Zoom

For the first part of class, I’ll be joining via Zoom.

Roll

Record yourself as present in the attendance module for 10.20 in Moodle.

Sketchbook: Counterforms

We haven’t talked a lot about counterforms in typography, a term that refers to the negative space within glyphs. Many typographers argue that the counterforms is often the most important part of a typeface. Paying attention to these is important in helping your glyphs feel balanced and able to compose text with rhythm.

In order to visualize counterforms, you can reverse the figure/ground relationship by drawing the negative space in black (with the normal stroke of the glyph being white). Here’s an example from a weblog entry about counterforms:

Notice that, for this kind of exercise, you’re interested in the internal counterform, not the parts outside of the glyph. The /R/ counterform, for example, doesn’t include the space to the right of the letter; just the interior forms. (Those spaces are also important, but more for kerning.)

For this sketchbook exercise, draw the counterforms for /act/ in Bodoni 72 and Helvetica Book (Patrick should have printouts). Start by sketching a bounding box for each letter—just an empty box that is the same shape as each, individual glyph (not the full word). Then use a pencil or pen to fill in just the counterforms. Remember to only draw the interior parts of the counterform, not the spaces outside of the glyph.

Grading

I’ve updated grades and attendance in Moodle. If you see anything missing/wrong (such as grades missing for assignments you turned in late), let me know by email (and list everything in a single email, not scattered across several).

Schedule Adjustments

I’ve made some adjustments to the schedule to give you a little more time to work on the movie titles and typeface projects.

Typeface

Use peer comments from Tuesday to revise your typeface.

See notes from last class (scroll down) for instructions on how to set up your folders and submit your revised glyphs to me for feedback.

Titles Project

Once you’ve submitted revisions to your glyphs for my for my feedback, you can work on the titles project. Start with the Design Brief. See instructions on the project page for setting up your folders in Google Drive.