Typography

Key people

• Eric GillEnglish sculptor, typeface designer, and printmaker (1882–1940)
• Hermann ZapfGerman type-designer, calligrapher, author and artist (1918–2015)
• Neville BrodyBritish graphic designer (born 1957)
• Willem SandbergDutch graphic designer, Director of Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (1897-1984)

Timeline

• 1600 BCTypography was also implemented in the Phaistos Disc, an enigmatic Minoan printed item from Crete, which dates to between 1850 and 1600 BC.
• 1920In relation to the international graphics of the 1920s - 1930s, the term "International Typographic Style" is used.
• 1950In the 1950s and 1960s, a phenomenon known as "Swiss style" emerged in typography.
• 1990David Carson is often associated with this movement, particularly for his work in Ray Gun magazine in the 1990s.
• 2020A study from 2020 found that the participating subjects felt music sounded "more pleasant" when the CD cover featured round typeface.

Read

• The instrumentEric Gill · 1931Book
• First principles of typographyStanley Morison · 1930Book
• TypographieEmil Ruder · 1967Book
• TypographyEmil Ruder · 1967Book

Listen

• Typography DojoRachel Elnar @ TypeEdPodcast
• Practicing TypographyTim BrownPodcast
• TypologyIan Morgan CronPodcast
• Word MattersMerriam-Webster, New England Public MediaPodcast

Voices to follow

• Keith Houston@OrkneyDullard · XBritish writer
• Pablo Cosgaya@PabloCosgaya · XArgentinian type designer, graphic designer and professor
• Neville Brody@nevillebrody · XBritish graphic designer (born 1957)
• Matthew Butterick@mbutterick · XAmerican typographer

Debates

• Should digital typography prioritize screen readability over print aesthetics?One view: Yes, digital interfaces demand optimized legibility for varying screen sizes and user interactions. · Another: No, strong aesthetic principles from print still enhance user experience and brand identity digitally.Open question
• Is it always better to use fewer typefaces in a design?One view: Yes, limiting typefaces creates visual harmony and avoids a cluttered, unprofessional look. · Another: No, skilled designers can combine multiple typefaces to add visual interest and hierarchy effectively.Open question
• Does the use of AI in type design diminish human creativity?One view: Yes, AI tools might automate processes, potentially reducing the need for nuanced human artistic input. · Another: No, AI can serve as a powerful tool to assist designers, speeding up iterations and exploring new possibilities.Open question

Glossary

• TypefaceA family of fonts sharing a common design, like Helvetica or Times New Roman.
• FontA specific style and size within a typeface, such as Helvetica Bold 12pt.
• KerningThe adjustment of space between individual letter pairs to improve visual balance.
• LeadingThe vertical space between lines of text, measured from baseline to baseline.
• TrackingThe uniform adjustment of space across a range of characters or an entire block of text.
• X-heightThe height of lowercase letters without ascenders or descenders, like 'x' or 'a'.

Careers

Roles this can lead toward

Threads 3

Where this connects to other fields — and why it's worth knowing.

• Writing Systems Literature

  In the 1920s Turkey's leader Ataturk swapped the country's Arabic letters for Latin ones, almost overnight. Just like that, every kid could read the new signs, but nobody could read grandma's old books anymore. Changing the alphabet quietly cut a whole nation off from its own past, on purpose.

• How Learning Works Education

  Weirdly, an ugly, hard-to-read font can help you remember more. The extra effort of decoding the letters forces your brain to work harder and lock the information in deeper. So a slick, easy design and durable memory can actually pull against each other, a twist researchers call 'desirable difficulty.'

• Rhetoric & Persuasion Literature

  A font talks before you read a single word. The same sentence set in goofy Comic Sans versus elegant Baskerville is actually believed by readers at different rates, tested and measured. So typography is silent persuasion: the shape of the letters is quietly vouching for the message, or quietly wrecking it.