Reading assignment pg. 76 - 113
As I read A Type Primer, unconsciously I was comparing it to the previous book Designing with Type. I liked that the previous book was like a stepping stone, a foundation for typography to A Type Primer's more detailed information.
Tracking
Although I learned about tracking, kerning, and letterspacing before, there were a few details that were covered in the reading that were useful to know. Examples of tracking were shown and the point was that the larger the point sizes, the more adjustments are needed to be made. The author says that normal tracking for small type feels too open as the type gets larger. So he suggested that adjusting letterspacing should begin at the small type and then enlarge the result. I thought that these sorts of suggestions scattered throughout the reading were very thoughtful.
Texture
I loved how the author described how text is like texture. A good typeographer has to understand how to convey the content with the feel of the type. Many examples to a type face were shown to illustrate this point.
A type specimen book
Throughout the reading and especially in this section, it mentions that although we have the computer and everything is just a click away, there is still nothing better than seeing the printed version on hand. It's really true because seeing something on the moniter and then seeing it printed is somehow different. Although technology has come a long way, it doesn't quite match the look and feel of ink on paper.
Quotation marks
In last week's class, Jimmy briefly explained the misusage of quotes and apostrophes for primes. "Dumb quotes" are when primes are used as quotes. I didn't know, but we commit this crime all the time without knowing it.
Headlines within text
This section not only illustrated how text can be subdivided with heads, but showed a hiearchy as well. I thought this subject was familiar when I remembered the first assignment of writing directions. This also had to have a hierarchy indicated by different type sizes or styles (small caps, bold, italics). Whatever the hierarchy was, it has to be consistent throughout. Otherwise, it would interrupt the flow of reading.
