Before this assignment, I had very little knowledge of typography. I only knew enough to ensure that I would submit my assignments in MLA format, and even then, I had to constantly recheck the requirements. I knew even less about metal typography. I knew that they used metal type machines. I also knew that the machine had some type of spring that would send the typewriter back to the left after it reached the right. I also know that the buttons would get jammed often and would need to be greased. But I have never had a class that talked about typography.
During the ‘Learning by Doing’ Typography assignment, it could be said that we had different sections. These sections were printed, and I watched two videos (meant to give us a better idea of typography). The last section was reading the sections, where I had to read the paragraphs and then answer questions using the information given in them. It took me longer than the rest. While they were moving on, I was still on letter stamping.
During the ‘Learning by Doing’ Typography assignment, the part of the assignment that connected with me the most was the name stamping. It was fun searching for the letters and getting to stamp my name on the page. I did mess up by putting the letters in the opposite direction needed for it to be readable. I fixed it, but it took a while.
The second part that I connected with was the point system that the letters are based on from the paragraphs of information. I understood the point system by separating the letter by its 72/100, using the basis that 72 is an inch and that an inch can be divided by 9. So in my head, I understood that each lowercase letter had eight sections of nine. This system ended up being flawed, and so it did not help my group much; this is how I understand it.
The last assignment is one that, while I did not mind, I would not have liked on its own. It was the video linked through the QR codes on the page. I do not particularly like reliance on technology, though that is a personal opinion. There were two videos linked on the page, one video was a video that talked about the history of letters, and the other was about setting the type so that you can use it. I did not connect with this, as while it was informative, it just felt like excessive information instead of information that I could use as a foundation for what typography is. At least the type-setting video. The other video was about the history of how letters came to be. Although I do not remember the entirety of the video, I remember that the letters were based on the shape of a body part, which I think is interesting, but not enough on its own. I need my peers to expand on the information given.
To summarize, I found my peers to fill in for information or perspectives that I did not see. Besides that, I found myself being best suited for primary hands-on learning, secondary in visual learning, and last with auditory learning. This is information I was already aware of, but it is nice to have it reinforced. That is all, thank you for listening. Have a lovely day, goodbye.