A generously illustrated examination of the enduring influence of and many variations on the classical Roman capital letter. The fiftieth anniversary of Helvetica, the most famous of all sans serif typefaces, was celebrated with an excitement unusual in the staid world of typography and culminated in the release of the first movie ever made starring a typeface. Yet Helvetica's fifty-year milestone pales in comparison with the two thousandth anniversary in 2014 of Trajan's Column and its famous inscription-the preeminent illustration of the classical Roman capital letter. For, despite the modern ascendance of the sans serif, serif typefaces, most notably Times Roman, still dominate printed matter and retain a strong presence in screen-based communication. The Eternal Letter is a lavishly illustrated examination of the enduring influence of, and many variations on, the classical Roman capital letter. The Eternal Letter offers a series of essays by some of the most highly regarded practitioners in the fields of typography, lettering, and stone carving. They discuss the subtleties of the classical Roman capital letter itself, different iterations of it over the years, and the work of famous typographers and craftsmen. The essays cover such topics as efforts to calculate a geometric formulation of the Trajan letters; the recalculation of their proportions by early typefounders; the development and astonishing popularity of Adobe Trajan; type and letter designs by Father Edward M. Catich, Frederic W. Goudy, Eric Gill, Jan van Krimpen, Hermann Zapf, Matthew Carter, and others; the influence of Trajan in Russia; and three generations of lettercarvers at the John Stevens Shop in Newport, Rhode Island. Essays about modern typefaces-including Matinia, Senatus, and Penumbra-are contributed by the designers of these typefaces. Contributors John and Nicholas Benson, Frank E. Blokland, Matthew Carter, Ewan Clayton, Lance Hidy, Jost Hochuli, Jonathan Hoefler, Richard Kindersley, Scott-Martin Kosofsky, Gerry Leonidas, Martin Majoor, Steve Matteson, Gregory MacNaughton, James Mosley, Tom Perkins, Yves Peters, Ryan L. Roth, Werner Schneider, Paul Shaw, Julian Waters, Maxim Zhukov

Typographic design begins with a set of information and a concept. The designer, facing a blank sheet of paper or a computer screen, is anxious about the first step to take in developing a design. The elements of typography are an obvious starting point, but often do not get the attention they deserve. A thorough understanding of how letters, words, lines, paragraphs and columns are formed, what makes them unique as design elements, and how they express character and emotion are the most essential tools in the designer's repertoire. The basic principles of typographic design transform the utilitarian quality of words, lines, paragraphs and columns into an aesthetic form that conveys both the intellectual meaning and emotional feeling of the message. Through the relationship between the elements and space, and their rhythm and composition, design not only objectively conveys information but also gives subjective cues for the interpretation of its contents. As a visual form of language, typography is perceived as a whole before its individual parts are read. The surface characteristics of the design - the topology - create the first impression and derive from the form, size, position, and color of the typographic elements. Captured in a series of transparent diagrams, they reveal a new design dimension and animate the designer to further develop the original conceptual idea. This process provides the designer with a tool for refining, altering, adjusting, deconstructing and reassembling the individual levels to create a finely detailed, cohesive typographic composition.

The 1920s in Germany witnessed a revolution in visual communication, typography, and graphic design that still influences us today. In 1929, Hungarian avant-garde artist and Bauhaus professor Laszlo Moholy-Nagy was invited to design a room dedicated to the future of typography at the Martin-Gropius Bau in Berlin as part of a larger exhibition called New Typography ("Neue Typographie"). The exhibition was organised by the Ring of New Advertising Designers ("ring neue werbegestalter"), a group started by Kurt Schwitters in 1927 which consisted of 12 avant-garde designers and artists who explored a common vision of modernity in advertising and graphic design. In five years, the Ring put on over 20 shows in Germany, and invited guest artists to exhibit with them. Moholy-Nagy's room in the New Typography show was called "Where is Typography Headed?". He created 78 freestanding panels with work by himself, other artists, and contemporary printed matter, which addressed the current trends and future direction of typography. The panels are reproduced together in this book for the first time, along with an Abcdarium of terms and concepts by a roster of noted typography and design historians.

