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5ET | 29 November 2014 On minimum quality 
 in typeface design 
 Gerry Leonidas

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[start with an observation about 
 the car industry in the 1970s] This talk will cover three 
 notions, one argument, 
 and one call to action.

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1 industry and ownership 2 value and visibility 3 information and quality > trends, genre, and creativity > some intentions to act

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Industry and ownership

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A comparison of type-making technologies, with a comment on the 
 shift from manufacturing processes with dedicated equipment to knowledge professions with generic capital equipment.

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Linotype & Machinery Type Drawing Office

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Joana Correia’s workspace

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A comment on the economics 
 of early DTP equipment

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Discussion of “objects” that embody IP. Story of Linotype’s conversion to a rights holder, and Monotype’s transition to a digital services company.

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When industries open up, 
 existing ideas about ownership 
 and contribution change. First notion

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Value and visibility

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Comments on the disembodiment 
 of type, and the difficulties of identifying reliable representations of a typeface

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font-making environments 
 are commoditised

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the marginal cost 
 of a new font 
 trends to zero

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The added value of design 
 is redefined away from the 
 visible acts of practice Second notion

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Information and quality

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Discussing “how to evaluate quality?” 
 in relation to the range of possible 
 outputs.

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baby, these curves make me think naughty thoughts

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baby,  these  curves     make  me  think     naughty  thoughts baby, these curves make me think naughty thoughts baby, these curves make me think naughty thoughts baby, these curves make me think naughty thoughts baby, these curves make me think naughty thoughts baby, these curves make me think naughty thoughts baby, these curves make me think naughty thoughts

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A typeface does not contain 
 enough information 
 to explain itself. Third notion

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A typeface can only be evaluated 
 in relation to a context 
 that is external to anything that identifies the typeface as itself.

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1 Ownership and contribution 
 change with the means of making. 2 Value of design is disembodied.
 3 Evaluation relies on context. Recap

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Trends, genres, and creativity Extending the discussion

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SCH: …almost anything is possible 
 if a good argument is provided,[…] if the design is not among the accepted conventions of the moment possibly it will be in the future (or not) (A student question)

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The rules for evaluation are determined by context. Starting point, then

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These rules aren't linear: 
 they apply with a force that 
 is analogous to the deviation 
 from the convention.

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Then let’s assume that we can represent them as points in a coordinate space (this is oversimplifying, but imagining more than two dimensions is tricky): they will form a cloud that is fairly dense. The strength of the patterns for new typefaces that do a comparable job will be very weak near the centre of the cloud, and progressively stronger as you move away.

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So, if Minion is at the centre, then Cardea 
 is a little bit further out (so the designer can make it individual but it still is a “comfortably readable typeface for prose 
 in Northern Europe”, and Capucine is 
 going too far.

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Cardea Minion Capucine

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This “context cloud” shifts slowly, across genres.

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[Oversimplifying] Conventions develop slowly, gradually populated by a cloud of typefaces. 
 Imagine a cloud moving slowly from an “old-style / transitional serifs” position 
 to a “low-contrast slabs” position, to a “modulated sans” position over twenty 
 or thirty years, as peoples’ reading habits evolve.

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> trends > genres > motivators > outliers

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Redefining trends of use; genres of typefaces for specific uses; motivator typefaces that shift genres to contribute to a trend; and outlier typefaces, that may generate spikes of attention, and enable other typefaces to act as motivators

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So how to judge quality beyond 
 genre, purpose, and identity?

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We can set “objective” criteria 
 for well-formed shapes, spaces, 
 and behaviours.

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/gerryleonidas

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Reminder of criteria for type reviews, 
 which are embedded in a previous presentation in Warsaw

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Pointers for typeface reviews (1/3): > fit of typeset text within the brief > key dimensions within the body > stroke thickness range > balance of key strokes and space 
 within and between letters

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Pointers for typeface reviews (2/3): > stroke modulation > in/out stroke recipes > alignments in H and V axes > transitions between letter elements

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Pointers for typeface reviews (3/3): > relating of inner and outer strokes > letter shapes within key patterns > integration of exceptions

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How do we support this 
 on a global scale?

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Verdana and Georgia (1996) embody 
 Microsoft’s first moves away from 
 print. The  ClearType  fonts (2003)    represented 
 a  bet  in portable, flat  screens.

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Adobe’s Source Sans Pro 
 and Serif Pro are just notable examples in a very long line 
 of fonts that set baselines.

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We have a plan to make available 
 online a series of resources to support people who want to start learning 
 about typeface design

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Two phases: > Typeface and typeform 
 fundamentals > Design for typographic setting

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- Key properties of text typefaces - Shapes contributing to homogeneity / individuality - Key proportions in the lowercase - Stroke thickness as a unit of measurement - Balancing key strokes and space - Stroke modulation and transitions to vertical strokes - In- and outstroke recipes - Optical alignments in the horizontal axis - Patterns and exceptions in lettershapes - Dimensions within and across cases

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- Setting parameters from a typographic brief - Body sizing for paragraph setting - Case differentiation for different briefs - Family composition planning - Mapping families to CSS weights - Planning weights and styles within paragraphs - Planning weights and styles for editorial typography - Planning weights and styles for complex texts

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What next? Closing comments

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Thank you, and get in touch @gerryleonidas @typefacedesign reading.ac.uk/typography typefacedesign.net