Characters by Frances MacLeod

edited by Frances MacLeod

ÂŠ 2010 Hello Turnip

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express gratitude to my parents, teachers, friends and family, all who have encouraged me to pursue my obsessive tendencies.

CHARACTERS

CONTENTS PRE–18TH CENTURY JOHANNES GUTENBERG Adriana Mendez

PUNCHCUTTING Luis Cardenas

WILLIAM CAXTON Brittany Carter

NICHOLAS JENSON Karissa Moll

GEOFREY TORY Tayler Westlake

18TH CENTURY WILLIAM CASLON Frances MacLeod

PIERRE-SIMON FOURNIER Jillian Barthold

FRANÇOISE DIDOT Brittany Carter GIAMBATTISTA BODONI Mariella Cinquegrani

VINCENT FIGGINS Miriam Mai

19TH CENTURY TYPE IN ADVERTISING Lauren Kosiara

HENRY THOROWGOOD Lauren Kosiara

DARIUS WELLS Rachel Moore

WILLIAM MORRIS Adriana Mendez

29 31

OTTMAR MERGENTHALER Kimberly Tsui

CHARACTERS

20TH CENTURY–PRESENT LUDLOW TYPOGRAPH Mariella Cinquegrani

ERIC GILL James Case

JAN TSICHOLD Tayler Westlake

PAUL RENNER Luis Cardenas

MAX MIEDINGER Matthew Bruce

ROBERT MIDDLETON Sevonne Tuvia

HERB LUBALIN Frances MacLeod

ADRIAN FRUTIGER Sevonne Tuvia

HERMAN ZAPF Karissa Moll

MATTHEW CARTER Matthew Bruce

CAROL TWOMBLY James Case

ADOBE SYSTEMS Miriam Mai

T26 Jillian Barthold

APPENDIX

CHARACTERS

vii

INTRODUCTION M an is an innovator. There is a part of human nature which compels us to better

ourselves and improve our way of life. A life which once was a constant struggle to survive has evolved to one rich in emotional and material comforts. This

progression has been possible through the transference of knowledge. We have learned from our mistakes and have been able to benefit from our forefather’s wisdom. Perhaps man’s greatest

innovation has been that of written language, the tool that has allowed us to record what we have learned for our posterity’s benefit. Started as a method of identifying goods in Mesopotamia, written language consisted primarily of single symbols stamped to the sides of barrels and pottery. These stamps eventually evolved into pictographs, where in Egypt when used in sequence told tales on the great columns of Egyptian temples. The invention of papyrus met the need for a more efficient way of recording information. Hieroglyphs were replaced by hieratics. This laborious method of communicating was further modified by the Phoenicians who developed the alphabet. The Greeks borrowing from the merchant Phoenicians, improved the alphabet, passed it on to the Etruscans who gave it to the Romans, who made it a thing of beauty although with three less letters (J, U, and W) than what we currently use. Their eloquent buildings were ornamented with the characters we still use today. With the passing of the Roman Empire culture, education, governance, philosophy became the providence of the church. During much of what is now referred to as Medieval Ages, much education and bookmaking was relegated to monks and the other individuals in religious life. Books were painstakingly copied by hand and illustrated in full color by a select few who had the skills to make a book. Books were rare and expensive items. Scholasticism and later the Renaissance created a need for broader and more efficient communications first on behalf of the church and then later as a means of advancing humanist interests. The invention in the West of movable typography, papermaking and printing met that need. Books could be made by the thousands and their information available to an ever increasing audience. With this increase of knowledge came a renewed interest in the classics, the glory of Rome and the beauty of the Roman characters. Classical letterforms were studied and analyzed. That research, in the 15th century, resulted in the letterforms we use today, their shape having been fixed in hot-metal in the later half of the Renaissance. The developments in communications from then to now have been great though the alphabet has remained largely the same. This work honors the designers who have made those changes and in doing so, changed the way we read and learn.

– Craig Jobson, 2010

CHARACTERS

THEtypoGrapHers

Introducing Master And Royal Printer

Geofroy Toryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

accent

Protecting the French from revealing mistakes.

1480–1533

GEOFFROYtory

Publisher, printer, designer, and brilliant engraver.

lmost a century had passed since the invention of movable type by Johannes Gutenberg and there was still not a developed method for printing in the French language—until typographer Geoffroy Tory. Born in Bourges, France in 1480, Geoffroy Tory grew up developing a love for letters. He studied at the La Sapienza in Rome. After receiving his education, Tory became a professor of Philosophy in Paris and became an editor to the printer Henri Estienne. He took up drawing and engraving and returned to Italy to receive an education in the arts. Upon returning to Paris (where he remained) Tory became a publisher, printer, designer, and brilliant engraver. Tory was a devoted lover of classic tongues such as Greek. And since printing was only done in Latin based languages, he believed that French too should return to its Latin roots as a written language. In 1524, after having a dream, Tory gained new insight into his life’s purpose. He learned that “we are not born into this world for ourselves alone, but to do service and pleasure to our friends and our country.” From that moment on, Tory set out to change the French language into a form suitable for printing.

