Bengali Typesetting for Graphics Design: Difficulties and Way Out

International Journal of Trends in Computer Science ISSN: 7462 – 8452Volume 2, Issue 11, 2013 © Shamsuddin & Islam

Bengali Typesetting for Graphics Design: Difficulties and Way OutAbu Kalam Shamsuddin, Department of Multimedia Technology and Creative Arts, Daffodil International

University, Dhaka-1207, Bangladesh

Md. Baharul Islam, Department of Multimedia Technology and Creative Arts, Daffodil International

University, Dhaka-1207, Bangladesh

Abstract-

Desktop publication (DTP) is an unavoidable part of graphic design and it is completely incomplete without

typography. There are some rules on typography to apply on innovative design. Most of the designer doesn’t

follow these rules for their typesetting. That why the aesthetic values of graphics design is going down day-by-

day in Bangladesh. It is also more time consumed with complexity. We talked with 50 designers in different

design firms and asked some basic questions on typography as questionnaires in different geographical area

in Dhaka city. The purpose of this paper is to find the difficulties and solutions to overcome these lacks on

typesetting for graphic designer.

Keywords- Typography, Typesetting, Graphic design, Desktop Publication, Bengali language

INTRODUCTION

Typography is all around us, in everything we read, from product packaging in the grocery store to television

commercials, from greeting cards, books, and magazines to storefront signs. Learning to read and write the

alphabet is one of the first things we are taught in school, and that process often begins before nursery school

with television shows and videos intended for the hungry and curious minds of two and three-year-olds. We

know that typography is very important in graphic design as visual communication. Communication shows on

different point as the emotive and the intellectual in this field [1]. It has modified by moods and experiences.

We should satisfy all these levels as a graphic designer and communicator. To get attention of all graphic

designers is establish visual communication.


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Bangladesh is a developing country; it has its own culture, tradition, convention, folklore. In graphic design

field it has bloomed with prospect. Bangladeshi designers are working successfully from the very beginning.

It has Bengali typography to express feeling and to proper communication as well. Typography could be a

very difficult topic but considerate some easy concepts and system can result in solid typography and assist to

make graphic design great. Typography is the knack and method of designing, setting and arranging type. It is

used to some level in all written announcement as poster, flyer, brochure, banner, festoon, placard, signage,

etc. When setting up a design, it’s essential to work out how it is going to identify hierarchy and arrangement.

How large or how bold should the heading/title be? How about sub-headings, body copy or body captions?

Also think that using different typefaces can help out to create distinctions between different content levels.

Several successful publications merge different typefaces to create both classical and contemporary layouts.

Creating a rational hierarchy in designs make them easier to inspect and understand. In Bangladesh we found

that there is lack of knowledge in typesetting.

For typesetting on proper way, this is very difficult to find any book or guide. We found sufficient books on

typography design, typesetting, font design, creative typography, etc. To get a part of study it is very clear that

typesetting makes a design aesthetically significant if it is according to the rules as given below.

A. Legibility and Readability

One often hears type described as being legible and/or readable. Although they both relate to the ease and

clarity with which one reads type, they actually refer to two different things: legibility refers to the actual

design of the typeface, while readability refers to how the typeface is set. The legibility of a typeface is related

to the characteristics inherent in its design, including the size of its counters, x-height, character shapes, stroke

contrast, serifs or lack thereof, and weight, all of which relate to the ability to distinguish one letter from

another. Not all typefaces are designed to be legible. This is more of a consideration for text designs where the

degree of legibility relates directly to holding the reader’s attention for the duration of the copy. Display

designs are generally used for a few words in larger settings where the objective is to be instantly noticeable

and to convey a mood or a feeling, so legibility might not be as important [2].


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Readability: Readability is related to how you arrange the type. Factors affecting type’s readability include

size, leading, line length, alignment, letter spacing, and word spacing. So it follows that a legible typeface can

be made unreadable by how it is set, while a typeface with poor legibility can be made more readable with

these same considerations[9][12].

Legibility: As mentioned earlier, this refers to the ease with which the characters, words and design as a whole

can be read. It is of primary importance in text typefaces that are meant to be used at smaller sizes and for

longer text. Legibility is an important factor in display faces as well, unless the designer has other objectives

in mind.

Spacing: A typeface that is well-spaced is neither too tight nor too open, and most importantly has even

spacing between characters throughout the design. Unfortunately many type designers don’t pay as much

attention to proper and consistent spacing, which dramatically affects the look of a design, as they do to the

design of the actual letterform. This is usually due to lack of training, as most type designers are self-taught

[2].

