Calligraphy and Typography A relation throughout History
JoĂŁo AndrĂŠ Pereira Infante
Typographical Design Corso di Laurea in Design della Comunicazione Politecnico di Milano Feb 2013
Abstract This essay is written in order to better understand the relation between two concepts in the field of typographical design. The aim of our research is nothing more than to comprehend the extension of the existing connection between calligraphy and typography and the existent implications to one another. Even though it is an apparently simple association, we must also try to understand the processes that led to the creation of both and if it still makes sense to look at this the same way as before. For this, we analysed four different moments in history that could provide interesting leads on the definition of this field of research. It is, more than the history of both concepts, rather a combined and articulated selection of important information on how carvers, type designers and everyday people dealt with calligraphy and typography. It is, more than a history made by defined inventions, a succession of events that eventually came up as being universal in a certain time and geographical area. The first moment is dedicated to the creation of handwriting from the Roman Empire until the end of Middle Age. Here, we examined the processes and conventions that led to certain conventions in handwriting and how those influenced the following events. The second moment of our investigation is devoted to the transition from calligraphy to typography with the invention of the method of movable type and the afterwards developments in the creation of the first typefaces. Besides Gutenberg, we will study Jensen and Manutius as references for typography in this period of time. Next, and because the changes in this paradigm do not have enough importance, we will observe three occurrences that happened from Renaissance until the 20th century that still are important marks in the relation between typography and calligraphy. Last, we are going to try to understand how this conceptual connection has changed with the technological advent and the importance of the personal computer and interaction between human and interface from the end of the 20th century. The result of this research is stated in the conclusions. We have reached a point where we can say we can now say this relation is not over but is still trying to reach a point of abstract definition. It makes no sense to identify a pattern or a process that connects one with the other. Nonetheless, it just makes sense to establish an open association between both as two complimentary concepts that will evolve in separate ways. After the big changes imposed by the democratization of the personal computer and the development of different forms of input in the interaction between man and machine, the relation between the two concepts is definitely evolving and mutating with times. For the designers and common users, there is nothing left but to get along and to utilize what history has already provided. We also, during this process, watched some interesting examples on how to go against conventions and make the best use of tools and ideas. It is a rather challenging task that can help us, as designers, to develop a better work with a better understanding of this problem.
Table of Contents Abstract 3 Table of Contents 4 Introduction 5 From calligraphy 6
The origins: Roman alphabet 6 Uncial and Half-uncial Script 7 Carolingian minuscule 8 Blackletter 9 Textualis 9 Schwabacher 9 Fraktur 9
The moment of transition 10
Johannes Gutenberg and the first printed book 10 The typeface for movable type method 11 Nicolas Jensen and the Roman Type 12 The creation of Roman Typeface 12 Aldus Manutius and the Italic type 13
From the 16th century to the technological era 14 Robert Granjon and CivilitĂŠ 14 The Spencerian and usage in advertising 15
Digital Calligraphy 16
Hermann Zapf and the calligraphic digital typeface 17 Calligraphy and input 18 The question of Lettering 19
Conclusion 20 Bibliography 22
Introduction As stated previously in the abstract, this essay aims to study and comprehend the path that leads from calligraphy to typography. It also aims to discuss the role of one in the others creation. The relation between each other is of the most importance to the study of typographic design since they are often connected. But, before starting and further develop the main subject of our short dissertation, we must fully understand the limits of each concept. Ellen Lupton, in Thinking with type, says that “a typeface is the design of the letterforms; [opposing to] a font [that] is the delivery system” (Lupton, 2010). This means that the typeface is in a practical way the main subject of our study. The font is nothing more than the way used to reproduce a certain design of the shape. In this way, the font can be software or the physical types used on the traditional printing system. The typeface is on the other hand the visual shape of a series of letters and what really interests us. On the other hand, Calligraphy is simply defined as handwriting. “The first typefaces were directly modelled on the forms of calligraphy” (Lupton, 2010). And it is precisely this route that interests us in this specific investigation. Furthermore, Ellen Lupton also tells us “The history of typography reflects a continual tension between the hand and the machine, the organic and the geometric, the human body and the abstract system” (Lupton, 2010). This study will, in the following part, try to briefly reproduce the course of history from the creation of the Latin alphabet to the quick dispersion of typefaces because of technology. Furthermore, a critic position about the contemporary position of the relation between calligraphy and typefaces will anticipate the final thesis about the subject.
From calligraphy This first chapter focus on the usage of calligraphy before the invention of movable type by Gutenberg in 1450. In fact, to better understand the path that leads from handwriting to typefaces is important to understand how the first has evolved into the stage of conversion. Besides, we will look at the origins of the alphabet itself. The main focus of this investigation is not to look at this process from a universal view. That would take some times more investigation and certainly would be a deep theme to focus on such a research. Therefore, we will just analyse the Latin alphabet, used on most of the world. For a question of convenience, we will not observe the creation of written language itself, but only from the Roman Empire, as it was the first wide spread usage of one same calligraphy. Until the creation of the Forty Two line Bible by Gutenberg in 1450, there are a lot of different calligraphic styles, usually very specific to a certain world region and period of time. Our aim in this chapter is not to enumerate all of them, but rather to make an interesting selection that ill then be helpful to better understand the evolution of calligraphic typefaces in Europe.