In 1529 Tory published Champ Fleury. In which, he discusses and illustrates his belief that the proportions of letters should reflect the human form. Tory created humanist letter forms that ventured away from the handwritten letterforms of the French language in previous years and anchored them instead on the Latin alphabet. Tory is also owed credit to the invention of the orthographic forms in the alphabet that are peculiar to the French language and still used today. He added diacritical marks such as the apostrophe, the accent, and the cedilla to indicate the change in the sound of a letter to the French language as well as its printing. In 1530, Tory became the official printer to King Francis I, becoming one of the first official printers to royalty and the first to the French crown. As a typographer, Tory focused on type design independent from handwriting and help to establish book designing as an art in France. And because he believed that the French should write in French, Tory created the written French language as it is known and printed today. – TAYlER WEsTlAKE

aboVe A few variations of Tory’s famous engraving that was stamped onto every book that he published. It features a broken jar with the latin “NON PlVs” hanging from the sides which translates into “No more.” riGHt Tory's geometric mapping of the capital letter A.

CHARACTERS

15–16th Century

when

in doubt use

c a SLo N the founding document oĆ&#x2019; the united States, the declaration of independence, was set in Caslon types when it was Ĺżirst printed and distributed throughout the insurgent colonies. George bernard Shaw Ĺżamously insisted that all his books must be set in Caslon. William Caslon was the preeminent punch-cutter and type supplier of 18th century England, and his types crossed the Atlantic to become the standard medium or the printed word in the American colonies as well.

1692–1766

WIllIAmcaslon

British engraver capable of great precision and detail.

lthough William Caslon was a trained type cutter based in London, his work has long been associated with Colonial American printing. The distinction and readability of his characters secured the patronage of leading printers of the day in England and America. Caslon’s typefaces were used for the most important printed works in the mid-1700’s, including the United States’ Declaration of Independence. The declaration was printed in Caslon at the request of printer Benjamin Franklin, who hardly used any other typeface. He worked first in London as an engraver of gunlocks, then set up his own foundry in 1716 at the relatively young age of 24. When his work came to the attention of the printer John Watts, Caslon was given the task of cutting type punches for various presses in London. The Caslon Foundry became the leading English type foundry of the 18th and early 19th century. After his death, the foundry was passed on to succeeding generations through William Caslon IV.

Caslon’s types became so popular that the expression about typeface choice, “when in doubt, use Caslon,” came about. William Caslon was important not because of the ground breaking design of his types—he largely followed the Dutch and French designs of the day—but because of the quality of his punch-cutting and engraving. His letters were attractive and carefully made, echoing the aesthetics evidenced in his training as a gun-barrel engraver. He paid attention to the relationships between letters on the page with a detail and care not seen in Britain at the time. Caslon continues to be a favored for book work due to its legibility and readability at text size. Although when viewed individually they appear somewhat homely, when set they are comfortably readable in varying sizes, weights, and line lengths and widths. – FRANCEs mAClEOD

The merits of Caslon’s types were rediscovered after a brief eclipse in the popularity of John Baskerville’s types. Caslon’s individual letters are less impressive than those of Baskerville and Giambattista Bodoni, but their regularity, legibility, and sensitive proportions constituted were a remarkable achievement in modern design of the day.

aboVe A selection of Caslon steel punches. Only sixteen punches carved by Caslon remain in existence. riGHt A portion of a specimen printed by Caslon to showcase the options available. These specimen sheets were used by printers until the onset of digital type.

CHARACTERS

17–18th Century

“A unique letterform of such beauty to be admired for its own sake”

BODONI

1740–1813

GIAmBATTIsTAbodoni

Unprecedented typographer, engraver, type designer and printer.

