Class Notes 8/26/10

A Brief History of Typefaces – Lecture 8/26/10

*First typeface was based off Calligraphy.

Invention of Printing

• · Johannes Gutemberg – Movable type (Germany, early 15^th century). Monks were scribes that made beautiful black letters before printers.
• · At beginning, Chinese movable writing system too challenging, Latin alphabet better for movable type.
• · Uppercase letters stored in the Upper Drawer!!!
• · Nicolas Jenson – created gothic calligraphy with new Italian taste for humanistic handwriting based on classical models. 15^th century Venice. Learned everything in Germany. He was French. Roman typeface.
• · Italics saved money by being smaller. Became popular by Aldus Manutius, Venetian publisher 15^th century.
• · Garamond – 16^th century

Enlightenment and Extraction

• · Geogroy Tory – proportions of alphabet reflect the ideal human form. Humanist, quasi-scientific. Engravings with grids.
• · Engraved letters had more fluid lines, 18^th century.
• · William Caslon – Crisp, upright engraved recall fluid strokes of flexible steel pen and pointed quill.
• · John Baskerville – contrast b/w thick and think elements. “His letters were blinding people due to their thinness”
• · Firmin Didot – Baskerville to the extreme

Monster Fonts

• · Didot and Bodoni
• · 19^th century àindustrial revolution à advertising initiated the fonts.
• · High, wide, shadows, large scale letters
• · Use type cuts for heavy papers and fonts. Made with wood, not lead. More durable.
• · Serifs distorted – Rob Roy Kelly. Become more decorative element

Reform and Revolution Devolve/Avant Garde

• · Edward Johnston – research for essential alphabet. 1906. Brought back middle ages and 19^th century arts and crafts movement.
• · Willam Morris – “Golden Type” 1980. Reform from Jenson, Renaissance like.
• · De Stijl Movement – Theo Van Doesburg, Netherlands. 1919. Pure clean lines, architecture. Blocks. Perpendicular elements.
• · Bauhaus – Germany. Herbert Bayer 1925. Universal font.
• · Paul Renner – Futura, 1927 Germany, Widely used today.