Study Task 4, we were asked to collect 3 magazines editorials, 3 newspapers editorials and 3 typographic posters. For each editorial, we picked something bad, something we felt indifferent about and something we liked. I used the criteria of point size to pick these, looking at the order in which you navigate the page when reading.
I decided to base my hierarchy on the point size as in most cases, the order that you navigate and read an editorial is normally down to the size of the text. this is what catches your eye initially for example:
Header - Normally the biggest point size on the page
Sub heading - slightly smaller than the header
Body text - Usually around 9pt high amount of readability and legibility
Folios - Usually the smallest text on the page "title of the whole editorial and page number"
First thing i did was to count the different types of font's on each poster, magazine editorial or newspaper editorial. I found in the overcrowded design readability and legibility was reduced because the design has no order it is very much all over the place.
Newspaper:
1:
5 different typefaces where used in the design of this double page spread, the design works well in my opinion in terms of readability, it uses a clean double column grid, making the piece highly readable, also using highly legible typefaces for headers and sub headers.
2.
This design to me is highly readable and to me very professional looking
again 3 column grid all type is to a left alignment this creates an easy readable design that carries a large amount of block text the layout holds this information without overpowering the viewer.
Number of typeface's: 4
3.
To me this design was confusing when i first came across the piece i felt there was no real order and this to me gave the design no real hierarchy as i was unsure what to look at first.
Title: Highly readable sans serif typeface
Sub header in a much smaller point size than the main header
The typographic elements are along the bottom of the design this suggests to me that the image is supposed to be the focal point of the whole design. The block text is in a 3 column grid.
4 different typefaces used
Magazine Editorials:
1:
Large title grasps the viewers attention straight away instantly giving the viewer a starting point in which to read again block text split into a 3 column grid. Making communication of the text the main feature.
The image above shows the 2 column grid with all text left aligned again for maximum legibility and readability 6 typefaces used.
2:
As you can see the design is pretty much all over the place and to me has no structure when looking at this design initially i get drawn to the title but from there it looks to me like you could pick any part of the editorial to read from, This complicates the design and in my opinion overpowers the viewer.
Again with this design it seems that the order of importance has nothing to do with the size of the text at all. 12 typefaces used - this to me is far to overpowering and in my eyes is just there to look "impressive" when all its really doing is confusing.
3:
Large quotation in large bold serif font, in a central alignment this takes all the attention and gives the viewer a taster for whats in store for the rest of the spread.
As you can see in this case the title is one of the smallest point sizes on the page this is again showing that importance of information has nothing to do with the point size in a lot of cases.
4 typefaces used
Posters
1:
As you can see this is a mainly image dominated piece but typographic elements are all right aligned with reduced leading and kerning this reduces the amount of readability and legibility the text holds but can also be used effectively in making a piece of type much more visually pleasing to the viewer.
3 typefaces used
2:
Again a heavily image dominated poster design, this design keeps type to the minimal and to me holds a lot of structure.
Large bold title in high point size instantly grasps the attention of the viewer.
then directly below the names of the actors involved this is showing the level of importance for once in some sort of order.
2 typefaces used this keeps the design simple but effective in communicating in a readable and legible way without overpowering the viewer.
3:
There are a lot of features to this design meaning that it could become overcrowded but the layout i feel reduces this.
Large bold title in large point size grasps attention as soon as you set eyes on the piece
below you can see the strict left aligned text gives the design some sort of order
this also doesnt take anything away from the image.
7 typefaces used:
What i have found suggests to me that to create a piece of design that doesn't overpower the viewer you should only use a a maximum of 4 different typefaces as any more starts to reduce any order the piece has. i have also found that by braking block text up in to a 2 or 3 column grid this increases readability for the viewer allowing the editorial to hold allot of information but not overpowering the viewer.
I have also found that text doesn't necessarily have to be bigger to be more eye catching, there's some examples in my hierarchy where smaller pt sizes caught my eye before the smaller pt sizes. This to me suggests that in all editorials there is always a hierarchy with what you initially read for example looking at a news paper everyone reads the top left fist and works their way down the page, This means that the design has some sort of order, Just that some designs flow much more effectively than a overcrowded design.
importance of information: I initially thought that in all cases the most important information was in the highest point size and was made to stand out to draw initial attention. Obviously if the design is based on specific subject, film for example the "title" will be the main focal point but in magazine and newspaper this is not always the case.
