Typographic
Murmuration
BY REBECC A WRIGHT
Typographic
Murmuration
BY REBECC A WRIGHT
murmuration [mur-muh-rey-shuhn] noun
1. an act or instance of murmuring 2 . a flock of starlings
1 2 34
LET TERFORMS
C AT EG O R I E S
PA G E 3
PA G E 15
T YPE FA MILIE S
PA G E 25
SET TING T YPE
PA G E 31
1 A T Y P O G R A P H I C M U R M U R AT I O N
typogra murmu Letterforms
1
LET TERFORMS
aphic uration A T Y P O G R A P H I C M U R M U R AT I O N
3
IN THE CREATION of a typeface, the
to be a blend of the ‘o’ with a vertical
'o' and 'l' help define the look of the
stem. The ‘p’ seems to be a rotated
font. They create guides for the pro-
version of the ‘d’ and likewise the ‘q’
portions, contrast, maximal curve
a rotated ‘b’. But this could not be
thickness and thickness of the stem.
more wrong. Even the most geometric
Once these have been defined, the
typefaces contain subtle differences.
related forms can then be designed.
The greatest differences can be seen
Four letters of the alphabet—the ‘d’,
in the seriffed types.
X- H E I G H T
ASCENDER HEIGHT
DESCENDER HEIGHT
‘p’, ‘b’ and ‘q’—appear quite simply
boqdp odpqb odpqb odpqbodpqb Letterforms
p pod od
odpqbodpqbodpqb 5 A T Y P O G R A P H I C M U R M U R AT I O N
THREE OUTSIDERS The ‘a’, ‘s’ and
The ‘a’ consists of a bowl and curves.
The two-storey version of the ‘g’ is a
‘g’ require a depth of knowledge
The closed bowl is slightly higher
beautiful and complicated construc-
and skill from the type designer in
than the middle of the letter. The
tion. It consists of a small ‘o’ with an
order to design them with balanced
connection of the bowl with the stem
‘ear’, and below this a loop which
and fluent curves and have them be
can be formed in many ways.
can be drawn either open or closed.
in line with the rest of the typeface. While geometrically round shapes form a good basis for designing the ‘o’, ‘e’ and ‘c’, these letters are more complicated than a simple circle.
The ‘s’ has no straight lines. It can be drawn by starting with two circles, one above the other and the lower slightly larger than the upper. The letter therefore has a foundation and better visual proportions.
Letterforms
The ‘o’ is a smaller version of the lowercase letter (approximately 60 – 70%). The loop can vary widely in nature between different typefaces.
A T Y P O G R A P H I C M U R M U R AT I O N
X- H E I G H T
s ag
7
Letterforms
THE 26 LETTERS of the alphabet are only the core characters in a font. Without the numerals, punctuation marks, special characters and accented signs, a font is not complete. And each language has its specific punctuation marks and ligatures, which are added to some fonts by the type designer.
é ëê 9
A T Y P O G R A P H I C M U R M U R AT I O N
LIGATURES ARE combinations of
LOGOTYPES ARE less clearly visible
two or more characters that aim to
combinations of characters such
fix awkward typographic combina-
as the ampersand or ‘&’ symbol,
tions. For example, the overhanging
although this combination can also
ascender in the letter ‘f’ would crash
be made up of ligatures. In the ‘&’
into an ascender or the dot of an ‘i’
symbol of the Demos Italic and the
if it directly followed the ‘f’. This was
Galliard Italic, the separate letters
especially difficult to accommodate
(et) are still clearly visible. In the
during the days of metal type.
Alega on the far right, the designer
TYPOGRAPHIC DIPHTHONGS or ligatured vowels are rarely used letter combinations. They mainly convey that a word has a special pronunciation, such as the French word ‘œil,’ meaning 'eye.'
nt This Ce
aur
ita
l ic
a mp
at u
vi
a
sib
as
le .
s e r s a nd cou nt
lig
re ,
sinc
e e t he e a d t a re cl n
Letterforms
ar
ly
has departed from a clear picture of the combination. Although this combination strictly speaking forms part of the logotypes, it is more correct to call the Demos and Galliard version a ligature.
