorporate different
sizes, styles, weights, and widths. You
cannot distort the type, but you can rotate
or flip it. No illustrations or photographs
may be used. You can use letters, numbers,
and punctuation, in black and white only.
Right top and bottom: Inspired by New York City

Typefaces: Adobe Caslon Pro, ITC Franklin Gothic,
Giddyup, Motter Corpus, Poplar, Rosewood
Designer: Joshua Hester
If you loved this, youll love this!

Type in Motion, page 74 letter and wordplay 21
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The strategy of using type to form a
picture, applied in a poster promoting
artist Rajae El Mouhandz.
Designer: Tarek Attrissi
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5 expressive type
Manipulate typography so that its form

reflects its meaning.
Choose from the list of words below (or

come up with your own list). Sketch ten
thumbnails that express the meaning of
the word. You may repeat, omit, slice,
block, or overlap words or letters.
Select the strongest direction from your

thumbnails. Create your composition
within a square format so that you have to
work within a defined space. Execute your
word on the computer, by hand, or both.
If you are working digitally, use Helvetica.
Words:
Neutral Turbulent
Topple Growing Designer: Brendan Lucente
Elastic Sunrise
Uncomfortable Float
Punch Explosion
Play with applying basic design principles:
Scale, repetition, direction, texture, transparency,

negative space, figure/ground relationships

Type as Image, page 15; Type as Pattern and Texture, page 18 letter and wordplay 23
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Top: Designer: Krista Hurley
Left: Designer: Marie Hickey
Right: I centered the circle,
drew the S, then transferred
this onto tracing paper and rotated
it in order to re-create the letters
in a circle by hand. I then inked in
the words with a micron and
added the arrow.
Designer: Jeston Rodriguez
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Designer: Suzanne Barros
For the word magnetic, I

tried to find an n that could
work to form a magnetic
symbol. I used a u and
rotated it, then reflected it
to create the bottom half.
Designer: Rachel Ferguson
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6 descriptive word pairs
Design a clever way to express the relationships between a pair of words that have
opposing meanings.
Words have inherent meaning, and often - Consider size relationships, spatial
multiple meanings can be inferred. A great intervals, weight, contrast, ratio,
number of words bring pictures to mind. and structure.
Take a word pair from the list below (or - Evaluate tone, texture, shape, and, in
make up your own) and think about visual particular, the eye movement within
connotations, not merely descriptions. each composition as you build them.
Sketch ten different ideas. - Analyze the space and form/counterform,
figure/ground, and gestalt relationships.
Words:
Take your best thumbnail and refine
inside/outside slow/fast
it digitally.
big/small empty/full
smooth/rough more/less
Take your concept and push it even further,
narrow/wide open/closed
transforming it into a 3-D interpretation.
short/tall collect/discard
The materials used and texture created
sharp/blunt straight/crooked
will be an important component of the
light/dark tight/loose
second phase. Think about how the use of
order/chaos beginning/end
real objects instead of pixels might affect
up/down dirty/clean
your composition.
whimsical/serious hollow/solid
hard/soft expand/contract
Take a photo of the finished project.
true/false connect/disconnect
Compare it to the 2-D solution. Is it more or
positive/negative shaky/firm
less successful? Why?
simple/complex precise/general
uniform/distinct abstract/concrete
Project contributor: Becca Hirsbrunner;
near/far private/public
Project consultant: Robert Grame

26 playing with type Expressive Type, page 23
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Word pairing, 2-D
Designer: Kristi Bobo
Word pairing, 3-D

Designer: David Larsen
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7 drop caps
Drop caps, or large initial letters, usually at usce auctor, metus eu ultricies
the start of a paragraph or document, are
excellent visual tools for luring your reader vulputate, sapien nibh faucibus ligula,
into a body of text. As a stand-alone element,
drop caps become large, decorative letters
eget sollicitudin augue risus et dolor.
that can be used in a variety of ways. Aenean pellentesque, tortor in cursus
Create a drop cap. mattis, ante diam malesuada ligula, ac vestibulum
Select an uppercase letterform to use as the

neque turpis ut enim. Cras ornare. Proin ac nisi.
skeleton for your drop cap. This should be Praesent laoreet ante tempor urna. In imperdiet.
from a nondecorative alphabet, such as a
traditional serif (Garamond, Caslon, Bodoni) Nam ut metus et orci fermentum nonummy. Cras
or sans serif (Helvetica, Franklin Gothic),
depending on the flavor you are going for.
vel nunc. Donec feugiat neque eget purus. Quisque
rhoncus. Phasellus tempus massa aliquet urna.
Print your letter large and use tracing or
vellum paper to sketch elements over the Integer fringilla quam eget dolor. Curabitur mattis.
top. Use the anatomy of the original
letterform as your skeleton so that the
Aliquam ac lacus. In congue, odio ut tristique
letter maintains its original structure. adipiscing, diam leo fermentum ipsum, nec
Try at least two different letters designed
in the same style but with slight variations. sollicitudin dui quam et tortor. Proin id neque
Scan your sketched drop cap. Use Photoshop

ac pede egestas lacinia. Curabitur non odio.
or Illustrator to digitize, adjust, and add color.
Set your drop cap into a paragraph of body

text. Your text should be no larger than
12 pt., and your drop cap should be at least
68 pt. high to create a contrast in size.

28 playing with type Expressive Type, page 23
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Above: Monster drop caps derived
from Gotham Bold Rounded
Designer: Virgilio Tzaj
Left: The concept came from

Korean letter painting. I used
Baskerville for the skeleton and
drew the Asian symbol that starts
with that alphabet letter. Materials
used are ink stick, Chinese ink, and
Asian brush on Asian rice paper.
Designer: Heewon Kim
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Here, large decorative letters are used for branding purposes.
For Country Restaurant, we created a dynamic system where the logo changes on each application. We used multiple letterforms,
overlapping the C of Country to create thirty-something distinct logos, so it can be visibly displayed without ever feeling overused.
Using interesting printing details such as die-cutting, overprinting, and metallic inks gave the logo a rich, tactile feel that adds to the
experience of the cuisine.
Creative Director: Matteo Bologna, Mucca Design, Designer: Andrea Brown
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8 ampersands
An ampersand is a ligature of the letters in

et, Latin for and. Because of the stylized
nature of this character, type enthusiasts
are obsessed with it.
Explore the ampersand form and create a

poster. The only thing on the poster should
be an ampersand. You can use a digital
character that you love or explore the
character by hand, using the medium of
your choice.
The ampersand pattern uses various typefaces. The single ampersand print
uses Sahara Bodoni Roman. Printed on velvet fine art paper with 100 percent
cotton rag with archival pigment inks.
Designers: Morgan Georgie and Carrie Kiefer, Ampersand Design Studio

Lucky Numbers, page 35 letter and wordplay 31
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All of my quilled pieces begin as a design concept in
the computer where I select the spirals, shapes, and
colors I want to use. I then use the printed piece as
a template, and using quilling paper, I transfer them
to a high-quality cardstock background. The paper is
carefully glued on its side, to match the template,
with various tweezers and quilling tools.
Designer: Melissa Van Hoose
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Left: Designers: Friends of Type (Aaron Carmbula,
Erik Marinovich, Dennis Payongayong, Jason Wong)
Below: Designer: David Schwen
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Designers: Friends of Type (Aaron Carmbula,
Erik Marinovich, Dennis Payongayong, Jason Wong)
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9 lucky numbers
Design a poster that includes text and

numbers from a fortune cookie, and is
inspired by Swiss modernist design.
Open your fortune cookie. The content of

your fortune will be the text to include in
your design. One side of the paper provides
your fortune; the other side provides your
lucky numbers. Select one or two numbers
to use as design elements in your poster.
Design your poster. Use only text and color.

Your visual inspiration should be pulled
from the Swiss modernist design aesthetic.
swiss style
The Swiss Style, developed

in Switzerland in the 1950s,
emphasizes cleanliness,
readability, and objectivity.
Typefaces: Futura, Clarendon

Designer: Rachel Ferguson

Ampersands, page 31; Bauhaus Grid, page 47 letter and wordplay 35
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Typeface: Futura Typeface: Futura Typeface: Helvetica
Designer: Sara Wachendorf Designer: Sara Wachendorf Designer: Brendan Lucente
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Above left and right: Fun with numbers from
Friends of Type (Aaron Carmbula, Erik Marinovich,
Dennis Payongayong, Jason Wong)
Spread from House Industries catalog

Typeface: Eames
Designer: House Industries
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10 manipulating type
Customize existing letterforms by hand.
Select a neutral typeface and set a word

or phrase in it. This will be the skeleton/
blueprint for your design.
Using a printout of your word, trace over the

top. Change the letters, adding or removing
elements from each character. The smallest
adjustment can have a huge impact on
the flavor and voice of the type. Play with
flourishes, geometric angles, and round Left top: Original digital type, Trade Gothic
corners. Add texture, movement, and depth. Condensed No. 18
Left center and bottom: Sketch and final type

(Live Traced and colored in Illustrator)
Designer: Troy Mottard
Above: A fluid variation based on Trade Gothic

Condensed No. 18
Designer: Linzi Clary
Turning black-and-white drawings into vector graphics
Its easy to digitize drawings into vectors that are clean and scalable. Place your scanned image in Illustrator and use the
Live Trace feature. Play with the settings (depending on your image type) to get the best result. You can then go in and clean
up your image (this is key, as Live Trace doesnt always give you the results you want).
Note: Live Trace works best with high-contrast black-and-white images. Adjust the contrast in Photoshop if your image needs it.

38 playing with type Hand Lettering 101, page 104; Chalkboard Type, page 114
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Original digital typeGotham Bookwith three variations
Designer: Suzanne Barros
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11 ligature monogram
Combine the two typographic characters

representing the initials of your first and
last names to create a ligature that serves
as your monograph.
Sketch ten ligatures using existing

letterforms. You are joining two forms to
make a new mark. Start by tracing type
specimens in pencil.
Scan your sketches and work in Illustrator

to trace them with the pen tool. You can
also use existing letterforms, create
outlines, and manipulate them.
Ligature, monogram
A ligature is formed when two Traditional ligature

letters are crafted into a single combinations held together
letter. by everyday objects
Designer: David Schwen
A monogram is a word mark
made by overlapping or
combining two or more letters
to form one symbol.