The origins: Roman alphabet The aim of this essay, as previously explained, is to better understand the relations between calligraphy and typography and the processes that led from one to the other. In this way of thinking, is extremely important to know the origins of the current alphabet. The Roman alphabet, also known as Latin alphabet, evolved from the Greek Alphabet in about 3000 BC. A small Greek colony in southern Italy called Cumae developed a variety of the Greek Alphabet that was later developed by the Etruscans into a modern letter shape. This series of forms that symbolise a sound was of the most importance when it comes to understand the phenomenon of the diffusion of the Latin alphabet. Actually, it was because the Roman Emperors made an effort (as the Greeks had already made) to establish Latin as the official Language for the whole Empire. As a consequence, the most part of Europe adopted the Latin alphabet, and later developed their own specific languages. Nonetheless, a further look at the Roman letterform is due. As previously stated, the Greek alphabet evolved into the Latin alphabet by a social evolution. The main consequence, besides the modification of shape of some letters, was the lost of other. On the following table, we can see a summary of the main modifications till the contemporary form. It is interesting to see how some characters were already in a form that is very close to the modern one. It is, however, already part a process of transformation that lasted for a long time.
The Roman Empire was also important for the establishment of different forms for the same sound. In the end, this means nothing more than the actual separation between a formal and a cursive way of writing. This appeared with the necessity of actually creating a more formal way of writing that would last longer against a more informal one, used for quick notes, learning practice and overall a more ephemeral register. The first way of writing is important for being the consolidation of the letterforms that then evolved into the different typefaces. However the cursive form is by far more interesting for this study. The first form of this writing form is commonly called Old Roman Cursive. About the Old Roman Cursive style, we can quote the Centre for the Study of Ancient Documents of Vindolanda : “‘Old Roman Cursive’ was the script used for documents and letters written in the Roman world in the first three centuries AD. The characters are often small and sometimes resemble modern capital letters more than lower-case letters. They are joined by ligatures but are more usually written separately, unlike modern handwriting.” (Centre for the Study of Ancient Documents and the Academic Computing Development Team, 2003) One of the most interesting examples is an excerpt of a military report found in the same colony of Vindolanda. We can easily recognise some shapes as modern calligraphy. Image 1 – This text fragment is part of one of the tables found in the colony of Vindolanda, in England. In this example we can easily see some characters that are already really close to the modern calligraphy and are easily identifiable. The elegance in the handling of the tools is overwhelming and provides us an interesting insight about the difference between calligraphy and typefaces in the Roman Empire. This example, for being just a fragment, is not situated in terms of content or purpose; we can only see the graphic content of this register.
The Old Roman cursive was developed into New Roman Cursive that was used until the 7th century. The letters in this period have evolved to a more familiar shape and this type of writing is crucial for the appearance of the Carolingian minuscule. The uncial and half-uncial scripts are most likely to have been developed from this cursive writing. Image 2 – Comparison between modern characters, Old Roman cursive and New Roman cursive.
Uncial and Half-uncial Script The Uncial Script is a way of writing that appeared after the graphic heritage of the Old Roman Cursive on the 3rd century. Its usage has spread throughout the 8th century. Scribes mostly used it to write in Greek, Latin and Gothic. On the beginning of the 7th century, major modifications were added to the previous scheme of writing. Those contributed for the modern shape of letters. We can find space between words, replacing dots that were often used for this purpose. Also, the introduction of ascenders and descenders were an important feature.
The Half-uncial script is named after the main style but that is a rather illogical designation since this style actually comes from the New Roman Cursive rather the Uncial Script. Also, as the Uncial Script, The Half-uncial Script was used from the 3rd century until the 8th century although from the 6th century was only used in some regions of Africa and Europe to translate Christian texts. Image 3 – This page of a Gospel book was written in Ireland. It is an example of the Uncial script. Spaces between words and a continuous graphic line of text with some ascenders and descenders can be spotted in this case. It is a good example of some modifications firstly made in this period of time.
Carolingian minuscule
The Carolingian minuscule is a specific kind of calligraphy that was created after Half-uncial script. This specific style of writing was innovative and particularly important for being the first that actually was built as a universal form of writing. Besides the fact that scholars in central Europe felt the need to understand and be understood in a universal way, the politic question was also an issue. As the Roman Empire crashed, there was the need to create new centres of power. Therefore, as the Carolingian empire rose, the intellectuals felt the need to create, as the Romans did, a writing style that was common to a big geographic and cultural space. Also, the emperor Charlemagne had a special interest for culture and literature. This style was hence used from the 9th to the 12th century in the area that now is known as central Europe. As the main graphic features, this style inherited the features of the Half-uncial style. The letters were now clear, rounded and legible. The clear capital letters and spaces between words became a standard. Ascenders and descenders were also developed after the half-uncial tradition and ligatures were still used, particularly in some specific cases. The punctuation was also developed, with the usage of the question mark. The letter W gained strength as an individual letter. The main usages for this script were codices, religious texts and educational purposes. Image 4 – This is an English example of Carolingian minuscule from the 10th century. We can identify the most part of the characters, as well as the spaces between words, now taken as mandatory for a better and easier reading. The ascenders and descenders are now perfectly defined and ligatures are still used. Unlike uncial script from the same time, this handwriting is now very rounded and much closer to the natural hand movement. It makes sense to think of this calligraphic style as one of the closer to nowadays from this period of time.