New in paperback, "The Typography Workbook" provides an at-a-glance reference book for designers on all aspects of type.

The book is part of Rockport's popular Workbook series of practical and inspirational workbooks that cover all the fundamental areas of the graphic design business. This book presents an abundance of information on type - the cornerstone of graphic design - succinctly and to the point, so that designers can get the information they need quickly and easily.

Whereas many other books on type are either very technical or showcase oriented, this book offers ideas and inspiration through hundreds of real-life projects showing successful, well-crafted usage of type. The book also offers a variety of other content, including choosing fonts, sizes, and colors; incorporating text and illustrations; avoiding common mistakes in text usage; and teaching rules by which to live (and work) by.

For generations, children’s books provided American readers with their first impressions of Japan. Seemingly authoritative, and full of fascinating details about daily life in a distant land, these publications often presented a mixture of facts, stereotypes, and complete fabrications.    This volume takes readers on a journey through nearly 200 years of American children’s books depicting Japanese culture, starting with the illustrated journal of a boy who accompanied Commodore Matthew Perry on his historic voyage in the 1850s. Along the way, it traces the important role that representations of Japan played in the evolution of children’s literature, including the early works of Edward Stratemeyer, who went on to create such iconic characters as Nancy Drew. It also considers how American children’s books about Japan have gradually become more realistic with more Japanese-American authors entering the field, and with texts grappling with such serious subjects as internment camps and the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.   Drawing from the Library of Congress’s massive collection, Sybille A. Jagusch presents long passages from many different types of Japanese-themed children’s books and periodicals—including travelogues, histories, rare picture books, folktale collections, and boys’ adventure stories—to give readers a fascinating look at these striking texts. Published by Rutgers University Press, in association with the Library of Congress.

Encompassing a wide range of calligraphy in many languages and hands, or styles, this book presents a visual treasury of works by 100 contemporary scribes, all of whom were either born in New York or studied or worked in the city. From English and its related Romance languages to a wide range of Asian and Middle Eastern alphabets and nonalphabetic characters, the more than 550 examples of beautiful writing create a rich visual smorgasbord. Traditional uses of hand-lettered calligraphy are shown, including event invitations and envelopes, certificates and awards, and quotes and sayings framed as artwork. The examples also include contemporary applications and nontraditional forms such as graffiti and experimental calligraphy that is not formed from readable characters. All are hand-wrought and human-made, using pointed or broad-edged pens, whether quill or steel, or a brush or other simple tool.

In 1948, the noted book designer and Purdue alumnus Bruce Rogers wrote a book that documented and illustrated his creation of the Centaur typeface. The book was privately printed by Rogers himself under the name of his studio, October House. This limited edition of the book was transferred to the Purdue Libraries at the time of his death along with his other papers and books. Over the years the remaining stock has found its home in the Special Collections of the Libraries. And although known as something of a collector's item by those who are aware of the few copies in circulation, it is here available to the general market for the first time. Centaur Types is a fascinating book for several reasons: in the designer's own words, we learn of the evolution of the typeface and of his interest in the art and craft of creating type; it demonstrates different and comparable typefaces, and gives examples of Centaur from six to seventy-two point; and lastly, it stands as a fitting example of fine book-making from one of the master book designers of his time.

Type is the bridge between writer and reader, between thought and understanding. Type is the message bearer: an art-form that impinges upon every literate being and yet for most of its history it has conformed to the old adage that 'good typography should be invisible', it should not distract with its own personality. It was only at the end of the nineteenth century that designers slowly realised that they could say as much with their lettering as writers could with their words. Form, of course, carries as much meaning as content. Now, anyone within reach of a computer and its limitless database of fonts has the same power. "Type: The Secret History of Letters" tells its story for the first time, treating typography as a hidden measure of our history. From the tempestuous debate about its beginnings in the fifteenth century, to the invention of our most contemporary lettering, Simon Loxley, with the skill of a novelist, tells of the people and events behind our letters. How did Johann Gutenberg, in late 1438, come to think of printing? Does Baskerville have anything to do with Sherlock Holmes? Why did the Nazis re-invent Blackletter? What is a Zapf? "Type" is a guide through the history of our letters and a study of their power. From fashion through propaganda and the development of mass literacy, Loxley shows how typography has changed our world.