40 playing with type Ampersands, page 31 ; Type-Driven Logo, page 68
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Personal monogram Personal monogram
Designer: Brendan Lucente Designer: Troy Mottard
Monogram for a wine Monogram for a sports Monogram for a real estate agency
distribution company management company Designer: Masood Bukhari
Designer: Masood Bukhari Designer: Masood Bukhari
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Wordshave
meaning.
Typehasspirit.
Thecombination
isspectacular.
Paula Scher
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project-based play
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12 homage to an influential typographer
Create a type-driven poster based on the

work of an important type designer.
Select a classic typeface such as Clarendon,

Bodoni or Futura. Research the person who
created it, and compile a short biography
(one to two paragraphs).
Using the typeface you chose, design a

poster. Use the name of the typeface as the
primary imagery for your composition.
Somewhere on the page, include the
creators bio, set in the same typeface. The
Everyone has a story to
bio text can be formatted in any way, but it
tell, even the neglected
must not be larger than 14 pt. All of the
type designer. Paul
type on your poster can be in any weight or
Renners history
style of your typeface. inspired the twisting
path of this design. I also
Start with thumbnails and sketch at least love the syllables in the
ten design directions before moving to the word Futura and want
computer. viewers to take them in.
Designer: Len Small
Working from your thumbnails, design
your poster at 11" 3 17" (28 3 43 cm). It
should be two-color.
Incorporate one or more design principles

when working with your type:
- Contrast of size
- Contrast of direction
- Hierarchy
- Bleeds
- Figure/ground relationship

44 playing with type Bauhaus Grid, page 47
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I wanted to keep my
poster playful and fun and
experiment with legibility.
Designer: Joshua Hester
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Designer: Julie Tinker
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13 bauhaus grid
Create a poster for a theatrical play. Use

one typeface, two colors, and geometric
shapes. Your final poster should reflect the
diagonal grid design that is unique to the
Bauhaus era.
Decide on what play you will base your

poster. Gather the information necessary
to promote the play. This should include the
name, date, time, location, and any other
relevant details, such as a brief description
or reviewers quote.
Sketch thumbnails for your poster. They

should be grid-based, using horizontal and
vertical lines to set your text.
Moving to the computer, create an 11" 3 17"

(28 3 43 cm) document. Use horizontal and
vertical rulers to re-create the grid from
your sketch. Lay out your type using the grid.
Remember to create a hierarchy with the Typeface: Futura
type so that important information on your Designer: Armaan Ahluwalia
poster is the focal point of the design.
Secondary and tertiary information should
appear in smaller or lighter text. Once Bauhaus
your design is complete, you can select
everything and rotate it diagonally, The Bauhaus school, established
approximately 45 degrees. Do not try to in Germany in 1923, was one of
design on a diagonal! The rotation of the most influential design
your design is the last step. institutuions in the world. It
stressed functionalism and
broke conventions of placement
and layout in relation to
typography.

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Typeface: Akzidenz Grotesque
Designer: Christine Park
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Once youve mastered the use
of one family of type, start to
introduce several families that
work together.
Designer: Tarek Attrissi
for SpotCo
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14 all in the family
Design a restaurant menu using one

family of type.
A large family of type offers a variety of

weights and styles to work with; this is
especially helpful when creating type-
heavy designs that require the
establishment of a hierarchy. Using one
typeface but varying the weight, color, or
style allows you to distinguish among
different levels of information.
Univers is an example of
a type family that offers
many styles:
Univers Roman
Univers Bold
Univers Black
Univers Light
Univers Condensed
Univers Extended
Univers Oblique
Menu design
Typefaces: Lubalin Bold, Demi, and Extra Light
Designer: Ryan Berris

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This popular burger shack was in serious need of a
menu/postcard redesign. I decided to create a
simple, straightforward look that reflects
the casual but classy nature of this restaurant.
Type family: Franklin Gothic
Designer: Alix Sorrell
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15 mixing typefaces
Design a label for a jar of jam. Use existing

information from a label, or make up your
own. The label should use type as a focal
point and may include decorative elements,
if you choose. Use at least three typefaces
of different classifications: serif, san serif,
slab serif, script, hand lettering, and
decorative type.
Be sure to organize an effective hierarchy

of information with the type and create a
design that reflects the product.
Combining Typefaces
- Combine different type styles.

- Choose typefaces that have different features.
- Vary the size of the type, depending on the
information you want to emphasize.
- Mix typefaces from the same historical period or
different styles from the same family.
- Use all caps, small caps, and italics.
- A high contrast between type size and style
prevents redundancy, offers texture, and gives
each a different role.
Must be bearded to consume this line of fruit
butters; flannel plaid optional.
Typefaces: Knockout, Baskerville, Chopin Script
Designer: Victoria Langford

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Top: Hand-drawn illustration combined with type
gives a unified look to this series of jams.
Typefaces: Birch Std, Microsoft Sans Serif,
Ecolier Court
Designer: Allison OToole
Right: Hand lettering with handmade patterns

Typefaces: Clarendon, Avant Garde
Designer: Cynthia Lacolla
Far Right: Elements of typeface punctuation are

used as a pattern, and a scanned Mexican
blanket adds texture.
Typefaces: Homestead, Haymaker
Designer: Ryan Berris
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Move on to other jars or
bottles and re-create those
labels as well.
Typefaces: Lavenderia,
Archer, Helvetica Ultra
Light, Oilcan
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Typefaces: Archer,
Blanche Inline
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16 adding flourishes
Create a typographic composition that

combines three or more fonts, flourishes,
and vector elements (such as lines or
dots). The format is up to you; a postcard,
restaurant menu, fruit crate label, and so
on. Make sure the typefaces you select are
of high contrast to one another. Maintain
hierarchy among levels of information.
Dont let the ornamentation overpower
the type.
Combining this many typefaces can be

difficult, so choose wisely!
Above and opposite page: Here, migr took an approach that was evocative of various historical forms of
American typographic styles but was made with distinctly contemporary design sensibilities and typefaces. The
result is a series of labels resembling a hybrid of antique bond certificates and California orange crate labels.
Typefaces: migr Type Library
Designer: Rudy VanderLans

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A key strategy in creating the Balthazar restaurant brand was to develop the
tools and materials that would allow it to grow beyond the walls of the original
brasserie. The Balthazar Bakery logo is a play on the original and is set over a
signature Provence-yellow background.
Typeface: custom
Designer: Mucca Design
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17 script for special occasions
Script lettering is often used to bring elegance to a design.

This makes it the perfect choice when designing for a
special occasion.
Create an invitation to an event. The format should be

determined by what best fits the occasion. Use two or three
typefaces; the most prominent should
be a script.
Above: Silkscreened invitations

Typefaces: Sloop Script 3, Baskerville
Designer: Annica Lydenberg
Right: Inspired by the incredible Jessica Hische

Typefaces: Welo Script (modified), Archer
Designer: Alix Sorrell

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Above: Sometimes a little bit of script can go a long way.
Typefaces: Monterey, Mesquite Std Medium, Buckboard, Sackers Gothic
Designer: Alix Sorrel
Opposite page: Our design was inspired by the luscious curves of Victorian ornamentation,
as well as the gastronomic excesses we were anticipating at the after party.
Typefaces: Goudy Oldstyle, Goudy Sans, Bureau Grotesque, Bauer Bodoni, Splendid Ornament
Creative Director: Matteo Bologna, Mucca Design
Designer: George Clarke
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18 using found type
Create a series of book covers that

share the same found typography, with
different treatments. About the spine
Look for type. This could be letters you In a bookstore, we judge books first by their spines.
found at a flea market, old lead or wood Because of this, you should pay close attention to the
type, alphabet refrigerator magnets, or design of the spine.
abandoned signage.
Remember that the spine has to catch someones eye
Select three books, either by the same from at least a few feet away. If people cant read the
author or pertaining to the same subject. title of the book from there, they might skim right
In order to best inform your design, these past it.
should be books youve read.
In a series, the spines of the books should talk to one
Using your found letters, design the cover another. Even better, if they fit together in some
of one of the books youve chosen. Turn this clever way, they will look amazing on your bookshelf
one cover into a series of three, all using the at home.
same letters, but in a different way. The
letters should be the focal point of each
cover design. Using the same letters on all
three covers will ensure a cohesive design.
Opposite page, top left: Author Darren Shans name spelled out in original
Include the spine, back, and inside flaps metal letters found at a local flea market by designer Catherine Casalino
in your design. Every element should be Designer: Catherine Casalino
related typographically.
Opposite page, top right and bottom: A scene in the book with shadow
puppets was the inspiration for the cover. The shadow letters were created
Wrap your final designs around existing by placing the found metal letters on wooden skewers behind a sheet. The
hardcover books. Photograph each whole setup was then lit from behind and photographed.
separately and together as a set. Designer/Photographer: Catherine Casalino
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

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Process sketch of found letters as building signage,
and final cover image (paired with Clarendon). The
cover image was shot on location in Long Island
City, Queens, New York, and the metal letters were
shot in the studio. The inspiration was the famous
Silver Cup sign.
Designer: Catherine Casalino
Photographer: Ryann Cooley
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The illustration was drawn in Illustrator and then
made into a four-part stencil. The stencil pieces
were spraypainted on poster board and assembled
in Photoshop for the final design.
Designer/Illustrator: Catherine Casalino
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19 captivating headlines
Headlines should command attention and

make people want to continue reading.
How a headline is designed can be just as
important as the content of the article it
accompanies.
Create an editorial headline that is

unexpected and unique. Your headline
should be type based and take up the entire
page of a two-page spread. The second page
of your spread can be photo based, or the
articles text.
Select the magazine and article on which to

base your design. Sketch thumbnails of
type-based solutions that communicate the
content of the article.
Execute your most successful solution. You

can use the computer, or create something
tactile. Be creative. The execution and Sketch for the headline type
material you use should relate to your and final application
headline. Designer: Alex Taylor

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ESPN: The Magazine
Designer: Sophy Lee
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20 type-driven logo
Create a type-driven logo for a hypothetical

restaurant called Apothecafe. Play with the
letterforms, examine them, and see what
alterations you can make to add visual
interest. Consider combining letters to
create a ligature, or breaking the word into
two words. Push the letterforms to create
something unique.
Think of a concept for your restaurant. Is it

high-end? Small and cozy? Young and hip?
This will drive the design of your logo.
Sketch your logo ideas. Play with the

letterforms. Consider the following options:
- Intersecting letters
- Ligatures
- Creative use of counters
- Upper- and lowercase variations
- Creative word breaks
Execute your best sketches on the In design school, we were taught to always start logo projects with a pencil and
computer. Decide on a direction, and paper and to sketch out as many conceptual directions as possible. This would
execute your final logo. be followed by a critique of the sketches and the teacher picking out a few
concepts for us to refine on the computer..
Project inspired by Ed Benguait. Designer: Masood Bukhari

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Finally, through more critiques, multiple rounds of refinements, and the process
of elimination, a masterpiece would emerge. I use this same process today
minus the teacher. Pencil sketching is a great tool as it allows me to quickly get
ideas down on paper and not get overly concerned with perfecting the forms.
This translates into a freedom to explore creative directions that I might not take,
if I had gone directly to the computer. Sometimes in difficult situations, I will
bounce back and forth between a pencil and paper and the computer as I try to
find a solution to the design problem.
Designer: Masood Bukhari
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21 branding with type
Brand a business or movement using a

typeface. You should apply the typeface in
unique ways across different platforms
that fit the clients needs.
Write a creative brief for your brand:

- Who is the audience?
- What is your design strategy?
- Across what platforms will the brand be
implemented? Print, Web, signage,
apparel?
Determine what typeface is best suited to

do the job. Research origins of typefaces;
look at specimen books and type foundry
websites. Select type that fits the flavor of
the brand. Consider making slight changes
to an existing typeface in order to
customize it.
Creative Week New York is a weeklong event organized by the One Club.
The club asked us to develop an identity that was quintessentially New York and
evoked the spirit of creativity. To do so, we focused on the mad collision of
billboards, street signs, shop banners, sale signs, and wild postings that are the
lingua franca of Manhattan. Our identity crystallizes this exuberance and
symbolizes Creative Week as the intersection of it all.
Typeface: custom
Designer: COLLINS:

