Typography Critique Week 1 - One Weight, One Pt. Size - Designing with Limitations

(Episode 1 of 7) Typography crit. Learn type with us as we review user-submitted work from our class and go over the fundamentals of good typography.
If you are interested in the typography course, check it out here - bit.ly/Type01_yt
Have you ever been stuck while designing something and wanted professional feedback on your work? We understand that the design process could be tough when you don't have guidance through the process. If you want to learn why basic typography skills matter, this critique is for you.
We asked the students from our Typography 01 class to submit their assignments to receive critiques. Week 01: One pt. size, one weight. We review the concept of "Breaking down and learning how to see". Typography could just be blocks of text. We'll talk about how to group sections based on importance and hierarchy.
02:00 - The top 5 elements of good typography
5:30 - 1st Critique
8:00 - Does increasing the space make it more interesting and dynamic contrast?
10:00 - Group things by aligning them to an axis/how to make a focal point/order
13:20 - Pushing the letters off the edges
13:50 - What are rivers in typography
16:00 - Figure out what’s important
20:00 - 3rd critique - Imagine it’s the layout of a room/a floor plan. Don’t push everything to the edge
24:20 - 4th Critique - break things up into groups
28:00 - Explore different sizes and weights, but only one size and weight per layout
29:30 - The default font and point size is the worst. The difference changing the point size can make
33:00 - Make some ugly layouts to discover more
37:00 - Pushing things to the edge
39:00 - The 1/3 rule
39:40 - How to critique your own layout
45:00 - What are grids? What are they used for in typography?
47:00 - Upper lowercase is easier to read
51:00 - if the primary goal of a piece is to communicate in a logical manner, then should the focal point usually be the (in this case) RZN8? Since that's typically what we want people to ID first
55:30 - How to create separation between two groups that are in all caps
59:00 - Grids - Fibonacci sequence ***
1:10:50 - Double spacing
1:14:00 - Be really aligned or really offset
1:18:00 - How you should view the design as a floor plan***
1:20:30 - How grouping creates the better relationship
1:37:00 - Recap
1:39:00 - Architecture plug in from Hot Door CAD Tools
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[@junyuchen9578]

"If you can design one thing, you could design everything." That really open up my mind!

[@bharat5194]

Massimo Vignelli (RIP) said that

[@purple-flowers]

10:00 I highly suggest for anyone who hasn't been exposed to the Gestalt Principles of perceptual organization to learn more about it. They are used in design all over the place, and especially in typography and UI design.

[@corgikun2579]

35:28 when you get caught using illegal fonts in public and you can only laugh it off

[@beanerama9]

Oh my god lmao

[@ShouriGun]

LMAO

[@emanuelegirlanda2000]

I'm kinda confused. What's illegal about it?

[@EriksFriberg]

@@emanuelegirlanda2000 She hadn't paid for it. e.g. it was a pirated copy, and she even offered to share the link to the copy 😅

[@emanuelegirlanda2000]

@@EriksFriberg thanks! I was confused because I thought helvetica was one of those free open source fonts but boy was I wrong lol

[@brockman562]

I Disagree with 1:24:27 that original layout is better than when Chris started moving things around.

[@LudmilaT.]

YES! The original was so much better

[@MetroversalDesign]

This was SO freaking interesting! Thanks for making this quarantine period more bearable ❤

[@TheFuturAcademy]

Glad to hear Alex.

[@truckertim2938]

As a Trucker life continues the same for me. Diving into your video. Hmm, Pick one thing will be challenging for me but I am up for it.

[@jayshreesridhar5068]

There is a limit to the brain explosions I can handle per episode, Chris! This episode caused far too many!

[@TheFuturAcademy]

Haha

[@Dobetterlivebetter]

Hey are you a Designer?

[@jayshreesridhar5068]

@@Dobetterlivebetter Hi, yes I am.

[@xantisant]

very awesome - even for people who already have a good grasp on the fundamentals, there are so many interesting ideas that come out of seeing someone else's thought process on fixing/finessing layouts and content relationships etc.

[@samueljacobs9679]

I remember doing this in university, I think it’s called Typescape. Also try doing this landscape, I feel it’s more difficult. Great job as usual Chris and futur team

[@TheElectrizantee]

Damn, i learned a lot in one and a half hour!

[@ninghua5312]

Amazing ! Always appreciate your generous sharing of knowledge !

[@truckertim2938]

Life begins beyond the defaults. Got it I see the light :)

[@thefutur]

I wish the default settings were 8 pt. and light vs. regular.

