Podcast #4 Typography

Define typography?
-The art of expressing ideas through the selection of appropriate typefaces

Where did the word "typography" originate from?
-Greeks words "typos" for form and "graphy" is Greek for writing

What does typography involve?
-The selection of appropriate fonts

What is another term for typeface?
-Fonts

What is a character?
-Individual symbols that make up a typeface ; letters, numerals and punctuation marks

What is type style?
-Modifications in a typeface that create design variety while maintaining the visual style of the typeface;bold, italic, condensed, roman, heavy

What does type style "create" within a design?
-Variety

What is the waist line and what does it indicate?
-imaginary line drawn at the middle of the characters

What is a base line and what does it indicate?
-imaginary line drawn at the bottom of the characters

What is an ascender?
-the part of the character that extends above the waist line

What is a descender?
-the part of the character that extends below the base line

Describe a serif?
-Smaller line used to finish of a main stroke of a letter, usually at the top and bottom of a character

How can the size of the typeface be identified?
-By measuring from the top of the ascender to the bottom of the descender

What is a point?
-The unit that a point size is measured in

How many points are in an inch?
-72

What is a pica and how many are in an inch?
-A unit of measure that is typical of newspapers;6 in a inch

How many points are in a pica?
-12

What is body type and where can it be found?
-Type sizes that range from 4 pt through 12 pt type. These are found in places where there is a lot of 
text to be read

What is the key to selecting appropriate typefaces to be used as body type?
-Readability

What is display type and how is it used?
-type sizes above 12 pt. typically, these sizes are used to draw attention to a message [headlines, subheadlines, etc]

What is reverse type and when would it be used?
 -consists of white type on a solid black or darker color background.

What is a typeface classification?
-A basic system for classifying typefaces was devised in the 19thcentury when printers sought to identify a heritage for their own craft

When was Blackletter invented and how was it used?
-The earliest of the typefaces. It was used with the invitations of the printing press in the mid 1400s

Describer the characteristics of a Blackletter typeface?
-Resemble the calligraphy of the time are highly ornamental with elaborate thick to thin strokes

When was Old Style invented and what was is based on?
-15 and 16 centuries;It was based on ancient Roman inscriptions and created to replace Blackletter typefaces

Describe the characteristics of an Old Style typeface?
-Wedged shaped, angled serifs, low contrast of thick/thin strokes

When were formal scripts developed?
-They were developed in the 17th and 18th century

When were casual scripts developed?
-20th century

Describe the characteristics of a Script typeface?
-Forms with flexible brushes or pens and have strokes reminiscent of handwriting

When was Modern typefaces developed and why?
-Developed in the 18th and 19th century as a radical break from traditional typography of the time

Describe the characteristics of a Modern typeface?
-They have a sharp contrast between thick and thin strokes and have thin, flat serifs

How early can Sans Serif typefaces be found? What happened?
-As early as 5th century, the italian Renaissance return to old style made the Sans Seirfs classification obsolete in the 20th century.

When did they become popular?
-in the 1920s

What does "sans serif" mean?
-Without serifs.

Describe the characteristics of a Sans Serif typeface?
-Uniform line weight

When was Slab Serif developed and why?
-Developed in the 9th century for decorative purposes and headlines

Describe the characteristics of a Slab Serif typeface?
-It has a uniform line weight and thicker, square serifs

Describe Decorative typefaces?
-The most distinctive design style

Why were they developed?
-For specific purpose, or theme

What are they best used for?
-For larger point sizes, or display type