æ & The ure
is
one o f t h e m o s t c o m mo n .
at T h e ' f ' a n d 'i' l i g
Me
ta
’s
am
pe
rsa n
n’t the e a nd t are
vis
ib
u ncom
mon l ig a t u r e
s, inc lu d
ing a li g a t u
re
for the word"the."
has so me
e—
Meta
ot
le
.
d i s a log
yp
A T Y P O G R A P H I C M U R M U R AT I O N
11
THE PRODUCTION OF DIGITAL type
The editing phase is next, in which
can be divided into three stages:
characters are optimized aestheti-
the design phase; the editing phase
cally and technically. Curves can be
for digitizing the design, composing
subtly changed and anchor points
the glyph databases, adding letter
can be moved so they exactly match
spacing and producing a kerning
the comparable positions of other
table; and finally hinting bitmaps
characters. Subsequently, a glyph
and creating font formats.
database is generated with all the
The first sketches of a new typeface design are still frequently drawn on
to use in their font.
paper by the type designer. In some
To use the font, one must format it
cases each letter is drawn completely
for various platforms like PC and
by hand. In that case, they can be
Mac. In this phase, any hinting that
converted to digital form using a
is needed is also included. Hinting is
digitizer, which is a kind of mouse
defining bitmaps for low resolution
with a magnifier that can transfer
rendering, usually on monitors and
key points of the drawing directly
displays, so that curves come out as
into a computer. Another method is
smoothly as possible.
using the auto-trace function to have the software trace the outline from a scan. A letter can also be directly drawn on the computer, often with the help of a scan of the sketch.
Letterforms
characters that the designer wants
13 A T Y P O G R A P H I C M U R M U R AT I O N
typogra murmu Categories
2
C AT EG O R I E S
aphic uration A T Y P O G R A P H I C M U R M U R AT I O N
15
e e cce cccc c VARIOUS ATTEMPTS have been
made over the years to organize the multitude of typefaces into clear
categories. The type classifications that have been produced are valu-
able, but none of them is completely
satisfactory. There are some methods that follow a chronological order,
some that place the emphasis on the differences in form and others that
look at whether a type derives from a manuscript or not. Categorizations
of types may furthermore fill a purely
theoretical need or may have a pragmatic search function. The following
categories are from the updated Vox classification system.
Categories
e ee e e e ce SERIF TYPEFACES, and Humanist in
SANS-SERIFS first appeared at the
particular, were the first categories of
beginning of the nineteenth century
type. With their serifs and variations
at the Caslon Foundry in 1812/14, but
in stroke thickness, the original serif
only in capitals. The first sans-serif
typefaces were closely modelled
with lowercase appeared in England
af ter the forms and geometries of
in 1834. Towards the end of the nine-
the calligraphic letters written by
teenth century, every self-respecting
monks in monaster y scriptoriums
foundr y had a number of sans-serif
for the Bible in the centuries before
typefaces with several variants.
the invention of the printing press.
17 A T Y P O G R A P H I C M U R M U R AT I O N
Typography TRANSITIONALS Transitional typefaces are the earliest neoclassical typefaces that first appeared in the mid-eighteenth century and were usually designed for a specific purpose. They are seen as the first types that were really designed. The transitionals mark the transition between the Renaissance
Typography
and neoclassicism. An example of a
HUMANIST
this typeface in 1757. Although his
The oldest Italian print足i ng type,
books were not a very big commer-
designed at the end of the fifteenth
cial success in England, his typeface
century during the Italian Renais-
was admired and much imitated.
sance, are based on the handwriting of the humanists. This script went back to the Carolingian minuscule of the ninth century. In 1470, Nicolas Jenson, a French printer who worked in Venice, was one of the first to cut a refined humanistic typeface. This is generally seen as the prime example for the first group of types we use to this day: the humanists. Centaur (above) is an example of a Humanist font, and is one of the two main typefaces used in this book.
