The Evolution of Typography: From Guttenberg to Macintosh.
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ne of the greatest successes in the history of humankind second to fire is the creation of the letterforms and what eventually evolved into type design. Language has consis-
tently evolved since the first sounds were made by man. The more advanced spoken communication became the more important a written language was along with the creation and study of typography, which “reflects a continual tension between the hand and the machine, the organic and the geometric, the human body and the abstract. These tensions, which marked the birth of printed letters over five hundred years ago, continue to energize typography today� (Lupton13). Throughout recent history we have grown used to the written word as our primary form of communication, even more so now with current trends of social media where our every thought is quickly on display for public viewing and consumption. From the cave paintings of early man, Egyptian hieroglyphics to the modern acronym, we rely on written language and modern type. After the alphabet and letterforms were made the next achievement was the invention of moveable type and the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg. Guttenberg’s invention allowed for knowledge to become accessible by the masses. Without written language and the invention of moveable type that created mass-produce print materials, many of the achievements within typography today would not have been possible. The steady advances in
The steady advances in letterform and typography paved the way for modern type design and the ability for type to be used as a form of written and visual communication in graphic design.
letterform and typography paved the way for modern type design and the ability for type to be used as a form of written and visual communication in graphic design.
Left: Illustration of Johannes Gutenberg 5
The first form of written language we see in history were drawings which led to the use of symbols, which evolved into letterforms that represent the sound of speech, and words that represented gestures of the body, originally seen handwritten, and now digitized,
type has evolved by cultural influence and nationality. Johannes Gutenberg revolutionized writing in the West with his invention of moveable type in the fifteenth century. Gutenberg created cast molded letterforms that could be stored and reused. Letterforms were based on the dense dark handwritten form known as black letter, a writing form recognizable by its thick and bulky strokes. Previously, books and documents were written by hand. Written knowledge was scarce and couldn’t be passed on to everyone. With this revolutionary invention, type could now be passed on to the masses. Also with this invention came new typefaces from other printers in other regions, which led to type becoming a source for national pride and recognition. For example, Germans created black letter, the typeface that Gutenberg used for his first press. This form of type is used strongly in historical German propaganda, “The Nazis embraced black letter type as deeply and authentically German.� (Emerson)
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As loved as black letter was by the Germans, some found the gothic letterform to lack readability. In Italy, many scholars during the fifteenth century were rejecting gothic scripts and more in favor of “lettera antica” which is “a classical mode of handwriting with wider, more open forms”(Lupton15). From this form we got some of our first roman typefaces. One of the known printers of this time was Nicolas Jenson who opened an influential printing shop in Venice, Italy in 1469. The typefaces created by Jenson were based around gothic traditions merged with the Italian taste for rounder and lighter letterforms with better legibility. These roman forms and other typefaces created during this time like Garamond are historical typefaces that conform well to modern technology due to their sharpness and
Above: Printed lettera antica Right: Aldus Manutius print symbol
clarity. Today in the 21st century these typefaces would be classified as “humanist” or “old style”.
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The typefaces created by Jenson were based around gothic traditions merged with the Italian taste for rounder and lighter letterforms with better legibility.
Also in Venice during this time there was another printer, Aldus Manutius who was a scholar and a publisher, using the first italic typefaces based off of handwritten script created by Francesco Griffo. Economically italics were a preferred method due to the space that was utilized per page. Italics could fit more letters per page which meant you were using less paper. The italic style and the roman styles were distinct, but Aldus Manutius began to pair the two together. At this point roman and italic forms were being integrated into type families. This also allowed for
Economically italics were a the start of hierarchy within the page. With these types preffered type method due the Roman’s exhibited national pride. to the space that was utilized per page.
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uring this time in the 16th century Claude Garamond, a Frenchman represented France in the print and type industry. Garamond is known to be a master of the old style typefaces,
based off of the roman type by Aldus Manutius. “Garamond had cut his first letters for a 1530 edition of Erasmus. It was so well regarded that the French king Francois I commissioned Garamond to design an exclusive face, the Grecs du Roi”(LostMag). Unfortunately the original type created by Garamond was scattered throughout Europe after his death. Another Frenchman named Jean Jannon brought the history of Garamond back to life. Jannon published a new typeface “standing on a traditional basis, but with a life-giving sparkle from its creator. In 1621 Jannon published a Roman typeface and italics, derived from the shapes of Garamond’s typefaces. As late as the 20th century Jannon’s typeface was mistakenly called Garamond. Jannon’s Early Baroque Roman typeface, however, differs from Garamond in contrast and in having grander forms. Jannon’s italics rank among the most successful italics of all time — “they are brilliantly cut and elegant.”(Stormtype) Typography and the advancements in typography are linked to technology and its advancements. Technologically moving into the eighteenth century there were no advances in the printing press. Due to the uneven pressure from type to paper on the Gutenberg press, and the use of handmade
Garamond is known to be a paper with variation in thickness, ink didn’t stick master of the old style type- well to the uneven surfaces. Because of these faces, based off of the roman issues a new form of type was needed. type by Aldus Manutius. Left: Illustration of Claude Garamond
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Transitional type represents the initial departure from centuries of old style tradition. With With sitional type there is a greater contrast between thick and thin stokes, wider, gracefully bracketed serifs with flat bases, a larger X height and vertical stress in rounded strokes. One of the best-known type designers of this period is John Baskerville, an Englishman. Baskerville was a successful businessman and for most of his life had nothing to do with typography or printing. It was after his retirement in the mid 1700s he began exploring in type design.