odoni has been a highly admired and utilized family of typefaces since 1790. The type family was named after its creator, Giambattista Bodoni. The son of an Italian printer, Bodoni was born in Saluzzo, Piedmont, Italy in 1740. He was an aspiring type designer very early in life, as he began to engrave his first letters in wood as a child. He soon went to Rome to work as an apprentice for the Press of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, the missionary arm of the Roman Catholic Church. There he made extraordinary progress and showed his devotion to the art of printmaking by mastering ancient languages and type faces. Bodoni proved himself to be an unprecedented typographer, engraver, type designer and printer. In Bodoni’s early type design, he used old-style typefaces with decorative embellishments and fine detail. Bodoni was influenced by the typefaces of John Baskerville and examined in great depth the designs of French type founders Pierre Simon Fournier and Firmin Didot. Bodoni’s style slowly transformed as he began to admire the typographical theories of the French printer Pierre Didot. He was soon printing pages lacking decoration and incorporating modern style typefaces of his own design. The typeface family that claimed the Bodoni name appeared in 1790. Of the many books that he produced during this period, the best known is his Manuale Tipograﬁco (“Inventory of Types”) in 1788. This publication was an anthology of 291 roman and italic typefaces, along with samples of Russian, Greek, and other type designs of his own collection.

Bodoni’s typefaces are known for an unmarked level of refinement. Bodoni typefaces are characterized as having extreme thicks and thins. His craft was so precise it allowed him to produce letterforms with delicate “hairline” thin strokes, creating sharp contrast to the bold lines of the main stems of each letterform. The more highly styled of this group have been claimed “to be admired for typeface and layout, not to be studied or read.” Admittedly, his books were praised more for their artistry than for textual validity. He printed a considerable number of important works to include editions of the writings of Horace and Virgil in 1791, and Homer’s Iliad in 1808. Bodoni died at Padua in 1813. However, his influence on typography can still be seen in present day type and design. In 1963, the Bodoni Museum was opened in Parma, Italy. – mARIEllA CINQUEGRANI

aboVe Box of Bodoni Poster metal punches riGHt Bodoni specimen page

CHARACTERS

18–19th Century

1766–1844

VINCENTfiGGins Punchcutter of powerful display faces.

incent Figgins, born in Peckham, England, was one of the most influential 19th-century typefounders and punchcutters in London. At the age of 16, he was an apprentice in the foundry of Joseph Jackson. When Jackson died in 1792, Figgins was next to take over the business but lack of financial stability proved to be an obstacle and so the entire foundry was bought by William Caslon III. Not wanting to succumb to failure, Figgins opens his own foundry in Swan Yard, Holborn Bridge, London. One of Figgins’ largest accomplishments is the production of a facsimile type for Macklin’s Bible. Joseph Jackson had originally cut the type for Macklin’s Bible but when the printer, Bensley was almost done with the work, he decided to renew the type. He chose not to go to Caslon, who now owned Jackson’s former foundry, and asked Figgins to cut the new font. Figgins assisted in cutting a perfect match, therefore establishing his reputation.

However, he is mainly remembered for his display types. His later specimen books exhibit a range of powerful display types including the very first Egyptians (slab serif typefaces). Figgins is best remembered for creating Egiziano Black, which was based off the first ever Egyptian typeface which he released under the name 'Antique' in 1815. Egiziano Black was used in many posters and titling. In 1817, these kinds of typefaces became a popular design used in advertising. – mIRIAm mAI

Following this, a series of roman types were created, for both English and Scottish printers. Type specimen books show that Figgins was also successful in newspaper type. Monotype Ionic, designed in 1821, was to become the model for many twentieth century typefaces. In 1863, a more refined version was made which had more contrast between thick and thin strokes accompanied by bracketed serifs. The large x-height, strong hairlines and serifs of the Ionic font family provided the newspaper industry for a working body type font.

aboVe American woodtype in the 19th century. riGHt A type specimen from one of Vincent Figgins type books.

CHARACTERS

18–19th Century

1800–1875

DARIUsWells

Inventor of wood type & lateral router.

arius Wells lived a notable life as an American inventor. Wells was born on April 26, 1800 in Johnston, New York and passed on May 27, 1875 in Paterson, New Jersey. Wells is most widely known for the invention of wood type and the lateral router. Wood has been used to create letterforms and illustrations since the small, ancient, wooden stamps used in China, which is very similar to modern rubber stamps. Chinese wood block print dates back to 868 BCE.

Later, Wells created another invention known as the lateral router, which allowed for cutting wood into complex curves and shapes. The lateral router increased mass-production and was economically smart. In 1834 the router was combined with William Leavenworth’s pantograph to create decorative wooden letters of all sizes and shapes. These brilliant inventions made a huge impact on the wood type industry and allowed broader type possibilities. – RACHEl mOORE

For hundreds of years before the 19th century, wood was used as a material in printing for producing type. The increase in the commercial printing industry in America in the first years of the 19th century called for an inexpensive process for creating large letters. Broadsides needed to be posted and read from a distance, and therefore, larger type was required. However, metal type, which was commonly used, could not be cast larger than an inch or so and was terribly heavy to work with. Wells found wood to be the adequate solution because it’s light weight, readily available, and has high printing quality. In 1827, Wells succeeded in finding a way to mass-produce letters. He published the first known wood type catalog in the United States in 1828. Wells discovered the many advantages of wood type. It was half the cost of metal type, and had more even surfaces, unlike the lead that was able to distort from unequal cooling. Wood type also gave designers the ability to now use larger than twelve line pica at an affordable price. Wells mimicked the process of engravers by using crosshatched sections.

aboVe Wood Block Images from American Wood Types 1828-1900 Volume 1 printed by Rob Roy Kelly. riGHt Wood Block Images from American Wood Types 1828-1900 Volume 1 printed by Rob Roy Kelly.