Leading: When printers used metal type, they inserted thin strips of lead between the lines of type to separate

them. The term leading (pronounced ‘ledding’) refers to the space between lines of type. This space is

generally measured from the baseline of one line to the baseline of the next, so it is nearly always larger than

the point size of the typeface. If there is no leading between the lines, the text is ‘set solid’. Solid setting has

the potential for the descenders of one line to touch the ascenders of the next, which upsets the word shape

and inhibits readability. You need some leading in all cases where readability [3].

Kerning: Even a typeface that is spaced properly has character combinations that are too open or too tight

(although a well-spaced design will have fewer). These character pairs should be adjusted by the type designer

with the creation of kern pairs. Once again, this is often neglected by designers, often due to unfamiliarity

with this aspect of type design.

Tracking: The mechanical method of letter spacing is called tracking, which evenly distributes more or less

space between each letter. Some text designers have a preference for tightly spaced characters; others prefer

‘open’ or ‘loose’ spacing.


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As a general rule, the larger the type, the tighter you can track. Many programs do this automatically.

However, tracking capabilities are occasionally handy for re-spacing a headline, logotype or title [4].

This research is intended for anyone interested in typography and typesetting, be they a novice designer or a

professional graphic designer. There are some common problems for everyone, whether you know a little or a

lot about typesetting. This paper will stimulate and satisfy the neophyte’s interest in typesetting as well as

advanced information and techniques to professional graphic designers who want to improve their

typographical sense. Typography is taught in many design schools in Bangladesh but there is a gape of

typesetting rules as well. There are the few designers who working as graphic designer without typesetting

knowledge, they are not able to delivery good quality of design. This research will help them also. Typesetting

knowledge, they are not able to delivery good quality of design. This research will help them also.

Type Family: A type family is all the variations of a particular typeface of font that includes all the

different weights, widths and italics, as can be seen opposite [10]. Examples of families include Universe,

Times Roman and Garamond. Many families are named after their creator or the publication in which they

were first used [5].

Page furniture: A page pretty much designs itself but, to be distinctive, there are a few page components

that can establish a designer’s presence:

Heading style and typeface selection – chapter openings and part titles

Captions to illustrations and photographs

Folios and running headings

Footnotes.

In books, reports and other long documents, the way you furnish a page determines the success of the design.

The pieces of text interact with each other and with illustrations and basic page requirements such as folios

(page numbers) to create the overall look of each double page spread. Those spreads combine to create an

interesting document. So that it remains interesting, build in design features that occasionally appear. They

could be decorative chapter openings or title pages for different sections. You must create design interest in

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/46217307_Fascinating_fonts_Is_the_power_of_typography_a_marketing_myth?el=1_x_8&enrichId=rgreq-f52c6c28b5d88d75d7acc7eb6dd1eea9-XXX&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzI2ODgwNzk3ODtBUzoxNjgxMDI0MzIwOTIxNjBAMTQxNzA5MDE1MTczMA==


390 © IJTICS

the page furniture because the body text (the bulk of the content) must be kept typographically simple—it

needs to be legible and, more importantly, readable [3].

RELATED WORKS

The symphony of text by means of types is called typesetting. Typesetting requires the former progression of

designing a font and storing it in some method. Typesetting is the reclamation of the stored letters and the

ordering of them according to a language's orthography for visual presentation. The way in which the

components of a design are visually combine and arranged. Composition takes into account placement,

grouping, alignment, visual flow and the divisions of space within layout [4][11][14].Type Families offer a

designer a set of variations that work together in a clean and consistent way and as such are a useful design

tool. To achieve clarity and a uniform feel to a piece of work, many designers restrict themselves to using

only two type families for a project, meeting their requirements from the type variations these contain to

establish the typographic hierarchy [5]. The typographer’s one essential task is to interpret and communicate

the text. Its tone, its tempo, its logical structure, its physical size, all determine the possibilities of its

typographic form, the typographer is to the text as the theatrical director to the script, or the musician to the

score [6].