Blackletter Blackletter is a specific style of script writing created after Carolingian Minuscule. It was after the creation of new universities and cultural centres that there was a practical need to create a new style of writing. Because of the time and technique that were needed to copy a text in Carolingian minuscule it was urgent to create a new writing style. Even though the previous style has made several modifications to the quality and velocity of writing, there was then needed a faster and easier style of writing. It started being developed in the mid 12th century in France and Holland. There are several styles within the Blackletter script, as described following . Textualis Textualis is perhaps the best-known style from this period. Gutenberg in his forty-two line Bible has later used it. It has since rarely been used. This kind of Blackletter script was mostly used in the 14th and 15th century for manuscripts and literary works typically in France, England, Germany and Holland. Unlike the Carolingian Minuscule, this way of writing produced sharp, vertical and narrow letters. The ascenders and descenders were mostly sharp with sharp finials. This script has two specific cases of graphic alterations. Firstly, the letters with arrows were almost always overlapping; creating a visual intersection of two curves that was most difficult to read. On the other hand, the stroke differences on the joints were so big that visually it eventually became vertical strokes and very difficult to read as a letter. This actually caused the development of the dotted i and j, as a way of differentiating from other letters and more easily create rhythm of reading. Schwabacher Schwabacher is a script style that also belongs to Blackletter script. It was developed after Textualis as an approach to handwriting and deeply used in printing in Germany until the 20th century, after a Nazi campaign that connected this typeface with the Jew presence in Europe. Fraktur Fraktur is a specific script that can be included within the series of Blackletter scripts. It was created after a series of books were design for emperor Maxmilian I with a new typeface. Soon, the previously studied Schwabacher and Textualis were obsolete and Fraktur took over, specially in the central Europe and geographic areas with German cultural and political hegemony, even though, with the exception of Germany itself, all the other areas switched to other styles. This style was then abandoned during World War II as it was connected with the Jew presence, even though the true reason for this is related to the need of a common typeface for all the German territories. This style is, as the ones that inspired it, is the graphic opposite of the Carolingian minuscule, as the letters are very angular, with thick broken lines. For this reason, this script is often called as the German Alphabet, in a direct contrast with the Latin Alphabet (an explicit reference to the previously named Carolingian minuscule script style). The Fraktur style also includes other letters that do not belong to the main Latin alphabet, as it includes the glyphs of Nordic and German usage. It also incorporates several ligatures.
Image 5 – This comparative table shows the difference between styles in the different steps of Blackletter script style. It is interesting to see the differences that already been explain but this time are graphically registered. However, we must pay attention to the highly decorated style of the capitals, contrasting with the much more simple lowercase characters.
The moment of transition
It was not until the 15th century that the first moment of transition occurred in Europe. Germany and Italy were the main centres for this huge transformation in the history of typography. It was not until this moment that we can actually talk about typography in Europe, rather than just reproduction and copy. This was actually one of the main reasons that led also to a transformation on the paradigm of the access of information. Johannes Gutenberg could cut the time of printing a book so that it was much quicker (and because of that cheaper) to buy a book. Regardless, it was still very complicated and expensive to own a book in Europe: it was still only reserved for scholars. Nonetheless, the changes that we are about to study changed completely the way people looked at written information. It wasn’t such a question of technique anymore, at least not for the scribes. Even though some parts of the books were still handwritten, the most part was now printed.
Johannes Gutenberg and the first printed book Johannes Gutenberg was born c. 1398 in Mainz, in modern Germany. Not much is known about his life. He was the son of a upper class merchant. His family was forced to move from Mainz. By the time he was about forty years old, in Strasbourg, he was involved in the business of manufacturing and selling polished metals as mirrors. It is not certain whether Gutenberg had been by then testing the printing system and for how long. It is almost a certain that the first printed document in Europe was actually a poem, as a trial for the main printing. But, it was not until the failure of the metal selling business that Gutenberg got a loan from several wealthy people in order to establish the whole process of type printing. In 1450, the preparation for the printing of the first book began. It was actually the Holy Bible. About five years later, the first series of books were ready. This Bible is also known for having forty-two lines per page, with a few exceptions on some pages that were actually printed before that and only had forty lines. The main novelty in this process was actually the first usage of movable type. With his experience as a goldsmith (that actually came from his father who also worked as one), Gutenberg was able to think of this process. Whereas the previous chapters of this essay referred to a manual type of writing (that would take a large amount of time an technique to copy a book), this process combined individual letters placed in spreads that would much quickly reproduce a large amount of similar pages. “Movable type had been employed earlier in China but had proven less useful
there. Whereas the Chinese writing system contains tens of thousands of distinct characters, the Latin alphabet translates the sounds of speech into a small set of marks, making it well suited to mechanization. Gutenberg’s famous Bible took the handmade manuscript as its model. Emulating the dense, dark handwriting known as “Blackletter,” he reproduced its erratic texture by creating variations of each letter as well as numerous ligatures (characters that combine two or more letters into a single form).” (Lupton, 2010) The typeface for movable type method Gutenberg worked with Peter Schöffer as the first type designer for the production of the first Bible. He was a German painter who studied in Paris. He joined Gutenberg as loaner and partner. Together, they developed a typeface based on Blackletter scripts and Textualis and Schwabacher in particular. They developed a system of letters with vertical axes with graphic rhythm. About three hundred master characters were made for the mass production of the Bible. Ligatures were also part of the typeface. The vertical graphic structure of the letters with the horizontal lines established a pattern that was very obvious. Gutenberg also used justification on the text columns (two equal columns per page were used). This was achieved by using letter with different width and adding more space between words and punctuation when needed. Also, Gutenberg used punctuation beyond the column of text, to create a darker shade on the column; something that can be called hanging punctuation. However, we can easily see reminiscences of the Middle Ages on this book. Some parts of the Bible were copied by hand. Also, the illumination on the beginning of each chapter was painted by hand. We must now quote the pope to be Pius II, writing to cardinal Carvajal on March 1455 about the new specimen of the Bible: “All that has been written to me about that marvelous man seen at Frankfurt [sic] is true. I have not seen complete Bibles but only a number of quires of various books of the Bible. The script was very neat and legible, not at all difficult to follow—your grace would be able to read it without effort, and indeed without glasses.” Image 6 – This is a page of the first series of Bibles printed by Johannes Gutenberg in the 15th century. The typeface, based on the Blackletter script, is still confusing and hard to read. We can see here the two colours printing with the hand made decorations. We can also spot the hanging punctuation at the right side of the columns of text.