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Al Gore asked us to help him turn his Alliance for
Climate Protection into that catalyst. The Alliance for
Climate Protection has to be broader than any
interest group or political agenda. Its logo must be
updated to encapsulate the change we need to bring
about in society. The story of global transformation
began by flipping the m upside downme becomes
we. The logo exists as a symbol, not just of the
Alliance for Climate Protection but [of] a new and
necessary global mindset.
Typeface: custom
Designer: COLLINS:
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This page and opposite page: Envisioning a
gourmet grocery that offers friendly service with a
Brooklyn flavor, our client asked us to create the
markets retail experience, advertising campaign,
and online presence, as well as to give it a name. A
key focus of the Brooklyn Fare branding strategy was
to convey a unique voice, so we gave the store a
Brooklyn accent that would differentiate it from the
grocery giants around the block.
Typeface: Fare Serif
Creative Director: Matteo Bologna, Mucca Design
Strategist: Roberta Ronsivalle
Designers: Andrea Brown, Stephen Jockisch
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22 type in motion
Select a piece of music and create a black-

and-white, typographic animated short
to go with it. Play with type beyond the
printed page, and put it into motion.
Select your song. This should be something

you love, because you will be listening
to it over and over. Try to select a song that
is on the shorter side (i.e., fewer than
three minutes).
Print the lyrics to the song. Storyboard your

animation using the lyrics.
Begin working in After Effects to animate

your song. Play with the type as it relates to
the lyrics (chorus = repetition, loud = large).
Export your movie and enjoy!
Project contributed by Gail Anderson.
Right: Song title: King of the Road

Artist: Roger Miller
Typefaces: Franklin Gothic and a ton of corny,
ornamental typefaces
Designer: Len Small
Opposite page: Song: I Wish

Artist: Skeelo
Designer: Julie Tinker
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23 six word story
Ernest Hemingways colleagues bet him

that he couldnt write a complete story in
just six words. They paid up. Hemingway
is said to have considered it his best work:
For sale: baby shoes, never worn.
Create a type-based composition that tells

a story in six words and communicates
something about your life.
Project inspired by Six Word Story Every

Day (SWSED.com); Anne Ulku (designer),
Van Horgen (writer).
We hide ourselves from

the uncertainty of loves
emotions by masking it
with a game. A game of
chance, and flower
petals, that will
determine whether our
affection is being
returned.
Writer: Van Horgen
Designer: Anne Ulku

76 playing with type Daily Reminders, page 162; Optimistic Words, page 178
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Designer: Evan Stremke
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In connection with the famed quote, I thought an
obvious illustration would be to have the typography
woven together. After several sketches, I moved to
the computer, where it was vectorized and
completed.
Designer: David Yurkanin
Last winter, I bought a sign press at an antiques

store. I found a stack of old atlases the very next day
at an estate sale. I heard Go Your Own Way on the
radio on the way home and it was one of those giant
lightbulb moments.
Designer: Amy Rice
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Left: I drew the letters by hand in pencil and then
traced over them. I scanned in the outlines,
vectorized them, added color fills, and manipulated
them in Illustrator. I finished with texture and color
adjustments in Photoshop.
Author: Dylan Sneed
Designer: Jeff Rogers
Above: Your dogs sweater was nicer than mine.

Designer: Hardy Stewart
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Geometrycan
producelegible
letters,butart
alonemakes
thembeautiful.
Paul Standard
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alphabet play
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24 modular type
Create an uppercase alphabet from a

determined set of geometric shapes.
Start by sketching letterforms on grid

paper, making multiple thumbnails.
Remember, the fewer modules you have
the easier it will be to determine your
design system.
Once these are perfected, complete the rest

of your alphabet. Make sure to leave two
spaces between letters on your grid. Use a
12" 12" (30.5 30.5 cm) grid.
Create a final typeface specimen sheet of

your full alphabet, with four letters on each
line, and two letters centered on the last
line. You can either scan your work and
digitize it in Illustrator or trace it onto a
new sheet of paper using a light box. Give
your typeface a name.
Boxhead sample and process Neolithic sample and process
Project contributor: Irina Lee Designer: Ellery Mann Designer: Erika Hinostroza
Modular design
Modular design is an approach that subdivides a system into smaller parts

(modules) that can be independently created and then used in different
systems to drive multiple functionalities.

Pen-Written Origins of the Lowercase,
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Left: Boxhead
Designer: Ellery Mann
Right: Neolithic
Designer: Erika Hinostroza
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Left: Q-Bra
Designer: Lucia Ciomei Capi
Right: Slinky
Designer: Doris Mirando-Jelinek
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25 handwriting
Based on your handwriting, create a

personal alphabet with alternate
letterforms.
Using copy from a book or lyrics from a

song, write out a full page of word
combinations with a favorite pen. Circle
the letters you think are most successful.
These will be the skeleton for your
alphabet.
Trace the letters you circled. Make sure

you have a full alphabetall caps, all
lowercase, or both.
The five most-used letters in the alphabet

are E, T, A, O, and I. For these letters, create
an alternate version. Two of the same letter
sitting side by side but constructed
differently will give your alphabet an
unpredictable rhythm and feeling of Lyrical is a hand script typeface design based on the designers handwriting and Civilit types. This design
authenticity. offers three levels of increasing swashy noise and contextual alternates per stylistic set. The quietest and
loudest sets are shown.
Scan the letters and digitize them. Use Designer: James Minior
this original hand-drawn type in your
design projects.
Avoid using handwriting fonts.
Instead, use your own handwriting when a project calls for it. This will yield a
more original result that no one can duplicate.

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This hand-drawn alphabet has alternate characters for each letter. Notice the use of alternates in these words that contain duplicate
The letters were drawn, traced on a light table, and then scanned letters. This is evidence of customized type, a valuable asset.
and digitized in Illustrator.
Designer: Hannah Krieger
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The process of deciding the letters that are most successful, then digitizing them
Designer: Emma Bowen
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26 opposites attract
Choose an ugly typeface. Use it as a base, then transform it into something beautiful,
interesting, and compelling. Deconstruct and reconstruct, add and subtract.
Soft Impact is a typeface made out of tofu designed

to take the impact out of the typeface Impact.
Designer: Sandra Woodruff

88 playing with type Modular Type, page 82; Handwriting, page 85
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Above left: Love ChildIn order to create a visually
pleasing poster using Curlz, the solution was to reinvent
this typeface by chopping it up. The pieces were then
arranged into new letters using Gotham as a guide.
Designer: Naomie Ross
Above right: Opposite SansUsing the negative

space of Comic Sans, a new abstract typeface is built.
Designer: Gens Carreras
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27 3-D type
Create three-dimensional type and apply it in the environment.
UCLA Extension Poster

Designer: Andrew Byrom

Modular Type, page 82; Type Constructions, Part 1, page 136;
Daily Reminders, page 162
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Letter-Box-KiteThe experimental Letter-Box-Kite design is a series of
twenty-six typographic kites fabricated from thin nylon fabric and fiberglass
poles. In 2010, the design was used in a TV commercial for Standard Chartered
Bank, directed by Stefan Sagmeister.
Photo: Andrew Byrom, Aubry Mintz
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Venetian is a stencil typeface design originally
commissioned by Elle Decoration Magazine (UK).
It was inspired by the forms created when opening
and closing a venetian blind.
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Biblio is a set of typographic bookends in stainless steel, which the end user
simply bends to form, allowing the bookend to be shipped flat. This in turn
minimizes the products shipping footprint as compared to traditional preformed
bookends, and lends a level of interaction with the end user.
The forms were developed using several constants: height, width, and stroke
width. From there, I figured out the internal dimensions; as with any other
letterform, exact symmetry doesnt really look right, so the top counter shape
is smaller than the lower one. This ensures that letters like B, P, R, and so on
dont get too visually top heavy.
Designer: Jack Curry
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28 found letters in the environment
Photograph an element in the environment

that resembles a letter of the alphabet.
The letters can be either lower- or uppercase.

They cannot be proper letters from signs,
labels, and so on.
Above: Manhole K
Designer: Becca Hirsbrunner
Right: I searched Google

Maps in Melbourne, Australia,
for nine months to find the
collection of landforms to make
an alphabet.
Designer: Rhett Dashwood
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29 abcs
Create ABCs to teach children

the alphabet.
Come up with a list of concepts for teaching

children their ABCs. Try to think of an
approach that hasnt been taken. Sketch
your ideas.
Determine the most appropriate format

for your alphabet. This could be a book, a
poster, or something screen based.
Execute your idea. If the final format is an

app, a website, or an eBook, Photoshop your
project into a template so that it appears to
be executed.
Right: Since becoming a mom, Ive been very

inspired to teach my son through artwork that I can
create myself. I started ABCdario while I was
designing the logo for my band and kids project,
AcopladitosMusic for Cool Kids en Espaol. I
used Embryo as my base font for the letters and
made small adjustments to make it look bubblier.
I worked in Illustrator to create all the characters
and did all the texturing in Photoshop.
Designer: Tatiana Arocha

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Little Bees ABC gives children the opportunity to make
connections between their understanding of letters and their
personal experiences with objects they know and can relate to.
The app is filled with activities. Children learn to follow line
directions to draw letters, join dots to learn letter shapes, paint the
missing part of a letter, and complete words while improving
memory and problem-solving skills. It delivers clear audio
pronunciations of all objects and situations.
Special attention was paid to typography and design, making this
a very visually stimulating app.
Lisbon LabsCreative direction: Leonor Gara Moura, Carlos
Jorge, Jos Teixeira.
Art direction/visual design/illustration: Leonor Gara Moura.
iOS development: Pedro Fonseca, Jos Teixeira.
Animation/graphic composition: Joo Alvez, Rui Apolinrio,
Ins Barros, Ana Fonseca
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30 type specimen poster
Type specimen sheets began as a way for

printers to demonstrate to buyers how a
certain typeface would look at various sizes
on paper. They developed into a way for
typographers to showcase their work using
design, color, and word combinations.
Create a poster showcasing an alphabet

you have created.
Select your text. This should include the

title of your typeface. The remaining
content could be a pangram, text from a
book, lyrics from a song, or something
funny and clever that is memorable. Look
at type foundry sites for inspiration.
Create an 18" 24" (46 5 cm) canvas and

set your alphabet. Vary the size of your text
so that you can provide an example of how
your typeface looks as a headline and body
copy. If you have more than one weight or I began looking at typefaces, thinking of what I liked
about them, analyzing what kind of typeface I
style in your alphabet, incorporate that as
well. Use color sparingly (remember, its the Pangram wanted to design: serif, sans, what would the
x-height be? Where would it be used? After
type youre showing off). sketching for days, I finally set my sights on the
One way to display all the
sketches for Olivia. Its quirky yet elegant features
Before finalizing your type specimen, be letters in the alphabet made this typeface different and interesting to
sure to check the kerning and letterspacing! legibly is through the use of pursue. After the digitizing process, many decisions
a pangram, a sentence that were made to help regularize the overall look and
contains all the letters of the character of the font. Olivia is a work in progress;
alphabet. The most common next I will be designing a bold weight and an italic.
is The quick brown fox Designer: Isabel Urbina
jumped over the lazy dog.

