Typography
Typography
“
The art of printing from
moveable type, including the
skilled planning of typeface
and size, composition, and
layout, to make a balanced
and attractive whole.”
Alphabets
Alphabets
•
We actually use several distinct alphabets
•
CAPITAL LETTERS are also known as
majuscules or upper case
Alphabets
•
We actually use several distinct alphabets
•
CAPITAL LETTERS are also known as
majuscules or upper case
•
Lower case letters are also known as
minuscules
Upper and Lower
The terms “upper case” and
“lower case” date from the
earliest days of printing, when
the different alphabets were
kept in different parts of the
printer’s case of letters
CAPITALS
•
The early printers copied their capital letters fromCAPITALS
•
The early printers copied their capital letters frominscriptions carved in stone
•
The letters from TRAJAN’SCOLUMN in Rome (113 a.d.) are the classic model for Roman typefaces
A B C D E
F G H I M
N O P QV
R S T V X
Italics
•
Italics are a third alphabet based on a popular
style of cursive handwriting, used in the
Italics
•
Italics are a third alphabet based on a popular
style of cursive handwriting, used in the
Vatican
•
They were originally used to save paper and
print cheaper books because they were more
compact than Roman types
Italics
•
Italics are a third alphabet based on a popular
style of cursive handwriting, used in the
Vatican
•
They were originally used to save paper and
print cheaper books because they were more
compact than Roman types
•
But there were no Italic capitals, so standard
Roman capitals were used!
Pairings
It took until the 16th
Century (in France) before
someone used an Italic type
alongside a Roman type for
Serifs
•
All the early typefaces had “serifs” – the
short cross lines at the end of the
Serifs
•
All the early typefaces had “serifs” – the
short cross lines at the end of the
strokes forming the letters
•
These were based on the way the
stonecutters would finish inscriptional
letters with their chisels
old-style type
-
15th Century
old-style type
-
15th Century
old-style type
-
transitional type
- early 18th C
transitional type
- early 18th C
modern type -
Pinnacle
•
The 18th Century was in many ways
the pinnacle of letterpress printing.
Pinnacle
•
The 18th Century was in many ways
the pinnacle of letterpress printing.
•
In the 19th Century, mechanisation
Pinnacle
•
The 18th Century was in many ways
the pinnacle of letterpress printing.
•
In the 19th Century, mechanisation
offered greater speed at a lower quality
•
The fine types of Didot and Bodoni
couldn’t survive the poor conditions
“Grots”
•
In the 19th Century, a new form of letter appeared, without serifs.“Grots”
•
In the 19th Century, a new form of letter appeared, without serifs.“Grots”
•
In the 19th Century, a new form of letter appeared, without serifs.•
These were called sans-serif typefaces•
They were also called “grotesques” or“Grots”
•
In the 19th Century, a new form of letter appeared, without serifs.•
These were called sans-serif typefaces•
They were also called “grotesques” or“grots” because some thought them ugly
•
They were also (ironically) called “Gothics”Arts and Crafts
•
At the end of the 19th Century and beginningof the 20th, the Arts and Crafts movement set out to revive the use of fine typography
Arts and Crafts
•
At the end of the 19th Century and beginningof the 20th, the Arts and Crafts movement set out to revive the use of fine typography
•
People like Charles Rennie Mackintosh, William Morris, and (especially) Eric Gill were part of this movementArts and Crafts
•
At the end of the 19th Century and beginningof the 20th, the Arts and Crafts movement set out to revive the use of fine typography
•
People like Charles Rennie Mackintosh, William Morris, and (especially) Eric Gill were part of this movementMeanwhile, in Germany
•
the “new typography” movement wasfuturist in outlook and sought to
Meanwhile, in Germany
•
the “new typography” movement wasfuturist in outlook and sought to
revolutionise the use of type
•
they wanted to do away with capital letters and serifs, calling themMeanwhile, in Germany
•
the “new typography” movement wasfuturist in outlook and sought to
revolutionise the use of type
•
they wanted to do away with capital letters and serifs, calling them“irrational”!
★ Hitler hated “new typography” and insisted that German newspapers use traditional black letter (called Fraktur)
Futurists
Futura was seen as a
completely rational type
face, based on “pure”
This early Nazi
propaganda poster
mixes Hitler’s
favoured fraktur
gothic font with
ultra-modern
Times New Roman
•
Times New Roman was developed around 1930 in response to the criticisms of the Arts and Crafts movement.Times New Roman
•
Times New Roman was developed around 1930 in response to the criticisms of the Arts and Crafts movement.•
It was a type designed to be robust enough for high-speed rotary printing.Times New Roman
•
Times New Roman was developed around 1930 in response to the criticisms of the Arts and Crafts movement.•
It was a type designed to be robust enough for high-speed rotary printing.•
The letters are chunky, solid, yet narrow: much less fragile than the “Moderns” of Bodoni and Didot.Sans Serifs
•
There are two styles of sans-serif type•
One, growing out of the Arts and Crafts movement, is called humanist (Gill Sans,Helvetica, Frutiger etc.)
•
The other, growing out of the “new typography” movement is calledgeometric (Futura, Avant Garde, 20th
Switzerland
The founder of the “new typography”
movement fled to Switzerland to escape
Switzerland
The founder of the “new typography”
movement fled to Switzerland to escape
Hitler’s
persecution
He influenced the
Swiss Typography
movement of the
1950s
Switzerland
The founder of the “new typography”
movement fled to Switzerland to escape
Hitler’s
persecution
He influenced the
Swiss Typography
movement of the
1950s
Swiss Typography is still widely
imitated and looks quintessentially
SwissTypes
•
The classic Swiss typeface is
SwissTypes
•
The classic Swiss typeface is
Helvetica (of which Arial is a copy)
•
But look out too for Frutiger,
Eurostyle, and Univers
Fashion Trends
•
Every era tends to reinvent typographyFashion Trends
•
Every era tends to reinvent typographyFashion Trends
•
Every era tends to reinvent typography•
In the 80s, the explosion of computerFashion Trends
•
Every era tends to reinvent typography•
In the 80s, the explosion of computertype saw a growing trend in “grunge” types
•
Magazines like The Face and EmigreGraphics pioneered the use of this new
