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Typography
*** Shopping-Tip: Typography
{{expert}}
Image:Caslonsample.jpg thumb|right|300px|''A Specimen'' of roman typefaces by William Caslon.
'''Typography''' (from the
Greek words ''typos'' = form and ''graphein'' = to write) is the art & technique of
typesetting setting written subject matter in type using a combination of
typeface fonts,
font size,
line length,
leading leading (line spacing) and
Tracking (typography) letter spacing.
Typography is performed by
typesetter typesetters,
list of typographers typographers,
graphic artist graphic artists,
art director art directors, clerical workers and lay users. Until the digital era typography was a specialized occupation. Digitization opened up typography to lay users and new generations of visual designers.
Scope
In contemporary use, the practice and study of typography is very broad, covering all aspects of letter design and application, including:
typesetting &
font typeface design;
handwriting &
calligraphy;
graffitti; inscriptional &
architecture architectural lettering; poster design and other large scale lettering (
sign signage,
billboard billboards); business communications & promotional collateral;
advertising;
logo wordmarks & typographic logos (logotypes), and kinetic typography in
cinema motion picture films and
television.
Since digitzation the range of type's applications is becoming more ecclectic, appearing on
apparel apparel (clothing),
web page web pages, and as a component of
industrial design—type resides on household appliances,
LCD mobile phone screens,
car dashboards vehicle instrument panels, hand-held
video games,
pen pens and
wristwatch wristwatches.
History
Image:Gutenberg_bible_Old_Testament_Epistle_of_St_Jerome.jpg Gutenberg Bible.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|top|250px|First page of the first volume of the [[Gutenberg Bible, printed with the first textur font. The
decorative colored initials were
calligraphy hand-lettered separately by a
scribe..html" title="Meaning of top|250px|First page of the first volume of the [[Gutenberg Bible">thumb|top|250px|First page of the first volume of the [[Gutenberg Bible, printed with the first textur font. The
decorative colored initials were
calligraphy hand-lettered separately by a
scribe.">top|250px|First page of the first volume of the [[Gutenberg Bible">thumb|top|250px|First page of the first volume of the [[Gutenberg Bible, printed with the first textur font. The
decorative colored initials were
calligraphy hand-lettered separately by a
scribe.
printing press Typography ''per se'' began with introduction of
moveable type in
15th century mid-15th century Europe, at the junction of the
medieval medieval era and the onset of the
renaissance and ensuing
classical revival.
Medieval roots
Letter forms in the mid-15th century embodied 3000 years of letter evolved letter design, and were the natural models for letter design in systematized typography. The strong
gothic spirit of
blackletter from the hands of
German German area calligrapher scribes was the model for the first text types and books printed by
Johann Gutenberg in
Mainz, Germany.
While the classical type of the renaissance progressed and dominated western typography into the 20th century,
blackletter blackletters continued on their own unique path, evolving into five distinct, highly disciplined and structurally rich sub-designs.
Classical revival
Printing spread rapidly from Germany to Italy, where the severe gothic textur style was displaced by
Venetian "
old style" or
antiqua type—
Italy Italian area scribes and
humanism humanist scholars adapted the
Ancient Rome Roman inscriptional lettering of
antiquity to
Carlovingian carolignian lower case forms to create ''
Aldus Manutius lettera antiqua'', also known as ''old style''
roman type—the archetype of the ubiquitous dual case alphabet we know today as "book roman".
Image:Arch.of.Titus-Inscription.jpg Arch of Titus.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|right|640px||'''Inscriptional capitals''' on the [[Arch of Titus, circa
81, very similar to the more famous example at the base of
Trajan's Column.html" title="Meaning of right|640px||'''Inscriptional capitals''' on the [[Arch of Titus">thumb|right|640px||'''Inscriptional capitals''' on the [[Arch of Titus, circa
81, very similar to the more famous example at the base of
Trajan's Column">right|640px||'''Inscriptional capitals''' on the [[Arch of Titus">thumb|right|640px||'''Inscriptional capitals''' on the [[Arch of Titus, circa
81, very similar to the more famous example at the base of
Trajan's Column.
The Roman inscriptional capitals inscribed at the base of the
Trajan's Column finished in
113 C.E, were structured on a
euclidean geometric scheme and the discrete component-based model of classical architecture. Their structurally-perfect design, near-perfect execution in stone, angled stressing, contrasting thick and thin strokes and incised serifs served as the model and ideal of the
western civilization western world.