Modular Type, page 82; Handwriting, page 85;
98 playing with type Opposites Attract, page 88; 3-D Type, page 90
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Barker letterpress poster
Designer:
Annica Lydenberg
Photo: Juan Carlos Pagan
Alfonso letterpress plate

What I like most about drawing letters is the drawing part. As a result, Alfonso
has an illustrative quality that I wanted to feature in the specimen poster. While a
traditional type specimen with varying lines of copy serves an important function,
I wanted something a little more visually arresting. And since this was made for
letterpress, there was also the selfish consideration of making something that I
could hang on my wall. I think this design highlights the character of the
individual letters, while also showing that they work well together as a system.
Plus, it looks good in a frame.
Designer: Mark McCormick
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Above: Mica letterpress poster, close-up
Left: Mica was initiated by my curiosity to merge a calligraphic

stroke with a strong, sturdy, vertical wedge serif. My early
sketches came out of a workshop with Hannas F. Farmira of
Kominat Type. Hannas was explaining expansion and translation
by Gerrit Noordzij, and during that time I had been reading W. A.
Dwiggins M-formula theory. These two hugely influential
approaches, along with my professors, guided me through the
development of Mica. I found myself very excited and open to
these ideas, as it was my first time being introduced to such
methods of creating type. From then on, I have been drawing
characters, tweaking spacing, and kerning. Mica is still very much
in development, so the process [will] continue until I feel
comfortable enough to release it.
Designer: Juan Carlos Pagan
Opposite page: I set out to make a mechanistic typeface that

was totally original. I do most of my sketching with an eraser. I
draw a letter and then take away anything that seems unnecessary.
This is how I approached the understated and unstylized quality
I was looking for. I was inspired by typefaces made for signage,
like early work of Gerard Unger. I loved the simplicity of letterforms
designed for information and clarity. As I worked on Dagmar,
I definitely added some humanistic warmth, especially with the
curvy letters. This was a natural tendency coming from my
background in making lots of things with my hands.
Designer: Becky Johnson
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Ifyouimproveyour
drawingskills,
youwillbecome
abetterdesigner.
Period.
Doyald Young
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31 hand lettering 101
Good typography is meant to be clear and remove the guesswork (theres nothing
easy to readlettering has some wiggle worse than running out of space after
room. Lettering often acts as a work of art drawing your letterforms).
on its own, inviting the audience to spend
more time with the piece. Challenging Scan your favorite composition, digitize it,
the viewer to decipher some words can and clean it up in Illustrator. Now its time
be a good thing within a compelling to add color and fill.
composition. Combining words into abstract
and improvised illustrations forces you One of the challenges of lettering in this
to work letters into strange spaces and style is creating cohesion out of random,
enclosures. Experimentation is the key to improvised words and characters. You can
developing your own style. The more you do this through the use of a consistent color
draw, the more you discover new ways to palette. Letters and words of different
render words and letterforms. shapes and sizes can live in harmony when
placed strategically in relation to one
Create a hand-lettered composition. another. For example, if your typographic
composition forms a particular shape,
Select a quote, and practice writing the mixing the letter styles within the shape
words in different lettering styles. Spend will still make the composition appear
some time tracing letterforms from existing cohesive. A good rule of thumb is to always
typefaces. Getting used to drawing the have a unifying feature no matter how
shapes, curves, thicks, and thins will help diverse your letterforms are.
you when creating your own.
Keep practicing! Lettering is about
Sketch a framework for your quote. Map out experimentation, practice, and fun. Each is
the words in a composition to use as a loose as important as the other. The more you
guideline for your illustration. Its difficult draw, the better you get.
to judge how much room you have to fit a
word or phrase, and this process will Project contributed by Chris Piascik.
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Above and opposite page: Lettering: Chris Piascik
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Hand lettering becoming a hallmark of my work happened almost accidentally.
As a child, I would take apart the music albums around me and re-create my own.
Fast-forward ten years and I was obsessing over typography as a graphic design
student at the Hartford Art School. The lettering I have become known for
didnt begin to take shape until a few years after my graduation. My schedule
was hectic and I felt disheartened by the fact that I was no longer drawing for
drawings sake. I decided to change that by committing myself to posting a
drawing each day on my website. Early on, I started drawing type and text out
of necessity because I was struggling to come up with things to draw late at
nightId hear a random song lyric or an absurd quote on the news and make
it into a drawing.
Lettering: Chris Piascik
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The more I drew type, the more fun I had. I was
warping letter features and creating strange ligatures.
It was the exact opposite of all the rules of
typography I held dearly. Ive posted nearly 1,110
daily drawings and the majority of them incorporate
lettering. Since I post daily, I always try to do
something a little differentthis desire has led me
to try things that I wouldnt have normally thought to
do. I cant say it enough: Draw, draw, draw! Creating
your own voice using hand-drawn letters is not an
easy thing to teach; there really arent any set rules.
Lettering: Chris Piascik
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32 pen-written origins of the lowercase
Using an edged pen, write letterforms to bottom and left to right. Make a visual
from the Italian Renaissance. Deconstruct record of the ductus you are using. You will
these letters by making pencil drawings for need to invent a v and an s (letters not Creating guidelines
a set of strokes that can be used to included in the sample). Practice writing and holding the pen
reconstruct the characters in the test word the letters in verbsgohuman.
verbsgohuman. For guidelines, there should
By tracing with a pencil, compile a set of be a baseline, a line 3 12 pen
Advanced (requires a working knowledge strokes that can be used to make all the widths higher for the x-height
of FontLab or another font digitizing tool): forms in verbsgohuman. If strokes are very line, and a line 2 12 pen widths
Digitize the pencil drawings of the strokes similar in two characters, they can be higher than that for the
and reconstruct the letterforms. represented by a single stroke. The first ascender line. The descender
strokes in m and n are examples. Try to line should be 3 12 pen widths
Tools: minimize the number of strokes without lower than the baseline.
- Pad of translucent layout paper doing damage to the design.
- 4 mm felt-tip calligraphy pen, or a dip pen, The pen should be held so
such as a Brause metal nib, measuring Refine the pencil drawings, then digitize that the edge is at a 45-degree
4 mm, and bottled Japanese sumi ink and edit them. Assemble the digitized angle to the baseline. The pen
- No. 2 pencil and eraser strokes to make the letters in angle should be maintained,
- Advanced: font digitizing software such verbsgohuman. except for the right-hand
as FontLab stroke of the v, which should
Objective: be written with the pen held
Imitate the letters exactly as they appear in To understand the structure of the at about 75 degrees.
the sample of Poggios writing (see opposite calligraphic script that served as the model
page) using a 4 mm broad-edged nib. It may for Roman lowercase letters by writing, Hold the pen lightly but firmly.
be helpful in the beginning to trace the drawing, deconstructing, digitizing, and The knuckle of the first finger
forms by putting the sample underneath reconstructing the forms. should not be collapsed. Avoid
the translucent paper. After you get some a death grip. A light touch is
idea about how the forms are written, use Project contributed by Sumner Stone. necessary for good writing.
the Poggio sample only for reference.
Opposite page: Use this sample from a
The order and direction of strokes is called manuscript written out by Poggio Bracciolini, 1425.
the ductus of the alphabet. Strokes should Excerpt from Against Verres, Cicero, Orations.
be pulled, not pushed, and made from top Image credit: Sumner Stone

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Above left: The pen should be held between the
thumb and forefinger, resting on the middle finger.
The grip should be firm but light. The knuckle of the
first finger should not collapse. One key to good
writing is rhythmical movement. Another is a light
touch. The pen shown in this illustration is made from
bamboo, and in this respect is similar to the edged
pens used in ancient times for writing on papyrus.
Image credit: Sumner Stone
Above right: Lloyd Reynolds ductus for

teaching italic
Image credit: Sumner Stone
Below left: Component strokes

Lettering: Troy Leinster
Below right: Set of final, digitized letters

Lettering: Troy Leinster
Opposite page: Screen capture from a project

in FontLab Studio illustrating the use of the
component feature, as well as an example of
similarbut not exactly the samestrokes that
necessitate the creation of separate drawings
Lettering: Jack Curry
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33 script practice
Practice lettering in a script style.
Tools: Script lettering, Formal

- Translucent paper scripts, Casual scripts, and
- Calligraphy pen (felt-tip or dip pen and ink) Blackletter
Experiment with different mark-making Script lettering is based upon

tools to find one you like. the varied and often fluid
stroke created by handwriting.
Begin by looking at script type in books Script letters can be formal
and online for inspiration. or casual.
Render the phrase Practice is the best of Formal scripts are based on the
all instructors (by Publilius Syrus, Roman letterforms of seventeenth-
author, first century BC). Practice your and eighteenth-century
strokes on vellum paper. Write the phrase writing masters, generated
over and over, until you start to come up by a pen nib.
with words and letters that feel
harmonious. Snell Roundhand
Select your most successful words and/or Casual scripts appear to have
letters and cut them out. Paste them onto a been created by a brush rather Above: Lettering: Nicole Alvarez
fresh sheet of vellum. You can set the words than a pen nib. Opposite page: Every time I trace a sketch, it
all on one line or stack them.
Mistral
gets better, so I try to do that as much as I can
before getting on the computer. This project was a
Trace your final arrangement and add color. bit different, because I realized the design wasnt
Blackletter or Gothic scripts working until after seeing it onscreen. Adding the
were used from 1150 well into ornamentation locked everything in place, made
the whole piece cohesive, and gave a comfortable
the 17th century.
home for the word baking.
Typeface: Edmonsans
Lettering: James T. Edmonson

112 playing with type Script for Special Occasions, page 59; Chalkboard Type, page 114
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34 chalkboard type
Display a chalkboard in your space and

use chalk to practice lettering. You can
write inspirational quotes, doodle
letterforms, or make announcements.
Because chalk isnt permanent, it is a great

way to practice your lettering. It can also
be used as an unexpected design solution.
Tools:
- Chalkboard (green or black) or chalkboard
paint and paintbrushes
- Chalk (white or colored)
Above and opposite page: This sign was created with

reclaimed wood to frame the chalkboard. From there, a draft
was created via chalk, and outlines were sharpened and refined
with a marker. Another layer of chalk was laid down for shading,
a protective coat was applied, and the sign was hung with a
rustic black chain.
Photos and Materials: Ryan Webster, Slate Studio
Lettering and Design: Annica Lydenberg, Dirty Bandits

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Above: This is chalkboard lettering I did for an ad
that is intended to get students interested in math
and science. I like what the writer came up with,
basically showing how science can be applied to
a kids interest.
Illustrator: Nate Williams
Photographer: Jorg Meyer
Art Directors: James Adame, Jess Ruggieri
Ad Agency: Arnold Worldwide
Right: Magazine: Every Day with Rachel Ray

Illustrator: Nate Williams
Art Director: Chalkley Calderwood
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35 signage, part 1: appreciation
Storefront signage of times past often

had some of the most unique typography,
especially compared to their modern
counterparts. Heres your chance to celebrate
and preserve these typographical gems.
Re-create old signage by hand.
Photograph signage in your environment.