Categories
transitional typeface is Baskerville (above). John Baskerville designed
Typography SLAB-SERIFS The slab-serifs are constructed typefaces and in general have hardly any thick-thin contrast. Some early slab-serifs are called egyptians— allegedly after the popularity of the Napoleonic campaign in Egypt and the resulting interest in Egyptology. The Clarendon typeface (above) is
Typography
so typical for this group that in some
DIDONES
for this group rather than ‘slab-serif’.
English classification systems the term 'Clarendon' is used as a label
Didones are the late neoclassical seriffed types and their name is a combination of the French printing family Didot and the Italian printer Bodoni of Parma. The typeface Bodoni, designed by Giambattista Bodoni, is also known as the ‘king of the typographers’ (principe dei tipografi) or ‘printer to the kings’, and is seen as the highlight of the didones. Bauer Bodoni (above) by Heinrich Jost is generally seen as one of the most beautiful revivals of the original Bodoni.
The Serifs A T Y P O G R A P H I C M U R M U R AT I O N
19
Typography NEOCLASSICAL SANS-SERIFS Sans-serif neo-grotesque typefaces appeared as a result of the popularity of the Swiss style of typography af ter the Second World War. Sansserif typefaces started to get used more and more frequently with the advent of Helvetica in 1957, created by the Swiss Max Miedinger. Meta (above), designed by Erik Spiekermann, is an example of a humanist sans serif. It is also one of the two main typefaces used in this book.
The Sans Serifs Categories
Typography HUMANIST SANS-SERIFS The humanistic sans-serifs are different from other sans-serifs because they follow the proportions of the classical Roman capital for their capitals and the humanistic manuscript hand for their lowercase letters. Gill Sans (above) was designed by Eric Gill in 1928 for Monotype; he based
Typography
the design of the letterforms off of stone inscriptions.
GEOMETRIC SANS-SERIFS The geometric sans-serifs seem to be drawn with ruler and compass. It takes a lot of skill to produce clearly legible typography with these typefaces. Good microtypography, such as choosing the right letter spacing and line interval, is essential. An example is Futura (above), a 1927 design by Paul Renner.
Typography BENTON SANS-SERIFS These lineales are also called American gothics. The prototype of this group is Franklin Gothic by Morris Fuller Benton. These typefaces show a close relationship to the neoclassical sans-serifs. Above is Franklin Gothic Book, a design (1903-1912) by Morris Fuller Benton for American Type Founders.
21 A T Y P O G R A P H I C M U R M U R AT I O N
Âś Âś
AS TYPE STYLES changed over the
but rather by a pilcrow (above). The
centuries, evolving from letterforms
pilcrow was common in the illumi-
that closely mirrored calligraphic,
nated manuscripts of the Middle
hand-drawn letters to more precise
Ages, but today has become merely
shapes based on geometric forms,
a typographic curiosity, along with
punctuation styles changed too.
the section marker (right) and the
Looking at old manuscripts going back to Greece and Rome, the punc-
Categories
leaf-like hedera that was once used to separate text from commentary.
tuation and formatting that we now
Some punctuation marks never had
take for granted was not in common
the popularity of the pilcrow, but
use or sometimes did not exist at
instead were tentatively introduced
all. They had no spaces—words were
and failed to become mainstream.
often not separated from each other,
These include marks such as the
or had only a small dot to indicate
interrobang (a combination of the
the end of one word and the begin-
question mark and the exclamation
ning of another. And paragraphs
point) and the irony mark (similar to
were not indicated by line breaks,
a backwards question mark).