CHARACTERS 19th Century

William Morris

1834–1896

WIllIAmmorris

Renaissance man of the Arts & Craft movement.

illiam Morris was a poet, novelist, craftsman, weaver, designer of wallpapers, patterns and textiles of brilliant originality, a calligrapher and book designer, a pioneer socialist and political activist and a medievalist. He was born in East London, on March 24, 1834. While in the university Morris met Edward Burne-Jones and became associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, a group of artists whose inspiration was the middle ages, early renaissance, as well as the English Arts and Crafts Movement. Morris wrote and published poetry, fiction, and translations of ancient and medieval texts throughout his life. His best-known works include The Defense of Guenevere and Other Poems (1858), The Earthly Paradise (1868– 1870), A Dream of John Ball and the Utopian News from Nowhere.

early 20th century. Morris' chief contribution to the arts was being a designer of repeating patterns for wallpapers, furniture, stained glass and textiles. He was also a major contributor to the resurgence of traditional textile arts and methods of production. Morris was an important figure in the emergence of socialism in Britain, founding the Socialist League in 1884, but broke with the movement over goals and methods by the end of that decade. He devoted much of the rest of his life to the Kelmscott Press, which he founded in 1891. The 1896 Kelmscott edition of the Works of Geoffrey Chaucer is considered a masterpiece of book design. William Morris died on October 3, 1896. – ADRIANA mENDEZ

Morris founded a design firm in partnership with the artist Edward Burne-Jones and poet and artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti in 1861. Together they profoundly influenced the decoration of churches and houses into the

aboVe William morris hand-operated Press riGHt William morris's Canterbury Tales, Kelmscott Press, 1896. morris studied medieval manuscripts and followed the guild model of collaborative production. He commissioned artists to make paper like they made in the 1400s. Kelmscott books were designed specifically to suit the text.

CHARACTERS 19th Century

1882–1940

ERICGill

Creating perfection in the type he crafted.

ric was born in Brighton, Essex, the second child in a large family. Early on, his ability in drawing was notable and so he attended Chichester Technical and Art School, located near his family’s new home in Chichester. At seventeen years of age, his interest in architecture and letter form design led to him being apprenticed to the architect to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners in Westminster, W.H. Caroë. At around this time, Gill also began letter carving under the principle of the Central School of Arts and Crafts, W.R. Lethaby: this led to him getting commissions. At the Central School, Gill attended lettering classes taught by Edward Johnston, a follower of William Morris. Gill was greatly influenced by Johnston’s approach to type, which held well-crafted, simple design over decorative, late-victorian styles. The two men worked and even shared a room at Lincoln’s Inn, until Johnston’s marriage in 1903. Gill married shortly after and began a life-long career as a freelance craftsman, with success. Early in his career he was commissioned by various people to paint business signs, as well as draw and engrave lettering for book designs. With concern for providing for his young family, he moved out of his workshop in Hammersmith and relocated to the Sussex village of Ditchling, in 1907. Here he began to carve sculpture, and receive commissions for large projects such as his work for the BBC on Broadcasting House in Portland Place, London: this particular job made him famous. In 1913 Gill and his wife were received into the Roman Catholic Church, and even did

work for Cathedral in Westminster. Then in 1916, Hilary Pepler, an acquaintance of his from Hammersmith, set up a small hand-press workshop where much of Gill’s early engravings were done. In 1924, Gill moved his business to an abandoned monastery in the Welsh mountains at Capel-y-ffin. Eventually, Gill began developing type designs for monotype production, and was commissioned by Stanley Morison to develop Gill Sans typeface, which was based off the lettering painted for Douglas Cleverdon’s bookshop in 1926. The face became widely popular when Cecil Dandridge commissioned Gill to produce it for used in the London and North Eastern Railway. Throughout his whole career, he produced several other typefaces, some of which include Perpetua, Joanna, Pilgrim, and Jubilee. Despite his success as a typographer, he described himself as a stone carver on his own gravestone. – JAmEs CAsE

aboVe Gill’s drawing of a ‘constructed’ capital I, and a natural one, with comments, in a letter to stanley morison, November 1926. riGHt sample of Gill sans Regular.

