Super Normal Case Study

Generally, type design demonstrates the history of cultural changes, social expectations, economic advancements and technological progresses. The impetuses for the creations of typefaces vary from each other, which in this study, arise from four main sources: cultural, corporate, technological and aesthetic. Without doubt, there motivations can be interrelated. For example, Helvetica, as the most representative Super Normal typeface, was motivated by the cultural determination towards the reconstruction after the Second World War and the aesthetic passion to revolutionize the decorative typography as used to. Another example comes from the Microsoft Corporation, a major corporation, commissioned Matthew Carter to design a

In most cases “normal” means typically developing. “Typical development” is described using milestones that one achieves during the early stages of development. When comparing an individual child’s growth to the average statistic, a delay or advancement can be labeled as not “normal”. According to the textbook: “‘Normal’ is truly just an abstract concept that we apply to our personal experience” (3). No person is truly “normal” because everyone has a different set of abilities than others. “Normal” is based on how one perceives the people around them and themselves. “Typical” or “Normal” is also based on society's values. As stated before, people can be considered different based on their development. In

When I started this class, I did not know anything about the history of graphic design. I had no idea what influences have held a strong presence or why things are the way that they are. During this typography research project I learned a lot about the history of graphic design and especially the history of the Dadaism typography movement.

“The Helvetica typeface is one of the most ubiquitous design classics of all time in 2007 it was their 50th anniversary.” “Eduard Hoffman and Max Miedinger a feculence designer who had been an employee of the Hass type family in Munchenstein in Switzerland, was

Within our culture, there is a definite beauty standard. Many people will probably admit to knowing that there is a standard, but those who realize how those standards affect our lives are not as numerous. People who do not see the effects of these standards in the real world may have an easier time seeing these same effects take a different form in fictional writing. The novel titled Uglies may seem like full fantasy with its hover boards and floating buildings, but the world within its pages reveals the effects of beauty standards that can be seen in the real world. Using the power of fictional writing, the author of Uglies, Scott Westerfeld, lays out the nature of beauty standards for readers to see. These effects – creation, spread, and achievement of these standards – are revealed through elements of fiction, even though they originate in reality.

Today, social medias give tremendous impacts to everyone. What people usually see on the TV, internet, or surrounding would influence their concepts of normality. For example, a person who is still using an old-fashioned cell phone might be considered as abnormal, because the majority of people is using the latest smartphones. It is important for people to know they are normal or not, because most of the people are feeling happy that they are normal. However, the definition of being normal has indirectly manipulated by the majority. As long as people follow what the majority does, they are parts of the majority and will not be abnormal at all. However, that is not the meaning of normal but merely a part of the definition of norms, following what most of the people do. If the normality is determined by the majority, same-sex marriage will never be accepted by the society. This is a very good evidence that shows what is normal is not determined by the majority. In “What Do We Mean by ‘Normal’?”, Maisel also tells us that normal is not what people perceive all the time or what people perceive the most of. He clearly states that normal means “anything of value to right-thinking people” (Maisel 1). In other words, what is normal is not depending on what the majority does. People should not blindly define normal as what the majority thinks or acts, because normal is not determined by the majority. It is determined by people who have the right

Often, when deciding what typeface will be utilized within a document, there are numerous decisions that must be factored in. The decision to use a particular typeface should be based on the rhetorical situation, which means before settling on a typeface the designer must consider their audience, the purpose of the document, and the context in which a reader will be using the document (Kostelnick & Roberts 5). The designer must also keep in mind that “the more outlandish the typeface, the harder it is to read” (Ogilvy 96). The typeface that is chosen to be used within the design must suit the document in order to attract and communicate the message properly with the intended audience.

I believe abnormality results from environmental and psychological factors, because from what I have experienced and observed firsthand, that is what I have come to feel is true. My father, mother, sister, friends, nor myself were born with the mental illnesses, or disorders, we have come to live with. My father’s disorder developed due to traumatic experiences associated with his job. My best friend Kylie also suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder due to a traumatic event she experienced in her teenage years. Neither one had to develop this disorder, but through overwhelming circumstances, they did. The same applies to my mother, although her situation is different, due to the fact that her grandmother