Select storefronts with flavor and history.
Re-create your favorite storefront images,

using the tools of your choice (by hand,
or digitally).
Original photo and

hand-drawn version of
bodega signage
Illustrator: Minji Hong

Found Letters in the Environment, page 94; Signage, Part 2: Letter Revival, page 120 lettering play 117
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I work from photos I take, make line
drawings by hand, scan them and do
a Live Trace process in Illustrator
knock out the negative spaceand
then bring them back into Photoshop
for texturing.
Illustrator: Melissa Gorman
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36 signage, part 2: letter revival
Create new letterforms based on existing

found letters.
Using the photos you took of store signage

in part 1, extract letterforms from a sign
and construct your own words. You will
want to use letters that are not in the
existing sign, so you will have to create
new letters.
Set your signage type and be sure the

new letters you have created mimic the
sign from which they were derived. The
character of the old should be reflected
in the new.
Revival of signage I found

uncommon.
Some letters will be easier Lettering: Gabriel Gonzalez

than others.
Depending on whether
theyre upper- or lowercase,
some examples of letters that
share features and can be
derived from one another are
O, C, d, p, and b.

120 playing with type Pen-Written Origins of the Lowercase, page 108
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This is a word list with revived
letterforms of old restaurant
signage. I used Photoshop,
Illustrator, and InDesign.
Lettering: Jessica Lauren Chung
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Signage over entrance to Canters Restaurant, Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles Marquee letters isolated and first rough sketch for Deliscript
Perhaps it was that midcentury marquee vibe that called out to me, but at any I decided that Id try to adapt what I saw into a font design which, if successful,
rate, I saw something in the straight-up-and-down script that I liked, and that Id call Deliscript as a kind of homage to Canters. I started out by doing some
somehow I thought Id be able to extrapolate into a font. very rough drawings of how Id need to adapt the forms.
Photo: Michael Doret/Alphabet Soup Type Founders Lettering: Michael Doret/Alphabet Soup Type Founders
Rough sketch of Deliscript caps

The caps were the hardest to try to pin down. I really
had nothing to go by, not caring at all for the cap C in
the actual signage. So I invented cap forms for what
I felt would go with the lowercase aesthetic.
Lettering: Michael Doret/
Alphabet Soup Type Founders
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Character set (incomplete) of
Deliscript and Deliscript Slant
Lettering: Michael Doret/
A member of the Canter family contacted me to

design the graphics for Canters food truck that was
created as an adjunct to the restaurant. In a strange
and serendipitous way, my Deliscript font design
project had come full circle, turning back on itself
and inspiring the folks at Canterswhose sign had
been the original source of my own inspiration.
Design and Lettering: Michael Doret/
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A typeface derived from an old bakery
sign in the town [where] I live.
Lettering: Samantha E. Russo
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37 photo-lettering
Set type using Photolettering.com, a digital

tool for graphic designers. You will
experience the use of an old lettering Photo-lettering
process in a new way, and utilize advances
in technology as they apply to typography. Photo-lettering is film-based display type, widely used
by designers from 1936 until the arrival of desktop
Cost: $7 publishing. New York Citybased Photo-Lettering, Inc.
(also known as PLINC) offered the largest library of
Select the copy for your project. This could commercial typography and lettering from a single
be a favorite word combination, type for a foundry (before or since). The company went out of
headline or logo, or for use on a poster. Visit business in the late 1980s.
Photolettering.com and start the process.
Choose a typeface, and see how it looks. Be The type foundry House Industries purchased the
sure to utilize the menu of checkboxes to physical assets of Photolettering.com and has begun
access swashes, alternates, and other an amazing project that involves digitizing these
special characters. typefaces and offering the public the opportunity to
use them. This gives designers a new option with
After you have completed and downloaded unique features for setting type, and allows users
your type, open it in Illustrator. Change the access to a library of vintage type full of unique
colors, size, and orientation. alphabet styles.

Captivating Headlines, page 66 lettering play 125
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Top left: Interface for Photolettering.com
Top right: Poster created with PLINC,

using Caslon (with ligatures turned on)
Right: These four easy steps explain how

easy PLINC is to use.
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Left: Type just looks yummier in this style.
Above: Single letters in all their glory

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Typographyneeds
tobeaudible.
Typographyneeds
tobefelt.
Typographyneeds
tobeexperienced.
Helmut Schmid
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playing with context and application
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38 text in the city
Think about type as it relates to its

environment. How does its meaning
change?
Choose a favorite/interesting word and

design an 8 1 2" 3 11" (22 3 28 cm) flyer
utilizing the word in a bold, readable
manner. The design should be black on
white, landscape, with the word centered
on the page. Use a typeface that is big, bold,
and legible from a distance. San serifs are
highly recommended (Helvetica Bold works
great). Make copies of the word flyer on
paper of any color.
Head to an urban area; bring your word

flyers, a role of tape, and a camera. Walk
around the area and post the flyers in
considered places. Take photographs, both
close-ups and distance shots, from
unexpected angles. Take at least twenty
photos. Trying to find serenity in everyday life, looking for
it in different places, and settling in comfort.
Look through your photos and select ten Designer/Photographer: Christopher Cerase
that work together to form a narrative. Let
your narrative flow from the photos. Then
narrow your narrative down to five images,
and place them in an order that best tells
the intended story.

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Provoking the question, What is art?
Designer/Photographer: Gabriel Gonzalez
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Color: a study of how color in urban environments
can affect type
Designer/Photographer: Samantha Russo
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(Text) (Ray) 11-C68262 #175 Dtp:225 Page:133
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This series of photos shows the effects of stress
and how it ends up being managed.
Designer/Photographer: Seokmin Hong
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39 type constructions, part 1
Create a typographic construction that

communicates a theme and message
creatively. While working, consider how
the visual treatments alter, enhance,
clarify, or confuse the message. Focus on
ways to capture the audiences attention,
to create an intriguing construction, and
to have the message be remembered.
Select a theme or message. Ask yourself:

What message(s) are most important,
compelling, or exciting to communicate,
and why? Find (or write) language to
express your theme or creative idea. Keep
it simplea word, a few words, a phrase.
When selecting the language, be sensitive
to words and phrases that are clich
and overused.
Create a series of typographic constructions

(without using images). Experiment with
type forms (e.g., typefaces, letterpress,
hand-drawn type, stencil) and materials
(e.g., paper, paint, ink, wood, metal, cloth,
glass, digital screen, wall). Experiment I had two of my friends allow me to paint
with dimension, size, and media. the word hug on them while they hugged.
Designer: Iris Dougherty
Project contributed by Lis Charman, Portland
State University Graphic Design.

136 playing with type Helvetica Recontextualized, page 154; Daily Reminders, page 162
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Above: I cut out about 2-foot (61 cm) flat letters
out of cardboard. I then spray painted them a bright
robins egg blue. I brought them around with me
everywhere for a few days, finding locations to
photograph the letters together.
Designer: Iris Dougherty
Right: Using transparency as it relates to the

relationship between the words
Designer: Olivia Tabert
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Stills from the animation Wanderlust
Wanderlust was created out of both found and
constructed materials. Imagery from nature and
the sunburst pattern were used to convey a
feeling of wonder and nostalgia, and to create a
yearning to explore.
Designer: Allison Berg
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Designer: Amanda Frank
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40 type constructions, part 2
Based on the type construction exercises

in part 1, place your type in context.
The message should match the application.
It can be a product, campaign, signage;
whatever you choose. Explore how
typographic treatment and context affect
meaning and message.
Project contributed by Lis Charman,

Portland State University graphic design.
Type construction of gum

lettering, incorporated into a
shopping bag for a candy store
Designer: Jordan K. Lessler

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Above and opposite page: The same message
applied in different places gives it new meaning.
Designer: Minji Pak
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Above and opposite page: This project began with
illustrations of eight laughing mouths drawn in pencil, then
scanned and retraced in Illustrator. The type was carefully
added and composed to fit legibly into each mouth. This
required some adjustments to the illustrations. Reaching a
playful arrangement of type and illustration, the final
outlines of the mouths were printed and lightly traced onto
watercolor paper. After watercoloring the lips, the
illustrations were scanned and added to the typography.
Designer: Rachel Yoakum
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41 talking objects
Apply typography to an object. Think about

type in the third dimension, and how it can
be expressive in unexpected ways.
Choose an object. You will be painting on

the object, so you may want to pick
something up at a flea market or thrift store.
Once youve selected your object, what do

you think it would say if it could speak?
How do you feel when you interact with it?
Based on this, sketch your objects voice in
the typographic style of your choice.
Apply your final sketch onto your object

(using the transfer method outlined below).
Fill in your letters with paint. Put your
object on display for everyone to enjoy.
Schedule a date with a friend to make stuff; its a great way to spend an afternoon.
Designers: Annica Lydenberg, Lara McCormick
Steps for transferring type onto furniture:
1. Print your design. Using a charcoal pencil (pastels work too), cover the surface of the backside of your page.
2. Tape your design into place, facing up.
3. Trace the outline of your design. Press firmly, so the charcoal on the back gets transferred onto the surface.
4. When you are done, peel back your page and make sure the outline is heavy enough for you to follow as a guide.

146 playing with type Text in the City, page 130; Daily Reminders, page 162
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Transfer process
using charcoal
Designer:
Annica Lydenberg
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Saws from an
antiques fair,
handpainted
with enamel
Designer:
Kenji Nakayama
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The hand-lettered words on the umbrella are the
lyrics to the song Spoonful of Sugar. The umbrella
was used as part of an intervention in which I
dressed up as Mary Poppins and escorted people
across the street on a rainy day in hopes of cheering
them up.
Designer: Leen Sadder
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42 food + type
Combine typography and food to create something amazing.
I thought to myself: What could I ever love more

than a good cup of tea and a biscuit? Typography.
So there you have it, a home-baked poster fresh
out of the oven.
Designer: Anna Garforth

150 playing with type Helvetica Recontextualized, page 154
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Inspired by the proportions of the Roman capitals,
Gourmet is an elegant font that uses exaggerated
stroke weights and varied crossbar heights. The font
is intended for use in culinary-related things, so I
hand painted it onto cupcakes. The project is 100
percent edible!
Designer: Lauren Hom
Johannes Gutenberg always sounded like the name

of a cheese. As my ode to the movable type printing
press, I carved block letters out of cheddar.
Typeface: based on Clarendon
Designer: Ali Eng
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Playing with words to create food
Typeface: Helvetica Bold
Designer: David Schwen
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43 helvetica recontextualized
Create a one-word type specimen using three-dimensional

materials with Helvetica as your base. Execute your word
by hand, using Helvetica letterforms as the blueprint for your
design. Tie the medium you use to the meaning of your word.
Use unexpected materials and take process photos.
The pots were created from clear plastic sheets

constructed out of designed letter templates. Holes
were poked at the bottom of the pots, and ivy was
planted in the containers.
Designer: Anastasiya Filimonova
Type Constructions, Part 1, page 136;
Type Constructions, Part 2, page 141;
154 playing with type Food + Type, page 150
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Designer: Johnny Ruzzo
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Using Helvetica, I created a specimen of
the word shave. Forming the letters in
shaving cream, I used video to record
myself shaving. During which I cut myself.
Designer: Michael Quigley
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44 giant cross-stitch type
Create a large-scale typographic piece Use the craft knife to poke a tiny hole at the
using a cross-stitching method. end of each X so that the needle will easily
go through the fabric when cross-stitching.
Materials:
- grid paper Stretch the canvas onto the wooden stretcher
- craft knife bars (with the pattern on the back side of
- canvas and wooden stretcher bars, the canvas), using a staple gun to attach
or a prestretched canvas the fabric to the frame. Trim excess fabric.
- tapestry needle
- yarn Using the tapestry needle and yarn, start
cross-stitching from the back of the canvas,
Pick your typeface and draw your pattern making sure the Xs are visible on the front.
on the grid paper. Make a reverse copy of Make sure to knot each end of the yarn on
the pattern you just created. Draw your the backside so that the yarn is secure.
grid and pattern on the back of your canvas
with a pencil. Mark all the Xs from your Project contributed by Jessica Decker.
reversed pattern.
Cross-stitch
Cross-stitch is counted thread embroidery in which X-shaped stitches in a tiled

pattern are used to form a picture. The stitcher counts the threads in each
direction so that the stitches are of a uniform size and appearance.