Birth of Modernism
Venetian and Antiqua type weathered the decorative influence of
baroque and
rococo that permeated succeeding transitional types such as
Baskerville. Transitional roman types combined the angled stressing of lettera antiqua with the vertical stressing and higher contrast between thick and thin strokes of the true modern romans to come. At the end of the 17th century,
modernism began to eschew
chirography chirographic and organic cultural influences, giving rise to a rationalized, reformed classical model based on a strict cartesian grid driven by the exacting philosophy of
Rene Descartes and the predictable clockwork universe of
Isaac Newton. Vertical stressing replaced the angled stressing completely. By the mid-
18th century typographic design had become synthetic, personified by the strict
symmetric geometric roman designs of
Bodoni and
Didot.
19th century
The
19th century saw a full-scale decorative revival in which type began to be used increasingly for large-scale display and advertising. Display fonts and graphic art mirrored the explosion of fancy and elaborate designs elsewhere, drawing from all previous eras: Rococo, Baroque, Gothic, Classical & Neo-classical. Using the
machine tool the first industrial designers were able to accurately copy any design and reproduce it ''ad infinitum''. For the first time the
middle class middle classes and people of moderate means could afford facsimilies of objects previously attainable only by the very wealthy. Visual arts throughout the "''century of progress''" were characterized by an exuberant
romance romantic sentiment and the general expectation that life would be better tomorrow than it was today, in contrast to the harsh realities of the
industrial society industrial human condition.
20th century modernism
Image:Usher_building.png thumb|right|170px|Text typeset using digital page layout software.
World War I Calamitous events at the beginning of the 20th century and the pervasive influence of the
Bauhaus Bauhaus school of reductive modern design triggered a wave of conservatism that was partly a backlash against the decorative
Victorianism and organic
art nouveau ar'nouveau of the late 19th century. The clean, functional,
utilitarian modernism characteristic of the
20th century utilized
sans serif sans serif type and
minimalism minimal, reductive layouts.
21st century—the digital era
{{Expandsection}}
Body matter—a river runs through it
The ''matter prima'' of type
In traditional typography text is arranged to be readable and visually satisfying. Interest is created with choice of typeface, text layout, modulation of the tone or ''color'' of set matter, and the interplay of text with the
white space of the page and other graphic elements, all of which combine to give the "feel" or "resonance" appropriate to the subject matter. With
print printed media typographers may also be concerned with paper selection, ink choice, and printing methods.
Choice of font(s) is a key aspect of text typography.
Prose fiction,
non-fiction, editorial, educational, religious, scientific, spiritual and commercial writing all have differing characteristics and requirements.
Orthography Orthography and
Linguistics linguistics type is modulated by
word structures, word frequencies,
Morphology morphology,
Morphology phonetic constructs and linguistic
Syntax syntax. Typography also is subject to specific cultural conventions. For example, in French it is customary to insert a
non-breaking space before a colon (:) or semicolon (;) in a sentence, while in English it is not.
Book typography
Cerebral, literary, poetic
*'''legibility''' is a character thing, how clearly rendered are the characters?
*'''readability''' is how well a text reads. Depends on the quality of
bouma and conrtrolled by
leading and
tracking.
Newspapers & periodicals
Mass medium, disposable, high density
{{Expandsection}}
Display Typography
Image:Wanted For Lincoln Assassin.jpg |thumb|190px|right|Wanted poster.
Typography is a potent element in graphic design where there is less concern for readability and more potential for using type in an artistic manner. Type is combined with negative space graphic and pictorial elements, forming relationships and dialog between
words and
images.
Color & size of type elements is much more prevalent than in text typography. Display typography exploits
typeface type at larger sizes, where the details of letter design built up from typographic
history are magnified, turning typography into a major component of graphic art.
Display typography encompasses
poster posters;
book cover book covers; typographic
logos and wordmarks;
billboard billboards;
packaging; on-product typography;
calligraphy;
graffitti; inscriptional &
architecture architectural lettering; poster design and other large scale lettering
sign signage;
billboard billboards; business communications & promotional collateral;
advertising;
logo wordmarks & typographic logos (logotypes), and kinetic typography in
cinema motion picture films and
television;
vending machine displays; online &
computer screen displays.
The wanted poster for the assassins of
Abraham Lincoln was printed with lead and woodcut type, and incorporates photography.