CHARACTERS

19–20th Century

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1902–1974

JANtsicHold

Advocate for Modern and functional design.

hen Modernism was just beginning, a whole generation of designers eagerly embraced ideas of simplicity and the escape from conventional design. One in particular was graphic designer & typographer Jan Tsichold. Tschichold was born in 1902 in Leipzig, Germany. He was trained in calligraphy, and having an intense love of letters, wanted to be an artist but instead went to school to become a teacher of drawing. In 1923 Tschichold visited the Bauhaus exhibition of Modern ideas. He was inspired by the new typography he saw and began to use sans-serif typefaces and designed simplified layouts. Tschichold became an advocate for Modernist design, which lead him to publish his manifesto Die Neue Typographie, or, The New Typography. In his book, Tschichold stressed the importance of serifless fonts (condemning all others) and the idea of non-centered design, stating that “asymmetry is the rhythmic expression of functional design.” In the book, Tschichold also advocated for the use of standardized paper sizes and talked about how effective the use of different sizes and weights of a single typeface could clearly and quickly communicate information. These ideas were revolutionary for the time.

Paul Renner in Munich, Jan and his wife were arrested by the Nazis in March 1933 and declared “cultural Bolshevists.” In August 1933, Tschichold escaped to Switzerland, where he remained for most of his life. While there, Tschichold began to abandon his earlier beliefs about Modernism and asymmetry, claiming his book was “too extreme.” He now preferred a more classically-influenced style. For the remainder of his life, Tschichold helped to redesign over 500 books for Penguin and developed a new standard for English book publishing by focusing on each book’s design as a representation of the book. In 1966 and 1967 Tschichold designed Sabon, a “universal” typeface that could be used on both monotype and linotype machines. Tschichold died in 1974 of cancer but left behind a book that is a classic for design, and a legacy of typographic experiment. – TAYlER WEsTlAKE

Meanwhile, the Nazis began to garner dislike for Modernist ideas like the ones Tschichold represented. They considered the Modernist movement to be decadent and preferred that all printing and lettering be done in blackletter. After Tschichold took up a teaching post with

aboVe Tschichold’s sketch of a Q as it appeared in Das Alphabet des Damianus moyllus. Tschichold designed books as well as writing and illustrating them—especially ones that had to do with typography and book design. riGHt A book containing Chinese color prints written and designed by Jan Tschichold. Tschichold was very interested in Japanese, but more specifically, Chinese calligraphy and printing.

CHARACTERS 20th Century

1878–1956

PAUlrenner

Design beyond the proﬁtability of business.

aul Renner was a German typographer. While his most memorable work was the typeface Futura, he did much more for the world of typography and design. He followed the Bauhaus movement closely, and strongly believed in the return of artists to craft work and the healing value of creative labor. He also foresaw the marriage of art and technology. In terms of type design, he emphasized the importance of utilizing hand skills as a means of prototyping letterforms. This led to students becoming more efficient at designing for mass production and sale. These types of characteristics helped to modernize the burgeoning urban centers of Berlin and Frankfurt. They required a new kind of design to better accommodate their needs. People cared less about expensive quality books because of Germany's economic depression after World War I, and their production quality went down to make them cheaper and more affordable. This forced the new typography of the 1920’s and 30’s to redefine itself outside of book production. As such, a new breed of artist typographers emerged. They shifted their focus away from traditional painting, and onto graphic design. They created a new agenda for typography, both in their unity, and in their work. Members of new typography also belonged to a new ring of advertising designers.

motivated him to take part in public gatherings to protest the Nazi movement. Renner pleaded for radical change in Munich as well. Renner was publicly chastised for his radical thinking. Munich wanted to retain its prevailing historicism. He continued to fight and eventually created a school where he was able to instill his beliefs on a new generation of people. Students were trained to have a “higher goal then the profitability of business”. His teachings also forced students to learn typography from the ground up. He believed that designing letterforms by hand was the best way for students to learn about all of the subtlety and intricacies in a character. Paul Renner was ahead of his time in that he believed that technology and art were one and the same. To him, good design is timeless: it would never go out of style. – lUIs CARDENAs

Meanwhile, Paul Renner continued to develop Futura. He envisioned it as the model alphabet for public signage. He was stimulated by socially driven design. The idea that better design could better mankind stuck with him for years. This

aboVe An ad for KOH-I-NOOR drawing pencils, set in Futura. riGHt Futura medium Condensed, designed by Paul Renner.