Baskervilles goal was to create the perfect letterform, which he believed needed a thinner hairline stroke. However, due to the flaw in the technology of the printing press the thinner letterform desired by Baskerville would be too delicate. Changes had to be made to the technology and Baskerville went forward with doing so, “he made changes to the way in which metal type was made, enabling him to produce finer, more delicate lettering than any one of the time had achieved. He invented his own lustrous, uniquely black, opaque ink; he was the first to exploit commercially James Whatman’s invention of woven paper, which was much smoother than the traditional laid paper. He modified the printing process by using heated copper cylinders to dry the ink before it had time to soak too far into the paper. All of these innovations enabled Baskerville to produce printed work of an elegance, crispness and clarity never seen before.�(JQuarter)
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Transitional type transitioned into the
Modern type movement, also known as the Didone period. These types are classified as Modern because they represent the last phase of letterform evolution from the handwritten inspired old style types. The Didone’s marked the first effort to use the design of type to establish a contemporary visual style in written communication. From the modern movement there were two stand out men leading the movement, Firmin Didot and Giambattista Bodoni. These two men brought the ideas of Baskerville to the next level. “Their typefaces-which have a wholly vertical axis, sharp contrast between thick and thin, and crisp, wafer like
Above: Illustration of Firmin Didot Right: Uppercase Didot A
serifs-were the gateway to an explosive vision of typography unhinged from calligraphy” (Lupton17). The first man was a Frenchman, Firmin Didot. Didot was credited for making the first modern typeface. Modern type was recognizable by the contrast between thick and thin strokes, a vertical axis and very thin unbracketted serifs.
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The Didone’s marked the first effort to use the design of type to establish a contemporary visual style in written communication.
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Even though Didot got credit for being the first, another typographer in Italy named Giambattista Bodoni was gaining quicker acceptance due to his already popular name throughout Italy. From his reputation Bodoni earned the title “Prince of Typographers”. The craftsmanship of Bodoni was superb and his attention to detail was legendary. Bodoni’s goal was a type, which was suitable for contemporary times rather than the age of the scribe. Instead of the stroke of the pen, his inspiration was the mathematical precision and delicate hairline strokes characteristic of copperplate engraving, which was the popular printing method of his time. His concern was printing of the highest quality not for the masses, but for the aristocracy. The typefaces created by Didot and Bodoni were
The craftsmanship of Bodoni was the first type forms created for visual expression superb and his attention to detail and a tool for design. was legendary. Left: Illustration of Giambattista Bodoni Right: Metal Bodoni type
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As the history of typography continued in contast to old style and didone typefaces, the 20th centuries were drastically different. Cultural influences, aesthetic movements like the Bauhaus, and new technological advancements, typography today is now used to make communication easier, and as a form of expression.
The usage of sans serifs started and became mainstream in the early 20th century. Graphic designers use typography as a tool to enhance their work and get their message passed on easier. Today a designer has thousands of typefaces to use and the advancements made in early typography paved the way for type to become what it is in the 20th and 21st centuries. Some major type developments in this time period are Futurism, the Bauhaus, Art Deco, and Swiss design.
