SquareTypography_ProcessBook

RAPHY TYPOGRAPHY TYPOGR 

GRAPHY TYPOGRAPHY TYPOG 

PHY TYPOGRAPHY TYPOGRAP 

TYPOGRAPHY TYPOGRAPHY T 







POGRAPHY TYPOGRAPHY TYP 


PHY TYPOGRAPHY 

Desiree Ng 

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RAPHY TYPOGRAPHY TYPOGR

Design by Desiree Ng 

Typography I | Astrid Kesinger 

Process book | 2016 

School of Art, Design and Media 

Nanyang Technological University 

Singapore 

Printed in Singapore 

Futura, Souvenir

CONTENT 

a compilation of a semester’s worth of work 

1/ Anatomy of Type 

2/ Presentation of a Typeface 

3/ Ephemera 

4/ Grey 

5/ Type in Location 

6/ Paint a face 

7/ The Letter 

8/ Haiku 

9/ The Letter Journal 

10/ Typesetting workshop 

11/ And so my mother said I keep a lot of rubbish

1/ anatomy of type

A sketch of Garamond W, using charcoal on large paper.

What it is 

An introduction to typography, page layout, terminology 

for typefaces, the history of a typeface as well as an 

exercise to get used to Adobe Illustrator. 

What I did 

Sketched the Garamond W on a large sheet of paper, 

had it scanned and edited in Adobe Illustrator, then 

printed on A3 paper, in black and white.

LEFT: Experiment with colour. 

RIGHT: Black and white draft, which had some readjustments to be 

made and is to be supplemented with more information.

The process 

Being ambitious, I began by eyeballing the W that i picked out 

(from Garamond), which I was drawn to due to the fact that I 

thought it was interesting how it looks like two ‘V’s overlapping 

one another. I worked with charcoal, and started to observe the 

details of typography that I haven’t noticed before -- the care and 

consideration for each stroke and how they interact. Afterwards, 

I put everything into illustrator and started laying out. Designing 

the type poster introduced me to laying out text on a page, with 

more attention paid to the sizes, margins, angles at which bodies 

of text are placed, indents, outdents, rags and rivers, etc. 

Thoughts on project 

In general this project was an interesting introduction to the 

course, and I thought that it was useful in warming me up for the 

other projects, as it got me to consciously notice typography more.

The hardest part 

The hardest part of this project (or rather, the most time 

consuming part) was getting the Garamond W accurately on 

paper and then tweaking it in illustrator, as I am not adept with 

large scale drawing and illustrator. Also, it required me to stare 

at the minute details of the letter that I may not have noticed 

before -- how lines cross one another, or the angles at which 

one part goes. 

The most fun part 

Definitely doing the layout -- it’s my first time trying something 

clean and minimalist. 

Reflections 

I think I did not bad on drawing the letter, but if I were to do 

this project again, I would like to try out different page layouts, 

as there was room for further exploration.

The final poster was printed in A3.

2/ presentation of 

a typeface

What it is 

Presenting all about Garamond, including its history, uses 

and unique anatomy. 

What I did 

I worked with Jie Lin and Joy on this presentation -- we 

compiled all the research and split up the work. I focused 

on designing the handout (which we wanted to use as the 

presentation slides as well, so that it is easier to follow 

the presentation), while Jie Lin and Joy focused on piecing 

together the content.

The final handout that was made. We made stickers that resembled wax seals.

The inside of the handout. We used 250gsm Kaschmir paper.

The process 

Jie Lin, Joy and I got together to discuss what we wanted to 

do. We started off with various ambitious ideas, e.g. making 

the handouts look like brochures, and also decided on the 

framework of content so that we can split up the work to 

research and still cover all the required areas. Putting together 

everything on Google docs, we finalised the content and put 

everything into the design. 


Quite fun, but it was quite a rush as we had very little time to 

put together everything, since we were swarmed with many other 

projects. I learnt quite a bit too, especially about Garamond. I 

never knew of its rich history before researching. It’s like every 

typeface has its own character and special attributes, including 

Garamond.

Read below regarding this error.


Designing the handout took quite awhile. We had to also get 

them printed, cut and assembled (with the “wax seal” sticker). 


Also designing the handout, because it was incredibly satisfying. 

Learning all the fun facts about the typeface was also interesting. 

Reflections 

I think we did well as a group, working well together. But after 

printing, we actually realised that there were some errors made 

(didn’t triple check before printing, so we made it a mini pop 

quiz during the presentation) — that was something we could 

have been more careful with.

