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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
Very interesting book if you are a font nerd (which I am) or typeface Guru.
Very basic but at the same time, very interesting and entertaining reading. I really like the way the information the author gives jumps from classics to what we can consider modern, I mean, he knows about the history but also about how the typographic world it's being reshaped thanks to technology, for example, the internet.
A great book to start if you're not a typographer but you're interested in typography.
A great book to start if you're not a typographer but you're interested in typography.
Very basic but at the same time very interesting and entertaining
Very basic but at the same time, very interesting and entertaining reading. I really like the way the information the author gives jumps from classics to what we can consider modern, I mean, he knows about the history but also about how the typographic world it's being reshaped thanks to technology, for example, the internet.
A great book to start if you're not a typographer but you're interested in typography.
Very basic but at the same time, very interesting and entertaining reading. I really like the way the information the author gives jumps from classics to what we can consider modern, I mean, he knows about the history but also about how the typographic world it's being reshaped thanks to technology, for example, the internet.
A great book to start if you're not a typographer but you're interested in typography.
What a fascinating book. I didn't read every page, but thoroughly enjoyed reading the history behind fonts. Steve Jobs had a huge influence in fonts even being something we can choose on our computers.
This should be required reading for all first year design students, as well as any one charged with designing their church newsletter or office memos. I loved that the author made the typefaces come alive with the stories of their creators. That said, I will never look at Gill Sans the same way again. On the flipside, I no longer hate Comic Sans, just its abusers.
I've been steadily reading this alongside fiction for the last few weeks. I didn't think a book about fonts could be this interesting - but it is. It's also made me realise how little I knew or thought about fonts (and not being aware of them may have been them doing their job properly). Now I find myself looking at book covers, CD albums, magazines... well, everything really and wondering why they used that font, and how would it look if they'd done something else.
I have learned all kinds of things. I now know the difference between sans serif and serif fonts (I did say I didn't know a lot about fonts). It was interesting to read about the history and developement of the printed word, starting way back when with the printing of the first bibles, through to typewriters, transferrable fonts and eventually computers. The how and why certain fonts came into being, and even some of the stories about the designers themselves... some slightly bizarre such as the sexual activities of one of them... curious? Read the book. I also really found the chapter on road signs interesting (ha ha, what a thing to say!) and all the work and thought that went in to the font. And seeing a roundabout sign compared with the font originally considered, you find yourself thinking: no no, that's just wrong!
I have learned all kinds of things. I now know the difference between sans serif and serif fonts (I did say I didn't know a lot about fonts). It was interesting to read about the history and developement of the printed word, starting way back when with the printing of the first bibles, through to typewriters, transferrable fonts and eventually computers. The how and why certain fonts came into being, and even some of the stories about the designers themselves... some slightly bizarre such as the sexual activities of one of them... curious? Read the book. I also really found the chapter on road signs interesting (ha ha, what a thing to say!) and all the work and thought that went in to the font. And seeing a roundabout sign compared with the font originally considered, you find yourself thinking: no no, that's just wrong!
I've always been fascinated by fonts. I worked at a national laboratory for 15 years in an administrative capacity. I created, prepared and edited many papers and presentations. I also watched in horror as scientists presented PowerPoint presentations filled with every kind of graphic and font imaginable. (PowerPoint itself is a topic for another book!) I currently edit the proceedings for an annual scientific conference. Each year, I receive papers and presentations which were given at this conference. I assemble, format, edit and prepare this proceedings for publication and I am still amazed at the font choices made by educated men and women as they present their scientific findings and opinions.
I always knew that there was history behind every font, but I had no idea to the extent that some fonts were loved or despised. Fonts just show up in your computer software, you can download them from multiple places online. Some fonts are instantly recognizable, even without seeing the actual person, place or product that font represents. How many of us actually take the time to ponder or think about them?
Simon Garfield has written a fascinating book about the rich history of fonts and printing. We all have our favorite fonts and in Just My Type Simon shares why certain fonts appeal. Informative as well as a bit sardonic (I love the Brits), it's a book that can be read in order of chapters, or piecemeal. An occasional chapter gets bogged down a bit with historical facts, but others are full of cheeky humor. One cool thing is that the fonts mentioned are printed in the appropriate font type.
It's easy to see why a book like this would appeal to me and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I always knew that there was history behind every font, but I had no idea to the extent that some fonts were loved or despised. Fonts just show up in your computer software, you can download them from multiple places online. Some fonts are instantly recognizable, even without seeing the actual person, place or product that font represents. How many of us actually take the time to ponder or think about them?
Simon Garfield has written a fascinating book about the rich history of fonts and printing. We all have our favorite fonts and in Just My Type Simon shares why certain fonts appeal. Informative as well as a bit sardonic (I love the Brits), it's a book that can be read in order of chapters, or piecemeal. An occasional chapter gets bogged down a bit with historical facts, but others are full of cheeky humor. One cool thing is that the fonts mentioned are printed in the appropriate font type.
It's easy to see why a book like this would appeal to me and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book which is a collection of essays about typefaces across the years from Gutenburg to Monotype and computerized fonts. I love looking at type! I learned a number of things, and enjoyed the writer's sense of humor as well. I'm sorry it took me so long to finish!
Having enjoyed the documentary Helvetica, and as someone who reads the little font credits in the back of books, I was relieved to know that there are people crazier than me. Garfield, in a beautifully designed book cleverly illustrated with examples, examines the overlooked world of type design--the angry response to Ikea changing their typeface in the catalog, online apps and message boards for identifying fonts spotted in public, political campaigns choosing fonts to associate themselves with an era or feeling (Obama and GQ's Gotham), font piracy!, the process for choosing fonts for road signage (the evaluators sit still and the signs are driven past them at varying speeds), the most hated typefaces, Nazi policy on German Gothic lettering and the State Department's process for demanding everything in Times New Roman.
Somehow this manages to be a loose survey of typefaces, a typographic history, and a look at how type functions in our lives without feeling too long or too brief. I found this a delightful read filled with wonderful examples and anecdotes as charming as they were insightful (Ever wanted to know about the origins of Comic Sans or the edgy life of Gill Sans's creator? Or which font was destroyed by one of its creative partners deciding to throw the metal originals into a river? Or which font Obama rode to the Oval Office?). I think Garfield strikes a perfect balance between making this accessible to the lay reader and still meaty enough for the typophiles out there.