CHARACTERS

19–20th Century

Herb LubaLin 1918-1981

1918–1981

HERBlubalin

Avoiding the limits of specialization.

erb Lubalin was an art director, graphic designer, and typographer whose unique style and expressive typography changed the way designers approached letter forms. Lubalin avoided the limitations of specialization, and his innovative design encompassed everything from postage stamps to packaging to advertising to travelling exhibits for the United States Government. During his undergraduate studies at Cooper Union, Lubalin became enamored with typography, and this love had far-reaching effects on the world of graphic design. He was fascinated by the look and sound of words, and he expanded on their message with typographic impact. Idea preceded design in his work, and he used available production methods to underline the drama present in the message. While many of his contemporaries despised the new technology that emerged in the 1960s and 70s, Lubalin embraced the changing mechanical constraints and used photographic typography to his advantage.

The typeface Avant Garde was an outgrowth of the masthead logo for Avant Garde magazine. Avant Garde was intended for use only in the magazine, and only in upper case. Lower case characters had to be developed before the typeface was made available for commercial distribution after 1970. Lubalin worked with associates to complete Lubalin Graph as a serif version of Avant Garde that was released through his International Typeface Corporation (ITC). The ITC was one of the world’s first type foundries to design, license and market typefaces for film setting. Lubalin found his ultimate niche as editor and designer of U&lc, a trade newspaper for the typographic industry with a large international readership. From 1973 until his death in 1981, Lubalin tested the limits of expressive lettering and showcased the work of fellow typographers. – FRANCEs mAClEOD

Lubalin’s private studio allowed him to undertake a large variety of projects, including several magazines published by Ralph Ginzburg: Eros, Fact, and Avant Garde. Each was controversial for the time, and Ginzburg was sent to jail for violating obscenity laws. The publications subsequently folded but were widely respected for their graphic impact and controversial topics.

aboVe Herb lubalin’s Avant Garde is recognized as one of the most successful new typefaces of the 20th century. The typeface contains many glyphs and ligatures that allow the letters to nest in lubalin’s characteristic style. riGHt lubalin designed every aspect of U&lc, including this cover from 1976 that highlighted interior contents.

CHARACTERS 20th Century

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1928–PRESENT

ADRIANfrutiGer Master of graphic communication.

drian Frutiger is seen as a French typographer, but he was actually born and educated in Switzerland. Even at a young age he possessed an understanding of graphic techniques and was interested in painting and sculpture. He had many ideas and was viewed as a uniquely talented individual. In 1944, he started a four-year apprenticeship in Interlaken, while also taking courses at the Zurich School of Arts and Crafts. Frutiger moved to France after a few years of studying in Switzerland because the strict Swiss culture tired him. He took a position at Deberny & Peignot, a typecasting company where he was able to express himself freely. Peignot wanted to create a linear sans serif antiqua that had many weights, but wanted to just modify an old font. Frutiger was opposed to this, and in the end, used old sketches from school to form this new font, Univers. The sketches were extremely concerned with positive-negative forms, as well as being highly legible. Frutiger developed them into a family of 21 font styles. They became a portion of the while and could be used interchangeably with one another. The fonts displayed order and sophistication, while other fonts that tried to encourage order, like Helvetica, fell short of having a personality. Univers quickly gained fame and was recognized for its versatility. Most notably, it was used as the corporate image for the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany. Later, as Univers became more and more popular, Linotype Library AG

hired Frutiger to redesign Univers so it could compete with other digital fonts. Because of this effort, Univers now is comprised of 59 fonts and is used by contemporary designers and agencies throughout the (literal) universe. Univers's success led to many commissions for Frutiger. Sometime in 1975, he started working on the directional signage for the Charles de Gaulle Airport. He needed something that was practical and sans serif. He decided to create a typeface specifically for the airport. The font resembled aspects of Univers, but Frutiger wanted it to be more personable and reflect the curves of the terminal’s architecture. At first, the type was called Roissy (the town in which the airport stood), but was later changed to Frutiger when Linotype adapted it. Although this font was supposed to have a specific purpose, it was seen as a very timeless font because of Frutiger’s mastery of graphic communication. – sEVONNE TUVIA

aboVe An information system at the Charles De Gaulle Airport. Frutiger typeface is used. riGHt Frutiger’s method for establishing widths and weights of the Univers family.