Ornate, decorative letters (formed with long tails and flourishes) will add panache and style to ads, posters, signs, menus-almost any print project. Fonts include El Greco, Raffia Initials, Cantini Casual, Mardi Gras Regular, Italian Slab Fancy, dozens more.

The typograhic grid is a child of constructive art. This book offers a collection of about two dozen typographic works of the author including books, brochures and art catalogues. The works, documented in schematic drawings and many individual illustrations, are not meant to be recipes; instead, they should provide the reader with impulses of how he himself can set design processes in motion from the outset. The many-sidedness of design with grid systems should be made manifest

"Typologia" presents more or less graphically Frederic Goudy's work in type design and describes his own methods of type production. His remarks on type legibility and fine printing, as presented in the body of the book, present the conclusions of a craftsman intensely interested in every phase of typography.
The book itself, which Goudy was asked by the University of California Press to write, plan, and supervise, has been set in a type designed by Goudy and and first employed for the exclusive use of the University-University of California Old Style.

The Art of Type and Typography is an introduction to the art and rules of typography. Incorporating the industry standard-InDesign-for typesetting from the outset, this book serves as a guide for beginning students to learn to set type properly through tutorials, activities, and examples of student work. Encompassing the history of typography from ancient times to widespread modern use, The Art of Type and Typography provides context and fosters creativity while developing key concepts, including: The history of type; Terminology; Classification; Measurement; Spacing; Alignment; Legibility; Hierarchy; Layout and Grids; Page Elements; InDesign tools and style sheets. Writing clearly and to the point, Mary Jo Krysinski brings over 30 years of design experience to this essential guide. With a glossary, sample class activities, additional online resources and a beautiful clean design, this book is the perfect introduction for a beginning typography student, and a handy reference for those needing a refresher.

A history of the influence of communication technologies on Western architectural theory. The discipline of architecture depends on the transmission in space and time of accumulated experiences, concepts, rules, and models. From the invention of the alphabet to the development of ASCII code for electronic communication, the process of recording and transmitting this body of knowledge has reflected the dominant information technologies of each period. In this book Mario Carpo discusses the communications media used by Western architects, from classical antiquity to modern classicism, showing how each medium related to specific forms of architectural thinking. Carpo highlights the significance of the invention of movable type and mechanically reproduced images. He argues that Renaissance architectural theory, particularly the system of the five architectural orders, was consciously developed in response to the formats and potential of the new printed media. Carpo contrasts architecture in the age of printing with what preceded it: Vitruvian theory and the manuscript format, oral transmission in the Middle Ages, and the fifteenth-century transition from script to print. He also suggests that the basic principles of "typographic" architecture thrived in the Western world as long as print remained our main information technology. The shift from printed to digital representations, he points out, will again alter the course of architecture.

Nja Mahdaoui is a visual artist who considers himself "an explorer of signs" and has been described as a "choreographer of letters". His work inspired by Arabic calligraphy is remarkably innovative as the aesthetic dimension of letters brings forth a strong sense of the poetic. These works arrest us with their astounding ryhthm and rich abstract composition, actually devoid of any textual meaning. Famous for his meticulous use of ink on parchment, Mahdaoui stresses the visual impact of his works, which he refers to as "calligrams" or "graphemes". Born in 1937 in Tunis, Nja Mahdaoui lives and works in Tunisia. In 1967, he graduated from the Ecole du Louvre (Department of Oriental Antiquities). He pursued his academic training in Paris, at the Cite internationale des arts, on a scholarship from the Tunisian Government. His works have been widely shown around the world in GCC, Asia, America, Africa and Europe.