Design Principles - Hierarchies of Type

Today in Freds design principles lesson we discussed the use of stereotypes within graphic design design and how we should be aware of them. Fred had a pdf presentation and on a number of slides, he had the same word in different fonts and on other slides there were words and then an image opposite them. We had to give our opinion on what we thought matched the best when communicated to an audience. The correct answers to what matched best weren't necessarily the ones that looked the best. The correct examples that were shown had connotations that were obvious to the audience, of which would be the first things associated to object. For example 'AK47' was displayed in different fonts and one of them was a stencil font, of which was the correct one. People looking at the word would associate it with being sprayed on to crates of weapons, rather than having AK47 in a sans serif type face. We are accustomed to this after seeing films and playing games that have carried this out for many years etc. Another example displayed was the word elegant in various fonts and the one variation presented in a script front was to the correct choice as the long descenders and ascenders from script fonts are considered to be elegant.

In this lesson we also had to deconstruct the type layout on a single page of a newspaper and then arrange the hierarchy of type. 

Page from the guardian I had chosen to dissect.

First attempt at dissecting and organising the type into a hierarchy. Fred talked to us and we then discussed the use of hierarchies within type on the metro newspaper and how it's used to to direct the reader along the importance of information on a page. For example on a page fred had showed us, it was made to read down on the right column along to an advert which started from right to left with prices getting bigger as it went on. The way the type within the advert had been implement, made it so it distracted the reader from the small print and lead them away from it thinking it had been a good offer. I found this very interesting, I had never known about the hierarchies of information within newspapers. I am sure to have a different outlook on magazines and newspapers next time I'm reading them.

I went back to dissect the type further, I separated the large speech marks from quotes and the other smaller pieces of type that were still connected to bigger pieces.

Fred has also set us a new task to complete over the christmas holidays. We have to use the same process we used today when dissecting the type from the newspapers and carry it out with; 3 Different Newspapers, 3 Different Magazines and 3 Different Websites.