I have recently read what I now call my bible of typography, 'Stop stealing sheep and find out how type works' by Erik Spikerman and E.M. Ginger. Ok so the bible may be a little too complimentary, however it is definatly a book that will contiune to be with me throughout at least my next (last) year of university.
What I like most about this book is that it manages to compare type by metaphor to practically everything, food, shoes, people, families etc, maybe a little excessive but these little comparisons make it easier to understand type, and make the book generally an easier read. The book gives nice little tips about grids and type that will defiantly help to advance your graphic design/ typographic skills.
Main points throughout the book that I found particularly relevant and insightful are as follows...
Firstly there is a constant change in typography; this is due to the progression of out intellect, culture, technology, society, economy etc. It would be interesting to find just how one of these factors have made or will make a big impact on typography. Il take the point about culture to explain further. We know that culture effects typography because if we are to look at all the different newspapers of different countries, the look will change to suit the readers within that culture. Technology has also greatly effected this area of design as new fontshave been designed for websites, mind you this is only a small part of the change. Will any of these factors not become an issue? And to what extent will they effect type in the future.
This leads me to the fact that type has the purpose of constructing a persona/ character before you even start reading the article. It is therefore essential it is right, so articles/books/magazines etc gets the correct readership. Despite the fact this character/persona and correct impression is being made it may be 'unnoticed by the untrained eye.
Not only does the word reflect what font is chosen, a good typographer also reviews from the other angle the choice of word can also reflect how the font looks. Advice given is you don’t want two letters looking too much the same in a smaller words, also in certain fonts predominate letters really take on the style, how much of the style needs to be shown? The more letters in the word the more options of fonts is available.
Other relevant points/facts made in the book
- Black type on white looks thinner than white on black
- There are always technical restraints of fonts - i.e. is the font clear at a smaller point size.
- Some print is made to be invisible- you want the text to do the speaking not the font! Where would this be relevant?
- Sans serifs are more comfortable to read
-Bitmap fonts are great for screen fonts only
-Trendy fonts are the opposite to business fonts- they are unpredictable
-Futura is 1950's -1960' advertising font
