By: Jessica Delvasto and Rich Wright
So, What Is Typography?
Monroe, Cupcake, Amy, MCM Hellenic Wide, FR Hopper, Velvet, and Biographer from myfonts.com
•The study of the arrangement and evolution of printed letters.
•How letters are used to optimize readability, impact and artistic form.
Why Is It Important???
Helvetica Neue, Cutoff Pro, Brandon Grotesque, Despeinada, Mrs Eaves, Narziss, Avant Garde Gothic from myfonts.com
Typography is important because
a typeface can influence how we view the content. Good typography
honours its content.
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore, While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
Read the following quote:
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore, While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
Etiam dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vestibulum in felis eu massa porttitor volutpat at a ante. Integer cursus est vel tortor vulputate lacinia.
Etiam ultrices dui et quam dictum eu consequat augue pellentesque. Praesent et augue risus.
Lorem ipsum ultrices dui et quam dictum eu consequat augue pellentesque. Praesent et augue risus.
Suspendisse sed sem ut nisi venenatis vulputate. Aenean bibendum tempus enim quis convallis.
Cras convallis elit et odio venenatis feugiat. Fusce in tellus ac quam adipiscing auctor.
There are several terms unique to typography, and most are quite
unfamiliar to us.
TYPEFACE A set of letters, numbers, punctuation, that are of the same design or form.
A reference to which typeface in particular is being used or displayed.
FONT
All of the typefaces under the same title; including options to slightly alter the appearance of the typeface.Ex// Bold, Italic, Underline
(Arrus by Richard Lipton)
TYPE FAMILIES
ITALICItalics refers to a font that is designed or redesigned to slant to the right. This is different from oblique type, which many word processors use to compensate for italics which they don't have.
Garamond in Roman, Italic, and Oblique
One of the oldest types of font is called Blackletter or Gothic.
It was influenced by the way the utensil was held in calligraphy.
(Gothique MN by Mecanorma Collection)
These include typefaces where small lines are included at the end of certain strokes that form a character. The purpose is to guide the readers eyes from one letter or word to the next making it easier to read. Times New Roman is a Serif Font.
SERIF FONTS
(Times New Roman by Timothy Ketcher and Victor Lardent)
SANS SERIF FONTS
The typefaces that fall under Sans Serif Fonts lack the small lines at the ends on a character and opts for a more simple approach.
(Avenir by Adobe)
“A single character in a font or typeface.”GLYPH
(designorati.com)
(Garamond)
LigatureA ligature is when more than one character is used in the same glyph. They are used to avoid collisions between letters. One common example is the pairing of “f” and “i”.
(Garamond)
KERNING The act of editing the space between glyphs in a font.
Tee from mysoti.com
COPPERPLATEThis kind of typeface is named after an old method of creating typefaces. The original writing would be transferred onto a plate made of copper, and sheets would be made using the plates.
Copperplate Example
Theodor Matham (17th century): Galant scene
How to Make a Typeface
There are also many
parts of the letter to consider
when making a typeface.
Types: Epic - Positype/TypeTrust (Neil Summerour) National - vllg (Klim, Kris Sowersby) Ligature, Loop & Stem poster by Scott Boms,
Grant Hutchinson and Luke Dorny
Helvetica
Gill Sans
Typography stemmed from the study of
handwriting. It grew as
print making became more
significant.
With more advanced technology, typographyhas been elevated to being
a more distinguished art form.
It is most prominent in advertising and in works in which the purpose is to make a
statement or convey emotion.
Logo examples from Chermayeff & Geysmar, Raymond Loewy, and Landor Associates; respectively.
A World of Type
Roman type can be traced back to the days of the Roman Empire. However the Roman type is not the world’s sole Typeface, there are also Greek
and Japanese.
Greek
Japanese
Roman This is an inscription found on Trajan’s Tower, which dates back to 113CE and was built by the Roman Empire to commemorate the victory of Caesar over the Dacians.
Nicholas Jenson 1420-1480
Jenson‘s signature brand
Nicolas Jenson• Opened a printery in Venice• Designed the serif style called Venetian Oldstyle,
keeping in mind typographic principles and unity rather than the elegance of each individual letter
• He also created Jenson• Centaur is a font designed in 1914 by
Bruce Rogers; based on one of Nicolas Jensen's designs
Centaur
Adobe Jenson Regular
Jenson's archetype of the Roman typeface
Excerpt taken from the "Laertis", published in Venice ca 1475.
