BA0677 how to use that typeface tủ tài liệu bách khoa

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How to use that typeface
That font you love won’t work just anywhere;
it has a style that needs to be complemented.
Here’s how to work to its strengths.
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How to use that typeface

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How to use that typeface
That font you love won’t work just anywhere; it has a style that needs
to be complemented. Here’s how to work to its strengths.

Ever spot a typeface that you really like and
can’t wait to use? It’s exciting, but go slow.
Before you buy it, you’ll want to know if the
lines, shapes and little doodads that make it
so appealing here will work as well over there.
How to tell? Reading a typeface is a little
like reading a real face. Tiny differences in
the arch of an eyebrow, the curve of a lip and
the contour of a cheekbone convey real presence, personality and attitude. These need
complementary presence and “attitude” from
the other visual elements, or the result will be
awkward, weak or just funny looking. Here’s
how to do that.

University Roman Spotted on Monterey’s famous Cannery Row,
funky University Roman on this slab of a gift-shop sign is out of its
element. Its offbeat letterforms, opulent curlicues and toothpick
serifs are like a mardi-gras costume in political science class. Not a
match. This is a typeface that wants to party! Let’s find it one!

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Make a visual overview

Set the full alphabet and make a visual overview. Write down what you see.
Why write it down? To make sure you’ve actually seen it. Seriously.

A and e have extremely small counters,
or enclosed spaces.
Flamboyant University
Roman was developed
in 1983 by the Letraset
Type Studio. It’s quirky
and popular as a display
typeface, especially on
greeting cards. It’s good
for more than that, as
we’ll see.

Other letters have REALLY BIG counters.

AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJj

KkLlMmNnOoPpQqRrSs
TtUuVvWwXxYyZz
1234567890!$%&?
Swashy tails

Characters like N and O that
in ordinary alphabets are
the same width are very different in University Roman
Conversely, characters like M
and T that are normally different are alike here.

Opulent swirls
and curlicues

Thick-to-thin stroke differences are subtle but present on every character.
If the signmaker on the previous page had been writing this stuff down, he
wouldn’t have affixed the V to his signboard backward.

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Look at the details

University Roman is full of swashy idiosyncracies that give it a hand-made,
Christmasy style especially suitable for fanciful and romantic topics.

Serif extensions
rise above cap
height and drop
below baseline

N O Ee
PRAB Quilt
Asymmetrical
serifs

Exaggerated
sizes

Oddball character widths All straight letters are thin. Really thin.
All round letters are wide. Really wide—so wide that round lowercase
letters are wider than their uppercase counterparts! (Ee, above right)

Radical 50°- angle serifs and terminals! But only in lowercase!

Wacky x-heights Bulbous, rubbery letters have an Alice-in-Wonderland quality; some have HUGE tops, some have HUGE bottoms,
no apparent rhyme or reason.

A tail long enough
to tickle three characters over.

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Note strengths and weaknesses

The irregular proportions and embellishments that make University Roman an
entertaining display face make it very hard to read in text. Key is to keep it big.

University Roman, a display face . . .

Texture and flasp net exating end mist of it snooling. Spaff forl isn’t
cubular but quastic, leam restart that can’t prebast. It’s tope, this
fluant chasible. Silk, shast, lape and behast the thin chack. “It has
larch to say fan.” Why? Elesara and order is fay of alm. A card whint
not oogum or bont. Pretty simple, glead and tarm. Texture and flasp
Bembo, a text face . . .
Texture and flasp net exating end mist of it snooling. Spaff forl
isn’t cubular but quastic, leam restart that can’t prebast. It’s tope,
this fluant chasible. Silk, shast, lape and behast the thin chack. “It
has larch to say fan.” Why? Elesara and order is fay of alm. A card
whint not oogum or bont. Pretty simple, glead and tarm. Texture

Its irregularities make University Roman unsuitable
for text, where a rhythmic, medium typeface works best
(above). University Roman can be used for very brief passages (left), but for anything more than a sentence
or so, use a real text face.

Best of the
Season to you!
Chris & Robin

Big, tight, even University Roman looks best big. Its enormous,
round letters create a lot of internal white space that looks
better when it’s squeezed out, so set your words tightly and as
evenly spaced as possible (below).

aloe

Even spacing Put more space between
straight letters, less between round.

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Put it to work

The challenge now is to combine type with graphics in a coherent whole. To learn
how, let’s start at the end—with two cards that illustrate University Roman perfectly
tuned to its environment.
Card 2
Card 1

NOW THROUGH MARCH 28

Two beautiful cards The lines, shapes and colors of type and image
are so tightly integrated that the designs appear completely natural and
unforced. Both type and image are strong but together are greater than
the sum of their parts.

MASQUERADE
YOUR PRESENCE IS REQUESTED
FOR A FESTIVE EVENING OF INTRIGUE,
MYSTERY AND FANTASY.

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Look for common shapes

To find an image that goes with your typeface, start with shapes. Round letters go
naturally with round images. Avoid triangles, squares and ambiguous shapes, which
will compete and weaken your design.

Circles (Right) Round shapes are
obvious in the round letters, but look
at the smaller parts, too—the loops
and swirls and negative spaces that
are also round.
Teardrops (Below) Teardrops in the
image mirror those in the swashy S.

NOW THROUGH MARCH 28

OC Dbae
Complementary typeface (Above) Pair a fancy display face with an ordinary typeface for contrast
plus readability at small sizes. Look for similarities. What’s interesting here is how different Futura is
from University Roman, yet they have roundness in common.

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Blend type and image using color and “edge”

Now bring the image into the type, which in this case means literally. Wrap the type
around the edge contours, then apply its beautiful gradients to the lettering.

Blend using color
Magenta to yellow (above) and
cyan to green (left) are light,
fresh combinations. Sample
color pairs from the image, add
to the color palette as gradient
swatches, then apply to the
type, which will take on a natural radiance that blends beautifully into the image.

NOW THROUGH MARCH 28

NOW THROUGH MARCH 28

Blend using a common edge Wrap the words tightly to the
contours of the image (left). As a rule with display type, you’ll
do this by eye, paying attention to the nooks, crannies and other
details that the software would miss.

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Lay out the card

Place type and image on the small card, which confines and focuses
the design. A small, duplicate image activates the opposite corner and
completes the layout.

Splashy composition is beautiful in open space (left), but its elements must work on a card, which
confines them. Set as big as possible, bleeding beyond the lower
right corner (below).

Faint image activates a space
A smaller, lighter duplicate image in the
upper left activates the passive white
and balances the design.

NOW THROUGH MARCH 28

NOW THROUGH MARCH 28

NOW THROUGH MARCH 28

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Party down!
MASQUERADE
YOUR PRESENCE IS REQUESTED

Intrigue, mystery, fantasy. For card 2, our fanciful typeface goes looking
for an ideal party image and finds it in a gold mask.

FOR A FESTIVE EVENING OF INTRIGUE,
MYSTERY AND FANTASY.

Picking the right image is key To
illustrate a masquerade party, a mask is
a natural choice, but which one? A quick
search brought up a multitude of lavish
creations, all visually interesting.

Flowers, flourishes and detailed textures mimic the extravagant forms of University Roman. Monochromatic gold is direct and intense and will partner well with the
typeface. Multicolor masks (left, top) are so engaging they require the stage to themselves. Real faces are similarly distracting; instead of a powerful design, the viewer will
be wondering who it is. Remember: common lines and shapes.

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