Daily Reminders, page 162;
158 playing with type Fence Messaging, page 166
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Cross-stitch details
Designer: Jessica Decker
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Above and opposite page:
Designer: Jessica Decker, Photos: Martin Vecchio
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45 daily reminders
Create a message with type and

incorporate this into your daily routine.
Think of a daily reminder. It should make

you smile, feel good, or be motivational.
Choose a place to post your message that
creates the right context to frame your
words.
Execute your message using found type

or type youve created. The style and
color of the typeface you select will greatly
influence the tone of your words, so
choose wisely.
Reminderschildish treatment for childish behaviorwas the product of an

extended and unintentional period of unemployment. Faced with many hours of
doing nothing, feeling inspired to do nothing, and unable to manage time, which
I had no shortage of, I felt defeated and ashamed of the idleness of my life. On
a Sunday afternoon, with a bad movie playing on the TV, the ridiculousness of
my lack of motivation came to a head: another beautiful day wasted, lamely not
even managing the basics of your average adult. It was at that point that I cut
and pasted daily reminders to various places in my house. Partly intended to fan
a nearly snuffed-out flame, and partly intended to mock myself, the words were
intended to be fun with a purpose. It mostly worked.
Designer: Erin Hanson

162 playing with type Six Word Story, page 76; Type Constructions, Part 1, page 136
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Designer: Erin Hanson
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Youcandiscover
moreabouta
personinanhourof
playthaninayear
ofconversation.
Plato
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playing with type with friends
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46 fence messaging
Execute type on a fence to create something

outdoors that will make the public smile.
Materials:
- Flagging tape from a local hardware
store (available in several colors) or
masking tape
- Scissors
- Camera for documentation purposes and
process shots
Begin by creating a grid in Illustrator that

mimics a fence. Layer your type on the grid.
Select a typeface that lends itself to the
diamond-shaped grid. Vary upper- and
lowercase, placement, and lockup of your
letters. Emphasize words using color, size,
and style.
Using the flagging tape or masking tape,

stitch your letters into the fence, following
your guide. Select a color that will read well
against the landscape. Be sure to count the
squares as you stitch so that your kerning
and tracking are correct.
The stitch is a simple loop, continued from

square to square. When you reach the
end of a piece of tape, tie it and tuck into
the loop.
Project coconspirators: Steven Smith and Top: Final design plan on a slanted grid
Irina Lee Center and bottom: Close-up of the

simple loop stitch, using flagging tape

Giant Cross-Stitch Type, page 158;
166 playing with type Daily Reminders, page 162
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Above: I Believe in You
Typeface: Modified Sans Serif
Left: Your magic is real
Typeface: Fraktur
Messaging executed in the East Village, New York
City, by students from the School of Visual Arts.
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A fence transformed into a 32-foot (9.75 m)
message using 12 rolls of masking tape.
Designer: Anna Garforth
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Try using other materials to implement fence
type. Here, Derek Munn plans his designs, with
phrases unique to baseball, and executes the type
using Styrofoam cups. Inspired by the childhood
memory of storing cups in the dugout during little
league baseball.
Typeface: custom
Designer: Derek Munn
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47 love letter
When was the last time you got a

handwritten letter? With emails, instant
messaging, and texting, communication is
immediate, brief, and full of acronyms. A
handwritten letter is personal, well
thought out, and tactile.
Reclaim a lost art and send a handwritten

letter to someone you love.
Write a love letter. This can be to your

significant other, a friend, a family
member, or yourself. Be selective in the
paper and pen you use. Take at least twenty
minutes out of your day to do this.
Mail your letter, and record the recipients

reaction.
Right: Receiving a colorful handwritten letter

in the mail made my day!
Letter author/Designer: Melissa Sullivan

170 playing with type Handwriting, page 85; Daily Reminders, page 162
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Left: Rarely do I write more than a quick jot on a sticky pad or a short note
in the margin of a book. The actual act of pen to paper for an extended period
was fresh and enjoyable. Seeing my girlfriend get the letter was extremely
satisfyingfrom her ripping the envelope open, to unfolding the paper and
going through the message slowly. It was a good reminder about how the
human touch (and some extra effort) can contribute towards the overall
character of a final product.
Letter author/Designer: Joey Cofone
Below: Correspondence from 1934 between lovers in California.

Purchased on eBay (in a batch, unopened)
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In an effort to encourage people to write more
handwritten letters, I decided to start a daily project
where I would write a letter (as in letter from the
alphabet) and send it to someone every day for a
year. This project allows me to explore different
techniques and materials for drawing letters and
experimenting with different styles. I hope my
project has encouraged someone to write a letter
to someone special!
Designer: Mary Kate McDevitt
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48 betterpress
Based on the letterpress process, create

your own version to execute lyric-based
large-scale posters. This exercise should be
done with a group of three to five fellow
type enthusiasts.
Materials:
- Pressed foam
- Cardstock or cardboard, cut into 5" 3 5"
(13 3 13 cm) squares
- Paint (the more colors the better)
- Foam brushes
- Large roll of paper, or large sheets of paper,
any color
- Optional: fabric, to create a more
permanent piece
Print out the letters of a typeface you

love. It should be large and bold. Each
letter should fit within a 5" 3 5"
(13 3 13 cm) square.
Using your letters, paint them and press Above and page 174:
Using the letters as your guide, cut out them firmly onto the paper. Work with Typeface: Clarendon Bold
foam versions. Glue these onto cardboard friends to create a system for who renders Photos: Lara McCormick
squares backward, as a mirror image. You which letters in what color. Plan your
have now created your own letterpress composition. Add details with markers or
characters! other tools, as desired.
Choose a few lyrics from a favorite song. Proudly display the final piece.
Play this song, loudly. Set up your paper,
paints, and brushes. Project collaborator: Steven Smith

Ransom Note, page 12; Type Constructions, Part 1, page 136 playing with type with friends 173
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Lyrics from Hypnotize by Notorious B.I.G.
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49 light up your type
Work with friends to create letters out make sure you position yourself at least
of light. 10 ft. (305 cm) from the camera.
Tools: Click the camera shutter and begin

- Camera with long exposure capabilities, drawing your type. Whatever you write
such as a digital SLR should be a mirror image of your
- Lights (visit your local hardware store perspective if you are facing the camera.
for inspiration; gather various sources Drawing slower with a long shutter speed
of light) will produce a bright, vibrant image. Faster
motion and shutter speeds produce a
Camera settings: kinetic effect more akin to graffiti.
Set your camera to manual mode and
experiment with shutter speeds and Review your image and repeat until you
aperture. Keep the aperture closed down a have a result youre happy with.
great deal18 or greater. This lets less light Experimentation always produces great Tips for selecting lights:
in. The slower the shutter speed the more and unexpected results. Try joining several
drawing time your artist will have. light sources, layering type with different - Try colored bulbs when
lights in a single exposure or even keeping available.
Pick a dark place. Have someone stand with the light stationary and moving your whole - Colored LEDs produce a thin
a flashlight and take test shots. body around in the shape of a character. pen stroke.
- Bicycle lights, especially
Choose the light sources you want to use. Project contributor: Steven Smith those that strobe, produce
This can be a very physical activity, so dashed strokes and happy
accidents.
- Utility lights or bare, high-
wattage bulbs produce a
thick, painterly stroke.
- Swing bulbs on long
extension cords or stick
battery-powered lights on
gardening gloves to free up
your hands.
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Photos: Lara McCormick
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Inspired by classic geometry of 1920s Broadway-style fonts, using long-exposure photography, I set about
creating a tool kit of the basic constituent parts of a typeface drawing the shapes in mid-air using various
combinations of LEDs. All in all, I took around 500 shots of straight lines, circles, and semicircles along with
some more energetic scribbles and then began to fashion the individual letters by layering up my images in
Photoshop. Each letter is completely unique and utilizes, on average, around eleven photographs plus some
adjustment layers.
Designer/Photographer: Craig Ward
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50 optimistic words
Come up with a list of words or feelings

you associate with optimism. Based on the
answer, design a type-dominant poster
that promotes optimism. Spread optimism
further and invite friends to participate.
Gather the results and put on an optimistic
show of the work in a public space.
Project contributed by Citizens for Optimism,

created and curated with love by Ali Eng and
Virgilio Tzaj.
SweetThe idea behind the poster was to use the

word sweet in both its literal and slang meanings to
create a humorous interpretation of the word. The
typography evokes the feeling of a fun, girly doodle
and is then contrasted with the graffiti punch line,
making it look like someone vandalized the original
poster. It also tries to get people to interact with the
poster by urging them to lick it, reinforcing its physical
presence rather than its use as a medium.
Designer: Leen Sadder