ยง 23 A T Y P O G R A P H I C M U R M U R AT I O N
typogra murmu Type Families
3
T YPE FA MILIE S
aphic uration A T Y P O G R A P H I C M U R M U R AT I O N
25
A TYPEFACE or type family is a group
angles (such as slanted or oblique),
of fonts that are closely related to
different forms (such as cursive or
each other and designed to be used
italic), or any combination, such as
together. They usually all bear the
Helvetica 23 Ultra Light Extended
same name (with modifiers), such as
Oblique. The standard version of a
Rockwell or Helvetica.
typeface is often referred to as the
A font is one variant of a typeface or type family. Variations can include different weights (such as bold or light), different widths (such as condensed or extended), different
Type Families
roman. Different typefaces provide different numbers of fonts: Meta has 28 different fonts, from Hairline Italic to Condensed Extra Bold, while the typeface Centaur has only Regular, Italic, Bold and Bold Italic.
DE BC 0A CD 9 78 0AB 56 234 56789 0AB 1 Z Y WX 34 789 NOPQRSTUV YZ12 3456 890 DEFGHIJKLM 7 TUVWX 2 S R Q 1 G ABC 6 P O N F M Z L K 5 J E GHI VWXY 1234 678 BCD5678 ABCDEF U T S R A Q P 0 4 XYZ 45 GHIJKLMNO 89 23 W ABCDEF STUVW YZ123 5 67 YZ1 STUV N ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQR 4 X R 5 3 W V 2 Q X 4 P JKLM NOPQRSTU WXYZ1 3 2 3 U V W M N O F G H I 90 A B C A B C D E F G H I J K L M 2 V U 1 T 1 S Z E R 8 Q Y Z ST KL CD 4567 IJKLMNOP Z VWX Y J VWXY ABCDEFGH B X Q R H I 90 A Z 1 2 3 P Q R S T U F G H I J A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U U V W X Y T E S O D P FG 8 Y R C Q P B N O N X M V L A K J I H 7 3 4 2 G 5 F A E B CD O E 6 M 0 W STU YZ1 D 5 UV IJKL 789 UVWX HIJKLMNO ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQR 5 4 T 34 H 56 RST EFG 2 1 Z S M L N Y K O J G I P QRSTUVWX R E F 3 4 P Q B C DB C D E F G H D 12 NO 90A A M 8 YZKL 67 J 5 4
XY VW T TU RS RS PQ M PQ NO KL NO LM IJ F L M I J K F G HD E JK H E C HI FG CD AB FG DE AB 90 78 0 8 6 DE C B C 0 A B 7 8 95 6 7 4 5 90A 6 9 23 YZ 5678 78 45 34 XYZ1234 4 5 6Z 1 2 3 Z 1 2 Y Z 1 V W X PQRSTUVW Z123 Y X WX TU KLMNO TUVWXY XY GHIJ FGHIJKLMNOPQRS NOPQRSTUVW TUVW TUV QRS NOP DEF DE P RS RS HIJKLM BC 0ABC ABCDEFG MNOPQ NOPQ MNO IJKLM 0A 789 4567890 7890ABCDEFGHIJKL M L 6 FGHIJKL GHIJK GHBCD 6 3 89 34567890ABCDE EF 2345 7 345 YZ12 XYZ1V WXYZ12 WXYZ1234567890ABCDEF ABCD 90A X W STU STUV 2 90 678 23 W U V Q R M N O P Q RL M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 45 Z1 S T O P I J K L E F G H IBJ CK D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 1 2 3 W X Y N H CD 90A UV 7890ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST G AB678 23 4 5 6 5 YZ1 X W
F
GHIJKLMNOPQ RS EFGHIJKLMN TUVW OPQ RS XYZ CDEFGHI ABCDE JKLMN TUV 123 FGH W 4 O 9 0 A B IJKL PQR XY 56 Z CD 1 E MN S 678 FGH OP TU 90 V Q I J 45 ABC KLMR 67 DE 12 89 F 34 0
Z
A T Y P O G R A P H I C M U R M U R AT I O N
27
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90 A BCDE UVW X F Y Z G 1 23 H NOPQR 456789 IJKLM ST 0 GHIJKUVWXY ABCD NOP L Z E M Q 1 9 0 A BN O P Q 2 3 4 F G H R S 56 CDE RS IJ T 12 FGH TUV 789 KL UV 34 M W I W 5 JKL X 0A N Q R6 7 8 M N Y Z BC ST 9 O 12 P 3 U 0 EF VW AB Q G X C H I
W W Type Families
W W THE CENTAUR FONT family comes with four main weights: regular (in
pink outline), bold (in white), bold italic (in light gray), and italic (in
dark gray). A font of italic alternates is also included.
