The 'B'lack Square Exercise

Yesterday, Sarah Maxey, our Graphic Design lecturer gave us our first assignment - The Black Square Exercise. We were all assigned different letterforms for this exercise - I got the capital letter 'B'!

We have to make at least three different compositions on a white sheet using four squares of black paper.

The goal of this exercise is for us to consider the qualities and characteristics of the selected letterform, and through this, we would be able to explore positive or negative spaces, forms or counterforms, scale, edges and spaces.   

A quick research on letterform anatomy was in order so that I can familiarise myself with the right terminology. 

OBSERVATION OF TYPOGRAPHY – Nabilla Jamil
Typographers Glossary by Playtype


What makes the letterform 'B', a 'B'?

I stayed back after Matauranga Design class today to explore before the exercise on Friday. 

I look like I'm in pain, but honestly, I just blinked at the right moment.

Here are some of the outcomes:


Variations with the form and shape.


Playing with negative and positive space. Counters are not necessary to make it look like a B.


Depending on how I position the squares, it could look more like a lowercase 'b'.




A really chonky, pixelated 'B'. The shape of the B is affected by the size of the bowls.


Thinner 'B' in a narrower space. 


When playing around with the squares, here are some things that I've learned: 
  • The counters within the 'B' are not necessary as long as you ensure the silhouette of the B is defined clearly.
  • The silhouette can help make it more recognisable as a 'B', by ensuring the bottom bowl is slightly larger than the top bowl.
  • The part at the baseline that completes the bottom bowl is quite important because if that disappears, it would look more like the letterform 'R'.
  • Size and positioning of the squares can be adjusted so that the letterform doesn't look too static or rigid. I realised I tend to be a bit rigid with my compositions.
  • We are accustomed to seeing letterforms not in a chunky square format, but constrained to a more narrow, vertical form. Hence, the shape of the 'B' is more recognisable once a portion of that space has been removed from our sight.
It's quite interesting to learn all these. I'm looking forward to this exercise in class on Friday. 

REFERENCES

Garnham, P. (2016, June 29). The A-Z of typographic terms. The A-Z of typographic terms | Fontsmith Blog. https://www.fontsmith.com/blog/2016/06/29/the-a-z-of-typographic-terms.

Typographers Glossary [Web Image]. (2019). Playtype. URL (https://playtype.com/general-information/typographers-glossary/)

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