DES 115 Process ManualStephen Kui

Minimal Letterforms

Exploration

The minimal letterforms project began with experimentation using the fonts Centaur, Garamond, Bodoni, Memphis, Helvetica, and Friz Quadrata.

Various letters were sketched into 20 sets of four squares. Different fonts were tested in different placements to try to find configurations that produced aesthetically pleasing flows between the four squares.

Letterforms were cut and inverted, but could not be transformed or rotated. The initial phase can be seen as a chance to play with different letterforms to find potential options and styles that worked better than others, as well as to select a font to proceed with.

Refinement

The refining process consisted of digitally manipulating different letterforms on individual digital canvases.

A variety of different combinations of letters were attempted, with different intentions. Some focused more on open negative spaces, while others examined the relationships between letters as they directly connected through the four frames.

Friz QuadrataFriz Quadrata was selected because it had unique angles that created interesting shapes and forms as the letters flowed through the different frames.

AGRS

WKXY

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Final Product

The final letters selected for the first project were z, k, a, and x in the font Friz Quadrata.

Their arrangement was designed to create a unified shape that demonstrated a mix of repeated smaller geometries. The sharp angles at the ends of the letters were preserved as much as possible to showcase the character of Friz Quadrata as well.

Though three of the letters are defined by straight lines and one has curves, the font Friz Quadrata inherently has playful curves in its form, and created a mix of harsh angles as well as smooth, continuous curves that spanned across the frames.

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Type Hierarchy Studies

Physical Experimentation

In the second project, Univers was used with constraints on font size and weight on 10x10 sheets to understand how different arrangements of type (and in some sets weight and size) affected the perceivable hierarchy of type on a page.

The design process began with numerous hand-drawn grids, which were then used as the background setting for cutouts of Univers

in an assortment of weights to be pasted on and rearranged to view potential layouts.

Grids were also tilted in some cases to try out the feasibility of using slanted text to help exaggerate hierarchy on the page with fonts of the same size.

Transition to Digital

From the success or failure of the hand-pasted examples on the grids, digital mockups were created from the ideas discovered in the initial exploration process.

Using the computer allowed a more controlled experience, but the first step of tangible elements that could be picked up and moved physically played an important role in helping inspire a more full exploration of the different possibilities, where the computer would have encouraged more crutches from typical design.

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Final Set 1A

Options:15pt Univers 45

Final Set 1B

Options:15pt Univers 4515pt Univers 65

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Final Set 2A

Options:15pt + 9pt Univers 4515pt + 9pt Univers 65

Final Set 2B

Options:15pt + 9pt Univers 45/4615pt + 9pt Univers 65/66

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Final Set 3A

Options:Set 2B + Add Rules

Final Set 3B

Options:Any size, weight, of Univers + Add Rules

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Book Design

Designing the Layout

Exploration for the book design began with trying out different potential grids to lay out images and text, along with different headings.While a taller book design did seem interesting at first, a page with a longer width than height seemed more visually comelling after continued experimentation. The size was intiially planned to be 10x8, but later refined to be 9x8 inches.

A 3-column layout was selected because of its versatility and the balance with the page setup. The various image sizes and headings that needed to be balanced across the two-page spreads could be distributed across three columns or two columns with empty space.

Though there were many potential book fonts available to choose from, Proxima Nova was chosen because of its refined and clean, yet not overly cliche look.

Heading 1 is 48pt Proxima Nova Bold in spot color R:120, G: 0, B: 0

Heading 2 is 18pt Proxima Nova Bold

Body copy is 10pt Proxima Nova Regular

Producing the Book

The focus of the book is on the delivery of content in an organized, clean presentation. The color selection and distribution of content is focused on keeping related text as close together as possible, and consequently pages were in the final design were heavier in copy than other options that were considered.

The choice to keep the content grouped together based on subject results in a layout where each section is mostly isolated to the same visible viewing space, but sacrifices some of the more creative liberties that could have been taken with the layout.

The book was bound by first aligning the pages and then gluing along the spine to keep the pages together. Once the glue was sufficiently dried, the spine was measured to crease the cover and attached to the inside of the cover pages, which were then trimmed to fit the rest of the pages.

Noted Mistake

The “Chinese Characters” Heading is boxed in by a stroke, but the mistake was discovered too late in the process to be able to reprint and bind the book again in time for the due date.

Heading 1Heading 2Body

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Book Photos

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