Joy, Jie Lin and I (right to left)

3/ ephemera

What it is 

We chose found objects of passing interest (with 

typography on them) and explored how text becomes an 

image, through cropping and framing. 

What I did 

I collected items, sorted them into different themes and 

played around with compositions. Our drafts were reviewed, 

and then we made changes before printing and mounting 

the works.

The process 

To make the collages, I simply scanned the items together 

in the composition I picked out. For some others, I 

scanned the items and then overlaid them in photoshop 

(which gave me the freedom to resize certain items). 


I enjoy collecting items (see section 11) and so this 

project was particularly exciting to me. The project has 

also helped me to understand how to better create visual 

interest, sometimes by simply pushing the way of framing.

1/3 of initial explorations




Matching the objects, because some level of visual consistency had 

to be maintained. 


It was most fun to play with the textures and different colours, and 

typefaces of the different items. I threw the items on the ground 

and started looking for interesting compositions, by framing them. 

Reflections 

Quite an enjoyable project, and I’ve learnt a lot through explorations 

of visuals! Also quite pleased with the results.

Final work was printed and mounted.

4/ grey

LEFT: Illuminated manuscript 

The illuminated manuscript is 

distinctively rigid and orderly. 

Pay attention to the margins. 

Examples of illuminated manuscripts 

include the Book of Hours, 

The Marriage of Girart to Bertha, 

Incunabula and La Croix de Pardieu. 

LEFT: Futurist/Dada 

The Futurist piece usually features 

high scale contrast (having big letters 

and really small letters). It breaks 

away from the grid and often 

includes oblique angles.

What it is 

Grey is a project that allows us to study how kerning and 

leading affects the shade of grey that a block of text appears to 

be. On top of that, it is also an introduction to the history of 

typography, exploring different formats and movements from the 

past, such as the illuminated manuscript and the Dada movement. 

What I did 

We are supposed to make 5 layouts based on the following: the 

illuminated manuscript, Futurism, Constructivism, chance operation 

and one that you choose. I studied layouts, tried to identify the 

key features, and attempted at coming up with something inspired 

by the movements.

LEFT: Constructivism/Bauhaus 

Distinct features include clear margins 

and structure, with a lot of 45 degree 

angles, lots of empty space. Design is 

made to be rational. 

LEFT: Constructivism/Bauhaus 

I did this for the choice piece 

because I enjoy working with this 

style of layout. It seems to merge 

both structure and play.

The process 

At the beginning, we made swatches of greys using a stamp. I 

tried the stamp on different papers and materials just to see how 

the ink reacts. 

When it came to laying out, I studied the layouts and took 

a stab at creating something that is not an exact replica of 

what has been done. This is so for all except for the chance 

operation, in which I tore paper at random and shuffled them 

around on the floor until I found overlaps that I thought were 

interesting. 

I printed the final works on slightly grey, 250 gsm paper. 


I found this project incredibly tedious to do, but it was quite 

interesting to research on the different styles. What also interested 

me was the type style of the stamp that I picked out. It was 

slightly grungy, as though its ink was splotched. So when I laid 

them out as swatches, you could see different patterns being 

formed.

LEFT: Chance 

I tore up pieces (of swatches printed 

at different sizes) at random and 

shuffled them around on the floor. I 

like this one the most because it has 

a lot of overlap, but I think there 

could have been more play. 

BELOW: Swatches used


Everything felt hard. Figuring out how to make something inspired 

by the movement was difficult, and copying it exactly felt boring. 


Didn’t really have much fun with this project, except for maybe 

the making of the swatches, because there was a lot of room to 

explore materials and the stamp that we got. 

Reflections 

I am not pleased with the results. Perhaps I should have studied the 

references a little more, as my works have some hint of their styles 

but are not very closely referenced, or reminiscent of any popular 

works from the movement. 

In the process, I found that I had two focuses - shades of grey 

and layout, which made me struggle a bit. I should have been 

more focused in tackling the project, by approaching it in a more 

systematic manner.

In a clockwise fashion starting from the top left: 300 gsm cotton paper, 250 gsm matte 

paper, 350 gsm watercolour paper, 120 gsm unbleached paper, craft paper, fabric

5/ type in location

Friends and I at Arab Street. (Image from Joy)

What it is 

Studying the typefaces found at a location, and then doing 

up a visual response to the place by making collages. 

