There are a range of different aspects of typography, surrounding both the height, borders, shapes and strokes of a typeface. Some of these things are relevant in all fonts, such as x-height which is the height of lowercase letters. The ascender height is where upper case letters cap and descenders are where parts of certain letters fall below the baseline. We looked at the ‘glossary of terms’ to explore the rest of the type anatomy, as there are countless features alongside these. Most of these things are aspects of font that, in theory, you could adjust to make a more unique typeface.
We were tasked with creating our own visual representation of type anatomy with a chosen typeface and text. I went with Bodoni as I was familiar with it from previous work in semester 1 and used my surname, as there is a range of uppercase/lowercase letters, ascenders and descenders. I really enjoyed doing this and found that spending the time to label the different aspects of type anatomy helped me to understand them, so I feel like I would have an easier time recognising these in future.
Logos are where typography and branding can really interplay with each other. Many designers alter aspects of typeface anatomy to make a more captivation style, giving them a unique feel as well as ensuring that can't be very easily recreated. There are a range of examples of this, some of which I hadn’t even noticed despite being familiar with the brands.
For example, NASA removed the crossbar in the letter A. As well as creating a sleeker and more futuristic look, the A resemblers the top of a spaceship. Although I hadn’t noticed this beforehand, I recognised how something like this can be simple yet effective even if the audience don’t directly spot the correlation.
The Amazon logo is widely recognised for with unique representation of their objective; bringing things from A to Z, shown with an arrow which represents a smile. This is very effective branding, as it is simple yet shows the brand values. The baseline of the letter Z has been curved to further enhance how the arrow looks like a smile. Although a very subtle feature that most people likely wouldn’t notice, it creates a much more visually appealing design and draws in the impact pod the smile.
I found it very interesting to look at these examples and more, as it shows how attention to minor details and simplicity is what makes an effective logo. Furthermore, these changes show that the designers haven't just chose a font and styled; there has been thought put into the design.
Kerning is the spacing. between letters. Brands often change kerning, particularly in logos, to create a more unique look. Kerning doesn’t need to be consistent between all letters; it’s more optical to see what works visually. We were directed to the type scale website and, although I’d done this in semester 1, I was curious to see if I’d improved. I got 94 first time, which I was pleased with as last time my best was 84!
Kerning can be used to combine letters to create a ‘smooth flowing’ look, however it’s important to do this with consideration as letters combined can give a completely different message. An example of this which I think works effectively is the ZARA logo, as the negative kerning and overlapping logos word due to the thin strokes and recognisable serifs the font is composed of.
Similarly, ligature is the combination of letters that naturally lay close. This relationship can be used to create a monogram of some kind. I found CNN’s logo as a good example of this, as ligature and kerning has been used to create an entirely connected logo which still forms a visual word/term.