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n Germany, Herbart Bayer created one of the most experimental typeface in 1925. Bayer was commissioned to make a “universal” typeface for the Bauhaus. Bayer “took advantage
of his views of modern typography to create an ‘idealist typeface.” The result was “universal” — a rather simple geometric sans-serif font. It utilized simple curves and has other unadorned attributes”(Type). This typeface became a huge influence for type designer Paul Renner, among many others. Designer Paul Renner is also associated with the Bauhaus. Paul Renner is best known for his typeface Futura. Renner studied architecture and those architectural influences are visible in his initial Futura sketches, where the letterforms are based on the forms of circles, triangles, and squares. “The design office at Bauhaus assisted him in turning these geometric forms into a sturdy, functioning type family, and over time, Renner made changes to make the Futura fonts even more legible. Its long ascenders and descenders benefit from generous line spacing. The range of weights and styles make it a versatile family, it was striking, tasteful, radical — and today it continues to be a popular typographic choice to express strength, elegance, and conceptual clarity”(Linotype). Designers such as Herbert Bayer and Paul Renner were influential during the Bauhaus movement and brought typo-
Paul Renner is best known graphic pride back to Germany since the birth of for his geometric sans-serif moveable type and the printing press. typeface Futura. Left: Photo of the Bauhaus Building
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Another major breakthrough in modern design was Swiss design, “often referred to as the International Typographic Style or the International Style, the style of design that originated in Switzerland in the 1940s and 50s was the basis of much of the development of graphic design during the mid 20th century”(DesignHistory). Swiss design put a huge emphasis on legibility, simplicity, the use of grid systems, and sans serifs. One of the best-known outputs of Swiss design is the typeface Helvetica. The original Helvetica design came out in 1957 by Swiss designer Max Miedinger, “Helvetica had been worked on by a variety of designers to adapt it for successive methods of composition, from hot metal to photocomposition to digital. In addition, given the technical limitations of some methods,
Above: Illustration of a typesetter using a linotype hot press Right: The first Macintosh computer
the character weights, widths and spacing were inconsistent and compromised. As technologies improved, these limitations were removed, allowing total design freedom”(Fonts). One of the most influential type designers of the 20th century is Adrian Frutiger. Frutiger designed close to 30 typefaces, including Univers and Frutiger. and Avenir. As a type designer Frutiger was one of a few
Swiss design put a huge photographic and digital typesetting. emphasis on legibility, simplicity, the use of grid systems, and sans serifs.
typographers whose career spans across hot metal,
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Shortly after this computers came into existence and type started being designed on the computer. In 1967 designer Wim Crouwel constructed a new type structure constructed by straight lines, for viewing on screen. In 1984 the release of the Apple Macintosh started allowing for more advancements in typography. One of the new trends came the creation of Emigre fonts created by Zuzana Licko and her husband Rudy VandersLans who considered themselves “pioneers of a technological dawn� (Lupton 29). We also started getting design software for computers like Adobe in the 1990s. With these technological advancements typefaces are now being created on an almost daily basis and can be downloaded for free and for purchase. Today, we can also bring our type to life with
In 1984 the release of the programs like Adobe After Effects where type can Apple Macintosh started be animated. allowing for more advancements in typography.
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Typography in the 21st century has had a long history of major advancements. From chisel, to pen, hand written forms were created by scribes, to the first wood type that was mass produced As type progressed other printers took an interest and started creating new typefaces based on cultural context, nationality, and technological advances during the 20th and 21st centuries.
This also led to type being used as a new form of expression within design, not just as a form for written documents or publications Type became a new tool for designers with expressive types like Bodoni. This is when type design started to take risks. Due to the expansion of type and technology type today is more expressive than ever, and one of the most important elements in design today.
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Colophon:
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Designer
Curtis Melvin
Project
Typographers Timeline Book
Class
Typography II
Faculty
Francheska Guerrero
School
Corcoran School of Arts and Design,
George Washington University
Typefaces
Avenir, Rockwell
Paper
Mohawk Superfine, Smooth White, 65C
Photography
ILoveTypography, California College of
Arts, Wikimedia Commons, 2012 Books,
Paul Shaw Letter Design, Deborah Feller
Works Cited: Dodd, Robin. From Gutenberg to Opentype: An Illustrated
History of Type from the Earliest Letterforms to the
Latest Digital Fonts. Vancouver: Hartley & Marks,
2006. Print.
Emerson, John. “The Law of the Letter.” Print Magazine. Print
Magazine, 01 June 2008. Web. 24 Jan. 2015.
“Futura® Font Family.” Download. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Jan. 2015. “Helvetica: Old and Neue.” Fonts.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 28
Jan. 2015.
Loxley, Simon. “Claude Garamond.” LOST Magazine -. Lost
Magazine, May 2006. Web. 18 Jan. 2015.
Lupton, Ellen. Thinking with Type: A Critical Guide for Design
ers, Writers, Editors, & Students. New York: Prince
ton Archi tectural, 2010. Print.
“More about John Baskerville.” More about John Baskerville.
N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2015.
“Storm Type Foundry.” Storm Type Foundry. N.p., n.d. Web.
21 Jan. 2015.
“Swiss Design : Design Is History.” Swiss Design : Design Is
History. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Jan. 2015.
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