Typography is everywhere! Frombillboards to letterhead, posters, logos,clothing, film, industrial design, mobiledevices, and the Internet. The layout oftype is an essential part of today’s society.With so much type to lay out, manypeople get involved in designing theseproducts. Some may find themselves ata loss as to how to approach type.

Kimberly Elam’s book TypographicSystems; Rules For Organizing Type(Princeton Architectural Press, 2007)strips away a lot of this mystery.

She breaks down type design intoeight major variations: Axial, Radial,Dilatational, Random, Grid, Modular,Transitional and Bilateral. These systemsprovide a structure that designers can useto organize their compositions and makethem coherent. Choosing one

Taking the Mystery Out of Arranging Typeby Katherine Humphreys

Typographic Systems; Rules For Organizing TypeBelow: Diagrams from the book

Axial Radial Dilational Random

Grid Modular Transitional Bilateral

layout over another may have a profoundeffect on the piece’s impact.

Let’s start with a newspaper read bymillions every day: USA Today. Thenewspaper is a prime example of the Gridsystem. It’s an eight column system thatis subdivided as needed. Items can spantwo or more columns, as in the top article,"12 teams, 12 questions."

The USA Today website, found athttp://www.usatoday.com, reflects thepaper’s design, with a four column Gridlayout. The grid divides the page in half,

using four columns on the left, while thetext and images on the right are arrangedin two columns.

The Grid is the type system thatwe are most used to seeing. Frommagazines to websites, this horizontalorganization of type and information ona page is the most common. A standard,repeated, comfortable environment withconsistent spacing satisfies oursubconscious tendency to search fororder. By making the reader feel safe,this design system conveys a senseof reliability.

USA Today

Grid system

Newspapers rarely deviate fromthe grid format, with the exception ofweekend editions and dramatic breakingnews, whose designers can be morecreative with the layout.

At the opposite end of the spectrum,designer Sherry Hutchinson created alayout called “Tax Tips” for a featuresection of a newspaper usingtraditional illustration and design skillsinstead of a typographic system. The typein this layout is readable and arranged insuch a way that it helps to move theviewer’s eye along the page in a roundmotion, forcing you to meander over allof the elements of the illustration.Sometimes a system is not necessary,

and a designer with a good sense ofcomposition and style can pull off a veryeffective type treatment.

Anywhere type is used, be itpublishing, signage, packaging, television,or any other medium, the designer hasto adapt her techniques to suit themedium. For example, a style that worksjust fine in a newspaper layout wouldnot necessarily work on a poster. Anewspaper is viewed at arms length, soits letter spacing can be as tight as youlike and the words will still be legible.

On the other hand, a poster is usuallyviewed from a distance, which can makethe type hard to read. Here, a little extraletter spacing helps viewers identify theindividual characters.

The audience for the compositionis also an important consideration. Willthis poster be for a bank convention ora rock concert? Would a grid system bereassuring, or merely boring? Perhapssomething more unusual wouldbe appropriate?

Sherry Hutchinson

B.

Bilateral system

Designer Jody Haneke uses a varietyof type systems to create unique,engaging, and beautiful posters.

Poster A employs the Bilateralsystem, with its type arranged symmetri-cally across a center line. The typeface,the color palette, and the oldfangledphotograph in the backgroundproduce an atmosphere that is slightlyquirky, but friendly. The compositionmakes the user come in close to seewhat is going on.

Poster B appears at first to be a simplegrid, but the dynamic graffiti imageryintroduces a striking contrast. The leftjustified type in a straight line crashesinto the bold city elements. Textures andstrong abstract letterforms in the graffiticreate tension.

Grid system

A.

Grid system

Radial system

Poster C also employs a grid, butthis time the type is a larger, roundedfont. By setting the grid at an angle, thiscomposition suggests a departure fromthe normal. The variation in type sizecreates an organic feeling, which isheightened by the red and brown tonespicked up from the wooden figures.

Poster D uses the Radial typesystem. The text appears to be orbitingan invisible subject. The free-flowingarrangement reflects the lofty words“papercranes” and “summerbirds.” Thelarge ampersand acts as a weight, pinningthe text to one spot. The type appears toemerge from a dreamlike backgroundand spread its wings.

D.

C.

Katherine Humphreys is an educator and graphic artist living in the Tampa Bay area. She teachesat various schools, including: The Art Institute Online, Ringling College of Art and Design andSt. Petersburg College.

Hopefully these few examples haveinspired you with a feeling for the rangeof typographic systems at your disposal.Each system has some inherentexpressive qualities, but as our distinctivegrid examples show, there is plenty ofroom to express yourself within eventhe tightest system. As you learn torecognize these systems, you will seethem in the type all around you, andbefore long, you’ll be exploring them inyour own compositions.

For more information:

Kimberly Elamhttp://www.studioresourceinc.com

Jody Hanekehttp://www.hanekedesign.com

Typographicahttp://typographica.org/

DesigningWith Typehttp://www.designingwithtype.com/5/

Creative Prohttp://www.creativepro.com

All work used with permission.