Nicolas Jensen and the Roman Type During the first half of the 15th century in Italy, intellectuals and scholars rejected the German style that Gutenberg adopted in the first Bible as part of the cultural revolution that was beginning to take place. Actually, because of Renaissance, the mode of facing the world was beginning to change. When it comes to the written word, the complex model often associated with the German development of the previous centuries was declining after the rise of the Italian new way of thinking. After the main first publications of Dante Alighieri and Francesco Petrarch, it was also clear that the way of making those thoughts permanent was also important for the transmission of the idea itself. The rejection of the gothic paradigm became a priority when speaking of typography. Nicolas Jensen was born in 1420 in France. In 1458, he was sent by king Charles VII to Mainz to study the art of movable type . After learning the ways of the newly created method, he felt no desire to go back to France, as the king had already died by then. Nevertheless, he moved to Venice and opened his printing workshop. By then, he had also learned techniques of goldsmith, which gave him a special sensibility for the needs of carving characters for typefaces. There, he produced about one hundred and fifty titles, mostly liturgical and law texts in generally gothic typefaces. The creation of Roman Typeface As clear as the Renaissance thought, it also became clear that a different approach to typeface was needed. Therefore, Jensen started to develop a new typeface, different from the one used by Gutenberg. As the later used a model inspired in the German tradition of handwriting, the classical models inspired Jensen to design this new way of printing. It also became clear that for a faster way of printing, a faster way of reading was also required. Consequently, Jensen created not just a new typeface, but also what became known as the Roman typefaces. It is a series of typefaces different from the ones inspired by the liberty of the handwriting produced by the hand movement but more a creation to be reproduced by printing, with rational rules that changed the way of thinking the type design. But, to our subject of study it is more important to understand how Jensen interpreted the way from the classical stone carving, to the Carolingian minuscule and then to the Roman type as a class of its own. We can actually see the Roman type of Jensen as an interpretation with the adding of rules and a specific rhythm of the Carolingian Minuscule. The ascenders and descenders gained strength and a dimension that made them stand out from the line of the x. In a way, the roman typeface made by Jensen was not anymore a repetition of vertical elements with thick connections that made the text hard to understand. It was now a more clear way of reading, with the characters having an appearance that looks very modern. The influence of Nicolas Jensen in modern typography is still very important, even though it is not directly connected to a transition between calligraphy and typography. About this, we can quote: “Even long after his death, Jenson’s typefaces have formed the basis for many new alphabets. William Morris based his Gold Type on Jenson’ type in 1890, Cobden-Sanderson modeled his
typeface for Doves Press on Jenson’s alphabets in 1900 and Bruce Rogers emulated them with his Centaur font. 1926: Jenson’s roman is recut by Morris Fuller Benton as Cloister Old Style.” Image 7 – This is a page from De evangelica praeparatione from 1470. Although the original text is from the 4th century, Jenson re printed it in Venice. It showcases Nicolas Jensen’s typeface. This is, as explained before, the first Roman typeface and was inspired by the Carolingian Minuscule script style that was also already studied in this essay. The final look is close to the roman typefaces used nowadays. We must pay special attention to the proportions of the characters, especially of the ascenders and descenders as well as the defined spaces between words and the still present ligatures on some characters.
