Wednesday, 28 November 2012

A HISTORY OF TYPE

A simple design decision, specifically a font choice can effect the connotation.
  • Calibiri: Microsoft stock font, simplistic + generic
  • Gill sans: Refined, English, modernity
  • Curls MT: Party font

Visual communication - Writing - Verbal communication


Typography

Words have a linguistic function and a font supplies another.
  • Meta communication: Communication that indicates how verbal information should be interpreted
  • Paralingustics: Paralanguage refers to the non-verbal elements of communication used to modify meaning and convey emotion
  • Kinesis: Movement




The age of print '1450'

Before print, specialist monks created books in calligraphy.
  • Gutenberg printing press
  • British letterforms where based on the Roman alphabet where they chiseled shapes into stone creating the serif style.
  • Medeval dark ages created a gothic script 1450. It was used on the Gutenberg press and also is reffered to as black letter.


Type classification

Humanist

  • The humanist type reflected handwriting, elegance, lighter tone and movement toward legibility. One of the first types was called Jenson - 'Nicolas Jenson 1475'.
  • Geofry Tory believed that the proportion of the alphabet should reflect the ideal human form.

 Old style

AdobeGaramondSp.svg

  •  Garamond, platino, perpetu, goudy old style are all old style fonts
  • Inspired by Venice, Italy in the renaissance era and connote class, tradition and sophistication.


Transitional


  • Mid 18th century - Romain du roi font
  • J. Baskerville - contrast between thick + thin elements in letterforms, was deemed illegible and blinding.
Modern

Source  


  •  1970's modern/ Didone - Didot, French typography created by Giambattista Bondi
  • Typography had an essence of style, glamour and sophistication.

Slab serif (Egyptian)


  • 1800's, exoticism, brash , market traders, brick and blocky, billboards and headlines
  • Fat Face is an inflated, hyper bold font.

Sans serif


  • Berthold 1876
  • Times New Roman  Stanley Morison, 1932 created to remark the greatness of Rome and it's empire.

 Type communicates visually and is not just a vehicle for communication.

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