Objective

To demonstrate the ability of using typographic systems to organize information.

To synthesize concepts with principles of typography.

To demonstrate the ability to communicated complicated information in an accessible manner.

To demonstrate facility with choosing paper appropriate to your design.

To demonstrate facility with using Adobe InDesign to create the following: grid, column, master page, folios, rules, and more to correctly package a file with correct fonts and linked images.

Going into this project, I felt I had a strong understanding of creating typographic hierarchy in a page, spread, book, etc. What I was not as strong in was my use of Adobe InDesign’s style management features. Prof. Curran explains the lack of using these features as InDesign managing you instead of you managing InDesign. While I don’t think that this feature is the answer to the user’s ability to manage a document I do think it’s a step in the right direction.

Design three different ToCs. They must each contain all the same content. It is expected that you will change the grid structure, typefaces, and image(s), color, and sizes on each of the three designs.

I chose the table of contents from volume 19 of Smith Journal. This publication focuses on life around the world, and how the human experience is much more relatable cross–culturally than one may think. They do this through direct comparisons, but mostly through the sharing of anecdotes from people around the world. The table of contents in Smith Journal is pretty, but typographically weak. It lacks structure, loosely finding it in a tri–column form. The type is set in all italics which are set in too light a weight and too light a value. Additionally, the sensation that the page gives lacks any semblance to the content in the publication. This can be said for much of the branding a design of the journal, but particularly the table of contents.

The page measures 9" x 11 3/4". This was the only dimension kept from the original page, eliminating any type rules or ornaments that were featured previously. I began transcribing the table of contents into Pages, making note of Title, caption, page number. I then imported this text to InDesign, and began shi=ing the text around the page. What resulted from this initial effort is my 2–column design, which bears the closest resemblance to the original. I kept with using a serif, but decided to use a more traditional one, Garamond Premier Pro. This edition of Garamond features many variants in its family which I took advantage of in order to maximize hierarchy. This can be seen in the use of Bold variants at the page and article titles. Italic Caption is used for the page numbers and article subheads due to its increased density caused by its finials remaining closer to the major stroke of the letters, as well as the counters of the letters being reduced in size. Variation in value of the type allowed me to control the hierarchy through a means other than scale and weight. The lighter value of the title causes the reader to not initially recognize it in terms of initial hierarchy, but later in their interaction with the page as the title is still a greater size than the
rest of the content on the page.

The second iteration that came out of this project was the tri–column version. To bring the feel of the page closer to what my impression of Smith Journal is as a publication,

I switched the typeface from Garamond Premier to Avenir. This change, along with the rotation of text, and an increased sense of play seen in the title (table of (contents x 48)) brings a more contemporary and alive feel to the page. This is also through the latter two elements’ creation of movement and rhythm, apart from the typical left–to–right mechanic, in an uninterrupting manner. Like Garamond Premier, the Avenir family is large. To emphasize hierarchy in the piece I used Avenir 95 Black, 85 Heavy, and 45 Book. Like in the first example, this combined with changes in value and scale allowed me to create a distinct visual hierarchy.

The third and final iteration arose from me wanting to push my interpretation of Smith Journal even further. I decided to incorporate lettering as not only an a way to communicate in a more personal way, but also as a structural piece for the page. My classmate Joel showed me a book featuring non–traditional, non–western, artifacts of design, and what stuck with me was a spread of examples of layouts that made use of non–geometric grids. While I didn’t want to go too far outside the box to the point where the page would seem unfeasible, it did encourage me to take advantage of a structure that was non–geometric. We see this in the use of the tail of the “s” winding its way down the page, like a path on the journey through the journal. This tail provides the structure for the two–column arrangement of the page. To push this further, I contrasted the lettering with the rigidity of the bold variant of Atlas Typewriter, which I used for the titles of the articles. I contrasted the rigidity and uniformity of the monospaced typeface with the organic and traditional Garamond Premier. These instances of “marks on paper” as the same language ties back to what Smith Journal represents — that the human experience is more relatable than one may think.