From Designing with Type, by James Craig
Document size: 10×10
Exercise 1 – Garamond: Justified
Type the word “Garamond” twice.
Once in 72 point Garamond display in U/lc (Upper and lowercase).
Once in 72 point Garamond in UC (all Caps).
72 point leading, baseline to baseline (i.e. set solid).
Display type should be set flush left, ragged right (left aligned).
Followed by Garamond text:
11/15 by 13 picas* (column width): justified. Allow 72 points from baseline of display type to baseline of the first line of text type.
Allow 2 1/2 inches from the top of the sheet of paper to the baseline of the first word, with a 2 inch left hand margin.
Text:
Garamond is a classic Old Style typeface. Claude Garamond, who died in 1561, was originally credited with the design of this elegant French typeface; however, it has recently been discovered that this typeface was designed by Jean Jannon in 1615. Many of the present-day versions of this elegant typeface may be either Garamond or Jannon designs, although they are all called Garamond. This is a typical Old Style face, having very little contrast between the thicks and thins, heavily bracketed serifs, and oblique stress. The capital letters are shorter than the ascenders of the lowercase letters. The letterforms are open and round, making the face extremely readable.
*References:
1 inch = 6 picas
1 pica = 12 points
1 inch = 72 points
Exercise 2 – Baskerville: Align Left, Ragged Right
Type the word “Baskerville” twice.
Once in 72 point Baskerville display in U/lc (Upper and lowercase).
Once in 72 point Baskerville in UC (all Caps).
72 point leading, baseline to baseline (i.e. set solid).
Display type should be set flush left, ragged right.
Followed by Baskerville text:
11/13 by 20 picas (column width): flush left, ragged right (left aligned).
Allow 72 points from baseline of display type to baseline of the first line of text type.
Allow 2 1/2 inches from the top of the sheet of paper to the baseline of the first word, with a 2 inch left hand margin.
Text:
Baskerville, an elegant, well-designed typeface created by the Englishman John Baskerville in 1757, is an excellent example of a Transitional typeface. Transitional typefaces are so called because they form a bridge between the Old Style and the Modern faces. Compared to the Old Style, Transitional typefaces show greater contrast between the thicks and thins, serifs are less heavily bracketed, and the stress is almost vertical. Baskerville characters are very wide for their x-height, are closely fitted, and are of excellent proportions. Baskerville is considered one of the most pleasant and readable typefaces.
Exercise 3 – Bodoni: Align Right, Ragged Left
Type the word “Bodoni” twice.
Once in 72 point Bodoni display in U/lc (Upper and lowercase).
Once in 72 point Bodoni in UC (all Caps).
72 point leading, baseline to baseline (i.e. set solid).
Display type should be set flush right, ragged left.
Followed by Bodoni text:
12/16 by 18 picas (column width): flush right, ragged left.
Allow 72 points from baseline of display type to baseline of the first line of text type.
Allow 2 1/2 inches from the top of the sheet of paper to the baseline of the first word, with a 2 inch right hand margin.
Text:
Bodoni is a Modern typeface, designed in the late 1700s by the Italian typographer Giambattista Bodoni. At the end of the eighteenth century, a fashion grew for faces with a stronger contrast between the thicks and thins, unbracketed serifs, and a strong vertical stress. These were called Modern typefaces. All the older faces became known as Old Style, while the more recent facesÑjust prior to the changes were referred to as Transitional. Although Bodoni has a small x-height, it appears very wide and black. Because of the strong vertical stress, accentuated by its heavy thicks and hairline thins, Bodoni should be well leaded.
Exercise 4 – Century Expanded: Centered
Type the word “Century” twice.
Once in 72 point Century display in U/lc (Upper and lowercase).
Once in 72 point Century in UC (all Caps).
72 point baseline to baseline (i.e. set solid).
Display type should be set centered.
Followed by Century text:
10/16 by 24 picas maximum. Allow 72 points from baseline of display type to baseline of the first line of text type.
Allow 2 1/2 inches from the top of the sheet of paper to the baseline of the first word, with all type centered on the page.
Text:
Century, the first major American typeface, was designed in 1894 by Linn Boyd Benton for Theodore Lowe DeVinne, the printer of The Century Magazine. After Bodoni, type designers began to search for new forms of typographic expression. Around 1815 a typestyle appeared that was characterized by thick slab serifs and thick main strokes with little contrast between the thicks and thins. This style was called Egyptian. Century Expanded is an excellent example of a refined Egyptian, or slab serif, typeface. The large x-height and simple forms combine to make this a very legible typeface.
Exercise 5 – Helvetica: Random
The display word “Helvetica” can be comped in any size and combination of upper and lowercase roman or italic, regular or bold, condensed or extended, etc.
The Helvetica text can also be in any text size and leading, but the arrangement must be random, not justified; flush left, ragged right; flush right, ragged left; or centered.
Type does not necessarily have to be in a single block but can be in multiple groupings.
Text:
Helvetica is a sans serif typeface of Swiss origin. Although typefaces without serifs were used in the nineteenth century, it was not until the twentieth century that they became popular. In 1957 the Haas foundry introduced Haas Grotesk, designed by Max Miedinger (with Eduard Hoffmann), later to become known internationally as Helvetica. Helvetica’s large x-height, slightly condensed letters, and clean design make it a very readable typeface. In general, sans serif typefaces have relatively little stress, with optically equal strokes, and should always be leaded.