The typographic grid is an organizing principle in graphic design whose influence is simultaneously ingrained

in current practice and fought over in design education revered and reviled for the absolutes inherent in its

conception [7]. A grid can be considered the scaffolding of a page within which the various elements on the

page are organized. A grid allows a degree of continuity to be maintained in a design from page to page,

spread to spread and chapter to chapter that helps a reader access and digests the information. In the field of

graphic arts the golden section, also known as the golden ratio forms the basis of paper sizes and its principles

can be used as a means of achieving balanced designs [8]. The golden section was thought by many ancient

cultures, from the Egyptian to Romans and the Greek to represent infallibly beautiful proportions. The

classical grid layout, pioneered by German typography Jan Tschichold (1902-1974) is based on a page size

with proportions of 2:3. The simplicity the page is created by the spatial relationship that ‘contains’ the text

block in harmonious proportions. The other important factor about this grid is that it is dependent upon

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/250212721_Semiotic_Interpretation_of_Bangla_Ligatures_An_Introduction?el=1_x_8&enrichId=rgreq-f52c6c28b5d88d75d7acc7eb6dd1eea9-XXX&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzI2ODgwNzk3ODtBUzoxNjgxMDI0MzIwOTIxNjBAMTQxNzA5MDE1MTczMA==

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/247864391_The_Elements_of_Typographic_Style?el=1_x_8&enrichId=rgreq-f52c6c28b5d88d75d7acc7eb6dd1eea9-XXX&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzI2ODgwNzk3ODtBUzoxNjgxMDI0MzIwOTIxNjBAMTQxNzA5MDE1MTczMA==


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proportion rather than measurement, which gives it an un-mechanical beauty. This grid is based traditional

book design and will not work for all print jobs [5].

Fig. 1 Traditional book design grid

Fig. 2 Tschichold’s grid


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The classic proportions of Tschichold’s grid see the spine (A) and head margin (B) positioned as a ninth of the

page, with the inner margin (C) at half the size of the outer margin (D). Within this structure the height of the

text block (E) is equal to the within of the page (F) [5].

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This is an applied study. The analysis used in this study involved a combination of descriptive and

quantitative research and the methodology is descriptive co relational. The methodology of our research work

was questionnaires. We asked fifteen questions about typography and typesetting to 50 graphic designers in

different geographical area in Dhaka city. Out of them 24 designers are currently studying B.Sc. in

Multimedia Technology and Creative Arts in Daffodil International University and 26 designers are working

in different design firms and company.

Fig. 3 Data collection from three geographical areas in Dhaka city

We took all data from three geographical areas such as Dhanmondi, Nilkhet and Paltan in Dhaka city whaich

is shown in figure 1. We noticed that about 50% respondent worked on typesetting in Dhanmondi area. Only

18% designers worked on Nilkhet area. Figure 2 shows the educational level of designers. There were


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different age’s designers with different education level. Most of the designers completed their higher

secondary school equivalent to A-level. Surprisingly there were no designers in primary education level.

Twenty percent designers completed their bachelor degree in different fields.

Fig. 4 Education level of respondents

Fig. 5 Gender classification of respondents


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Most of the designers were male. Only 10 percent designers were female who are currently studying

on multimedia technology and creative arts. The gender classification is shown in figure 3. We took data

from different ages respondents. About 74% respondents is less than 24 years old. Very few respondents

completed their graduation.

Fig. 6 Respondents age classification

I. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

TABLE I

ANSWER OF SOME QUESTIONS TO GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Question/Answer Yes

(%)

No

(%)

No

answer

(%)

Are you following any rules 78 18 4


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of typesetting?

Do you have any interest to

know the rules of

typesetting?

72 6 22

Have you attend any

workshop/seminar/training

on typography?

30 46 24

Are you interested to attend

workshop/seminar/training if

arrange?

70 6 24

Have you face any

difficulties from client side?

62 6 32

About 98% graphic designers are used Adobe Photoshop and illustrator for their innovative design. Only

few designers are using In-depth design software for their professional works. We asked them that how they

choose typeface for specific design. Most of the designer said that it depends on customer requirements and

composition. They also mentioned that they faced complexity when try to write combined alphabet for a work

in Bengali. So they want more typeface as like English.

CONCLUSIONS

It is clearly seen that typesetting is an important part for innovative graphics design although most of the

designers did not know about the rules of typesetting. But they are very much interested to know the rules.

There were some established and reputed graphic design firms in Bangladesh. Even they are also a very little

bit know about the rules of typesetting and typography. This research will be helpful to good innovative

design after overcome their lacking.


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We are very much thanking to all designers specially Khandokar Hasibul Islam, Managing Director of Fast

Media Limited in Paltan for his valuable time for collecting data from different designers in Paltan Area. We

also are thanking those students who are studying on Multimedia Technology and Creative Arts in Daffodil

International University, Bangladesh.