Aldus Manutius and the Italic type Aldus Manutius was a scholar from Venice that lived in the second half of the 15th century. He studied in Italy during the apogee of the Italian Renaissance. Therefore, as Nicolas Jensen, he was also a humanist by conviction and a deep believer in the rationality and in anthropocentrism. He founded a Press in Venice and became a publisher. The fact was that, by then, presses and publishers were common in Venice, after Jensen moved there and, as we saw in the previous chapter of this essay, started his own printing workshop. It was also true that that city was becoming famous for the innovation in the field of type design but Manutius felt the need to go further and experiment new kinds of printing. We have also already been through the process that led to the creation of Roman typefaces. It was not, according to some intellectuals, a typeface that would match more accurately the specifications of handwriting. He worked with Francesco Griffo who previously worked with Nicolas Jensen. By then, he was one of the first punch cutters in history. By then, the Roman typeface with the Latin classical influences was already developed and in use but Francesco Griffo took a different path. Unlike Jensen, he took his influences from Roman cursive writing. He went from what was thought to be a pure style of writing, as it was the one that represented a clear way of thinking and most of all used to practice the hand movement. The fact was that, not only it went from the privileged source of inspiration but also it was an abstraction from that. The typeface was now rounded, with a clear inclination that was much closer to the hand natural movement. The result was, in the criteria of the time we are looking at, very different from the Roman typeface and a new kind of its own. The fact was that, even though it was wider and took much more space, it was also an easier way to read, even when compared to Nicolas Jensen’s typeface. However, Aldus Manutius also used Roman Typeface combined with his Italic Typeface to contrast the Roman capitals that were meant to be much more formal and important with the rest of the Italic text much more smooth. It was the first time that a typeface presented different vertical positions as visual corrections. Also, the angle of the characters combined with the closed space, led the look forward, making this way easier to read a text. The typeface also presented some ligatures. This Italic typeface soon became very famous and was widely copied. It wasn’t until the midst of
the 16th century that Venice got to be the most famous place on the known world for the creation of new typefaces. It is also important to say the fact that Aldus Manutius owned the first Print Workshop to ever print books in a pocket format and that change in the physical object was central to what was coming after that. Image 8 – This is a sample page from a book showcasing the new italic typeface designed by Aldus Manutius. We can see here that the characters are much more according to the hand movement, rather than just an interpretation like the Jenson’s Roman typeface. It is also curious to see that the integration with the Roman typeface (in the titles, capitals and notes) is still not natural, as the two were seen as different and contrasting typefaces. It wasn’t until a few centuries later that the two coexisted effortlessly.
From the 16th century to the technological era The previous two chapters of this essay took notice of the main modifications of paradigm that took place in the history of typography but most of all the main influences of calligraphy on this last one. Gutenberg, by inventing the printing system by movable characters, started a new era on the typography history. The changes that occurred after this were far too important to just look at it without giving it the importance that it deserves. This has not only changed the way people look at typography, but it has also changed the book as an object. The research on the next period of time showed that this is no longer a period of such important modifications as the previous, but rather a time when punch cutters and mostly typographers felt the need to perfect the task previously done by others during Renaissance. Also, with the change of time, the centres of artistic production also change. In this chapter, we are going to observe some cases of important changes in the relations established between calligraphy and typography so far.
Robert Granjon and Civilité In the second half of the 16th century, Robert Granjon worked mostly in France. He was an engraver born in 1513 that created a specific typeface after the rise of the Italian and German fame as producers of sets. He was the son of a Parisian printer and publisher and therefore he grew up learning about goldsmith. During in living period, he worked in France, mostly creating typefaces, as well as redoing previous typefaces. He also created a full set of musical symbols and worked for the Pope creating a specific typeface for the Vatican City. Nevertheless, his most important accomplishment was, in 1557, the creation of a typeface called Civilité. Very much alike the type designers before him, he felt the need to create a French typeface that would work as a trademark for that country. We already been through the creation of typefaces that were meant to represent a certain political power: take as examples the Carolingian Minuscule and the Textualis scripts. It is not a new achievement. The fact was that Granjon innovated in his work process. He started from analysing the French script trendsetting as inspiration for a creation of a metal typeface. The
purpose of the type designer was clear and led to a product that lasted all the way until the 19th century. Even though it never became the national typeface and got widely used, it was often associated with good manners (CivilitĂŠ means just this) publications.
The Spencerian and usage in advertising Platt Rogers Spencer was born in the United States in 1800. He was deeply interested in literature, law and history. He was a lawyer and a big defender of the anti slavery cause. In 1840, he started gathering several notes regarding a new script for United States. His idea was to have a common handwriting style that was easily applicable to the whole territory in any situation. It was the most important script style prior to the widespread usage of typewriters. The main goal of Platt Spencer was to create an elegant style that would be a paradigm in business writing as well a good option for personal letter writing. Right after the development of this style, it has began to been taught at a school created for this purpose and soon in regular schools as well all over the United States. In 1866, Spencer edited a book on how to write with this script. It was not until the 1920’s that this style was abandoned and replaced by a simpler one, inspired in the typeface used on typewriters. This script is known by the oval shape of characters, as well as the inclination of the text, that reminds an italic typeface. It is a style of handwriting that very much reminds of the natural movement of the hand, even though it is a very elegant and specific one. Ligatures are relieved for second plan, as the characters have natural endings that connect one to the other in a natural way. Ascenders are roughly the same height as the uppercase characters and that, combined with the endings of characters provide a very stable line of text. The variations in terms of weight of the stroke of the characters are also noticeable, especially in the ascenders. Nonetheless, the usage of this calligraphy reflects nowadays more in other contexts than the handwriting itself. As it was a widespread script in the United States, it became part of a visual imaginary that goes very much along with a certain North American reality from the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century. Some brands that were starting operating in that time later used this script for establishing an image of confidence and tradition. Ford and Coca-Cola are the two main companies that used this as a paradigm for their enterprise communication. It is interesting to see that this lasts for so long and it is still nowadays a sign of market confidence and a visual mark of the immutable quality of their products. Since then, many script fonts have been developed, such as an official Ford font in 2003 for the celebration of the 100th birthday of the company. It is still nowadays a sign of American tradition and quality. Image 9 - Ford’s logo uses the Spencerian typeface.