CHARACTERS 20th Century

1994–PRESENT

T26

Type design in the web community.

ith humble beginnings as a mere exploration into the typographical side of the design business, the T-26 Type Foundry may have been the concept of one man, but has come to represent an internationally acclaimed community of people. In 1994, Carlos Segura established T-26 Digital Type Foundry out of Chicago, IL and ever since it has been the leader in the development, promotion, and distribution of independent type design. T-26 allows the average Joe to get his type designs out into cyberspace where it has endless opportunities to not only be appreciated, but also to be bought and used. It is a whole new community of artists striving to look for more unique ways to view and interact with type. With type faces ranging in price from as low as ten dollars to hundreds of dollars, the type possibilities T-26 provides you with are endless as are the possibilities for their application. Some people buy fonts off T-26 for their own personal use, some are larger corporations, like Taco Bell, who frequent the T-26 font Uncle Stinky.

in the online database for his own design work and goes on to express how detrimental and vital this foundry is by explaining how “instead of art or photography, we use type. We don’t just communicate with typography – we paint with it.” With thousands of fonts in their databases, and more being added and catapulted into the world of design all the time, T-26 has truly revolutionized typography as we know it, providing an atmosphere of exploration and experimentation. It created a space, a community that pushes the limits of what type is and how it can be used. – JIllIAN BARTHOlD

T-26’s founder, Carlos Segura uses fonts found

aboVe Hive by Jakob straub, Berlin, Germany, 2000. T-26 Digital Type Foundry riGHt shoeRepairs by Brode Vosloo, Durban, south Africa, 2000. T-26 Digital Type Foundry

CHARACTERS

20–21st Century

1 Garamond: Garalde, p. 61 2 Bodoni: Didone, p. 63 3 Trade Gothic: Grotesque, p. 66 4 Verdana: Neo-Grotesque, p. 67 5 Clarendon: slab-serif, p. 64 6 Century schoolbook: Transitional, p. 62 7 Futura: Geometric, p. 68 8 Baskerville: Transitional, p. 62 9 Times New Roman: Transitional, p. 62 10 lubalin Graph: slab-serif, p. 64 11 Futura: Geometric, p. 68 12 Helvetica: Neo-Grotesque, p. 67 13 Bodoni: Didone, p. 63 14 Adobe Jenson Pro: Humanist, p. 60 15 Palatino: Garalde, p. 61 16 Rockwell: slab-serif, p. 64

appendiX apex

ball terminal

bar

ear

bracket shoulder link loop

ascender serif stroke counter

tail spine bowl spur link vertical stress arm leg foot

descender termial finial

CHARACTERS

20â&#x20AC;&#x201C;21th Century

abcdefghijklm nopqrstuvwxyz abcdefghijklm nopqrstuvwxyz 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Adobe Jenson Pro Regular, 23 pt.

Humanist In typographic terms, the label Humanist Examples refers to the design of the strokes of the

Centaur

letter forms. They were created using the

Adobe Jenson

handwriting found in Italy in the late 15th century. Their relatively small body size, irregular outlines, and smaller counters; all of which Humanist typefaces less legible at smaller point sizes. Humanist typefaces enjoyed only a short run before falling away for nearly 500 years.

Adobe Jenson Pro Regular, 90 pt.

smaller counters

gradual contrast between heavy and light stokes

slanted crossbars

ascenders match capital letter heights

oblique serifs Adobe Jenson Pro Regular, 170 pt.

60â&#x20AC;&#x201A; Appendixâ&#x20AC;&#x192;CHARACTERS

Horley Old Style ITC Legacy Serif Erasmus Hollandse Medieval Deepdene

Garalde

Examples

These typefaces were the next evolution-

Galliard

ary step in the development of type during

Bembo

the 16th century. When analyzing Garalde

Palatino Hoefler Text Adobe Caslon

typefaces, it is apparent that there is still a subtle influence from the pen strokes of the

Garamond

written word, however, the advancement in

Janson

technology is clearly visible. Garalde type-

Lucida

faces have a considerable variation of form according to their point size. Garalde typefaces had a lifespan of about 200 years and are still used today because of their high legibility.

abcdefghijklm nopqrstuvwxyz abcdefghijklm nopqrstuvwxyz 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Garamond Regular, 23 pt.

Palatino Regular, 90 pt.

horizontal crossbars tapered ear

squared-off terminals

generous counters

medium contrast between stokes

CHARACTERSâ&#x20AC;&#x192; Appendixâ&#x20AC;&#x192;

abcdefghijklm nopqrstuvwxyz abcdefghijklm nopqrstuvwxyz 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Transitional In typography the term Transitional refers

Examples

to the transition from the Garalde typefaces

Baskerville

to the Didone typefaces. Transitional type-

Century Schoolbook

faces primarily emerged during the 18th century in France and England. They exude the refinement of form and greater detail that

Perpetua ITC Charter Mrs Eaves

printing technology.

Electra

Times New Roman, 90 pt.

horizontal bar on lowercase ‘e’

medium to high contrast between stokes

generous counters

drop ears

jointed intersection with leg branching off from arm Century Schoolbook, 160 pt.