[@miqdamsajid875]

That was a witty approach right there using dashes _ _ _ _ _ _ Nice

[@narivari1234]

Cool! I was going to research about typography and found this fresh video all by chance. What a nice coincidence :)))

[@JasonShinks]

Even as an experienced designer its useful to be reminded of the basic principles again. Great video 👍

[@user-cy3kn7zx1l]

Everything I learn from design has been through critiques like these. This reminds me of those days when Emily and Molly was still there

[@mbne]

i'm a little late here, just wonder where are they??

[@Kiriri92]

35:29 I’ll send you the link LOL

[@diegogamba7825]

You have no idea how much these lessons have helped me in recent times. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!

[@ThuNguyen-bh7ie]

Thank you very much. I've learned a lot from your Typo Critique video. I watched Week 2 first and instantly improved at work =))) Looking forward to these episodes since then

[@TheFuturAcademy]

Glad to hear.

[@AlexMcDaniels]

I learned so much Thanks Guys!

[@tonygibbs6161]

Appreciate the crit Chris, thank you!

[@TheFuturAcademy]

Thanks Tony. See you next week.

[@yeryer316]

Thanks Tony

[@francoismahr]

I really think drawing flour plans in Exel is a bit off, but doing it with illustrator looks pretty on purpose. Architect's point of view. Thank you Futur academy for this one, hearing critiques of designs is always a great source of precious knowledge. I love the metaphor of the page as a real space, I fully agree. And the reverse is true, we often use the word legibility to qualify space. From a french speaking person. Have a nice day everyone.

[@svarfvar]

Very interesting and well-taught!

[@mauzzamkhan4369]

Thank you so much sir for making this typography series . 👍

[@Sim_Hutchins]

Chris is chill af in this episode. U ok hun?

[@TheFuturAcademy]

haha. off day. I'll bring the fire next time.

[@nana-km6is]

I hope this video will be translated into Japanese…..

[@kang9950]

I love this tutorial so much and I would like to practice by myself at home, but I'm not sure the dimension of the artboard, would you be so kind to tell me?

[@matthewalexanderpaudianto971]

Finally it's back

[@TheFuturAcademy]

we back.

[@YotamGuttman]

16:00 I agree that the uneven spacing spoiled the continuity and readability of the paragraph, but now the credits are completely cut off the composition, unlike before when just a tiny bit of them was.

[@YotamGuttman]

Maybe it is rather a theoretical tip and not a conceptual one, just pointed out the issue...

[@evililmunchkin4135]

That fibonacci grid is pure gold.

[@turtlelearns3d]

The concept of imagining it as an exhibit really hit home for me. Im learning so many things from this, thank you so much!

[@sofianealloui]

♥

[@jakepalmer5670]

Based on what I've seen. I would not pay for this course

[@TheFuturAcademy]

what are you seeing? I'm curious. I also invite you to come back week 7 to see what jumps happen and how much each person grows.

[@LudmilaT.]

I understand you try to make a point... but most of the time what you end up with after playing with the designs, you end up with something far worse than the original submitted. I think that's why.

[@wrdj3094]

I see Chris with the TM-2's, I got some because of Matthew Encina.

[@GioZilke]

got it! thanks

[@Giwrgoss-rx2ve]

Isn't 8 pt type too small to read? Should we sacrifice legibility for a better design?

[@TheFuturAcademy]

it's not. try it. print it out.

[@LudmilaT.]

Do print it out. And give it to people. They will not appreciate all the negative space. They will ask why would you not make it easier to read when you have so much space to make the text larger.

[@McPixelWizard]

In terms of just magazines, doesn't the masthead need to be "above the fold"? Above the fold means it will show or peak out when on a rack with other magazines in front of it, or on the top fold of a newspaper in a coin-operated newspaper dispenser. While we no longer purchase magazines in stands anymore or in brick and mortar bookstores, magazines are still sold that way. I would think you could only get away from having a magazine masthead after many years of readers getting used to it. I realize this is a typography class, so designing a magazine is just an exercise, so it doesn't matter in the same way as a real magazine.

[@TheFuturAcademy]

you are correct.

[@MinhNguyen-jt9ny]

this is tooo good to be free

[@TheFuturAcademy]

and yet it is.

[@ivancernuto]

The Jan/Feb overlapping (1:14:40) was marvelous! Thank you Chris

[@mauriciodavida8921]

Great lesson! Thanks for sharing your wisdom, sir!