178 playing with type Six Word Story, page 76; Daily Reminders, page 162
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SmileFor my poster, I wanted to do something LifeBeing optimistic is about seeing the best in
simple that still had something special about it. I everything, staying positive, and making the most
wanted the design to convey both happiness and of every situation. When life hands you something,
sadness, so I modified the type to form a frown take it and not only make something from it, turn it
and a smile. around and make it the best it can be. Surprise
Designer: Naomie Ross yourself with your ability to do something amazing.
Designer: Aime Hunt
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BlessedFor a long time I wrote about what MagicalI try to think about what made me LightThe quote came from a song I heard many
optimism meant to me and how it directly applied to optimistic and things I thought were magical or gave years ago. To illustrate the quote, I chose to use only
my life. I used the metaphor of swimming to express me that feeling. I always loved old black-and-white black and white (the poster is about light).
what I had gathered from my writings and inquiries. cartoons like Bosko or Mickey. I made lettering that Typeface: Rhumba
For some reason, whenever I go swimming in a lake resembled the rubber hose animation, looking for a
Designer: Julia Bueo Coelho
or in the ocean, the vast unknown scares me and carefree and whimsical feeling.
empowers me. That has [a lot] to do with what I Designer: Virgilio Tzaj
think of as being optimistic.
Designer: Santiago Carrasquilla
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Public gathering of optimistic designers
celebrating their work
Event Organizer: Citizens for Optimism
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(Ray) #175 Dtp:225 Page:182
resources
The following is a selection of books, type Logotypes & Letterforms Stone Type Foundry
foundries, and blogs I refer to constantly by Doyald Young http://stonetypefoundry.com
(and that helped me enormously while Design Press, 1993
writing this book). The League of Moveable Type
Make It Bigger www.theleagueofmoveabletype.com
Books by Paula Scher
The Elements of Typographic Style Princeton Architectural Press, 2005 Underware
by Robert Bringhurst http://underware.nl
Hartley and Marks Publishers; I Wonder
3rd edition, 2004 by Miriam Bantjes Village
The Monacelli Press, 2010 http://vllg.com
Thinking with Type
by Ellen Lupton
Princeton Architectural Press; Font Foundries Type Links
2nd revised and expanded edition, 2010 Emigre We Love Typography
http://emigre.com http://welovetypography.com
Store Front: The Disappearing
Face of New York House Industries Friends of Type
by James T. and Karla L. Murray www.houseind.com http://friendsoftype.com
Gingko Press Inc., 2009
Hoefler & Frere-Jones Type Daily
Lettering & Type: Creating Letters www.typography.com http://typedaily.com
& Designing Typefaces
by Bruce Willen and Nolen Strals Lost Type Co-op Fonts in Use
Princeton Architectural Press, 2009 http://losttype.com http://fontsinuse.com
183
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contributors
James Adame 116 Andrew Byrom 90, 91, 92 Ryann Cooley 64

http://andrewbyrom.com
Armaan Ahluwalia 47 Jack Curry 93, 110, 111
http://mysite.pratt.edu/~aahluwal/ Chalkley Calderwood 116 www.heytheremynameisjack.com
Nicole Alvarez 112, 126 Lucia Ciomei Capi 84 Rhett Dashwood 94

http://rhettdashwood.com
Ampersand Design Studio 31 Santiago Carrasquilla 180
Morgan Georgie and Carrie Kiefer Jessica Decker 158, 159, 160, 161
http://ampersanddesignstudio.com Gens Carreras 89
http://geniscarreras.com Michael Doret 122, 123
Gail Anderson 74 Alphabet Soup Type Founders
http://gailycurl.com Catherine Casalino 62, 63, 64, 65 http://michaeldoret.com
http://catherinecasalino.com
Tatiana Arocha 95 Iris Dougherty 136, 137
http://tatianaarocha.com Liz Charmon 141 ht tp ://ir isdougher t y.v irb.com
Arnold Worldwide 116 Christopher Cerase 130, 131 James T. Edmondson 112, 113
www.arn.com Jessica Lauren Chung 121 http://jamestedmondson.com
Tarek Atrissi 22, 49 Citizens for Optimism 181 Alison Eng 151, 178
www.atrissi.com http://citizensforoptimism.com www.alisoneng.com
Suzanne Barros 25, 39 George Clarke 60, 61 Rachel Ferguson 25, 35
Allison Berg 138, 139 Libby Clarke 14 Anastasiya Filimonova 154

http://cargocollective.com/allisonberg http://anastasiyaart.com
Julia Bueno Coelho 180
Ryan Berris 50, 54, 68 http://its-nice-to-meet-you.com Amanda Frank 140
http://amandajoyfrank.com
Kristi Bobo 27 Linzi Clary 38, 54, 55
http://linziclary.wordpress.com Friends of Type 33, 34, 37
Emma Bowen 87 http://friendsoftype.com
Andrea Brown 30, 73 Joey Cofone 171
http://joeycofone.com Anna Garforth 150, 168
Masood Bukhari 41, 68, 69 Gabriel Gonzalez 120, 132
www.masoodbukhari.com COLLINS: 70, 71
http://collins1.com Robert Grame 26
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Rose Greenstein 14 Becky Johnson 100, 101 Mark McCormick 99
http://rosegreenstein.com www.beckyjohnson.info http://nakedfowl.com
Melissa Gorman 118, 119 Heewon Kim 29 Mary Kate McDevitt 172
http://melissagorman.com http://heewonjoy.com http://marykatemcdevitt.com
http://costd.com
Hannah Krieger 86 Jorg Meyer 116
Erin Hanson 162, 163
http://recoveringlazyholic.com Cynthia Lacolla 53 James Minior 85
http://cynla.com http://jamesminior.com
Joshua Hester 21, 45
http://joshuahester.com Victoria Langford 52 Aubry Mintz 91
Marie Hickey 24 David Larsen 27 Doris Mirando-Jelinek 84
Erika Hinostroza 82, 83 Irina Lee 166, 167 Troy Mottard 38, 41
http://irinalee.com
Becca Hirsbrunner 26, 94 Mucca Design 30, 60, 72, 73
http://beccamakingfaces.com Sophy Lee 67 www.mucca.com
http://sophylee.com
Lauren Hom 151 Derek F. Munn 169
http://laurennicolehom.com Troy Leinster 110 http://mistermunn.com
http://artspoken.com.au
Minji Hong 117 Kenji Nakayama 148
www.ayehong.com Jordan K. Lessler 141 http://kngee.com
http://jordankayleigh.com
Seokmin Hong 134, 135 Allison OToole 53
http://smhong.com Lisbon Labs 96, 97
http://lisbonlabs.com Pagan & Sharp 99, 101
House Industries 37, 126, 127 Juan Carlos Pagan
www.houseind.com Brendan Lucente 23, 36, 41 www.carlospagan.com
Aime Hunt 179 Annica Lydenberg 59, 99, 114, 115, 146, 147 Minji Pak 142, 143
http://aimeehunt.com www.dirtybandits.com
Christine Park 13, 48
Krista Hurley 24 Elizabeth Man 12 http://christineparkdesign.com
http://elizabethman.com
Brianna Hussey 18 Pentagram Design 20
Ellery Mann 82, 83 www.pentagram.com
Stephen Jockisch 73
Lara McCormick 146, 173, 174, 176
185
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contributors
Chris Piascik 104, 105, 106, 107 Len Small 44, 74 Rudy VanderLans 56, 57
http://chrispiascik.com http://lensmalldesign.com
Melissa Van Hoose 32
Leonardo Porto 16, 18 Steven Smith 166, 167, 173, 175 http://melissadesign.net
http://leoporto.com http://fluxandrender.com
Martin Vecchio 160, 161
Michael Quigley 156, 157 Alix Sorrell 51, 59, 60
http://quigleyphoto.com http://alixsorrell.com Craig Ward 177
www.wordsarepictures.co.uk
Amy Rice 78 Hardy Stewart 79
http://amyrice.com http://hardystewartdesign.com Sara Wachendorf 36
Jeston Rodriguez 24 Sumner Stone 108, 109, 110 Nate Williams 116
http://stonetypefoundry.com www.n8w.com
Kristian Rodriguez 15, 17, 18
Evan Stremke 77 Sandra Woodruff 88
Jeff Rogers 79 www.evanstremke.com http://sandwood.net
http://howdyjeff.com
Melissa Sullivan 170 Rachel Yoakum 144, 145
Naomie Ross 89, 179 http://rachelyoakumdesign.com
http://naomie.me Olivia Tabert 137
http://cargocollective.com/oliviatabert David Yurkanin 78
Jess Ruggieri 116 http://davidyurkanin.com
Alex Taylor 66
Samantha Russo 124, 133
http://fuzzymilk.tumblr.com Julie Tinker 46, 74, 75
http://tinkerco.com
Johnny Ruzzo 155
Virgilio Tzaj 29, 178, 180
Leen Sadder 149, 178 http://virgiliotzaj.com
http://leensadder.com
Anne Ulku 76
David Schwen 33, 40, 152, 153 www.anneulku.com
http://dschwen.com
Isabel Urbina 98
Slate Studio 114, 115 http://isabelurbina.com
http://slatestudio.com
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index
Bukhari, Masood, 41, 68, 69

a Byrom, Andrew, 90, 91, 92
d
abcs, 9597 Dagmar, 100, 101
Abdario, 95 daily reminders, 162163
Ahluwalia, Armaan, 47
c Dashwood, Rhett, 94
Calderwood, Chakley, 116
Alfonso, 99 Decker, Jessica, 158161
calligraphy, 108111
ampersands, 3134 decorative, 9
Capi, Lucia Ciomei, 84
animated type, 7475 descriptive word pairs, 2627
Carrasquilla, Santiago, 180
Arocha, Tatiana, 95 design principles, 23
Carreras, Genis, 89
ascender, 9 display, 9
Carter, Matthew, 10
Attrissi, Tarek, 22, 49 Doret, Michael, 122123
Casalino, Catherine, 61, 64, 65
Dougherty, Iris, 136, 137
casual scripts, 112
b Cerase, Christopher, 130
drawings, digitizing, 38
Barros, Suzanne, 25, 39 drop caps, 2830
chalkboard type, 114116
baseline, 9 ductus, 108
Charman, Lis, 141
Bauhaus grid, 4749
childrens abcs, 9597
Bauhaus school, 47
Chung, Jessica Lauren, 121, 140
e
Benguait, Ed, 68 Edmonson, James T., 112
Clarke, George, 60
Berg, Allison, 138 Eng, Ali, 151
Clarke, Libby, 14
Berris, Ryan, 50, 53 environment
Clary, Linzi, 38, 54, 55
betterpress, 173174 letters from the, 94
Coelho, Julia Bueo, 180
Biblio, 93 relating type to the, 130135
Cofone, Joey, 171
Bierut, Michael, 20 expressive type, 2325
COLLINS, 70, 71
blackletter, 112
context, 141145
bleeds, 44
contrast, 44
f
Bobo, Kristi, 27 face, 9
cross-stitching method, 158161
book covers, 6265 family, 9
Curry, Jack, 93, 110
Bowen, Emma, 87 fence messaging, 166169
branding, 7073 Ferguson, Rachel, 25, 35
Brown, Andrea, 30, 73 figure/ground relationship, 15, 44
187
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24/12 4:56 PM 184-192_29438.indd 187 (Fogra 39)Job:10-29438 Title:RP-Playing with Type 11/14/12 11:21 AM
index
figure/ground reversal, 15 handwritten letters, 170172