A T Y P O G R A P H I C M U R M U R AT I O N
29
typogra murmu Setting Type
4
SET TING T YPE
aphic uration A T Y P O G R A P H I C M U R M U R AT I O N
31
space between lines is called “leading” Setting Type
Playing golf on Cape Ann in October I saw something to remember. Ripe apples were caught like red fish in the nets of their branches. The maples were colored like apples, part orange and red, part green. The elms, already transparent trees, seemed swaying vases full of sky. The sky was dramatic with great straggling V’s of geese streaming south, mare’s-tails above them. Their trumpeting made us look up and around. The course sloped into salt marshes, and this seemed to cause the abundance of birds. As if out of the Bible or science fiction, a cloud appeared, a cloud of dots like iron filings which a magnet underneath the paper undulates. It dartingly darkened in spots, paled, pulsed compressed, distended, yet held an identity firm: a flock of starlings, as much one thing as a rock One will moved above the trees the liquid and hesitant drift. Come nearer, it became less mar velous, more legible, and merely huge. “I never saw so many birds!” my friend exclaimed.
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We returned our eyes to the game. Later, as Lot’s wife must have done, in a pause of walking, not thinking of calling down a consequence, I lazily looked around. The rise of the fairway above us was tinted, so evenly tinted I might not have noticed but that at the rim of the delicate shadow the starlings were thicker and outlined the flock as an inkstain in dr ying pronounces its edges. The gradual rise of green was vastly covered; I had thought nothing in nature could be so broad but grass. And as I watched, one bird, prompted by accident or will to lead, ceased resting; and, lifting in a casual billow, the flock ascended as a lady’s scarf, transparent, of gray, might be twitched by one corner, drawn upward and then, decided against, negligently tossed toward a chair: the southward cloud withdrew into the air. Long had it been since my heart
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had been lifted as it was by the lifting of that great scarf.
THE GREAT SCARF OF BIRDS BY JOHN UPDIKE 33 A T Y P O G R A P H I C M U R M U R AT I O N
NO KERN
OPTIC AL KERN
Typography Typography swooping swooping -140
+5
-15
-10
+10
-5
-20
-15
-30
-30
-35
NO KERN
OPTIC AL KERN
Setting Type
-15
-25
-25
-30
-30
A VISUAL CORRECTION is needed
view and on the influence of the
for the distance between letters. For
style of the period. A lot of white
good typography It is not possible
between characters and words has
to simply place letters next to each
sometimes been all the rage, while
other with equal spacing between
the following year characters were
them. The letters must be adjusted,
squeezed nearly against each other.
or 'kerned,' to have a uniform visual
However, we must not overlook the
white space.