[@TheFuturAcademy]

You’re very welcome

[@martaryzhok698]

Guys, your "recommended products and Booklist" link doesn't work ;( Very curious to know what books you recommend to read.

[@TheFuturAcademy]

Looking into this.

[@strahilprimedivision8718]

Your voice calms me down while working. Great stuff!

[@wr5023]

sameeeeeee

[@pedroserapio8075]

37:22 It resembles a gun shooting an 8 bullet.

[@dillonhayes9860]

The difficult quiet compellingly stop because dietician reilly smoke within a colorful speedboat. mammoth, accessible forecast

[@rghunt3221]

Not a good answer to the question about justification at 19:07; it doesn't work well for relatively few characters per line, but for 70 or so characters per line and long text (like in in a book), it is easier to get a good justified setting than a good rag, if you pay attention to justification and hyphenation parameters. In this case, using a fixed space between the names (say Rosmarie Tissi would make more sense, and wouldn't leave people like Dorfsman off the page.

[@artisticiinstitute9298]

Great

[@lxydzn]

50:21

[@ullaskunder]

I'm an IT student learning software development but love typography and art.... really confused should I continue {art || programming.....}😁

[@deosebastian2533]

Hey Mr. Chris! I'm sorry to asking this, I was wondering, what size that template artboard is? Because I want to try and practice along with watching this critique hahaha. Unfortunately I'm still at college and I don't have enough money to enroll the course so I guess this is the alternative to studying the critique :D Thank you!

[@designaccount142]

Thankyou Do ❤️

[@nkhansays]

Hey Chris, Hope you are doing great, I have little confusion about using text? either clock-wise or antilock-wise?

[@souravnaskar5353]

1:13:31

[@raresdobrescu2260]

Why do some people have a problem with ''justify right'' expression so Chris is always using an alternative ?

[@sezergozutok9546]

Thank you!

[@supershimo11]

Go Mo!

[@robinhill1991]

Left justified should be called Flush Left. Justified means even on both sides.

[@fakhrobomba3163]

when he did that overlaping thing of january/february i ran out of breath

[@zohaibmalik819]

Great tutorial.

[@novirahmatika]

Thank you!!!

[@adrianfels2985]

While watching this, I learn this: try, fail, learn. I try WAY too less. But it's all about trying. Just try. Move this there. Move that there. No matter if it looks perfect after one or two moves. It's all about trying and failing and learning from that. Thanks for taking your time to teach us!

[@supreethls]

this video introduced me to so many different concepts and methods thank you team futur

[@alexpascu9639]

in this wide space will be a photo. Its good layout!

[@archrao2103]

How can I participate in these assignments?

[@TheFuturAcademy]

Enroll in the course.

[@brianfong5711]

49:54 How Chris wants you to ask your questions. ALL the TIME. FOREVER FAST!

[@devilingism]

I wish I bought the course earlier, so I could join this live critique. AMAZING!

[@ifeoluwamedeyinlo4585]

Hey, where can i get the copy used in these projects?

[@Nhatlan93]

I just streamed this end to end. I went to two design schools for my Bachelor and Master and none of them brought any value to my design skill as much as this video just did. The most helpful lecture on design I've been. Made me realise how junior on design I am. Also none of my lecturer so far was a real designer that've been working in the industry, so none of them have real-life experience like Chris. Thanks a lot. I wholeheartedly appreciate what you guys are doing - sharing lots of your decade-long of experience. Really enjoying your train of thought. I've learned a lot.

[@Nhatlan93]

One more question, can I get the critique if I enroll the course this week?

[@mustaphanail2005]

Is there any free Typefaces for commercial use !

[@designwithmemunna]

Thanks a lot sir! This is the best class for me.

[@fredbrown6951]

Not going to lie, this video is really good but at the same time super super disappointing! I feel like this video is worth more than the whole typography course that I have spent a lot of money on...

[@TheFuturAcademy]

hey Fred. have you rewatched the entire course? we've recorded new content, critiques and even the self critique in greater detail.

[@fredbrown6951]

@@TheFuturAcademy Indeed, still very dissapointed

[@aribetterlari]

"I'll send you the link" HAHAHHAHAHA

[@aquibkhan4918]

How do i submit my work for critique?

[@TheFuturAcademy]

Enroll in the class.

[@aquibkhan4918]

Could you please provide me the link for enrollment.

[@MyekalBenham]

Zoom is evil btw. Don't use it.

