Typography Books

Need to produce a flyer? Want to draw up a logo for a band? Does your local speed shop need a T-shirt design? Don’t want to use the same old computer fonts? Well, let graphic designer and typography teacher Ivan Castro show you The ABC of Custom Lettering. This practical workbook features easy-to-follow, step-by-step guidance on hand drawing a range of letterforms, from Modern Roman and Gothic to Latin, Script, and Interlocked. It uses traditional instruction methods with a modern twist, and inc

330 pages filled with the history of alphabet, the anatomy of the letterform, and how wood type was made. Personal stories from artists, typographic designers, the new uses of wood type in printing from two university professors, and the story of the world’s largest collector of wood type, Leo Kaplan, the Grandfather of the wood type collage and Dave Greer, the largest collector of rare wood and metal type.  The book is not available in stores, but can be ordered via [email protected]

Second book of Keith Houston after „Shady Characters”. „The Book” is about the paper, ink, thread, glue and board from which a book is made. It’s an amazing travel through history of this 2,000 year-old medium: from tablets and papyrus scrolls to hard covers and paperbacks we have today. It’s a must-have for anyone interested in history of book making, but also for editorial designers and printers.

Renowned typographer and poet Robert Bringhurst brings clarity to the art of typography with this masterful style guide. Combining the practical, theoretical, and historical, this edition is completely updated, with a thorough revision and updating of the longest chapter, “Prowling the Specimen Books”, and many other small but important updates based on things that are continually changing in the field.

The Evolution of Type takes the reader on a journey through the development of type design and typographic style from the mid-15th century to the present day, by way of 100 typefaces. Chosen to represent the key elements of style and form used by the punch cutters, calligraphers and designers of their day, and presented in chronological order according to release date, each typeface is discussed in terms of its origins and its impact on the design and print industry, and latterly the additional

The Geometry of Type explores 100 traditional and modern typefaces in loving detail, with a full spread devoted to each entry. Characters from each typeface are enlarged and annotated to reveal key features, anatomical details, and the finer, often-overlooked elements of type design, which shows how these attributes affect mood and readability. Sidebar information lists the designer and foundry, the year of release and the different weights and styles available, while feature boxes explain the o

The Insects Project is a product of a collaborative research aimed at sharing knowledge about Central European typography and promoting design that is sensitive to the needs of all those who are unlucky enough to be native users of Czech, Hungarian, Polish and Slovak. Perhaps few users of “diacriticless” languages (such as e.g. English) realise how lucky they are to be able to choose from literally thousands of typefaces. Central Europeans, on the other hand, are nowhere near as spoiled for

Bruce Rogers was a towering figure in the history of graphic arts, and remains one of the most important American book designers of the twentieth century. The unrivaled subtlety of his style also sets apart Rogers’s most widespread accomplishment, the Centaur type. This type was born of the late-nineteenth-century quest to create a modern revival of Nicolas Jenson’s humanist roman of 1470, long held by scholars to be both the origin and the apogee of the Venetian roman, and which has inspired de

The Serif is the short cross stroke at the beginning and end of letter parts. Its origin in Roman inscription letters is one of the uncharted areas of paleography. In this book the author questions accepted theories as to the serif’s origin, and his own theory with skillful reasoning, detailed illustration, and epigraphic proof. Demand for copies of The Origin of the Serif has been constant since Fr. Catich published it in 1968. The information found there is not available elsewhere, and Ca

A reference guide of typographic terms and classification with definitions of form and usage for Latin based writing systems. The TDR is an encyclopedia, listing countless entries on the typographic arts. http://typedeskref.com/

The Visual History of Type is a comprehensive, detailed survey of the major typefaces produced since the advent of printing with movable type in the mid-fifteenth century to the present day. Arranged chronologically to provide context, more than 320 typefaces are displayed in the form of their original type specimens or earliest printing. Each entry is supported by a brief history and description of key characteristics of the typeface. This book will be the definitive publication in its field, a

Theory of Type Design by type designer Gerard Unger is a comprehensive theory of typeface design. This volume consists of 24 chapters, each describing a different aspect of type design, from the influence of language to today’s digital developments, from how our eyes and brain process letterforms to their power of expression. This book includes more than 200 illustrations and practical examples that illuminate the theoretical material. The terminology is explained in the volume’s extensive gl