Digital Calligraphy
In the second half of the 20th century, computers became more common. With the arrival of the Internet, personal computers became an indispensable tool for working and leisure. It is not anymore just a machine hard to use that requires a lot of technique. With the development of the market, the technology also became more complex: the screens got more resolution; further platforms were implemented (smartphones, tables and eBook readers became a widespread reality with the creation and commercialization of iPhone, iPad and Kindle) and extra needs of the users appeared with the bigger reachable range of possibilities concerning technology. The models of traditional typography were no longer suitable for this kind of implementation. A faster and clearer use of technology was mandatory. Therefore, new interpretations of the already existent typefaces were created specifically for this purpose. The printing system was now easier and faster, with multiple possibilities that were never explored. New sizes, with clearer details and a more accurate reproduction of the characters, independent from the punch cutter and even more important factors as the physical character and the deterioration because of time and use. The new typefaces are now based on vectors, rather than images. They are virtually perfect in any scale. “In the early 1990s, as digital design tools began supporting the seamless reproduction and integration of media, many designers grew dissatisfied with clean, unsullied surfaces, seeking instead to plunge the letter into the harsh and caustic world of physical processes. Letters, which for centuries had sought perfection in ever more exact technologies, became scratched, bent, bruised, and polluted.” (Lupton, 2010) Nonetheless, with this, another problem appeared. It isn’t now anymore a question of professional work on a printer. Now, the use of typefaces is available to each user of a personal computer or tablet. Since a big percentage of the population now has a technological platform, the usage of typefaces became an issue. Creating a document on Microsoft Word or Apple Pages has now become an issue of design, rather than just a question of the message, as it was on the old typewriters. Editorial design has now become an everyday task. It is no longer an exclusive assignment for the editorial designers. Typefaces have influenced this and a correct use of this is critical for a better approach. Nevertheless, focusing again on our theme of investigation, we must ask: what is the place of calligraphy in this technological world? “When choosing a typeface, graphic designers consider the history of typefaces, their current connotations, as well as their formal qualities. The goal is to find an appropriate match between a style of letters and the specific social situation and body of content that define the project at hand. There is no playbook that assigns a fixed meaning or function to every typeface; each designer must confront the library of possibilities in light of a project’s unique circumstances.” “How texts are used becomes more important than what they mean. Someone clicked here to get over there. Someone who bought this also bought that. The interactive environment not only provides users with a degree of control and self-direction but also, more quietly and insidiously, it gathers data about its audiences. Barthes’s image of the text as a game to be played still holds, as the user responds to signals from the system. We may play the text, but it is also playing us.” (Lupton, 2010)
The new platforms have made the designing task much easier and quicker by making changes in the work process. The traditional manual graphic process of hand working is not a viable option as it takes much longer and is much harder to achieve. Type design has keep with these changes in everyday life. The brief of designing a new typeface has different inspirations as it can come from other sources rather than the traditional ones. But what is the part in this process reserved for handwriting? Has it become completely obsolete? Does it still play a part in this process?
Hermann Zapf and the calligraphic digital typeface The role of handwriting in graphic design is now a different one. Calligraphy is not just a graphic style anymore, is a typography it self. Type designers have made it possible to mimic handwriting by using a common typeface, just like the traditional ones. Hermann Zapf is an example of a type designer that worked in this sense. He was born in 1918 in Germany. After becoming a lithographer because of the World War II (he was not able to attend Ohm Technical Institute as it was closed by the Nazi regime), he started working as a photo-editing apprentice. After visiting an exhibition on typography, he started working on this area for himself and eventually became a type designer. In 1948, he started to design a typeface for mathematic purposes that included not only the usual Latin alphabet, but also elements from the Fraktur style and Greek letters (these are frequently used as mathematic symbols). But, because of the lack of technology at the time, he was not able to complete the task because the final result lacked details and perfection. The metal carving was still too rough for such a detailed task. Later, in 1983, Hermann Zapf started to develop a new typeface using notes from a notebook from 1944 in which he made several handwritten studies for such a typeface. Zapf started working with two programmers to create the needed software for this task. By this time, computer software was still based on programming and there was no solution for type design. After one of the programmers left the task, Herman Zapf started working with Linotype and they managed to create a typeface with many ornaments, ligatures, dingbats and many possibilities. Zapfino was then released in 1998. However, with the quick transformations of technology, more options were added to type designing. Therefore, in 2003 (fifteen years later) Hermann Zapf started redeveloping the typeface with the latest technology at the time. Apple was now part of this process, as the new Zapfino typeface was featured at the new operating system. The special about this typeface is that it was designed from handwriting sketches. In the matter of fact, each letter has multiple versions so that it can imitate the handwriting in a close way. After the redesign of the typeface, the system had the power to better transform the characters in order to meet a more accurate reproduction of the real handwriting. In fact, the system it self can convert series of letters into ligatures as well as change some characters to other versions to better work in the word or the portion of text written .
