Typography from the 18th century to the 21st. Ana Milena De Leon.
Over the centuries type designers have created different letterform. Going from the 18th century to the 21st there is a variety of Serif & Sans Serif styles.
{Intoduction} 9 {18th century typefaces} 13 {19th century typefaces} 21 {20th century typefaces} 27 {21st century typefaces} 39
Introduction {type anatomy}
eye
ascender
bracket terminal
apex
arm
serif spine
bowl
tittle
ear
slab serif
link
descender shoulder ligature loop
tail
cap height meanline
junture of joint
aperture
baseline
spur
closed counter leg
descender line
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{timeline}
Introduction {type direction}
20th century 1927 Futura
18
th
1928 Gill Sans
century
1722 Caslon 1757 Baskerville 1798 Didot
1957 Helvetica
19th century 1845 Clarendon
21st century 2000 Gotham
Typefaces should not been seen as static shape, they actually convey movement, action and direction. Each letter portraits a different energy force according to its design. Counters (disclosed and open) are mainly relevant to determine the direction of the letterform.
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18
th
century {serif typeface} The 18th century typography was mainly inspired by 17th century Dutch Barroque typefaces. During this time, Serif typefaces were designed. Serif is the term given to the structural tail found at the end of some letters. Serif typefaces are commonly used for magazine, book and newspaper copy because of it high redability on prints. This type style is classified into three styles: Old Style, {Caslon}, Transitional {Baskerville} and Modern {Didot}.
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Caslon In 1722 William Caslon created Caslon. It was mainly influenced by Garamonds type designs. Caslon is classified as classic and formal, and belongs to the Old Style Serif. Old Style Serif are characterized by there low contrast in the thickness of the letter form and excellent redability. They are derived from humanist calligraphy; Thus it has a left diagonal stress at about 8 and 2 o’clock.
Caslon regular letter “c, d and e” have the same curve angle.
dddddd
Caslon family includes regular, italic, semi bold, semi bold italic, bold and bold italic. The main difference between the styles is the thickness of the strokes, the angle of stress and the width. concave oblique apex
AAEQGgwa swash
concave extended apex
oblique serifs
96° Caslon regular has a stress of around 96º and a disclosed counter angle of 55.5º.
two part tail
no spur
extended stem
wide bowl
55.5° Caslon italic has a stress of around 55.5º and a disclosed counter angle of 96º.
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Baskerville In 1757 John Baskerville created Baskerville. This typeface conveys dignity and tradition; and is classified as Transitional. Transitional is the style in between Old Style and Modern serif. During this period a new handwritting style is developed, the roundhand.Thus, this typeface is inspired by Renaissance Scribes which has a stress of 30 degrees and the heaviest parts are drawn from a 12 o’clock to 9 o’clock. Baskerville has a great contrast between captial and lowercase letter than most other roman faces.
Baskerville letter “A, V and M” have the same angle of 125º.
bbbbbb
The family includes regular, italic, semi bold, semi bold italic, bold and bold italic.
Wv CC Baskerville
Caslon
Baskerville
Baskerville
Caslon
Baskerville
Caslon
Baskerville is an improvement of Caslon: the contrast in the thickness of the strokes is increased, the serifs are sharper, the curved strokes are more circular and overal the letters have a greater consistency in size and form.
Baskerville
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Didot In 1798 the Didot type foundry introduced Didot. This typeface is characterized for its high contrast of thick and thin strokes, by its consistenly horizontal stress and flat and unbracketed serif. Currently Didot is related to Fashion because of the contrast of the strokes and the long and fine serifs. Didot belong to the Modern serifs and there is a notable differennce from earlier typefaces mainly because of the clear impresions and soft edges.
Didot number “6, 9 and 0” share the same bowl form.
eee
The Didot family includes regular, italic, and bold. The main difference between the regular, italic and bold style is the thickness of the strokes and the oblique stress (found in the Italic style).
z z z
Comparing Didot regular, italic and bold style in letter “Z” there is a notable difference in the terminal, weight and angle.The italic terminal is rounded and swash, while the rest are straight serifs. The weight of the stroke varies and there is a higher contrast in the bold. The regular and bold has a oblique stress of 60º and the italic of 48º. Regular and bold has the same width and height and italic is narrower and ellongated.
number (inversed) and has the same bowl, terminal and width. The only difference is the link.
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Caslon
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 1234567890!?<>(){}*&% Baskerville
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 1234567890!?<>(){}*&% Didot
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R ST UVW XY Z1234567890!?<>(){}*&%
C CC oblique serif
slightly vertical serif
vertical serif
III
hh h Caslon
Baskerville
Didot
MM M
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19
th
century {slab typeface} During the 19th century a new typography was needed for advertising, posters and flyers. Basic roman letterforms were bolded to create viewers an impact over the the advertismentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; headlines. Squared off, slab serifs were introduced. These typef style is all also known as mechanic, square or Egyptian. Slab serifs are characterized for their thickness and block-like serifs.
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Clarendon
{
{
In 1845 the English Fann Street Foundry introduced Clarendon. This typefaceis characterized for its low contrast in the thickness of the strokes, the wide set, its large x-height and bracketed serifs. It is recommended for text and display and when print of a poor quality paper.