62 Appendix CHARACTERS

Fournier

was made possible by the developments in

Baskerville Regular, 23 pt.

serifs are generally sharp and bracketed

Times New Roman

Examples

Didone

Didone typefaces, also known as Modern,

Bodoni

emerged during the late 18th and early 19th

Didot

century primarily in Italy and France.

Fairfield Walbaum Caledonio Photina Ellington

Increased precision in printing technology allowed for the development of this new genre of typefaces. Didone typefaces exude qualities that relate to sophistication and exclusivity.

ITC Fenice

abcdefghijklm nopqrstuvwxyz abcdefghijklm nopqrstuvwxyz 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Bodoni Roman, 23 pt.

Gg bracketed and unbracketed hairline serifs within same font

abrupt contrast between thick and thin letterstrokes

Didot Regular, 90 pt.

ascender serifs of lowercase letters are horizontal

stress is vertical

Baurer Bodoni Regular, 165 pt.

CHARACTERSâ&#x20AC;&#x192; Appendixâ&#x20AC;&#x192;

abcdefghijklm nopqrstuvwxyz abcdefghijklm nopqrstuvwxyz 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Rockwell Regular, 23 pt.

Slab Serif Slab serif typefaces, which include the brack- Examples eted Claredon and unbracketed Egyptian

Clarendon

styles, were first created by Robert Besley

Rockwell

of London in 1845. Their typically heavier weights and hefty serifs made these faces ideal candidates for use in early 20th cen-

Egyptienne Serifa Beton

used for many promotional items of that

Lubalin Graph

period. Their sturdiness when being used in revelry made them a popular choice in the 50’s and 60’s for poster, advertising, and publishing designs and projects.

Serifa Roman, 90 pt.

serifs of equal weight to letterform stroke

stress is vertical Rockwell Bold, 160 pt.

64 Appendix CHARACTERS

Officina

tury engineering projects, as well as being

short ascenders

low contrast

Scala

Humanist sans Examples

The period of Humanist Sans faces are based

Gill Sans

on classical or early Humanist model, in

Syntax

which the proportions are based off of the

Lucida Sans Cronos Optima Myriad

Roman capital letter. These typefaces function well for the setting of extended lines of texts, even though they do not, as a rule,

Legacy Sans

provide for very economical setting because

ITC Johnston

most have a lower x-height than the Gro-

abcdefghijklm nopqrstuvwxyz abcdefghijklm nopqrstuvwxyz

tesques. Humanist Sans heavier weights

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

make it quite effective for them to be used

Gills Sans Regular, 23 pt.

for smaller quantities of text, and benefit from generous leading.

Optima Regular, 90 pt.

bar with no spur wide lower bowl

medium x-heights

light weight

minimal contrast Myriad Pro Regular, 175 pt.

CHARACTERSâ&#x20AC;&#x192; Appendixâ&#x20AC;&#x192;

abcdefghijklm nopqrstuvwxyz abcdefghijklm nopqrstuvwxyz 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Franklin Gothic Book, 23 pt.

Grotesque The early faces were developed in the 19th

Examples

century and evolved from display type, sign

Franklin Gothic

writing, and architectural lettering. Although

News Gothic

some features are modern, the main structuring of the letters go back to classical times. Grotesques combine great legibility

Gotham Abadi Erbar

a variety of functions. Their origins as large-

Knockout

size display types mean that they work quite well at scale.

Trade Gothic Medium, 90 pt.

angled finials

some variation in stroke width at junction

spur and bar Franklin Gothic Book 165 pt.

66â&#x20AC;&#x201A; Appendixâ&#x20AC;&#x192;CHARACTERS

Monotype Grotesque

with visual interest and are quite adapted to

little contrast

sans-serif

Trade Gothic

Examples

Neo-Grotesque

Helvetica

tion, designed in the 1950’s and included

Univers

a key component of Swiss Typography

Arial Meta Bell Centennial Tahoma

abcdefghijklm nopqrstuvwxyz

This period highlights the second genera-

and international modernist style. This

abcdefghijklm nopqrstuvwxyz

period appears to be more mechanical than the earlier forms. Neo-grotesque typefaces

Verdana

function better at smaller sizes than most

Letter Gothic

of the other forms of sans serif, and they’re among the most suitable sans serif faces for long text settings. Their extended typeface families and range of weights suit them for particular display work.

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

little variation in stroke width

Univers 55 Roman, 23 pt.

Verdana Regular, 90 pt.

square dots

high x-heights

horizontal finials

well-defined counters Helvetica Medium, 175 pt.

CHARACTERS Appendix