Inscriptional & architectural lettering
Editorial design & book covers
Image:PKD-Do-Androids-Dream-of-Electric-Sheep.png |180px|left|thumb|Display typography: a book cover
On this science fiction book cover, the type outlines of the Roslyn font juxtapose with negative space and pictorial elements. Words are treated as compound objects made up of tightly spaced letters; the pictorial composition is as concerned with modulation of negative space—carving the background into satisfying shapes—as much as positive elements—the typeface outlines.
Advertising
Image:Ad Encyclopaedia-Britannica 05-1913.jpg National Geographic.html" title="Meaning of |thumb|406px|right|A print advertisement from a 1913 issue of [[National Geographic.html" title="Meaning of thumb|406px|right|A print advertisement from a 1913 issue of [[National Geographic">|thumb|406px|right|A print advertisement from a 1913 issue of [[National Geographic">thumb|406px|right|A print advertisement from a 1913 issue of [[National Geographic">|thumb|406px|right|A print advertisement from a 1913 issue of [[National Geographic
Typography has long been the bread & butter of promotional ephemera and advertising.
{{expandsection}}
See also
*
Typographic Alignment Alignment,
Justification (typesetting) Justification
*
Book design
*
Calligraphy
*
Computers and Typesetting
*
Dada
*
Desktop publishing
*
Em (typography) Em
*
French spacing
*
Graphic design
*
Homoglyph
*
Kerning,
Leading,
Tracking (typography) Tracking
*
Ligature (typography) Ligature
*
Lorem ipsum
*
Mixed case
*
Paragraph
*
Printing
*
Printing press
*
Punchcutting
*
Orthography
*
Lithography
*
Quotation mark
*
Sans-serif
*
Serif
*
Text figures
*
typeface Typefaces,
:Category:Type_designers Type designers
*
Typesetting
*
Typing
*
:Category:Typographers Typographers,
List of type designers
*
List of typographic features Typographic features
*
typographic unit Typographic units
*
Warichu
*
Widow (typesetting) Widows and
Orphan (typesetting) Orphans
*
Word processor
References
*
Robert Bringhurst Bringhurst, Robert (2002). ''
The Elements of Typographic Style'' (version 2.5). Vancouver: Hartley & Marks. ISBN 0-88179-133-4. Often referred to simply as ''Bringhurst'', it is widely respected as the modern authority on typographic style for the English language ([http://www.aaronsw.com/2002/typographicStyle excerpts]).
* {{fr icon}} ''{{lang|fr|Lexique des regles typographiques en usage `a l'Imprimerie nationale}}'', {{lang|fr|
Imprimerie nationale (France) Imprimerie nationale}}, 2002, ISBN 2743304820, for French typography
Supporting organizations
*
Type Directors Club
External links
-
Comp.fonts FAQ: General Info - Section four of six of the newsgroup FAQ
-
Typographica - a daily journal of typography
-
Typography, Type and Design
-
Typography Directory
-
Typo.cz - information on Central European typography and typesetting
-
MagTypo.cz - An inspiring European bi-monthly magazine on typography, graphic design and visual communication
-
Web Typography
-
Microsoft Typography page
-
EServer TC Library: Typography
-
FontSite.com - Some articles on basic typography for desktop publishers
-
Diacritics Project - All you need to design a font with correct accents
-
Twenty Faces
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Planet typography - A magazine on contemporary typography + a directory, a manual and other topics related to typefaces
-
Macro-Typography: A Style Guide
-
Typography for headlines A collection of great examples of creative uses of typography for article headlines.
-
The Printed Book
-
Caligraft :: Computational calligraphy
-
ABC typography - A virtual type museum
* '''google''' search for "grammar of typography" [http://www.uarts.edu/ug/ad/admin/ The University of the Arts: Typography Minor, Graphic Design Department]; [http://www.alistapart.com/articles/typography A List Apart: Typography Matters]
{{reqimageother|scans of printed material: body text, title pages, advertising, signage, calligraphy, book covers, scrapbooking, online text (screen dumps), product packaging, business collateral, letterheads, business cards, type on vehicles, architectural lettering}}
{{expert}}
Category:Design
Category:Typography
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{{sisterlinkswp|Category:Typography}}
'''Typography''' (performed by a ''
List of typographers typographer'') is the practice of creatively arranging
text and selecting
typeface typefaces in order to achieve both aesthetic and functional goals.
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