This comprehensive collection offers a thorough overview of typeface design from 1628 to the mid-20th century. Derived from a distinguished Dutch collection, a series of exquisitely designed catalogues traces the evolution of the printed letter via specimens in roman, italic, bold, semibold, narrow, and broad fonts. Borders, ornaments, initial letters, and decorations are also included, along with lithographic examples, letters by sign writers, inscription carvers, and calligraphers. The first part of the book covers pre-20th-century typefaces, with texts by editor Cees de Jong and collector Jan Tholenaar. The second part deals with the period from 1900 to the mid-20th century, and contains a historical outline by Alston W. Purvis. Featured type designers include: William Caslon, Fritz Helmuth Ehmcke, Peter Behrens, Rudolf Koch, Eric Gill, Jan van Krimpen, Paul Renner, Jan Tschichold, A. M. Cassandre, Aldo Novarese, and Adrian Frutiger.

For decades, anyone who cared about product design looked to the Braun label when choosing their appliances, radios, and other consumer items. Dieter Rams, the guiding force behind the Braun look, breaks down his design principles and processes in this elegant new paperback edition. Enumerating each of his ten principles such as good design is innovative; good design is aesthetic; good design is useful, etc., this book presents one hundred items that embody these guidelines. Readers will find items that are familiar such as the ubiquitous coffee grinder but also those that are more unusual such as shelving systems and cigarette lighters. A fascinating essay places Dieter Rams in the context of modern design, from Bauhaus to Philip Johnson. Archival materials include photos of Rams' design team and excerpts from his publications and speeches.

Few have left a deeper impression on the world of typography than Jan Tschichold (1902-74), one of the most outstanding and influential designers of the 20th century. Not only was he was a master in his field, but he wrote a number of highly influential books and became instrumental in promoting the modernist design strategy called the New Typography. This substantial volume covers Tschichold's life and career, placing the designer's vision firmly in the rich cultural and historical context of his era. Tschichold embraced avant-garde ideas from movements such as the Bauhaus and De Stijl and made them accessible to working designers and printers, stressing clarity in communication, with form and function going hand in hand. The contributing writers discuss the designer's major influences and the highlights of his varied career, including his seminal poster designs, his groundbreaking work with Penguin Books, and his creation of the classic typeface Sabon. Lavish illustrations - archive photographs, many published here for the first time, as well as copious examples of Tschichold's work - accompany the text, confirming that Tschichold's heritage lives on in the digital age, and proving that he is amongst the greatest typographic designers ever.