Clarendon letter â&#x20AC;&#x153;J, g and number 2â&#x20AC;? have the same downturned tear.
c
The Clarendon family includes light, roman and bold. The main difference between the styles is the thickness of the strokes and its contrast. The Bold style besides been really thick and having a low contrast, has a larger x-height. low contrast bracketed serif
wide set
downturned tear slight bracket
wide serif
upturned foot
upturned tear large x-height
secondary counter
wavy bar short descender
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Clarendon
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 ! ? * ( ) { } Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 ! ? * ( ) { } Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 ! ? * ( ) { } From the 18th century to the 19th. Evolution of letter “A” from Old Style Serif, Caslon (1727) to Slab Serif, Clarendon (1845).
Caslon
Baskerville
Didot
Clarendon 25
20
th
century {san serif typeface} During the 20th century typography turned simplier and sharper. A completly new sytle apperead: Sans Serif typefaces. Sans serif are also known in United States as Gothics and in Europe as Grotesks or Lineales. This style is divided in three categories: Humanist (Gills Sans), Geometric (Futura) and Grotesque (Helvetica). The main difference in between this san serif styles is the apex form, the wide set, weight and x-height.
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{
{
Futura
In 1927 Paul Renner designed Futura. This typeface was inspired by geometric shapes and represents the Bauhaus design style of 1919-1933. Even though Renner was not realated to the Bauhas School, they shared the same belief of typography: â&#x20AC;&#x153;modern typeface should express modern models, rather than be a revival of a previous design.â&#x20AC;? Futura is designed from geometric shapes and the letterforms are simple and essential. It is characterized for its overal even weight stroke (low contrast) and tall ascenders (which rise above the cap line).
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The Futura family was originally published in Light, Medium, Bold and Bold Oblique. Later in 1930 Light Oblique, Medium Oblique xand Demibold Oblique was included. high middle bar
pointed apex
angled finial
straight angled tail
wide open vertical finial
long ascender thin shoulder
perfect circle
slightly curved stem
flat finial, open loop
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Gill Sans
{
{
In 1928 Eric Gill designed Gill Sans. This typeface was inspired by Edward Johnston’s type for London Underground in 1916. As a Humanist sans serif, it follows the style of classical Roman letterforms, as is shown in the letter g and in the size of the capital letters. Gill Sans is characterized for the small counter in letter “a”, the double story “g” and the calligraphic variations of line weights.
Gill Sans italic Gill Sans regular
90º
double -story hoocked foot
Caslon “d, g, n, o, 3, A, G. ! * & }” Gill Sans “d, g, n, o, 3, A, G. ! * & }”
single story
80º angled tail
67º
curved tail
64º
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 35
narrower
80º
58º angled joint
80º
smaller loop
90º
flat central junction
90º
double -story
wider set
52º
overlapping strokes
Same, no changes
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{
{
Helvetica
Helvetica was designed in 1957 by Max miedinger. During 1960’s and 70’s it was the only typeface used by the Swiss typographic movement and currently is one of the world’s most popular typeface. This type is classified as Grotesque sans serif and is characterized by its uniform, upright character, its roundess,large x-height and short descender and ascenders. It is recommended for both text and display.
J flat finial
uniform strokeweight
flat finial
Helvetica
Gill Sans
Helvetica Nue (1983)
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Helvetica Rounded (1978)
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Helvetica (1957)
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu
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B BpB 5 5 5 aaa pp Futura
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
Gill Sans
Helvetica
g g g fff 35
From the 18th century to the 20th.Evolution of type from Old Style Serif, Caslon (1727) to Grotesque Sans Serif Helvetica (1958).
Caslon Old style Serif
Baskerville Transitional Serif
Didot Modern Serif
Clarendon Slab Serif
Futura Geometric Sans Serif
Gill Sans Humanist Sans Serif
Helvetica Grotesque Sans Serif
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21
th
century {san serif typeface} During the 21st century typography became simpler and more abstract than 20th typefaces. Type Designer looked back to different Sans Serif, Serif type styles and architecture to get inspired.
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Gotham
In 2000 the American type designer Tobias Frere-Jones designed Gotham. Gotham tyepface belongs to the gemotric sans serif style and the letterforms was insipired by mid-20th century architecture in New York City. Since 11 years ago, this typeface has been highly use in campaigns, as in Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign and in the One World Trade Center, NY.
Frere- Jones was mainly inspired by NewYork buildings, specially the Eight Avenue facade of the Port Authority Bus Terminal. As Futura, (1927) Gotham is a essential and simple typeface. “deliberately evokes the blocky no-non sense, unselfconscious architectural lettering...”
Ultra
Bold
Rounded
Book
Gotham was initially designed for GQ magazine who were looking for geometric structure sans serif that conveys “masculine, new and fresh”.
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j j j j yyyy 1111
kk k k 1722
1957
1798
1845
j j j yyy 11 1
kkk 1927
1928
1958
2000
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letter â&#x20AC;&#x153;Lâ&#x20AC;? from the
18th century to the 21th.
Over the centuries typography has changed. Not only new styles have evolved, but each typeface has developed specific characteristic due to the x-height, stroke weight, contrast, serifs and wide. However, is surprisely how much similarities are found loooking over diferent typefaces styles over the time.
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Bibliography: LUPTON Ellen.Thinking with type : a critical guide for designers, writers, editors, & students. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, c2010. PERFECT Chistopher.The complete typographer : a manual for designing with type. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, c1992. SOLOMON Martin. The art of typography : an introduction to typo-icon-ography. New York: Art Direction Book Co., c1994.
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Gotham Gill Sans
Clarendon
zzzzzzzz Baskerville
Caslon
Didot
Futura Helvetica