What I did 

We went down to Arab Street, took a walk around 

and snapped pictures of typography. I took photos of 

typography on different objects, in different angles, then 

made collages out of them.

The process 

Upon returning home from the fieldtrip, I made edits to the images 

to push the contrast (as we were doing it in B&W) and printed them 

out in a smaller size. I wanted to play with tearing up paper to 

make collages for a more gritty look. 

I tried noticing patterns but ended up amazed at how different many 

things are. And so I decided to classify them by the places I found 

them on, e.g. shop signboards, on the walls, etc. 

My intention was to show arab street as some sort of mystery you 

have to navigate through - you can be a local tourist, coming here 

to experience beauty that you may not understand. So I made a 

pop-up book, to give the viewer a glance into my little adventure at 

Arab Street. 


This was extremely enjoyable for me, because I’ve been to Arab 

Street a couple of times trying to learn about the place through 

observation, but this time I’m trying it by observing the typography. 

It’s interesting because the variety of typography in and around Arab 

Street is incredibly eclectic.

ABOVE: Initial drafts of collages, done in A3 size, portrait format. 

BELOW: Small snippet from a scan of the torn paper for collaging

Friends being type tourists, taking photos of obscrue things like a fire hydrant.

Typography can reflect the space that they exist in.


Deciding on what to put together and what to leave out, because 

I took a total of more than 200 images at Arab Street. 


Making the book was extremely satisfying, even though it was 

tedious. I printed the images on a slightly grey paper to make it 

resemble the pavements of arab street and to give it a more gritty 

look. I liked that it worked well with the format. 

Reflections 

I think this is the first time my craft is up to standard for a book. 

The 3 hours that I took to put the whole thing together was very 

worth it, as many classmates could understand the concept behind 

it. It’s also interesting because after this project, I start to notice 

typography in spaces and how it reflects the place they exist in. 

Also because I had so much fun doing this project, I feel this is 

(arguably) the most enjoyable project this semester.

Final work. Things on the walls, street things, storefronts and 

an amalgamation of them all.

ABOVE: This image shows you 

how the book opens up. 

The book opens up to create 4 little ‘rooms’ 

RIGHT: Happy with the neat 

craftmanship.

6/ paint a face

Final work, and my face full of frustration.

What it is 

Painting a typeface and trying to understand the level of skill that 

was required to make the perfect typeface. 

What I did 

I painted. For 3 hours. Black gouache on white paper, white 

gouache on black gouache, then repeat that more than 10 times.

LEFT: I used my phone’s flashlight as a makeshift lightbox 

so that I can trace the words out on the watercolour paper. 

RIGHT: After tracing, I touched up on the parts that were 

not very accurate by eyeballing.

LEFT: I used a small round brush to paint, because I don’t have 

any angled or square brushes that might have been easier to use. 

RIGHT: I layered with white gouache where I made mistakes, 

but I’m not too pleased with the look of multiple coats of paint.

The process 

I met Jie Lin to do this together. What we did was 

to blow up the original font to A3 size, then used our 

phone flashlights as ‘lightboxes’ to trace. After tracing, we 

painted, using black gouache and white gouache over the 

black when we make a mistake. 


Halfway through, we were saying, “we get it now.” 

Actually it really takes a lot of skill and practice to be 

able to perfect the typeface, because there are so many 

minute details. I got really frustrated trying to perfect it 

but I guess I learnt from this project by putting myself in 

those shoes.


Painting. But more of the part where you’re trying to perfect it. 


Actually also painting. It is actually quite cathartic. 

Reflections 

I think this is quite meaningful, in the digital age. I actually enjoy 

using brush pens to do write things (script style), so to be working 

on something more rigid and structured is quite interesting.

7/ the letter

What it is 

In this two-week project, we push the legibility of the 

letter by cropping the frame such that the viewer takes a 

second look at it before recognising the letter. In order to 

do this, we also have to examine the form of the letter. 

What I did 

I used W, and created 20 compositions for each of the 

following 5 typefaces: Rockwell, Garamond, Baskerville, 

Helvetica and Didot. 

The process 

I created boxes and did the layout on Adobe Illustrator, 

then played around with the transformation tools to see 

how I can get an interesting composition. I wanted to 

use mostly serif typefaces as W is tricky, and might be 

confused with M.


Quite a quick and enjoyable project, except that it was 

tedious to have to search for different compositions for W, 

as it is a very symmetrical letter. 


