So I'm a bit late with this version of "Jessica learns along with Hack Design". In my defense, the assignments were a bit lengthy. And I'm lazy.
Episode 2!
1. Helvetica - A Documentary About The Most Ubiquitous Typeface In The World
Documentary
Task: Try to learn why this iconic typeface is so prevalent in our world, and how it grew to ubiquity. What does it represent, and why do designers love (or hate) to use it?
So, the first time I watched Helvetica was my freshman year of college. I watch it pretty frequently, actually, and every time I watch it I've gone a bit further as a designer and I have a little bit of a different answer to this question.
I'm not a big fan of Helvetica. I think designers love and hate it because it's so simple that it's a challenge to make interesting, but at the same time everyone uses it so much in the years since the movie was made that it's becoming bland. It's practically a cliche. It's not the new comic sans (it's tasteful and well made, for one) but it's the comic sans of design, because everyone uses it and nobody thinks about how to use it well.
To quote my studiomate: "Eeew, Helvetica. I've always hated the closeness of the e's terminal to the crossbar, and I've always been afraid to mention it because everyone likes Helvetica."
With that being said, it's easy to read, and it's a good sturdy sans serif.
2. KernType: The Kerning Game
Game
Task: Seeing type as a designer is all about observation. Play the Kerning Game and score at least 70/100.
Here's another one I'm pretty familiar with.
Not the greatest ever, but good enough.
3. Better Web Typography In a Few Simple Steps
Article
Task: Line breaks, correct quotes, dashes, and HTML entities. This is a great article to learn how to make web typography better in a few simple steps. Author Yves Peters points out very simple tips to make web typography more beautiful.
Massively useful list article about web type. As someone without a formal design education, I didn't know several of these -- and I'm betting a lot of students and recent grads won't know them either. Read it. And bookmark it for later.
4. Bonus Material: "Thinking With Type"
Book
Task: I wish they made us read this book when I was in school. This lovely short book by Ellen Lupton is such an insightful resource that talks about typography on print, and on screen. It's not a new book, but it's still one of my favorites.
Another resource I've had for awhile. I can't speak for the book at all; I don't own it. But this site was something I found in 2013 when I was teaching myself about typography and design, and it's one of the best resources on the internet for that. I agree that I really wish that I'd had this in school. Enjoyed re-reading many of the small articles while doing this week's design exercise, and I might spend some time reading the entirety to brush up on my knowledge a bit.
I do have to say that it's a bit of a pet peeve of mine that it's hard to read on mobile but whatever - it's an older site, and doesn't look to be updated often.
5. Typography Essentials – A Getting Started Guide
Guide
Task: Typography is all about observing the details of type. Next time you step outside, observe traffic signs, public transit signs, banners, logos, etc. and remember – each and every single one of them was designed by someone.
Real confessions time: this task made me laugh, because my main grant-funded project right now is cataloguing signage, lettering, and type around the city. It's safe to say I do this one daily.
So instead, I focused on remembering that each one had a lot of physical work that went into it. It was a nice reminder about the process of making things, and being a maker in general, and made me think of when I first started Gratiot and Riopelle/ glyphcitydetroit. I was on my way to work and stopped to photograph a beauty parlor sign, and saw a guy in his 70s walking down the road on his way to work, carrying an ancient paint-covered wooden carryall full of brushes, and two gallon cans of oneshot paint. I hadn't really thought about how many of the signs I was documenting were recently made.
I've been kicking around the idea of interviewing shop owners and signpainters for the documentation portion of my project, and really would like to find that guy, whoever he was.
On another note, if you're new to typography...take some of the advice in this one with a grain of salt. It has a few errors and quite a few things are questionable advice ("use a favorite movie font for a child's birthday"). Ellen Lupton's is better. Her course on Skillshare is good, too.
6. Shape Type: Letter Shaping Game
Game
Task: This game is not as easy as the first one, so try to have fun and relax. If you score more than 60/100, high five!
Plot twist: this game isn't actually that hard, especially if you have a working knowledge of Adobe Illustrator. I could see how maybe it'd be hard for someone who doesn't regularly work in it, but I'm not exactly the most precise person ever and I still scored pretty well.
Boo-yah.
Til next week, designlings.