Thinking with Type is the definitive guide to using typography in visual communication, from the printed page to the computer screen. This revised edition includes forty-eight pages of new content, including the latest information on style sheets for print and the web, the use of ornaments and captions, lining and non-lining numerals, the use of small caps and enlarged capitals, as well as information on captions, font licensing, mixing typefaces, and hand lettering. Throughout the book, visual

This special hardback edition is limited to 300 copies. It includes a 24-page Monotype letterpress keepsake booklet, Going with Goudy to Philadelphia, composed, printed in several colors, and signed by Richard Hopkins. Tolbert Lanston and the Monotype is printed in full color, with more than three hundred photos and illustrations, 232 pages, plus several appendices and index. Tolbert Lanston, at the end of the nineteenth century, was a man obsessed with the idea of creating a machine which wo

Type Directory shows 1,500 typefaces are organized by category – Serif, Sans Serif, Display, Script and Symbols & Dingbats – and subsequently arranged by recognized sub-categories. This allows the reader to make a direct comparison of typefaces with a similar appearance, thus facilitating a deeper understanding of the design and selection process. A visual celebration of the craft, innovation and beauty of these letterforms is presented throughout, from classic typefaces like Garamond, Bodon

Type Specimens introduces readers to the history of typography and printing through a chronological visual tour of the books, posters, and ephemera designed to sell fonts to printers, publishers, and eventually graphic designers. This richly illustrated book guides design educators, advanced design students, design practitioners, and type aficionados through four centuries of visual and trade history, equipping them to contextualize the aesthetics and production of type in a way that is pra

Know your type: A visual history of fonts and graphic styles: 1628–1938 This book offers a connoisseur’s overview of typeface design, exploring the most elegant fonts from the history of publishing. Taken from a distinguished Dutch collection, this exuberant two-volume edition traces the evolution of the printed letter via exquisitely designed catalogs, showing type specimens in roman, italic, bold, semi-bold, narrow, and broad fonts. Borders, ornaments, initial letters, and decorations are

Typo 9010 unites an encyclopaedic collection of Czech digitized typefaces starting from 1990, a time when computers were starting to replace phototypesetting and copying letters by hand, and ending with 2010, when almost a dozen small type foundries were operating in the country.  The book captures the most important moments at the oldest Czech type design studio (at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague) and recapitulates the most important milestones in the industry. 

How were the first fonts made? Who invented italics? When did we work out how to print in color? Typographic Firsts charts the formative early history of the printed or typographic book. Many of the standard features of the printed book were designed by pioneering typographers and printers in the latter half of the fifteenth century. Although Johannes Gutenberg is credited with printing the first books with moveable type, at the height of the Renaissance printers and publishers found innova

Combining typefaces is one of the great challenges and, at the same time, a continuing allure for typographers and designers: is it meant to be extravagant or should it only be carried out to a limited degree or, ideally, not at all? Which fonts harmonize with each other, and which don't? Which ones complement each other or even enhance each other? There are few answers to be found in the professional literature. This handbook demonstrates that it is possible to determine criteria for the c

Explore 100 key concepts, theories, and guidelines that are critical for choosing and using type. We communicate with text every single day, but what does it mean to really understandtype—to use it with clear intent and purpose? The art and science of typography combines subtle tweaks to line lengths with harmonious combinations of weights and styles; considered typeface pairings with a robust set of alternate characters; exciting technological advances with the realities of font licensing.

Often credited with inventing the term "graphic design," W. A. Dwiggins was a quintessential maker — fabricating his own tools, inventing techniques, and experimenting with design in areas as wide-ranging as modular ornament, stamps, currency, books, kites, marionettes, and theatrical sets and lighting. More than any of his contemporaries, he united the full range of applied arts into a single profession — designer. Despite this, a thorough study of Dwiggins has never been published. Until now.

Typography is what comes between the author and the reader. This is as true on the web as it is in any other medium. If a text has anything at all significant to say, it needs a typographer’s care, which will in turn be repaid by the reader’s attention. If you design websites or use CSS then you are a typographer whether you know it or not. This book is a practical guide and companion reference to all aspects of typography on the web. It deftly combines implement­ation details with typograp