fact that the type’s designer has
The amount of white space desired between the characters and words depends on the designer’s personal
looked at letter combinations and indicated their ideal spacing in a so-called kerning table. 35
A T Y P O G R A P H I C M U R M U R AT I O N
T IO N S , A S S TA R L I N G F L O C K S A R E S O B E AU T I F U L LY K N OW N ? U N T I L R E C E N T LY, I T WA S H A R D TO S AY. S C I E N T I S TS H A D TO WA I T FO R T H E TO O L S O F H IG H - P OW E R E D V I D E O A N A LYS I S A N D C OM PU TAT IO N A L MOD E L I N G . A N D W H E N T H E S E W E R E F I N A L LY A PPL I E D TO S TA R L I N G S , T H E Y R E V E A L E D PAT T E R N S K N OW N L E S S F ROM BIO L O GY T H A N C U T T I N G - E D G E PH YS IC S . S TA R L I N G F L O C K S , I T T U R N S OU T, A R E B E S T D E S C R I B E D W I T H E QUAT IO N S O F “ C R I T IC A L T R A N S I T IO N S ”— S YS T E M S T H AT A R E P OI S E D TO T I P, TO B E
A L MO S T I N S TA N T LY A N D C OM PL E T E LY T R A N S FO R M E D, L I K E M E TA L S B E C OM I N G M AG N E T I Z E D O R L IQU I D T U R N I N G TO G A S E AC H S TA R L I N G I N A F L O C K I S C O N N E C T E D TO E V E RY OT H E R . W H E N A F L O C K T U R N S I N U N I S O N , I T ’ S A PH A S E T R A N S I T IO N
I N DI V I DUA L L E V E L , T H E RU L E S G U I DI N G T H I S A R E R E L AT I V E LY S I M PL E . W H E N A N E IG H B O R MOV E S , S O D O YOU. D E PE N DI N G C E N TA U R B O L D, A L L C A P S , 5/13 P T, +9 0 T R A C K I N G
Flocking starlings are one of nature’s Flocking starlings are one of nature’s most extraordinary sight most extraordinary sights: just a few hundred birds moving as one is enough to just a few hundred birds moving as one is enough to co convey a sense of suspended reality. What makes possible the uncanny coordination of these murmurations, as starling flocks are so beautifully known? Un- vey a sense of suspended reality. What makes po til recently, it was hard to say. Scientists had to wait for the tools of high-powered video analysis and computational mod- the uncanny coordination of these murmura eling. And when these were finally applied to starlings, they revealed patterns known less from biology than cutting-edge phys- starling f locks are so beautifully known ics. Starling flocks, it turns out, are best described with equations of “critical transitions”—systems that are poised to tip, to be almost instantly and completely transformed, like metals becoming magne- cently, it was hard to say. Scientists h tized or liquid turning to gas. Each starling in a flock is connected to every other. When a flock turns in unison, it’s a phase transition. At for the tools of high-powered vide C E N TA U R B O L D, 8/9 P T, +20 T R A C K I N G
C E N TA U R R EG U L A R , 8/21 P T, + 40 T R A C K I N G
F locking starlings are one of n just a few hundred birds movi possible the uncanny coordination of these mur murations, a s starling f lock s are so sense of suspended realit y. W beautif ully k nown? Until recently, it wa s hard to say. Scientist s had to wait for the tools of hig h-powered video analysis and computational modeling. And when these co ordination of the se murm were f inally applied to starling s, they revealed pat ter ns k nown less f rom biolog y s o b e a u t i f u l l y k n o w n? U n t i l than cut ting- edge physic s. Starling f lock s, it tur ns out, are best described with equaentist s had to wait for t tions of “critical transitions”—s ystems that are poised to tip, to be almost instantly and completely transfor med, like metals becoming mag netized or liquid tur ning to g a s. analysis and