REFERENCES

[1] E. Lupton, “How to Do Things with Typography”, Presented at the Artists Books Conference, New York

Art Book Fair, November 4, 2010

[2] I. Strizver, J. Wiley, “Type Rules! The designer guide to professional typography”, Wiley & Sons, 2006

[3] D. Whitbread, “The Design Manual”, A UNSW Press Book, 2009

[4] J. Krause, Design Basic Index, Library of Congress Cataloging-in Publication Data, 2004

[5] G. Ambrose and P. Harris, “The Fundamentals of Typography”, AVA Publishing; 1st edition, November

15, 2006

[6] R. Bringhurst, “The Elements of Typographic Style”, Hartley and Marks Publishers; 3rd edition, October

9, 2004

[7] T. Samara, “Making and Breaking the Grid”, Hartley and Marks Publishers; 3rd edition, October 9, 2004

[8] S. Afrin, “Semiotic Interpretation of Bangla Ligatures: An Introduction”, The Dhaka University Journal of

Linguistics, vol. 2, no.3, pp. 111-124, February 2009

[9] M. Sinha, S. Sharma, T. Dasgupta, and A. Basu, “New Readability Measures for Bangla and Hindi

Texts”, Proceedings of COLING 2012: Posters, pages 1141–1150, COLING 2012, Mumbai, December

2012.

[10] J. Thangaraj, “Fascinating fonts; Is the power of typography a marketing myth? PRism 2, 2004. Available

at: http://praxis.massey.ac.nz

[11] E. H. Trager, “International Text Layout & Typography: The Big And Future Picture, Boston, October

2006





https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270878864_New_Readability_Measures_for_Bangla_and_Hindi_Texts?el=1_x_8&enrichId=rgreq-f52c6c28b5d88d75d7acc7eb6dd1eea9-XXX&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzI2ODgwNzk3ODtBUzoxNjgxMDI0MzIwOTIxNjBAMTQxNzA5MDE1MTczMA==






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[12] E. M. Weisenmiller, “A Study of the Readability of On-screen Text”, PhD Dissertation, Virginia

Polytechnic Institute and State University, Virginia, 1999

[13] J. S. R. Yee, “Dynamic Literature Mapping: Typography in Screen-Based Media”, Centre for Design

Research, School of Design, Northumbria University, United Kingdom, January 2003

[14] M. C. Dyson, “How Physical Text Layout Affects Reading From Screen”, Journal of Behavior and

Information Technology, vol. 23, no. 6, pp. 377-393, 2004

APPENDEX A

Questionnaires Form

Department of Multimedia Technology and Creative Arts

Daffodil International University

QUESTIONNAIRE FOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Date: .......................................................................

Interviewer: ............................................................

Survey location:

Name of Company: ...............................................

Address: ..................................................................

Basic information on respondent:

Full name: ...............................................................................


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Age: ........................... Gender: Male Female

Designation: ..................................................

Educational Area: .......................................... Hobby: ......................................................

Education level: (Tick one as appropriate)

Never went to school Primary school Secondary school

Higher Secondary School Graduate Post-Graduate

Q1. How long have you been working in this field?

<2 years 2 – 5years > 5 years

Q2. Do you follow any rules of typesetting/page layout?

Yes No No Comment

Q3. Typesetting and layout practice is very important for good design

Strongly agree Agree Disagree

Q4. Have you had any academic knowledge about typesetting/page layout?

Yes No No Comment

Q5. Do you think that there are sufficient bangle fonts?

Yes No No Comment

Q6. Do you think typography is interesting part of design?

Yes No No Comment

Q7. Do you think that page layout and typesetting are connected?

Yes No No Comment

Q8. Do you think that Bangla typography needs some new fonts?

Yes No No Comment

Q9. Have you ever tried to design font as bangla or English?

Yes No No Comment

Q10. Do you have any interest to know the rules of typography/typesetting?


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Yes No No Comment

Q11. Have you attend any workshop/seminar/training on typography?

Yes No No Comment

Q12. Are you interested to attend any training on typesetting/page layout?

Yes No No Comment

Q13. Have you ever face any difficulties about typesetting/page layout from client side?

Yes No No Comment

Q14. Can you share your typo feeling?

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

____________

________________________________________________________________________________________

______

Q15. How typography helps you to create an innovative design?

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

____________

________________________________________________________________________________________

______

Q16. How do you choose typeface for specific design?

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

____________

________________________________________________________________________________________

______

Q17. Is there any difficulty to use bangle typography?


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________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________

Q18. Which software do you prefer to design poster/magazine/book/newspaper/brochure etc.?

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________

__________

Signature

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Bengali Typesetting for Graphics Design: Difficulties and Way Out

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