• Comparative Analysis

  • You will design a slide deck with a competitive analysis of two similar typefaces.

How To Get An A

This is what you need to do to ace this assignment.

  • Devise type hierarchy for a multi-page publication.
  • Learn some pretty pro type facts so you can school your designer friends.
  • Recognize the features of a typeface which determine its classification category.
  • Research and organize historical typographic information.
  • Select, then apply context-appropriate colours along with their tints and shades to create a colour theme.
  • Sketch page layouts on paper as thumbnails and higher fidelity mockups.
  • Select a typeface for good legibility in a long document.
  • Set type size, leading and spacing for a long document.
  • Use the appropriate software tools and techniques to build the page.
  • Organize files and folders for submission according to provided instructions.
Your grade reflects the degree to which you satisfied the above criteria.
Grade Value Description
A, 80-100%, Excellent This is work that has been completed in a highly motivated manner which meets all or most of the performance criteria for the project. It is an exceptional demonstration of design skills.
B, 70-79%, Superior You have submitted work which is above average, but lacks the qualities which give it the stamp of excellence. It shows better than average design sensitivity.
C, 60-69% Satisfactory Your project is handed in on time. It has fulfilled some or all of the requirements. It lacks strong visual interest and thoughtful & imaginative resolution. The work is merely average.
D, 50-59%, Marginal This work is handed in on time, but lacks many or most of the areas that show understanding of design. It is a weak effort, which does not meet program standards.
F, 0-49%, Unsatisfactory This is work that is not handed in on time or does not satisfy the assignment criteria at all.
NHI: Not Handed In An assignment which was not received.

BrightSpace Submission Links

Video Playlist

The Brief

This project is an analytical comparison of two type families which may appear to the layman to be very similar. The goal is to use your knowledge of the history and of the anatomy of type to recognize and identify similarities and differences in their characteristics. You will also compare the make-up of the families as a whole.

There is no limit to the number of slides in your presentation. What’s more important is to include all the required elements of the comparison.

No bullet lists are permitted in your layouts. Please find a more creative solution for laying out your content.

Create it in InDesign so you have superior typographic control. These are the settings to use in your document.

New Document  
Intent: Web
Facing Pages: No
Width: 1920px
Height: 1080px
Columns: You decide
Gutter: You decide
Margins: You decide
Bleed: 10px

You’ll export to PDF. Once you have a completed PDF, you’ll modify the Initial View settings so it opens properly for the viewer.

Stages of the Project

  1. Research origins and purpose of your typefaces. Keep notes in bullet-list form.
  2. Research typographers. Keep notes in bullet-list form.
  3. Choose a typeface for slide content.
  4. Design a layout & style for parent pages (template pages).
  5. Choose colours for document.
  6. Compare and contrast both families. This is the central work for this project. Use Illustrator to compare and dissect glyphs, as I did on the Type web site.
  7. Organize information
  8. Build slides. Use Parent Pages, Paragraph Styles, etc… Re-write text in your own words based on the bullet-lists you’ve created.