It is interesting, at this point, to reflect on how this process can change our perception of the natural historic way for the calligraphy/typography relation. Throughout times, type designers (we allow ourselves to use this term as a generalization at this point) always tried to create typefaces that would be close to the natural human way – handwriting. Even when that was not a present concern, the inspiration of such was always close to what we can say was a naïve exercise of converting ideas into graphic abstract symbols. It was also a problem to search for the cleanest and simplest design that would be recognizable for the most part of the population. After this was not a concern anymore, now the issue to solve would be to make something that was not simple and understandable but rather beautiful and complex. The message was not the problem; the medium was. Image 10 – This is an official sample of Zapfino, provided by linotype.com, who sells online the certified version of the typeface. Here, we can see the different versions of letters (T in Typography and Today, for example) used in different contexts. This is perhaps the better example of the technological era versus the calligraphic handwritten style.
Calligraphy and input
Perhaps the most important part of the new technology available is the ability to interact directly with an image using touch as the interface. With the first computers, the keyboard was not an interesting solution for data input. It was reductive, and the possibilities for working in several areas were few. For typeface use, the keyboard offered no options other than the application of previous catalogued typefaces. When it came to editing, the possibilities were low and insufficient. With the addition of the mouse as an input device, the possibilities were much wider, as it became possible to quickly float through an area of work that is also called screen. In fact, this simple device provided a huge range of possibilities that were never opened before. With more complex technology, computers became smaller and more interesting devices were included as default input systems. We must now consider the track pad on portable personal computers. This input device functions by touching on limited surface and making interactive movements on the computer much more natural . The natural thought for developers was then to mimic what was natural for human being. The instrument for registering ideas was no longer a pen and a paper, was a screen and a keyboard. But, if these instruments were enough for a certain kind of utilization of the computer’s functions, it was not enough for a deeper and harder utilization of certain functions. Then, the thought went the other way. What if a pen could replace the mouse and interact with the computer? What would be the paradigm then? Would we return to a usage of the pen as the privileged instrument for writing? With pen tablets, the data input could not be more natural and closer to what it previously was. In fact, the almost biological movement of holding a pen is here reproduced with virtual ink and
plastic paper. The disadvantages of pen writing are no longer there: the ink does not end anymore, the black stains aren’t there. Again, it is a metaphoric system that reproduces the first and real one without its most common problems. The question should then concentrate on the veracity of the reproduction. Type design has always been concerned about questions of inspiration and having a trusted interpretation of the graphic reproduced subject. Because of this, and also because the pen tablet system does not assure to the user a correct immediate reproduction of the material, we must ask if the reproduction of the movement is enough. We reached a point when the input on technological devices is no longer a question of encoding information, but rather just a question of innate acting. The same happens about calligraphy: it does not have a value of its own anymore. There is no universal calligraphy anymore, in terms of graphic style. It does not apply to this technological reality. The fact is just that the typography has outpaced calligraphy. Calligraphy reproduces the human movement and state of mind but typography can transmit more than that. Besides, typography is now in a way open to everyone that would like to type design. With the inconvenient of having a overwhelming amount of typefaces with no professional design, the best part about this fact is that it is now possible to have your own personal mark in this. Calligraphy in technological era has not only made it possible to better interact with computers and create an infinity of possibilities, but also opened an interesting field in the passage from one concept to the other. Image 11 – This is an example of the new input options made possible by the advance of technology in the last thirteen years. This Wacom pen tablet makes it easy to handwrite directly on the personal computer without the need of several conversions of format. Besides drawing, also typing and handwriting have been influenced by the new mediums of communication.
The question of Lettering
The presence of typography in graphic design rather than editorial design is a recurrent question throughout times and has gained some extra importance with the rise of digital typography. As typography is not just a series of shapes anymore, it makes no sense to treat it the same way that was treated before the advent of technology. Graphic design based on typography has come a long way since the Italian futurism and the Russian constructivism. “Lettering can emulate existing typefaces or derive from the artist’s own drawing or writing style. Designers create lettering by hand and with software, often combining diverse techniques.” (Lupton, 2010) We can generically say that in these artistic movements, it made sense to use lettering and typography as tools to create a new visual approach to a certain concept. It was defying, as it was neither easy nor common to have such graphical methodologies. In fact, disposing the characters in not an ordinary order on the blank surface of drawing was a much demanding task, as it implied planning and a certainty about the process and the final result. Nevertheless, nowadays it is a different process that can achieve the same results. With the globalized technology, software like that developed by Adobe made this task much easier. But, once again, the process of hand drawing letter has been sent to second place. It no longer makes sense to design the character as it is
already made. The point is now to use it. But, with this kind of thought, it also appears a different kind of thinking. We must now refer the Scottish designer Marion Deuchars. She was born in 1964 and she studied illustration in the Royal College of Art in London. She has developed several projects in different areas, such as editorial design, communication design and packaging. She firstly started developing projects on communication design, where she first experimented handwriting as a way of typography. Deuchars does not use calligraphy as a graphic approach to a concept, but rather as the concept itself. Later, she developed a series of stamps for the celebration of Royal Shakespeare Company’s 50th anniversary. More recently, she produced two books on art initiation called Let’s make some great art and Let’s make Great fingerprint art. Marion believes that art is directly connected to the body expression as an extension of the state of mind and felt emotions. Therefore, it only makes sense to capture that by using the body (and more accurately the hand) as the tool for graphic production. The books are fully written by hand. This is a specific interesting case of use of calligraphy that goes against the general tendency of the times. Even though it makes sense that the technology creates an easier approach to typography, it also makes sense to always keep in mind the basis. That is the line of thinking for Marion Deuchars. Using her own handwriting and its variations as graphic speech is nothing more than a proper specific language. The interesting question about this approach is that it makes total sense as a medium for Marion’s message. Therefore, we must, in this case, re write what we said earlier. Unlike the Hermann Zapf’s question, the message is not the problem, neither is the medium. Image 11 – This is the online biography by Marion Deuchars. It is entirely written by hand with a regular pencil. The calligraphy has taken the place of the typeface in this particular case. In fact, we can almost say that calligraphy is here a typeface itself. We can easily spot the regular characteristics of a regular typeface (different sizes, kerning and spacing; also, lowercase and uppercase combined, characters in outline, underlined with punctuation and numerals). This is an interesting reversion of the traditional process that leads calligraphy to typeface. Throughout her work, Deuchars has always used this kind on calligraphy with different styles.