Figuring out ways to create something that people will 

look twice at, before figuring out that it’s a W. Being 

symmetrical, W created a restriction when composing. 


The most fun part was actually observing the counterforms, 

especially for Rockwell, which has a very interesting 

counterform for W (which looks like an arrow/tree).

Reflections 

Also another interesting and enjoyable project, that has got me to 

be more conscious of forms and counterforms of typography. Just 

like the ephemera project, I’ve also learn about how cropping can 

do so much to create visual interest -- sometimes it’s about teasing 

the viewer into figuring out what it is. 

Drafts. In clockwise order from above: 

Rockwell, Garamond, Baskerville, 

Helvetica, Didot

Final work -- using Rockwell

8/ haiku

Overnight Vigil, by Faith Christine Lai

What it is 

A project to demonstrate all explorations from the semester in a 

book format. 

What I did 

I made a book bound using coptic stitch and accordion bind, for 

the poem “Overnight Vigil”, that goes like this: 

i wear an old prom dress 

to your wake and find 

that the hemline you 

altered to fit 

has come 

undone

The process 

This project is a really long one. I started off by choosing 

a poem with strong imagery, which I’ve picked out from 

the SingPoWriMo 2015 Anthology. 

I, then, went on to identify the key things we’ve learnt 

this semester: study of form and counterforms, using text 

as image, using type as image to create a visual response, 

shades of grey from density of text, introduction of 

typography and different kinds of layouts. 

Then I did thumbnail sketches of what I wanted to do. I 

decided on using accordion bind (initially). 

I did my first draft and got feedback that some of the 

pages work better than others, in terms of interpreting the 

poem’s emotions. 

At this point, I went to take a look at the paper that I 

can use, and bought a few to try. I decided on handmade 

paper because it was delicate and could show fragility.

I continued working on the compositions, and interpreting 

the poem. I focused on using motifs, spacing and 

differences in weight to bring across ideas. 

While working on the compositions, I thought it would fall 

in line with the meaning of poem if I used coptic stitch, 

then let the last few pages be bound by accordion bind, 

so the book actually comes undone, like the hemline. 

I did a test print on handmade paper, and almost ruined 

my printer. The solution to printing on handmade paper 

was to use double-sided tape to tape it to copy paper, 

then inserting it through the manual feed. Unfortunately 

I can only print on one side, as I cannot ensure good 

double-sided printing. 

After printing everything, I bound everything using coptic 

stitch and accordion bind. The alignment was difficult to 

do, and so was binding on the thin paper. I had to tape 

the pages together to prevent them from tearing.

Initial drafts of the work. Explorations of compositions.

RIGHT: The first 

attempt at printing. 

I had to open 

up the printer to 

remove the jammed 

paper, and these 

were the remains. 

RIGHT: The second 

time was slightly 

more successful but 

the paper came 

out very crumpled 

because I put it in 

the paper tray. The 

next time I did it, 

I used the manual 

feed and it came 

out nicely (except 

for the edges, which 

were a bit crumpled 

due to very slight 

misalignment)

ABOVE: I painted the cover with 

golden specks to differentiate it from 

the back. I’ve once burned so much 

incense paper at a wake that when I 

look away, I still see the flame and 

golden specks appearing. 

ABOVE: The colophon for the book 

BELOW: A photo of the printed 

handmade paper, to show its delicate 

texture of the paper and how thin it is.


I find this project to be very challenging actually, because there 

was a lot of wondering and thinking while working on it -- 

whether I am showcasing what I’ve learnt over the semester, 

but in the end, I went with being more experimental. 


This one is definitely the printing and binding, because it 

is something that I have never done before. It’s my first 

time doing coptic stitch and accordion bind. Also, I had 

to bring to mind sad feelings I’ve experienced before, to 

help in interpreting the poem. 


Completing it and playing around with the book. I get 

so much thrill from watching people freak out when the 

accordion-bound parts come undone.

ABOVE: Coptic stitch 

LEFT: Process of stitching 

together the book 

BELOW: Accordion bind

Reflections 

This project was a very challenging one to do, because there were 

many things that I tried that I have not done before. For example, 

the format is different -- I usually don’t work with long formats, 

so it took awhile to get used to working with it, i.e. by using 

movements across the spread. If there was more time, I would also 

like to have the compositions reviewed and refined further as I think 

that they are not graphically very strong at this point of time. 

