Taking the Mystery Out of Arranging Type
by Katherine Humphreys
Typography is everywhere! From
billboards to letterhead, posters, logos,
clothing, film, industrial design, mobile
devices, and the Internet. The layout of
type is an essential part of today’s society.
With so much type to lay out, many
people get involved in designing these
products. Some may find themselves at
a loss as to how to approach type.
Kimberly Elam’s book Typographic
Systems; Rules For Organizing Type
(Princeton Architectural Press, 2007)
strips away a lot of this mystery.
She breaks down type design into
eight major variations: Axial, Radial,
Dilatational, Random, Grid, Modular,
Transitional and Bilateral. These systems Typographic Systems; Rules For Organizing Type
provide a structure that designers can use Below: Diagrams from the book
to organize their compositions and make
them coherent. Choosing one
Axial Radial Dilational Random
Grid Modular Transitional Bilateral
layout over another may have a profound using four columns on the left, while the
effect on the piece’s impact. text and images on the right are arranged
in two columns.
Let’s start with a newspaper read by
millions every day: USA Today. The The Grid is the type system that
newspaper is a prime example of the Grid we are most used to seeing. From
system. It’s an eight column system that magazines to websites, this horizontal
is subdivided as needed. Items can span organization of type and information on
two or more columns, as in the top article, a page is the most common. A standard,
"12 teams, 12 questions." repeated, comfortable environment with
consistent spacing satisfies our
The USA Today website, found at subconscious tendency to search for
[Link] reflects the order. By making the reader feel safe,
paper’s design, with a four column Grid this design system conveys a sense
layout. The grid divides the page in half, of reliability.
USA Today
Grid system
and a designer with a good sense of
composition and style can pull off a very
effective type treatment.
Anywhere type is used, be it
publishing, signage, packaging, television,
or any other medium, the designer has
to adapt her techniques to suit the
medium. For example, a style that works
just fine in a newspaper layout would
not necessarily work on a poster. A
newspaper is viewed at arms length, so
its letter spacing can be as tight as you
like and the words will still be legible.
On the other hand, a poster is usually
viewed from a distance, which can make
the type hard to read. Here, a little extra
letter spacing helps viewers identify the
individual characters.
The audience for the composition
is also an important consideration. Will
Sherry Hutchinson this poster be for a bank convention or
a rock concert? Would a grid system be
Newspapers rarely deviate from reassuring, or merely boring? Perhaps
the grid format, with the exception of something more unusual would
weekend editions and dramatic breaking be appropriate?
news, whose designers can be more
creative with the layout.
At the opposite end of the spectrum,
designer Sherry Hutchinson created a
layout called “Tax Tips” for a feature
section of a newspaper using
traditional illustration and design skills
instead of a typographic system. The type
in this layout is readable and arranged in
such a way that it helps to move the
viewer’s eye along the page in a round
motion, forcing you to meander over all
of the elements of the illustration.
Sometimes a system is not necessary,
B.
Grid system
A.
Bilateral system
Designer Jody Haneke uses a variety
of type systems to create unique,
engaging, and beautiful posters.
Poster A employs the Bilateral Poster B appears at first to be a simple
system, with its type arranged symmetri- grid, but the dynamic graffiti imagery
cally across a center line. The typeface, introduces a striking contrast. The left
the color palette, and the oldfangled justified type in a straight line crashes
photograph in the background into the bold city elements. Textures and
produce an atmosphere that is slightly strong abstract letterforms in the graffiti
quirky, but friendly. The composition create tension.
makes the user come in close to see
what is going on.
Poster C also employs a grid, but
this time the type is a larger, rounded
font. By setting the grid at an angle, this
composition suggests a departure from
the normal. The variation in type size
creates an organic feeling, which is
heightened by the red and brown tones
picked up from the wooden figures.
C.
Grid system
D.
Radial system
Poster D uses the Radial type
system. The text appears to be orbiting
an invisible subject. The free-flowing
arrangement reflects the lofty words
“papercranes” and “summerbirds.” The
large ampersand acts as a weight, pinning
the text to one spot. The type appears to
emerge from a dreamlike background
and spread its wings.
Hopefully these few examples have
inspired you with a feeling for the range
of typographic systems at your disposal.
Each system has some inherent
expressive qualities, but as our distinctive
grid examples show, there is plenty of
room to express yourself within even
the tightest system. As you learn to
recognize these systems, you will see
them in the type all around you, and
before long, you’ll be exploring them in
your own compositions.
Katherine Humphreys is an educator and graphic artist living in the Tampa Bay area. She teaches
at various schools, including: The Art Institute Online, Ringling College of Art and Design and
St. Petersburg College.
For more information:
Kimberly Elam Designing With Type
[Link] [Link]
Jody Haneke Creative Pro
[Link] [Link]
Typographica
All work used with permission.
[Link]