Type decisions can alter the tone of type.
Type has a visual element - it is a mixture of visual and verbal communication.
Meta-communication is a type of system that surrounds another system.
Type can affect the way/speed/rhythm that we read text.
A font could look perfectly sleek on screen, but bulky in print.
Letters come from roman inscription.
Type Classification
Humanist
Old Style
Transitional
Modern
Slab Serif
Sans Serif
The age of print began around 1450s
Gutenbergs printing press is invented, so can mass produce books. For the first time, knowledge is widely available.
Gutenberg Gothic Script was based on medievel handwriting and used in the printing press but soon fell out of favour.
Humanist typefaces were introduced, and were more legible.
To spot a humanist type, you can notice that the bar on the lowercase 'e' is inclined slightly.
Jenson - early humanist font
Designers wanted to keep human aspects to it
Geofroy Tory believed that proportions of the alphabet should reflect ideal human form.
Old Style are refined versions of humanist fonts.
Examples: Garamond, Perpetua, Palatino.
They have connotations with class, sophistication and italian renaissance.
Transitional
Contrast between thick and thin strokes
Created along quasi-scientific lines.
Baskerville was accused of 'blinding the country' with narrow strokes.
In 1790s modern typefaces were developed.
Attributed to Firmin Didot
Modern Traits
Small aperture
High contrast
Narrow hairlines
Seen in fashion all the time - seen as glamour, elegant
Slab/Egyptian
Egyptian reference is to exoticism and oriental
Designed for industrialisation, mass production, to be plastered on billboards to shout at you
Modern Sans Serif
Supposed to be international, design typeface for all, not historic, neutral.
Cooper Black - 1921 - Easyjet, The Beach Boys, Dad's Army, Vote for Pedro
Helvetica - 1957 notable as most modern/recognised font
90s onwards - designers keep inventing new fonts instead of using existing ones
The Crystal Goblet by Beatrice Warde
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