Modular Type System vs New Wave
モジュラー・タイプシステム / ニュー・ウェーブ
Modular Type System comes from Type Classification and New Wave from Counterculture. One is layout and the other style. They are reached for with different intent, which is the fastest way to tell them apart.
Modular Type System
Locks sizes and spacing to a few ratios, one consistent voice across changing media.
New Wave
Keeps punk's freedom while re-editing color and grid with urban polish.
| Modular Type System | New Wave | |
|---|---|---|
| Era | modernist–variable type | 1970s–1980s |
| Family | Type Classification | Counterculture |
| Kind | Layout | Style |
| Cues | Ratio scales / Repeating hierarchy / Baseline grid / Variable widths | Irregular grid / Dots / High chroma / Rotated type |
| Best used for | Extending consistent hierarchy across pages and media · Making design decisions reproducible by a team | Editorial heat for culture media · Adding surprise to serious content |
| Type | One family, developed through weight, width and size | Mix condensed, geometric and vertical setting |
| Composition | A 4–8px base unit and three to six type steps | Shift the grid; hold several angles at once |
| Material | Fix the rules of size, leading and margin before color | Yellow, red, blue, dots, thin rules |
| Caution | Rule-keeping is not the goal. Leave room for the content's exceptions. | Don't multiply small decorations. Choose one starring deviation. |