What is typography?
Today typography is defined as “the art or process of printing with type.” This involves designing and arranging specific typefaces to create a specific mood or message, making it one of the most important skills to have as a graphic designer.
History
The origins of western typography date back as far as the 15th century, with the advent of printing press technology, introduced by Johannes Gutenberg, a goldsmith from Mainz, Germany. Up until this time, all documents were completed by hand, making them expensive and incredibly timely to produce.
One of the earliest metal typefaces—titled Blackletter—evolved from Gothic style text under the influence of Humanist type design (a handwritten style) in Italy during the 15th century. It was dark and bold, but very difficult to read. In 1470, French engraver Nicolas Jenson stepped in with the far more legible and widely used Roman Type, which was inspired by the typeface found on ancient Roman buildings. Aldus Manutius later created italics as a way to fit more letters onto the page, which saved costs when printing.
“Blackletter” typeface designed by Johannes Gutenberg, via Wikimedia Commons
In the 18th and early 19th centuries, more “modern” typefaces evolved, such as Didot, and Bodoni. In 1816, William Caslon IV created the first typeface without any serifs at all, sparking the beginning of sans serif letterforms. Around this time, the typography design industry exploded, and resulted in many groundbreaking typefaces that we still use today. By the 1920s, Frederic Goudy became the world’s first full-time type designer, developing Copperplate Gothic, Kennerly, and Goudy Old Style. Swiss designer Max Miedinger created Helvetica in 1957—it’s clean, no-nonsense, minimalist design is still one of the most widely used typefaces.
Image: Rodo Abad (CC BY-SA 3.0)
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