computati Each starling in a f lock is connec ted to ever y other. When a f lock tur ns in unison, it’s a were f inally applied pha se transition. At the individual level, the r ules g uiding this are relatively simple. When a terns known less neig hbor moves, so do you. Depending on the f lock’s size and speed and it s members’ f lig ht physiolog ies, the large -scale pat ter n changes. What’s complicated, or at lea st unk nown, is how phy sic s . Starlin criticalit y is created and maintained. It’s ea s y for a starling to tur n when it s neig hbor tur ns—but described wi what physiolog ical mechanisms allow it to happen almost simultaneously in t wo birds separated t i o n s” — s y s by hundreds of feet and hundreds of other birds? That remains to be discovered, and the implications e x tend beyond birds. Starling s may simply be the most visible and beautif ul e xample of a bio almost
Flock ing starling s are one of nature’s most e x traordinar y sig ht s: just a few hundred birds moving a s one is enoug h to convey a sense of suspended realit y. What makes
M E TA T H I
M E TA B O L D, 5/8 P T, +70 T R A C K I N G
FLOCKING STARLINGS ARE ONE OF NATURE’S MOST EXTRAORDINARY SIGHTS: JUST A FEW HUNDRED BIRDS MOVING AS ONE IS ENOUGH TO
Floc m
CONVEY A SENSE OF SUSPENDED REALIT Y. WHAT MAKES POSSIBLE TH
UNCANNY COORDINATION OF THESE MURMURATIONS, AS STA
FLOCKS ARE SO BEAUTIFULLY KNOWN? UNTIL RECENTLY, IT W
TO SAY. SCIENTISTS HAD TO WAIT FOR THE TOOLS OF HI
ERED VIDEO ANALYSIS AND COMPUTATIONAL MODELIN
WHEN THESE WERE FINALLY APPLIED TO STARLI M E TA L I G H T, A L L C A P S , 8/18 P T, +30 T R A C K I N G
Setting Type
S. . AT T H E
G ON THE FLOCK’S
ts:
Flocking starlings are one o f n a t u r e ’s m o s t e x t r a o rdinary sights: just a few hunondred bird s moving as one is enough to ossible c o n v e y a s e n s e o f s u s p e n d e d r e a l i t y . W h a t makes possibl e the uncanny coordination of these ations, as m u r m u r a t i o n s , a s s t a r l i n g f l o c k s a r e s o b e a u t i f u l l y known ? Until recently, it was hard to say. Scientists had to ? Until re- w a i t f o r t h e t o o l s o f h i g h - p o w e r e d v i d e o a n a l y s i s a n d c o m p u t a tional modeling. And when these were finally ap plied to starlings, had to wait t h e y r e v e a l e d p a t t e r n s k n o w n l e s s f r o m b i o l o g y t h a n c u t t i n g - e d g e physics. Starling flocks, it turns out, are best described with equations eo analysis o f “ c r i t i c a l t r a n s i t i o n s ” — s y s t e m s t h a t a r e p o i s e d t o t i p , t o b e a l m o s t C E N TA U R I TA L I C , 8/10.5 P T, +120 T R A C K I N G
n a t u r e ’ s m o s t e x t r a o r d i n a r y s i g h t s : F LO C K I N G STA R LI N GS A R E O N E O F N AT U R E ’ S M OST E Xing as one is enough to convey a TRAORDINARY SIGHTS: JUST A FEW HUNDRED BIRDS MOVWhat makes possible the uncanny m u r a t i o n s , a s s t a r l i n g f l o c k s a r e ING AS ONE IS ENOUGH TO CONVE Y A SENSE OF SUSPENDED RE ALrecent ly, it w as hard to say. Sci h e t o o l s o f h i g h - p o w e r e d v i d e o I T Y. W H AT M A K E S P O S S I B L E T H E U N C A N N Y C O O R D I N AT I O N O F T H E S E ional modeling. And when these t o s t a r l i n g s , t h e y r e v e a l e d p a t - M U R M U R A T I O N S , A S S T A R L I N G F L O C K S A R E S O B E A U T I F U L LY K N O W N ? f rom biology than cut ting-edge U N T I L R E C E N T LY , I T W A S H A R D T O S A Y . S C I E N T I S T S H A D T O W A I T F O R ng f lock s, it turns out , are best i t h e q u a t i o n s o f “ c r i t i c a l t r a n s i - T H E T O O L S O F H I G H - P O W E R E D V I D E O A N A LY S I S A N D C O M P U T A T I O N stems that are poised to tip, to be i n s t a n t l y a n d c o m p l e t e l y t r a n s- A L M O D E L I N G . A N D W H E N T H E S E W E R E F I N A L LY A P P L I E D T O S T A R N I TA L I C , 8/10.5 P T, +120 T R A C K I N G