The craftmanship was a big issue, especially so since there was no 

option for reprint, considering the lack of time. Printing took very 

long to do because of the weight of the paper. This could also be 

the reason for its flimsiness, which ties in with the concept, but 

does not look good. 

If I were to do this again, I would choose a sturdier, bigger cover 

that can enclose all the paper inside (with nothing peeking out), 

and I would use surgical tape instead of clear, glossy tape to piece 

together the pages. This is because the glossy tape is very stark in 

contrast to the soft, delicate paper. 

I feel like I’ve learnt quite a bit from all the challenges that I’ve 

faced in this project, by going for a more experimental idea rather 

than something that I’m more comfortable with. So while I think I 

could have done better, I’m more or less pleased with the outcome.

1/ colophon & cover page 

2/ you taught me the world & now i miss u 

3/ needle, thread and dress 

4/ an old prom dress that’s torn and everywhere 

5/ everything crumbles. i’ve come to wake you

6/ and, end, find, fine 

7/ hemlines and a heavy heart 

8/ nothing else but 

9/ a confused rage 

10/ let this be a joke, come home, don’t just fade away

9/ the letter journal

1/ Where did it come from? 

In the middle ages, each language had its own alphabet 

and every scribe had his own writing style. Many 

letters were hard to tell apart, i.e. I and L, U and 

V. But in Old English, V was never really used. 

But then due to the Norman invasion of England 

in the 11th century, the French brought in the ‘V’, 

which became often confused with ‘U’. Two ‘U’s 

were joined for clarity, so the vowel can be set apart 

from the consonant V. 

When the printing press began, it eventually evolved 

from UU to W. 

2/ Who came up with it? 

A scribe from the south of Kent by the name of 

Samuel got tired of this situation and started joining 

his ‘U’s, and over time it became more popular.

3/ Why is it pronounced as 

“double-u”? 

Read question 1, as its orgins explains why it’s 

pronounced as such. 

There are at least four ways to say the letter 

“w” in Spanish: doble ve, doble u, doble uve, or 

uve doble. The “w” is extremely rare in Spanish, 

as words beginning with w tend to be borrowed 

words from other languages. Usually W is not 

considered part of the Spanish alphabet. 

4/ What are some of the 

meanings and uses for 

‘W’ today? 

W stands for Watt, which is unit of measurement 

for power, in the International System of Units. 

W happens to be a fashion and lifestyle 

magazine, managed by Conde-Nast publications. 

An addition of a stroke or two can have other 

meanings. The Korean currency is the Won, 

which is W with two strokes across it. With a 

slash, “w/” means with, and is commonly used. 

WWW (World Wide Web) is a popular acronym 

with the most number of syllables replacing the 

initial phrase.

Interesting ‘W’s 

ABOVE: Old english (insular miniscule script). The W was written like a P and 

due to its similarity, it was changed out for UU. 

LEFT: A popular Japanese novel, W no 

Higeki, has been adapted multiple times. W is 

used to represent duality. 

ABOVE: Its origins could be the reason why 

old style typefaces usually feature W as two 

‘V’s crossing one another.

LEFT: This image shows how 

versatile and interesting W is, as 

a letter. Here we see that W is 

formed using two ‘T’s and their 

shadows. 

We have observed previously that 

W can be formed with two ‘U’s 

or two ‘V’s, showing us that 

working with W actually gives us 

plenty of room to explore. 

ABOVE: Interesting calligraphic ‘W’s 

ABOVE: Logos with ‘W’s

10/ typesetting workshop

Typesetting workshop 

We had a very interesting typesetting workshop where 

we learnt more about the traditional letterpress, and 

tried printing something on our own. 

LEFT: There was a 

DIY printing press 

that was made 

and brought to the 

workshop. It was 

quite interesting to 

see it as it seems 

to be something 

that anyone can 

make at home, and 

so anyone can try 

printing. 

BELOW: Letters that 

I used to print

There were many 

options for the 

typefaces -- I can 

only imagine how 

much time was 

needed to make 

them in the past!

11/ and so my mother said 

that I keep a lot of rubbish

What this section is about 

My mother says I keep a lot of “rubbish”, but she knows 

that they are treasures to me. In fact, I have many boxes 

of such treasures. 

In this section, I’ve included pictures of some of the things 

that I’ve collected, with typography on them -- something 

like ephemera, so things that I’m drawn to. 

This is to serve as some sort of moodboard of things that 

have inspired me this semester.

“Type is a beautiful group of letters, 

not a group of beautiful letters.” 

Matthew Carter

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