Always a strong proponent of functional design, Tschichold looked at design with a utilitarian point of view. According to Tschichold, functional designs show a greater understanding of typography’s role: communication (Eskilson 233). In order to achieve clarity in communication, Tschichold was convinced that type should follow a logical flow on the page, predetermined by content; form follows function. Tschichold wrote, “Every part of a text relates to every other part by a definite, logical relationship of emphasis and value, predetermined by content. It is up to the typographer to express this relationship clearly and visibly, through type sizes and weight, arrangement of lines, use of colour, photography, etc.”(67) By 1928, and the release of The New Typography, Tschichold was a staunch promoter for the exclusive use of sans serif type and asymmetrical layouts, believing these the most efficient way to achieve clarity of information. “His work… was functional, aesthetically satisfying, and designed for reproduction by machine-type composition and newer printing technologies” (“Jan Tschichold…”). Later in life, Tschichold abandoned his views on the exclusive use of sans serif fonts and asymmetrical layouts, realizing that in certain circumstances, symmetrical layouts and traditional serif fonts were more appropriate and more functional,

At the heart of this was the idea that sort could be expressive, and forego the requests of moderation, for flashiness, for this reason. Subsequently content might be set utilizing numerous textual styles in numerous courses of action, perfect or worn out, methodical or disordered. Singular letters could be the subject of a craftsman 's consideration, and, in resistance to the straightness and normality of sans serif, shape, spiked edges and conflicting measuring are a few components blazoned on remarkable occasions of postmodern visual communication. The move to utilization of PCs had an extensive impact in postmodernist typographical developments too, with these supporting the procedures of configuration, and giving new media and markets to typography to declare itself in –, for example, computer games, where the lettering in results of the period turned out to be noticeably strong and took a stab at stylish interest. In different cases the generative contrasts between customarily delivered and PC created sort offered a methods for expressive differentiation, where both were fused in a specific bit of visual depiction. Speculations that may relate to the movements amongst present day and postmodern typography while examining particular bits of configuration incorporate clash hypotheses (woman 's rights, Marxism and so forth.) and also models of brain research and therapy, and the more extensive thoughts in the logic of

7. The ‘First Things First’ Manifesto 2000 states “Consumerism is running uncontested; it must be challenged by other perspectives expressed, in part through the visual languages and resources of design”. Critically discuss, with reference to the contemporary design practice and theories of consumerism and/or sustainability.

The Design of Everyday Things is associate degree approachable guide to the fundamental attributes of everyday objects that play smart style. These attributes specialize in properties that build the user expertise as easy, simple and as pleasurable as potential. This leads to intuitive objects which will be pleasurable to use and turn out a positive expertise.

They both are sans-serif typefaces that are universally embraced by different communication platforms. At first glance, they seem very similar. When Arial was released in 1982, it was seen as a copy of Helvetica of 1957. But if designers examine the characters in each typeface closely, the differences between them become apparent. Mark Simonson (2001), an American graphic designer, produced an analysis of this two, showing how much more refined Helvetica is than Arial. The primary difference is Helvetica is vertically cut, while Arial is slightly angled. For instance, the tail of the ‘a’ is gently curved in Helvetica, as is the first connection of the bowl to the stem, but not in Arial. Similarly, the top of the ‘t’ and the ends of the strokes in the ‘C’ and ‘S’ are perfectly horizontal in the former, but slightly angled in the latter. In My mind, even though the distinguishing details are so tiny that can be noticed when they are scrutinized magnified versions of each character as Simonson did. Yet it is these subtleties that constitute Helvetica a finer example of design than Arial, especially for professionals. Functionally the two types are roughly equal, both are admirable clear, but aesthetically Helvetica is

Moreover, the drive to the core of unawareness is also evident in the realm of graphic design and type design. In Adrain Frutiger, one of the most well-known type artist’s eyes, for a typeface to go unnoticed ‘is the greatest compliment’ for a type designer and a typographer can receive (Linotype, 2009). The purpose of a typeface is to communication. Only when a typeface becomes transparent or invisible will it communicate contents or ideas efficiently without pushing itself forward (Haley, 2012). “The whole point with typeface is for you not to be aware it is there” Frutiger said and made an impressive comparison: “If you remember the shape of a spoon with which you just ate some soup, then the spoon had a poor shape”. Furthermore, in light of the current situation, technically speaking, everything becomes possible, typefaces can be easily shaped into any forms - enlarged, reduced, condensed or expanded, slanted and deformed, all within seconds. It is a time for type design step out into a new field, beyond technology, the field of human, of social concern: how readily legible, how user-friendly and how to design for survival and we human beings survive through design at the same time.

While this overly simplified system was adopted by so many in so little time as a result of this very simplicity, it does not reflect the true idea behind late modernism; because late modernism does not intend to take the designer out of the equation, it wants to alter the world around us and humanize our surroundings. First of all, late modernism does not support the idea of making the designer irrelevant to the design work. When it emerged, Swiss Style supported using simple typefaces, sans-serif and making clean, but powerful designs. You may notice most designer using simple fonts such as Helvetica while designing logos, roadside signs or posters. They use the Helvetica font, but it is not because they want to make their designs more boring or non-artistic.