Publishing design-Task 1

五月 13, 2024

Publishing design-Task 1

Publishing design

Ma Ruisheng

0347125

Lecture 1 (Formats)

Books as a Medium of Transmission

Books, along with newspapers and magazines, serve as vital mediums for documenting and transmitting ideas, knowledge, records, history, and much more.

Factors Influencing Book Formats

Question: What factors influence and determine the format of a book?

Age

User

Historical Formats

Fig. 1.1 Regions

Mesopotamian Civilization (Iran-Iraq): The token system, as described by Denise Schmandt-Besserat (1995) in "Record Keeping Before Writing," highlights the evolution of the first writing system from a counting technology. The transition from simple tokens to more complex ones and eventually to bullae set the stage for early forms of pictographic writing on clay tablets.

Fig.1.2 clay tablets

Indus Valley Civilization (India-Pakistan-Afghanistan): While not much is known about the record-keeping practices in the Indus River Valley, evidence suggests the use of a complex system of writing, particularly cuneiform, one of the earliest writing systems. Cuneiform was primarily inscribed on soft clay tablets using sharp tools, documenting various aspects of government, religion, and trade.

Fig. 1.3 Cuneiform

Palm Leaf Manuscripts: The oldest surviving palm leaf manuscript, dating back to around 800-900 CE, originates from Nepal. However, the use of palm manuscripts may trace back as far as 1000 BCE in the Indus Valley, indicating its widespread use across South Asia.

Fig. 1.4 Palm Leaf Manuscript

Egyptian Civilization: In ancient Egypt, only scribes possessed the ability to read and write hieroglyphics. They utilized a special type of paper known as papyrus for writing, often inscribing records not only on papyrus but also on tomb walls. Papyrus, derived from the pith of the papyrus plant (Cyperus papyrus), was integral to their documentation practices.

Fig. 1.5 Tomb walls

Early Chinese Writing: Chinese characters in ancient times were typically written in vertical columns on thin bamboo strips. To create longer documents, strips of bamboo were linked together with threads. The modern Chinese character for "book" originates from a pictogram representing bamboo strips threaded together. Cai Lun, an imperial court eunuch, introduced a new substance in 105 CE, heralding advancements in writing materials.

Fig. 1.7 Diamond Sutra

Early Printed Books: The earliest known printed book, originating from China during the end of the Tang dynasty, was discovered in a cave at Dunhuang in 1899. Printed on paper, it adopts a scroll format. Paper, invented around 179-41 BC, revolutionized book production.

Fig. 1.8 Parchment

Parchment: Parchment, first invented in Turkey around 197-159 BC, later spread to Europe. Made from animal hide, parchment became an alternative to papyrus and bamboo for bookmaking. Unlike the flexibility of papyrus and bamboo, parchment's thickness and weight made scroll-making impractical. Europeans began producing parchment books around 50 AD.

Spread of Paper: The use of paper spread slowly westward from China to the Persia-Arab empires, eventually reaching Europe through Turkey via the Ottoman Empire. Paper became widely available in Europe during the 1400-1500 CE period. The composition of paper evolved over time, with wood pulp first being utilized for printing in the 1860s, as evidenced by the Boston Weekly Journal.

Lecture

Typography is as essential to a graphic designer as oxygen is to a living organism. It is the most crucial aspect to master in graphic design.

Elements in a typeface include:

- Small Caps

- Numerals

- Fractions

- Ligatures

- Punctuation

- Mathematical Signs

- Symbols

- Non-aligning Figures

Fig 3.1: Characters in a typeface

Fig 3.2: Characters in a typeface

Fig 3.3: Characters in a typeface

Fig 3.4: Characters in a typeface

To enhance the readability of text, it's essential to adhere to established legibility guidelines. Designers should only deviate from these rules when they are well-acquainted with them and when the nature of the content supports creative interpretation. The initial step in ensuring legibility involves selecting open and well-proportioned typefaces. Choices include classic serif fonts like Garamond, Bodoni, Bembo, Minion Pro, Baskerville, Jenson, and Caslon, as well as sans-serif options such as Franklin Gothic, Frutiger, Gill Sans, Helvetica, and Myriad Pro.

Fig 3.5:Open and Well-proportioned

Fig 3.6:Open and Well-proportioned

Small Caps & All Caps:

Small capitals work well for subheadings or the initial line of a paragraph, providing a distinguished and clear opening. On the other hand, text set entirely in uppercase is best reserved for short headlines or subheadings. Extensive use of uppercase, especially in longer sentences, should be avoided as it can compromise legibility and fail to convey emphasis effectively.

Special-Purpose Styles:

In many software applications, there are numerous formatting styles specifically for creating footnotes, references, and mathematical formulas. These styles are often embedded deep within the tool sections of the software, making them less obvious to casual users. This can lead to underutilization of potentially useful formatting features.

Text Scaling:

Certain programs offer the capability to adjust the scale of fonts, either by stretching or squeezing them vertically or horizontally. This results in a pseudo-condensed or pseudo-extended appearance. Such alterations distort the original design of the font and can cheapen the appearance of the text. It's best to avoid these modifications to maintain the integrity and aesthetic quality of the original font design.

Outline & Shadow Styles:

Styles like outline or shadow are frequently misused, often by those who believe a simple mouse click can produce professional-level effects. Creating effective and beautiful text formatting takes years of practice and experience. Therefore, it is advisable to use outline and shadow styles sparingly, if at all.

Font Size, Line Length, and Spacing:

Maintaining a harmonious relationship between font size, line length, and line spacing is crucial for natural text flow and readability. An imbalance in any of these elements can render even the most well-designed font difficult to read. Typically, a column of text should consist of about 50 to 65 characters per line. Overcrowding lines with too many characters or using too small a font size can make text challenging to read and understand. Remember, text that is hard to read often goes unread.

Introduction

exercise 1

exercise 2

exercise 3

For this exercise, I used the A2 paper that Mr. Hijjaz provided in class. First, I folded the paper according to his instructions, and then marked each page with the corresponding page number.