Filimonova, Anastasiya, 154 Hanson, Erin, 162, 163
l
label design, 5255
flourishes, 5657 headlines, 6667
Lacolla, Cynthia, 53
font, 9 Helvetica, 154157
Langford, Vitoria, 52
food, type and, 150153 Hester, Joshua, 21, 45
Larsen, David, 27
formal scripts, 112 hierarchy, 44
leading, 9
fortune cookie numbers, 3537 Hinostroza, Erika, 82, 83
Lee, Irina, 166
found letters Hirsbrunner, Becca, 94
Lee, Sophy, 67
creating new letters based on, 120124 Hom, Lauren, 151
Leinster, Troy, 110
in the environment, 94 Hong, Minji, 117
Lessler, Jordan K., 141
found type, 6265 Hong, Seokmin, 135
Letter-Box Kite, 91
Frank, Amanda, 140 House Industries, 37, 125127
lettering
Friends of Type, 34, 37 Hunt, Aime, 179
calligraphy, 108111
furniture, transferring type onto, 146 Hussey, Brianna, 18
hand, 104107
pen-written, 108111
g i photo-lettering, 125127
Garforth, Anna, 150, 168 image, type as, 1517
script, 112113
geometric shapes, 8284 invitations, 5961
letterpress, 173174
Georgie, Morgan, 31
letters, handwritten, 170172
glyph, 9 j letterspacing, 9
Gonzalez, Gabriel, 120, 132 Jockisch, Stephen, 73
ligature, 9
Gorman, Melissa, 118 Johnson, Becky, 101
ligature monogram, 4041
Gothic scripts, 112
light-based type, 175177
Gourmet, 151 k Little Bees ABC, 9697
Greenstein, Rose, 14 kerning, 9
Live Trace, 38
Kiefer, Carrie, 31
logos, 6869
h Kim, Heewon, 29
Love Child, 89
hand lettering, 104107 Krieger, Hannah, 86
love letters, 170172
handwriting, 8587
Lucente, Brendan, 36
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lucky numbers, 3537
Lydenberg, Annica, 59, 99, 114, 146, 147
o q
Oark, Christine, 13 Quigley, Michael, 156
lyrical script, 85
objects, applying typography to, 146149
m Olivia, 98 r
Opposite Sans, 89 ransom note, 1214
Man, Elizabeth, 12
opposites attract, 8889 restaurant menu, 5051
manipulation, of types, 3839
optimistic words, 178181 revived letters, 120124
Mann, Ellery, 82, 83
OToole, Allison, 53 Rice, Amy, 78
McCormick, Lara, 146, 173
Rodriguez, Jeston, 24
McCormick, Mark, 99
McDevitt, Mary Kate, 172
p Rodriguez, Kristian, 15, 17, 18
Pagan, Juan Carlos, 101 Rogers, Jeff, 79
menu design, 5051
Pak, Minji, 143 Ross, Naomie, 89, 179
messages
pangram, 98 Russo, Samantha E., 124, 133
on fences, 166169
Park, Christine, 48 Ruzzo, Johnny, 155
with type, 162163
pattern, type as, 1820
Mica, 101
Minior, James, 85
pen-written lettering, 108111 s
photo-lettering, 125127 Sadder, Leen, 149, 178
Mirando-Jelinek, Doris, 84
Piascik, Chris, 104107 sans serif, 8
modular type, 8284
picture creation, 2122 Scher, Paula, 42
monogram, 4041
Plato, 164 Schmid, Helmut, 128
Mottard, Troy, 38
Porto, Leonard, 16, 18 Schwen, David, 33, 40, 152
Mucca Design, 58
posters script, 8
Munn, Derek, 169
large-scale, 173174 script lettering, 5961, 112113
music, setting type to, 7475
of optimistic words, 178181 serif, 8
for theatrical play, 4749 signage, 117124
n on type designers, 4446 six word story, 7679
Nakayama, Kenji, 148
type specimen, 98101 slab serif, 8
numbers, fortune cookie, 3537
process shots, 7 Small, Len, 44, 74
Smith, Steven, 166, 173, 175
189
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index
Soft Impact, 88 expressive, 2325 Urbina, Isabel, 98

Sorrell, Alix, 51, 59, 60 fence, 166169
special occasions, 5961 food and, 150153 v
spine, book, 62 found, 6265 VanderLans, Rudy, 56
Standard, Paul, 80 as image, 1517 Van Hoose, Melissa, 32
Stewart, Hardy, 79 from lights, 175177 vector elements, 5657
Stone, Summer, 108110 manipulating, 3839 vector graphics, 38
storefront signage, 117124 messages with, 162163 Venetian, 92
Stremke, Evan, 77 mixing, 5257
Sullivan, Melissa, 170 modular, 8284 w
Swiss Style, 35 as pattern and texture, 1820 Wachendorf, Sara, 36
transforming, 8889 Wanderlust, 138139
t using three-dimensional materials, Ward, Craig, 177
Tabert, Olivia, 137 154157 weight, 9
Taylor, Alex, 66 type constructions, 136145 Williams, Nate, 116
texture, type as, 1820 type designers, 4446 Woodruff, Sandra, 88
three-dimensional materials, 154157 typeface, 9 word meanings
3-D type, 9093 typeface classifications, 8 expressing through type, 2325
Tinker, Julie, 46, 74 type family, 5051 visual connotations, 2627
tracking, 9 type specimen poster, 98101 word pairs, 2627
transfer method, 146 typographic color, 9 word spacing, 9
type typographic pictures, 2122
3-D, 9093 typography, basics of, 89 x
animated, 7475 Tzaj, Virgilio, 29, 180 X-height, 9
applying to objects, 146149
branding with, 7073 u y
chalkboard, 114116 UCLA Extension Poster, 90 Yoakum, Rachel, 144
in the city environment, 130135 Ulka, Anne, 76 Young, Doyald, 102
in context, 141145 Univers family, 50 Yurkanin, David, 78
cross-stitch, 158161 urban-based type, 130135
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acknowledgments
First and foremost, a huge thank you goes to Steven Heller for believing in me and helping
me along this path. You are an inspiration and I could not have done any of this without
you. To everyone at SVA MFA Design and Type@Cooper Unionteachers and colleagues
you helped me become a better designer and thinker.
Thanks to all the people at Rockport Publishers: my editor Emily Potts, who presented me
with this golden egg of a publication idea, and the rest of my dream team, Regina Grenier,
Cora Hawks, and Audrey Doyle.
There were so many people who helped me with this book along the way. At the top of the
list are Irina Lee and Annica Lydenberg, whose ongoing feedback and suggestions were
instrumental in the end result as well as in keeping me sane. Steven Smith and our
typographic powwows led to amazing projects, many of which are featured in this book.
Thank you to my students at the School of Visual Arts, Pratt, and the New Hampshire
Institute of Art, for being such hungry pupils and willing participants. The work that you
produce continues to blow me away. Thanks to my colleagues who lent a hand to execute
project examples: Masood Bukhari, Joshua Hester, Len Small, Julie Tinker, Christine Park,
Rose Greenstein, Elizabeth Mann, Ryan Berris, Libby Clarke, and Melissa Sullivan.
A huge amount of gratitude goes to all the contributors; this book wouldnt exist
without the amazing work you are doing! Special thanks to those who inspired projects:
Gail Anderson, Ed Benguiat, Liz Charman, Chris Piasick, Sumner Stone, Virgilia Tzaj, and
Anne Ulku.
Lastly, I could not have done this without the support of my patient and loving
husband, Andy.
191
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about the author
Lara McCormick grew up in Berkeley, California. She received her BFA at the University of
California, Los Angeles, her MFA in design from the School of Visual Arts, and has a
post-graduate degree in typography from Cooper Union. She is a designer, design educator,
and lover of all things typographic.
She has worked at the New York Times, created and implemented a rebrand for the New
York School of Interior Design, developed the online strategy for the University of
California, and always has a personal project in the works. Laras Typeface design is part of
the Herb Lubalin Centers permanent collection at Cooper Union.
Speaking engagements include AIGAs Cause/Effect: Design as an Agent for Social Change
and Designism: Designers Committed to Social Activism and Instigating Change at the
Art Directors Club. Lara has also taught workshops on typography and lectured on book
design at the Torino International Book Fair in Italy. She was awarded Sappi Papers Ideas
that Matter grant in 2007 and 2010.
Lara has taught at the School of Visual Arts and Pratt. She is now the chair of the Graphic
Design Department at the New Hampshire Institute of Art. Shes currently a member of
the AIGA national steering committee for design educators.
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2013 Rockport Publishers
First published in the United States of America in 2013 by

Rockport Publishers, a member of
Quayside Publishing Group
100 Cummings Center
Suite 406-L
Beverly, Massachusetts 01915-6101
Telephone: (978) 282-9590
Fax: (978) 283-2742
www.rockpub.com
Visit RockPaperInk.com to share your opinions, creations, and passion for design.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission of
the copyright owners. All images in this book have been reproduced with the knowledge and prior consent
of the artists concerned, and no responsibility is accepted by producer, publisher, or printer for any
infringement of copyright or otherwise, arising from the contents of this publication. Every effort has
been made to ensure that credits accurately comply with information supplied. We apologize for any
inaccuracies that may have occurred and will resolve inaccurate or missing information in a subsequent
reprinting of the book.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
ISBN: 978-1-59253-817-1
Digital edition published in 2013

eISBN: 978-1-61058-792-1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
McCormick, Lara.
Playing with type : 50 graphic experiments for exploring typographic design principles / Lara McCormick.
pages cm. (Playing)
Summary: Playing with Type is a hands-on, playful approach to learning type application and principles.
This engaging guide begins with an introduction to the philosophy of learning through the process of
play. Along with a series of experimental design projects with an emphasis on type, the author provides
designers with a toolkit of ideas and skills developed through the process of play. The awareness and
sensitivity to type styles, forms, and type choices gained through these visual experiments will increase
the designers confidence in their personal and professional work. This book can be used in the classroom
or independently, and readers can go directly to exercises that appeal to them Provided by publisher.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-1-59253-817-1
1. Graphic design (Typography) I. Title.
Z246.M373 2013
686.22--dc23
2012030802
Design: Lara McCormick
Layout and Production: tabula rasa graphic design
Printed in China
001-041_29438.indd 2 10/24/12 2:08 PM 001-041_294


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PLAYING

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introduction 7 27 3-D Type 90

lettering play 103

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sans serif serif slab serif script

ascender ascender line

double-story a crossbar bowl ligature spur tittle cap line

single-story a tail counter descender stress or axis

descender line baseline

8 playing with type

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Design a ransom note using found type.

Use newspapers, magazines, and other

Gather the assets for your note by cutting

Scan the final composition. You should

If you loved this, youll love these!

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letter and wordplay 13

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I used sales receipts for the pony, since they

14 playing with type

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Create a series of compositions where type

Observe the figure/ground relationship

Create a 5" 3 5" (12.7 3 12.7 cm) square within

Start with thumbnail sketches for your

Figure/ground reversal is a technique in which an existing images foreground

If you loved this, youll love these!

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16 playing with type

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letter and wordplay 17

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Create a pattern using a single letter from

Select a single letterform. Copy and repeat

As a grid takes shape, it alters the

If you loved this, youll love these!

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20 playing with type

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Create a picture using type only.

Select a photograph or sketch an image to

Based on your best thumbnail, use type to

Right top and bottom: Inspired by New York City

If you loved this, youll love this!

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22 playing with type

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Manipulate typography so that its form

Choose from the list of words below (or

Select the strongest direction from your

Play with applying basic design principles:

Scale, repetition, direction, texture, transparency,

If you loved this, youll love these!

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