Applied Design for Printers Part 2

Two other combinations might have been worked out with the ma.s.ses in Fig. 15: 3 plus 2, balanced by 1, the ma.s.s 1 being placed five times as far from the point _p_ as would the point P. Or 2 plus 1 might have been balanced by 3, in which case the distances would have been equal.

The application of these principles of balance to the problems of typography is largely a matter of influence. The typographer should be guided by them but he need not make mathematical calculations if his eyes be trained to judge relative attraction values so that he can arrange his various ma.s.ses to secure balance.

_Symmetry_

When two parts of a design are equal in every respect so that if the design were folded over one-half would superimpose in every detail with the other half, then a state of _symmetry_ exists and the design is said to be _symmetrical_. The line upon which such a design would be folded, or, in other words, the line which bisects a symmetrical design, is called its _axis_.

The printed page is often symmetrical with respect to its vertical axis (Fig. 16).

In Fig. 16 the line AB is the vertical axis of the page.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 16. Type page, symmetrical with respect to its vertical axis.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 17. Page arranged for variety. Not symmetrical on either axis. This arrangement is frequently used in advertising display, but is rare in book work.]

It is rarely possible that the printed page can be symmetrical with respect to its horizontal axis. Such a state would involve a division of the page below its optical center and would also have an uninteresting division of its s.p.a.ces, with equal ma.s.ses above and below.

It should be noted that symmetry on the vertical axis permits full variety in the size of the ma.s.ses used.

_Variety_

The absence of symmetry in a design gives it the character of _variety_, which may be defined as a state of inequality in the arrangement of the parts of a design.

In Fig. 17, neither the horizontal axis nor the vertical axis divides the page so that its units are symmetrically arranged.

_Motion_

In any arrangement, pictorial or decorative, the eye of the observer is attracted to various parts in succession, depending on their character and position with respect to each other. This quality, called motion, will be more p.r.o.nounced as the several units tend to lead more definitely from one to another. Fig. 18 shows the path which the eye follows as it looks at the ornament. In pictorial composition the same quality is employed to emphasize the story to be told or the character of the arrangement used by the painter. Then it is called "line." This quality of design is not to be confused with "action," which is the depiction of a figure in motion, as shown in Fig. 19.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 18. The diagram shows the motion of the eye as it perceives the design above. This motion is due to line entirely, not to accents of tone.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 19. Showing action in the figure depicted, without motion in design.]

On the printed page the eye may be definitely directed from one unit to another through this quality of motion, which forms a very valuable resource for the printer. Fig. 20 is a diagram of a simple use of motion, the eye progressing as indicated by the arrows through the ma.s.ses which make up the page.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 20. Diagram of motion as employed in advertising to lead the eye progressively through a page.]

_Ornament_

While the elements of design concern all the parts of a proposed scheme (on the printed page, its ma.s.ses of type, decorative border, head-band, initial letters, tail-piece, etc.) certain parts will be used solely to beautify the whole design. They ornament or decorate it. "Ornament is a means by which Beauty or Significance is imparted to Utility."

Ornament may be either Symbolic or Esthetic.

Symbolic ornament consists of elements or forms chosen because they are significant of the purpose of the design.

In Fig. 22, the ornament is symbolic in its close connection with the message conveyed by the type.

Esthetic ornament consists of forms chosen for their beauty alone. In Fig. 23, the head-band and initial are pleasing in design and they beautify the page without having the slightest relation to the text of the page.

Esthetic ornament characterizes the periods of design which have had the most important influence in the development of printing: the Greek, Roman, and Renaissance.

Symbolic ornament is found in Egyptian, a.s.syrian, Byzantine, Scandinavian, Celtic, Persian, Indian, Gothic, Chinese, and j.a.panese design. For intimate study of these various styles and periods the reader is referred to the various books listed in the bibliography.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 21. Ornament designed with natural forms.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 22. House-organ cover design by Mr. F. W. Goudy, in which the ornament is symbolic of the message of the page.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 23. Type page decorated with esthetic ornament. Much of the decorative material available to printers is of this character.

Since the printer need not study its symbolic significance he may choose such decoration for its qualities of tone and good drawing.]

Ornament may be natural or inventive. Natural ornament confines itself to the rendition in decorative design of forms chosen from nature, either animate of inanimate. Inventive ornament consists of elements not derived from any natural source. It is usually geometric in character; that is, it is rendered in patterns and ma.s.ses expressed in geometric shapes.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 24. Type border used as geometric ornaments.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 25. Further use of type border to make a flat pattern or "all-over" design. Compare the effect with that shown in the facing ill.u.s.tration.]

In the artistic development of the various races, geometric design has often been the result of religious restrictions upon the imitation of any animate forms. The Mahometans have developed it to its highest type of expression. Arabian and Moorish architecture and handicrafts are the best examples, with the crystal beauty of the Alhambra, the wonderful palace built by the Moors in Spain, as the supreme achievement of geometric design.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 26. A niche in the Alhambra, at Granada, Spain.

Showing characteristic Moorish ornamentation.]

Geometrical design uses simple materials, being the oldest of the elements of decoration. The implements of savages and the tattooing of the Indians prove this. From the first crude expressions of the original squares, circles, zigzag lines, and sundry simple combinations, gradual development led finally to the delicate forms of Moorish design. The elaboration of this style involves deep mathematical problems and careful draftsmans.h.i.+p.

The majority of geometrical ornaments may be divided into three groups.

As we find them in typographical material these groups are bands or borders, made up visually of repeated units or spots; enclosed s.p.a.ces or panels; and unlimited flat patterns or "all-over" designs.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 27. The development of a motif (stems, leaves, and berries) into a decorative spot. Diagram in the upper corner shows the geometrical arrangement of the material. The spot has been repeated to form a band.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 28. Development of the motif used in Fig. 27 into a natural ornament. The forms and growth are not distorted but the rendering is in flat surfaces to hold the decorative quality.]

In nearly every style and period of design the plant-world has been the biggest source of material for adaptation. The direct imitation of natural forms, keeping as much as possible of their shape, color, formation, etc., is called naturalistic design. A departure from the exact details of the natural form, forming the design according to the rules of rhythm and symmetry, with strict attention to regularity leads to a result more artificial in character.