[@xvanegas89]

This is like iron chef for designers

[@grace22267]

Thank you Chris! you are a great teacher :)

[@msmit1999]

57:00 it really annoys me how ''Piet Zwart'' isn't in the other group of type

[@mixikpixi6123]

Its not a nouse, its a peepee

[@peterbian]

The cover of this video makes me so uncomfortable, someone please change it.

[@TheFuturAcademy]

Why?

[@Kiriri92]

Thank you so much 😊

[@msmit1999]

This video call and screenshare has been made possible by Zoom, it can also be found somewhere else on the internet just like every other Zoom video call because of our terrible security. Yours truly, Zoom's development team

[@TheFuturAcademy]

?

[@msmit1999]

@@TheFuturAcademy just google 'Zoom' and you'll find its security flaws, its most likely even above the actual Zoom website

[@TheFuturAcademy]

I’m aware of them.

[@msmit1999]

@@TheFuturAcademy but you guys still used it in yesterdays stream

[@LudmilaT.]

They make the video public anyway 🤷‍♀️ It's not like they are discussing national security there.

[@shravangubbi5670]

Man, Do looks like a 'Do'll in the thumbnail 😁

[@mashable8759]

Chris is the Jordan Peterson of Graphic design. ⭐

[@solvm1652]

Meh. I didn’t get much from watching this. I think I need more context. So, is this a course for typography for art sake, usability sake or both? It felt more like typography for art’s sake and I didn’t find much practical usage in it. I can’t believe that students were supposed to make 10 versions of this. Why not just make one really good one instead? If students are making mistakes then the instruction isn’t clear enough to make accurate reproductions. I’m still lost on how to handle this text appropriately after watching this. Yes, I see what doesn’t work, but what is the best technique for getting it right every time. I certainly don’t want to make 10 designs for a client. I want to learn how to get it right the first time.

[@francoismahr]

Well I would say if you don't learn how to fail, you will have difficulties to know how to make a good design that solve a particular problem, because IMO problem solving is a process you learn while processing it, including mistakes. How would you recognize a mistake if you don't make/see one? How would you know it doesn't work? Of course it's not the same for everyone, depending on how your brain/mind/hand/eyes work. And of course this is not the only way to learn type I guess. Anyway I hope I you understand what I mean. Cheers

[@ashiebbyyx]

He’s asking for 10 because it allows you to try a lot of different things, and provides an opportunity to learn as you find unique challenges within each design. Also to get some good practice in, which helps you improve. I don’t think Chris is saying make 10 designs for a client necessarily, this is a fun exercise for students to get better at typography, experiment and push boundaries. I found it immensely helpful. With a client, depending on their guidelines, you might not be able to set type so ‘artistically’, but the fundamentals you learn here apply whether you’re creating a bank brochure or an abstract art gallery exhibit poster.

[@solvm1652]

​@@francoismahr - I hear you. I just didn't get the context for taking in the content. I wasn't trying to be rude. I know that there isn't ONE single way to handle type, but I thought there would be more on what makes type good, and it was more about what doesn't work. I see that the critique was great for those in the class. I just didn't get much from it. As such, I was left thinking, why put this up if it doesn't provide that much value or context to those outside of the class. Anyway. Much respect.

[@francoismahr]

@@solvm1652 hello, I get your point, no problem, it's just that I keep on disagreeing with you, I don't think the video is about what doesn't work, it's also how it could work fixing things, and I think our host is trying to show ways of doing it. Anyway thanks for your answer. I don't think there is an absolute rule that makes good or bad design, there is even a book that argue comic sans can be used in a professional manner. To my point of view Type and furthermore Design is about problem solving. May be see you in the next Type video to argue some more 😂. Stay safe. Bye

[@solvm1652]

@@francoismahr - much respect

[@buttcheeksguy]

do you guys have a discord for the channel? where does one upload work for critique? also these days are the perfect time for logo therapy :( please bring logo therapy back and make it more often

[@TheFuturAcademy]

If you are enrolled in the course there is a link to submit your work.

[@markcontreras3572]

Are you enrolled in the course? We also send emails to the students in the course and in the Typography student Slack group. Logo therapy will be back in April - stay tuned

[@jasonjacobson155]

@@markcontreras3572 I'm in the class, just started on the 31st. I managed to group together my top 3 layouts and would love to hear/see/read thoughts but I couldn't find any links to send it. I didn't really see any slack groups in the course materials.

[@OeloDickAble]

15:53