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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
Fascinating stories behind the development of those fonts we choose with such abandon on Word!
Please see my review at The Agency Review: http://theagencyreview.wordpress.com/just-my-type/
informative
medium-paced
I love the idea of the book, but I have to say, that the writing style was more like a series of disjointed anecdotes rather than a set story of fonts. It still has me looking at the text all around me in a different light
I like learning about the history of things, especially art history and while you can't really categorize this book as art history I still found Just My Type endlessly fascinating on that level. Graphic designer is my day job and this got me thinking a lot more about the fonts I choose for my work and got me thinking deeper about fonts I use every day like Univers and Futura. On a side note, it was disturbing learning about some of the more sordid bits of Eric Gill's personal life - made me see my favorite font, Gill Sans, in a slightly different light. Overall, a must read for font and design nerds alike!
I suspect people with more graphic design or typeface design experience than I have are the intended audience of this book. What I wanted was something more dry and factual, whereas this is a lighter, dryly humourous collection of interesting stories about fonts' history and design. (Personally, I should probably just read a textbook)
El libro es una declaración de amor a la tipografía que acaba resultado algo pesada para los ajenos a la disciplina. Yo venía buscando un poco de historia, quizás algún análisis de su influencia en la sociedad, pero lo que me he encontrado es un recorrido por distintas fuentes sin demasiada ligazón entre sí. De vez en cuando sí que menciona parte de la historia de un creador, un momento histórico o las repercusiones de tal o cual fuente, pero la parte del león se la llevan reflexiones en aspectos tales como la elegancia de la g en tal o cual fuente, que acaban haciéndose un poco cargantes a base de acumularse.
It was interesting, I just don't know that I would read it again. I did like learning the histories of some of the more popular fonts out there
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
I LOVED this book.
A very cheeky snapshot history of typography, featuring some of the most common and also most outlandish fonts.
I now know the difference between a serif and a sans serif!
My favorite part had to be the little font breaks in between chapters, little vignettes into different fonts and their history.
The design of this book is flawless, each change in the type is so intentional and deliberate.
A very cheeky snapshot history of typography, featuring some of the most common and also most outlandish fonts.
I now know the difference between a serif and a sans serif!
My favorite part had to be the little font breaks in between chapters, little vignettes into different fonts and their history.
The design of this book is flawless, each change in the type is so intentional and deliberate.
I loved this one! First off, I leared the difference between serif and sans serif letters (serif has the little "balancing notches" while sans serif doesn't and looks more relaxed and rounded). Garfield starts with the basics - Gutenburg's original printing press and carries the reader on the more modern monotype and linotype. Speaking of, the terms "uppercase" and "lowercase" are derived from Gutenburg-era printing methods when printers kept their capital letters in the uppercase and the non-capital ones in the lowercase.
Frutiger, the designer of his eponymous font, once said, "If you remember the shape of your spoon at lunch, it has to be the wrong shape. The spoon and the letter are tools, one to take food from the bowl, the other to take information off the page." I think this sums up the importance of fonts perfectly; my husband gave me the side eye when he saw the title of this read, but we literally see font all.day.long.
An exercise - think back to the type in the olden days. The heavy, swirly script that's really hard to read. The Gothic-type print. If you're like me, you think of German restaurants or an English pub. Well, in 1941 Nazi Germany, this sort of type was suddenly decreed "Jewish" and was banned (due to the type being using by Jewish bankers and printers). Modern font-makers now think the decree was more pragmatic in nature - there was a shortage in such type and the Germans were simply unable to create as much as they wanted/needed. Funny, since at the Third Reich had initially decreed that such type was the only one that could be used, as evidenced by the slogan "Feel German, think German, speak German, be German, even in your script."
Fonts also play a role in presidential elections. Obama's presidential campaign used Gotham font, which was originally created for GQ magazine. Clinton, meanwhile, used New Baskerville bold, which those in the know dismissed as something that could have come from a "heart-healthy cereal box, or a mildly embarrassing over-the-counter-ointment". It does lend a certain legal/academic air, though. McCain, meanwhile, used Optima, a sans serif also used on the Vietnam Memorial. However, it's commmonly used on decidedly non-luxury goods, and makes frequent appearances in the feminine hygiene aisle.
A few factoids:
- Helvetica is one of the most commonly used fonts. It's the type AmericanAirlines' logo is set in, for example. However, American Apparel uses more Helvetica per metre than any other place on earth.
- Font designers have proven that it's easier to read lowercase letters rather than capital ones, when traveling at speed (i.e. roadway signs).
- Arial is a knock-off of Helvetica and is thus frequently looked down upon by the font design community. (Check out the Font Conference and Font Fight videos from College Humor on YouTube - hilarious)
- Comic Sans was initially created in an effort to show that fonts should be copyrightable by their creators. The legal system has never agreed, though.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The author used the font often when referring to various types, though I wish he had done it more. The chapters were distinct and interesting and each was followed by a short vignette a specific font's provenance. I'd recommend this to anyone who generally enjoys non-fiction and/or micro-histories.
Frutiger, the designer of his eponymous font, once said, "If you remember the shape of your spoon at lunch, it has to be the wrong shape. The spoon and the letter are tools, one to take food from the bowl, the other to take information off the page." I think this sums up the importance of fonts perfectly; my husband gave me the side eye when he saw the title of this read, but we literally see font all.day.long.
An exercise - think back to the type in the olden days. The heavy, swirly script that's really hard to read. The Gothic-type print. If you're like me, you think of German restaurants or an English pub. Well, in 1941 Nazi Germany, this sort of type was suddenly decreed "Jewish" and was banned (due to the type being using by Jewish bankers and printers). Modern font-makers now think the decree was more pragmatic in nature - there was a shortage in such type and the Germans were simply unable to create as much as they wanted/needed. Funny, since at the Third Reich had initially decreed that such type was the only one that could be used, as evidenced by the slogan "Feel German, think German, speak German, be German, even in your script."
Fonts also play a role in presidential elections. Obama's presidential campaign used Gotham font, which was originally created for GQ magazine. Clinton, meanwhile, used New Baskerville bold, which those in the know dismissed as something that could have come from a "heart-healthy cereal box, or a mildly embarrassing over-the-counter-ointment". It does lend a certain legal/academic air, though. McCain, meanwhile, used Optima, a sans serif also used on the Vietnam Memorial. However, it's commmonly used on decidedly non-luxury goods, and makes frequent appearances in the feminine hygiene aisle.
A few factoids:
- Helvetica is one of the most commonly used fonts. It's the type AmericanAirlines' logo is set in, for example. However, American Apparel uses more Helvetica per metre than any other place on earth.
- Font designers have proven that it's easier to read lowercase letters rather than capital ones, when traveling at speed (i.e. roadway signs).
- Arial is a knock-off of Helvetica and is thus frequently looked down upon by the font design community. (Check out the Font Conference and Font Fight videos from College Humor on YouTube - hilarious)
- Comic Sans was initially created in an effort to show that fonts should be copyrightable by their creators. The legal system has never agreed, though.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The author used the font often when referring to various types, though I wish he had done it more. The chapters were distinct and interesting and each was followed by a short vignette a specific font's provenance. I'd recommend this to anyone who generally enjoys non-fiction and/or micro-histories.