Claude Garamond 1480-1561
Claude Garamond
Contributed much to the French language by introducing the apostrophe, accent, cedilla,
and Italic to printed type
Claude GaramondWent on to create several successful Roman
types such as Garamond
Adobe Garamond
Adobe Jenson Regular
Adobe Garamond
Compare…
William Caslon 1692-1760
He was asked by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge to create an Arabic
type in order for them to print the
New Testament and send it east; when he
implemented the design as a roman type, his popularity
skyrocketed
William Caslon
• It is said that Caslon gave England a national typeface
• “When in doubt, use Caslon”
• A favourite of Benjamin Franklin
LTC Caslon
Adobe Jenson Regular
Adobe Garamond
LTC Caslon
Compare…
Giambattista Bodoni 1740-1813
Giambattista Bodoni“The King of Typographers” and
the “Typographer of Kings”
Lived a life quite close to one as a wealthy aristocrat. His origins often reflect in his work which is
renowned for their ability to impress the eyes.
LTC Bodoni 175
Found a great amount of inspiration from other typographers and built on their typefaces with his
own style.
Created the Bodoni typeface series.
LTC Caslon
Adobe Garamond
Adobe Jenson Regular
LTC Bodoni 175
Compare…
Eric Gill 1882-1947
Eric Gill
His typeface, Gill Sans, was atfirst met with disdain anddisapproval…
…however, it became the most popular sans in the United Kingdom after being released to the public.
An eccentric man full of confusing contradictions.
Another well known font that he made is Perpetua.
Perpetua STD
Perpetua and Gill Sans
He was a devoted convert to Catholicism but held very liberal views on sex and thought of everything in terms of sex.&Gill Sans MT Condensed
Eric Gill, Ecstasy 1910-11
LTC Caslon
Adobe Garamond
LTC Bodoni 175
Perpetua STD
Gill Sans STD
Compare…
Herbert Bayer 1900-1985
Herbert Bayer• Trained in Art
Nouveau styles while at Darmstadt Art Colony
• Worked for Bauhaus (German art school with most influence on 20th century design) (head of printing and advertising workshops)
• In 1925, created Universal and created the sign for Bauhaus' new building
As well as typography, he also delved into various forms of abstract art.
He was an artistic consultant for several companies & institutions, including the “Container Corporation of America” and the “Atlantic
Richfield Company”.
Atlantic Richfield Company logo
Container Corporation of America Atlas
LTC Caslon
LTC Bodoni 175
Perpetua STD
Gill Sans STD
P22 Bayer Universal
Compare…
Max Miedinger 1910-1980
Max Miedinger• In-house designer at
the Haas house in Switzerland
• Designed Helvetica in 1957 as a result of being commissioned to produce a more modern version of Akzidenz-Grotesk BQ
Helvetica Roman
Akzidenz-Grotesk BQ Regular
Friendly, Familiar, and Trustworthy
LTC Bodoni 175
Perpetua STD
Gill Sans STD
P22 Bayer Universal
Helvetica Roman
Compare…
Another notable font to compare Helvetica to is Arial.
Arial was designed in
1982 by Patricia Saunders and Robin Nicholas and made for
use on computers. It is standard with all Microsoft operating
systems. Arial is often regarded
as being an imitation of Helvetica.
Typography Today
• Modern technology has made painstaking print work nearly obsolete
• Typography is now most prominent in both art and advertising
In The End by Tim Lahan
Choosing a Typeface
Julian Hansen
When choosing typefaces for a project, it may be necessary to use more than one. In this case it may be possible to use multiple typefaces from the same family. When pairing a serif typeface with a sans serif, use two typefaces with similar inner structures; typefaces of the same
designer or time period usually work well.
Univers Light
Frutiger Roman
Meridien LTSD-Roman
Above typefaces by Adrian Frutiger
abpfioegabpfioeg
Georgia by Ascender Corp
Arial Black by Patricia Saunders and Robin Nicholas
As the art of typography continues to evolve, so will the way we see
the world.
From signs to magazines and logos to computer screens; the subtle serifs, sans serifs, kerning, and ligatures will continue to affect
what we think and feel.