Module 03

“Geometry can produce legible letter

but art alone makes them beautiful. Art
begins where geometry ends, and
imparts to letters a character transcending
mere measurement.”
– Paul Standard, 1947 www.smith.edu/library/rarebook/exhibitions

ERIKA CARDON ART 230 TYPOGRAPHY | 8

Sans-serif
AA A A A A A
CO M P O S I N G W I T H G LY P H S | VA R I AT I O N S

h h h h h h

AAAAAA7 7 7l 7 7 7
u u u u
u u

l l

W
W
W

Wl
W
W

l
h
7 7 7 7 7 7

h
j

h
j
j j

Wl u u u u u u

Wl
Wl
Wl

W
Wl
RC
RCRCRCRCRC
R
l
Serif

n n n n n n

OO O O O O
RRC
RCRCRCRCRC
d
d
d
d
A
A
A
A
A
A
d

R
n n n n n
O
n

O O O O O

A
d
d

d
A
A
A
A
d

d
d
A

ERIKA CARDON ART 230 TYPOGRAPHY | 9

 C
R
CO M P O S I N G W I T H G LY P H S | FI N I S H E D CO M P O S I T I O N S

n
7
h
O
j

A
u

d
Wl
Sans Serif Serif

ERIKA CARDON ART 230 TYPOGRAPHY | 10

 C
R
CO M P O S I N G W I T H G LY P H S | T Y P O G R A PH I C A N ATO M Y

n
7
h
O
j
stem

A
stroke

u
bowl

d
ascender or
descender

counter
Wl
arm or leg

crossbar

Sans Serif Serif

ERIKA CARDON ART 230 TYPOGRAPHY | 11

SKILLS | BUILD UP LET TERING

1. I noticed that the part connecting

the upper and lower part of the g,
the link, is completely connected
to both the upper and lower
sections.

2. I noticed that the part coming off

of the upper portion of the g, the
ear, is fairly uniform in thinkness
and does not come to a distinct
or pronounced point on the end.

3. I noticed that the overall width

of the bottom part is about the
same as the top part.

ERIKA CARDON ART 230 TYPOGRAPHY | 12

V I S UA L AU D I T | T Y PE J O U R N A L 01

ERIKA CARDON ART 230 TYPOGRAPHY | 13

P O N D E R | M O D U L E 03

If I woke up in a musical it would be A A with piecing a quilt together I could not try to create a Concept 3

C
R
pattern to build my randomness around, but to truly be
Beauty and the Beast, because I’m random.
The third concept that I took away from this project
was just how different compositions feel based on the
pretty. That was my husband’s answer.

n
typeface they were created with. The blockiness, or the

7
I love too many musicals, so that is a elegance of the letterforms creates unique and varying

h
O
j
difficult question to answer. I suppose styles in the compositions. If you were to create two
compositions using the same letters through out they
perhaps I would say the musical

A
would each have a different feel to them.
Wicked. I feel like sometimes I’m totally u

d
misunderstood, and that like in the FONT COMPARISON

Wl
song, “For Good” often people come What did you notice about Baskerville MT when
into my life for a reason - because of comparing it to Stempel Garamond?

what we can each teach each other. Sans Serif Serif

INTRODUCTION
In this project we were asked to create two typographic
compositions. One in the sans serif font Neue Haas
Grotesk 75 bold. The other in the serif font Stempel
Garamond Regular. Both compositions needed to be
completely alphanumeric, with no punctuation or
symbols. Both needed to be abstract - to not spell a
recognizable word or create a recognizable picture. We
were required to use at least 5 separate glyphs, include
at least 5 different types of letterform anatomy, and use
basic principles of design.
THREE CONCEPTS
The three most important concepts that I learned from
completing Project 01 | Composing with Glyphs.
Concept 1
During this project I learned that in order to create a well
designed composition I needed to be random. Like
Concept 2
While this project required randomly choosing and
placing letterform, there did have to be some order to
it. So, while it was not possible to have a predetermined
plan - place something here, then something there, and
finally something here - it was essential to follow good
design principles such as alignment, visual hierarchy,
visual interest, movement, and gestalt.
It is hard to create something that
appears random but still feels
unified and connected.
I noticed several things right off that are different
between Baskerville and Stempel Garamond.
First, the ear on the g in Baskerville is curved and
ends with a very round head. In the Garamond is it
predominantly straight with a flat end.
Second, the g in Baskerville does not have a fully closed
lower loop and the link is much more curved than in
Garamond.
Lastly, the cap and x height of Baskerville are shorter
than that of Garamond.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, while I struggled initially with this project
and getting ideas down on paper, once I let go and
stopped trying to think too hard I ended up really
enjoying it. It is hard to create something that appears
random but still feels unified and connected. This was a
great exercise and reminder of that.

ERIKA CARDON ART 230 TYPOGRAPHY | 14