Conclusion This research has been mostly pointed at historic happenings and has privileged this instead of theories and already made conclusions. We chose to observe events rather thoughts. We understand that is more important for this research to do this. Therefore, we have now reached a point where we can say that we confortable to analyse those results and take some personal conclusions.
First of all, we must consider that those different moments share between them a relation between the two concepts. It is interesting to see how this has become an easily changeable connection according to the social, politic and even artistic conditions. The relation is not plain, but rather mutable. If it started by being in just one direction, is now much more complex. In the first chapter, we studied how calligraphy was born and the first attempts to create a universal style for a certain geographic area. This has been a concern throughout the Roman Empire and the Middle Age, right until the invention of printing by movable type by Gutenberg in the midst of the 15th century. It makes no sense to think of the period of time until this point as a relation between two concepts as typography is something that only began after that. In the matter of fact, handwriting ended up to redefine itself as something that would be very close to the colloquial concept of typography, even thought it was not that. Scholars felt the need of something that could surpass the lack of typography and therefore those script styles were created. The point is that, as the definition of an alphabet was happening, also the approximation to something as a universal style of writing was being done. The use of the movable type system in China has perhaps influenced the creation of such in Europe but there is no register of that. With the Renaissance, and the abandon of the thoughts of Middle Age and the re centre of man rather than god, started again a research on something that could capture the essence of written word, and make it more similar to those paradigms that were being adopted by this time. It makes no sense to think of that as a simple evolution of what happened before, but rather something that has evolved with man as an extension of his thought. Gutenberg first created movable type and that sure was a revolution in the history of calligraphy and typefaces. Then, a new field of research was open with endless possibilities. The after creation of the Roman typeface by Nicolas Jensen and the creation of the Italic typeface by Aldus Manutius were more than historic happenings. It was in fact a redefinition of criteria in the afterwards creation of typefaces and an important mark in type design. The point is that this was a changing point in the history of the relation between calligraphy and typography. It was not just a new chapter in a series of events; it was a complete redefinition in this chapter. No more a book was a sacred object, untouchable by the most part of the population. The door was open to start to think of that as something that could be used by the population, as an everyday object for thinking and learning. A book was now an object that transmitted ideas, not only by what was written there, but also by the look of it. The appearance was now an important thing, more than it used to be. The large period of time that went from the Renaissance until the second half of the 20th century was perhaps the less interesting for this research. After the redefining of the book as an object and the invention of movable type as a simple and less expensive method, it became clear that the relation between calligraphy and typography was something that needed to be developed. Therefore, we looked at the examples of Robert Granjon and Platt Rogers Spencer as the most important modification during this period of time. As well as everything before, it became clear that these advances were part of a certain time and region and therefore they became significant within those specific contexts. It does not make sense to think of that as something that could have happened regardless time and place. Granjon made that typeface inspired in the French
handwriting and as a representative French typeface. Spencer created that script as part of the North American inheritance and was later taken as that. It does not make any sense to think of these without those restraints. Nonetheless, it makes all sense to think of it as the redefining of a long lasting relation between the human movement and the mechanical reproduction. Finally, it was clear to us that we needed to look at some different postures from nowadays. In almost all areas of the western civilization the globalization of technology and the usage of the personal computer and Internet have redefined what we react to the world. The written word is no different and therefore we must think of it has something that kept on evolving. After the creation of new platforms for type development, we saw how Hermann Zapf started developing a virtual handwriting, something like an imitation of the human hand on the computer. He combined handwriting with the principles of movable type and the new possibilities of computers to create something that was entirely new. Then, a new revolution took part when it was possible to use old tools with redefined interfaces. Pen tablets changed the way we now see the relation between calligraphy and technology that definitely will not go back. On the last place, we saw how Marion Deuchars used calligraphy to create typefaces. It is a postmodern position on this relation that we found interesting to study. It makes sense to think of it as the creation of hand typefaces. It is a way in which the designer can revert the natural process to create something unique and special. The only question about this is if this is completely valid, once there are centuries of advances in this matter. The conclusions after the study of this theme are related to our future as designers. We must not forget at any point that written language is a critical part of visual communication and it can act as an important medium for graphic design. We must also never forget that this is more than just the communication of what is written. The way it is written is also an important medium. We must, as professionals that deal with these questions everyday, look at what history has taught us and take that to a further level, in order to better understand the possibilities of our projects.
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