In-Lecture Exercise E

In this week's lecture about typography, we were tasked to make a commentary on the following typographic representation:

Figure 1: Typographic Representation (shown in the lecture)

Here, we were asked two broad questions, which I will be answering concurrently with each aspect. The questions are: (1) What seems to be off? and (2) How would you improve this typography?

1. Typeface

Firstly, when looking at the typographic representation, it is not difficult to see that the typeface is jarring and off. 

Slab Serif Title vs Running Text

Although the font is readable due to the increased leading (space between each row), it is still quite hard for one to read the words. This is due to the typeface choice. The outlined, capitalized slab serif typeface is striking. It is a great typeface but it is not always the most appropriate choice.  Whilst the slab serif typeface may be appropriate for the title as it is impactful, this typeface makes the running text harder to read because the entire body of text has no proper contrast. (Each line of text competes with the other for the reader's attention, which makes it difficult for readers to not only differentiate the title from the running text but renders the readers unable to read each line of text easily). 

As such, I would improve this by having different sets of typeface for the title and the running text. I would try to find typefaces that have a good contrast without being too dissimilar. For instance, if san serif is used for the title, then I would use serif for the running text for better legibility. In this case, I would preserve the visual personality of what the text is trying to represent and continue to use the slab serif typeface for the title but change the running text to a serif typeface. This retains the visual representation of the message sent but ensures that the running text can be read easily.

Tracking, Capitalisation and Outlining 

Next, the tracking for each line is not uniform. This is most evident in line 6 of the running text, where "TEMPOR.NUNG" does not have the same spacing between characters as the other lines. Moreover, an all-capitalized title may not be suitable. While having an all-capitalized title may be appropriate for emphasizing the title, it makes the running text overwhelming to read. Additionally, the outlining of the text worsens the readability as it makes the space between each character even denser. 

An easy solution to this would be to ensure that the spacing is equal and uniform for each line of text. Moreover, the running text should not be in all-caps and outlined. 

2. Paragraph Alignment

Lastly, there is a problem with the visual hierarchy of this typographic representation. The body/running text is centre-aligned. This is because when one centres their text, the starting place of each line of text changes, which forces the users to work harder to find where each line of text. This disrupts the visual hierarchy of the text and interrupts reading. 

However, when the paragraph text is left-aligned, a straight left edge appears. Users can then read each line by simply moving their eyes to the left edge each time. This makes the running text faster and easier to read because the user’s eyes don’t have to work as hard to find where the line starts each time. 

Again, a centre alignment might make sense. However, in this case, I would prefer that the entire typographic representation retains symmetry. Centred headlines should go with centred text. Left-aligned headlines should go with the left-aligned text. This way, the text remains balanced and visually symmetrical. 

Thus, I would improve the typographic representation by using left alignment for both the title and running text to improve the readability of the text and retain its visual balance.