Brief History of Typography

Johannes Gutenberg (Germany) is credited for inventing metal movable type printing during the middle of the 15th century. Typography before this was handwritten, excluding 11th century China who had already invented movable type long before Western Europe.

Typography that was first used by Gutenberg was Gothic typefaces consisting of fraktur, rotunda, and schwabacher.

These three type styles are all known as Black Letter type.

With the rise of the Renaissance, typography also went through somewhat of a change. Capitals began to mimic that of the Latin alphabet, using more geometric shapes that resemble the letters we use today. This made it easier to chisel the letters into stone versus the gothic typefaces.

Woodblock printing is believed to have first appeared in china. This type of printing consisted of creating a customized block of wood or stone for that specific page to be printed on. Woodblock printing was laborious and time consuming.

Movable Type

Movable type soon came to follow with ceramic, wooden, and metal movable type.
Hatch Show Prints
Metal Movable Type

Metal movable type in Europe, started by Gutenberg, made it easier for typographers to create and set type. Each individual letter is made into a mirror imaged metal relief that is eventually applied to some form of substrate (paper).

With the invention of movable type, the ability to print books increased tremendously giving the middle class a greater opportunity to obtain books not previously offered to them. Movable type also gave writers a greater chance of distributing their work to more people.

Typography [According to Wikipedia]

(from the Greek words τύπος type = “to strike” “That by which something is symbolized or figured…” and γραφία graphia = to write).

The Proliferation of Type in Modern Times

In contemporary use, the practice and study of typography is very broad, covering all aspects of letter design and application, including typesetting & typeface design; handwriting & calligraphy; graffiti; inscriptional & architectural lettering; poster design and other large scale lettering (signage, billboards); business communications & promotional collateral; advertising; wordmarks & typographic logos (logotypes), and kinetic typography in motion picture films and television.

Since digitization the range of type’s applications has become more eclectic, appearing on apparel (clothing), web pages, and as a component of industrial design—type resides on household appliances, LCD mobile phone screens, car vehicle instrument panels, hand-held video games, pens and wristwatches.

Typographic images generally follow a format of four principles, using repetition, contrast, proximity, and alignment.

The Purpose of Typography

The written form of languages has been in constant development for many centuries. Scribes in ancient Egypt and the Middle East perfected the craft of writing on papyrus scrolls and clay tablets. Hellenistic and Roman makers of books developed written communication into an art, which reached a peak of aesthetic perfection in the exquisite illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages. The invention of the printing press in the 14th centry and it’s proliferation and development – courtesy of the Industrial Revolution – has continued to fuel the importance and demand for the study of typography.

Regardless of era, culture, language, or medium, typography has evolved as both a science and art for one main purpose: to make words easier to understand and more meaningful to read.

From the creation of individual letterforms, to words, to lines, to paragraphs, to pages, to books, typography is manipulation, control, and experimentation of how to use type to express meaning in the ideas the letters attempt to communicate.

To be a successful designer one must be aware of type. Typography determines the mood, style, and flow of a piece of work. It is one of the foundations on which design rests upon. Bad use of typography can alter successful design into design that is tacky and amateur. Being aware of other forms within the design can help determine the typeface that is appropriate for that specific design.

Typography is also a form of communication and it is the designer’s responsibility to communicate as clear as possible. Being aware of different typefaces does not only consist of their physical form and anatomy, but also the time frame and reason in which they were created.

Read: The Gutenberg Press, Five Centuries of German Fraktur (Walden Fonts) (This will be provided as a handout in class.)

Do: According to class discussion, find one everyday item that is a clever and clear example of one of the four fundamental aspects of typography: Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, & Proximity. Your specific aspect will be assigned in class. Be prepared to present your findings during next class.

Assignment #1: GRPH210-assignment1.pdf