M E TA B O L D I TA L I C , A L L C A P S , 5/18 P T, +130 T R A C K I N G
cking starlings are one of nature’s Flocking starlings are one of nature’s most extraordinary sights: most extraordinary sights: just a few hundred birds moving as one is enough just a few hundred birds moving as one is enough to to convey a sense of suspended reality. convey a sense of suspended reality. What makes HE What makes possible the uncanny coordination of these murmurations, as starling possible the uncanny coordination of these ARLING flocks are so beautifully known? Until remurmurations, as starling flocks are so cently, it was hard to say. Scientists had WAS HARD to wait for the tools of high-powered video beautifully known? Until recently, it was analysis and computational modeling. And hard to say. Scientists had to wait for IGH-POW- when these were finally applied to starlings, they revealed patterns known less from biol- the tools of high-powered video NG. AND ogy than cutting-edge physics. Starling flocks, analysis and computational modit turns out, are best described with equations INGS, of “critical transitions”—systems that are poised eling. And when these were finalM E TA L I G H T, 8/9 P T, +20 T R A C K I N G
A T Y P O G R A P H I C M U R M U R AT I O N
M E TA L I G H T, 8/14 P T, +20 T R A C K I N G
37
© © TYPEFACES
WRITTEN CONTENT Most of the text is quoted or adapted from the Letter Fountain website. <ht t p://w w w. le t te r f o u nt ain .co m/> .
P29: Information on archaic punctuation came from the amazing Shade Characters website. <ht t p :// w w w. shad y c har ac te r s .co.uk />.
p35: oem "The Great Scarf of Birds" by John Updike was published in The New Yorker on Oct 27, 1962. <ht t p ://w w w. n e w y o r ke r.co m/ar c h
Centaur was designed by Bruce
i v e/19 62/10/2 7/19 62 _ 10 _ 2 7_ 0 5 2 _
Rogers for the Metropolitan Museum
T N Y_ C A R D S _ 0 0 02 7026 4 >.
in 1928, and is published by Adobe
p38: The article "The Startling Sci-
and Monotype. The italic version was
ence of a Starling Murmuration" by
originally called Arrighi, and was cre-
Brandon Keim was published in Wired
ated by Frederic Warde in 1925.
Science on Nov 8, 2011. <ht t p ://w w w.
Meta was designed by Erik Spieker-
w ir e d .co m/w ir e d s c ie n ce/20 1 1 /1 1 /
mann for the German Post Office
s t ar l ing- f lo c k />.
from 1991 – 1998, and is published
IMAGE CONTENT
by the FontFont foundry. COPYRIGHT All rights reser ved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form except for use in critical reviews.
Most of the images in this book are original graphics. The images of starling murmurations on the cover and on pages 34 – 35 are based on photographs taken by Paolo Patrizi in 2009 and found on the blog Chas-
All work by Rebecca Wright, in Fall
ing Light. <ht t p :// blo g . r ice c r ac ke r.
2012 at the Academy of Art Univer-
n e t /20 1 1 /0 9/2 2/p ao lo - p at r i zi - e u r o -
sity in David Hake's GR 310 class.
p e an - s t ar l ing s/>.
Credit & Copyright
THE SKILL OF A TYPE DESIGNER lies in the art of subtlety. A smidgen of extra stroke thickness can result in a completely different impression of the heaviness of a body of text. This book explores subtle nuances of typography, from the design of individual letterforms and different type categories to the art of setting a paragraph of text.