Lexicon 1

Type/Typography as Design

Typography is a type of art related specifically to creating and arranging letter forms. As an aspect of design, typography has significant implications on human perception. For example, bold or heavy-weighted typefaces can suggest power or strength while ones employing light cursive might suggest delicacy. Types are composed of a number of different traits (size, leading, kerning, etc.) that affect the various anatomy of letters. I think typography is particularly important as it is the form of presentation in all written communication; often the first thing someone will see when engaging with a company. It is a method for both creating an appealing aesthetic and for implicitly communicating a message about the image or brand with which the company is trying to present itself.

Typography can be traced back to ancient Greece with the first use of a letterpress of sorts. Known as the phiastos disk, characters were carved into a metal tool used to recreate and imprint them on other materials. These can be considered the first typefaces in that they were a set style that could be reproduced.

Balance

In this context, balance, to me, balance is about understanding the median between often opposing demands. There should be a balance between complicated/crowded graphics and too simplistic, between taking advantage of trends and being novel, between the company’s wishes and your own, or between the literal and the interpretive. Balance can also mean visual balance within the frame. Are images centered? Is there more going on in one particular side of the image?

Intangibles

Intangibles represents intangible design mediums like creating user or visitor experiences. In the realm of arts management this is exceedingly important as a significant portion of the industry involves visitors engaging with a brick and mortar space, such as theatres, museums, classrooms, or hospitals. By taking a human-centered and empathy-based approach to design solutions we are able to create spaces that better answer users’ implicit needs. User experience is about enhancing the ease, accessibility and positivity of a person’s interaction with a service or product. This could take the form of designing educational models, using acoustics or lighting to make a space more inviting, or even by manipulating customer service to better suit user needs.

Flexibility

Flexibility could be related to the role of the design or marketing team. There might be conflicts between the vision of the designer and various constraints like the client’s wishes, budget, or time-frame. It is important to remain flexible in projects to adapt to these various as they rise. Often design involves prototyping and first drafts rarely make it to the final cut. Designers should be flexible in their attachment to various designs and understand that they will likely need to be changed or adapted to fit within different frameworks.