Typographic Design: Form and Communication, Sixth Edition is the latest update to the classic typography text that covers all aspects of designing with type. Revised to reflect the shift in graphic design conception and understanding, the book contains a brand-new exploration of typography in media versus typography in motion, and provides the latest information on emerging trends and technology in the design process. Full-color images showcase recent design examples and a companion website features a robust collection of resources for students and instructors. Striking a balance between fundamental information and pivotal new knowledge and ideas, the book provides the perfect basis for engaging new learners as well as seasoned professionals.

Typography is the comprehensive design of type, encompassing selection, placement, manipulation, and communication. An integral element of the graphic designer's arsenal, typography skills translate across industry boundaries into print, video, film, television, packaging, advertising, digital design, and more. Typographic Design provides insight, information, and practical instruction for every step in the process, from concept to execution. Topics include:

• Letterforms, syntax, and legibility
• Communication and the typographic message
• Evolution and technology of typography
• Typographic design processes, and using the grid

The book also contains case studies that illustrate the successful use of typography, demonstrating the impact of good type on the overall design, and a listing of type specimens that exhibit good communication through good design. Words are an important part of the human condition, and presentation can have a major impact on the message. Graphic designers must be able to manipulate type to convey precisely what's intended, and Typographic Design is a comprehensive guide to mastery.

Foreword, Rob Carter viii

Introduction ix

1 The Evolution of Typography 1

From the origins of writing to Gutenberg’s invention of movable type 2

Typography from Gutenberg to the nineteenth century 7

The nineteenth century and the Industrial Revolution 12

Typography in the twentieth century 18

A new century and millennium begin 27

2 The Anatomy of Typography 31

Letterforms analyzed 32

The typographic font 35

Historical classification of typefaces 38

Typographic measurement 42

The type family 45

3 Legibility 49

Basic principles of legibility 50

Legibility and digital typography 60

Typographic details 62

4 The Typographic Grid 65

Background 66

Structure and space 67

Proportion 68

The square 69

Single column grids 71

Multicolumn grids 74

Modular grids 78

Improvisational structures 84

5 Syntax and Communication 85

Typographic syntax 86

Typographic space 96

Visual hierarchy 100

ABA form 106

6 The Typographic Message 111

A multidimensional language 112

Verbal/visual equations 114

Function and expression 118

7 The Evolution of Typographic Technology 121

Hand composition 122

Machine composition 123

Phototypesetting 125

Digital typesetting 128

Screen-based typography 131

8 Typography on Screen 133

Rendering type on screen 134

Reading on screen 137

Selecting typefaces 138

Legibility factors for on-screen typography 141

Web design technology 145

Structuring web pages 146

Case studies 148

9 Typography in Time and Motion 155

Background 156

Using type in time-based media 159

How type changes and moves 163

Legibility factors 167

Expression 169

10 Case Studies in Typographic Design 171

Integrating type and image in poster design 172

The U.S. National Park Service Unigrid system 176

Book design: VAS: An Opera in Flatland 179

Typographic film titles 183

Buenos Aires Underground (Subte) 186

Information design: Metropolitan World Atlas 190

A typographic program for the 17th Street Farmers’ Market 194

11 Typographic Design Education 197

Letter/digit configurations 198

Urban letterform studies 198

Flowering typography 199

Inventing sign systems 199

Comparative relationships: type and image 200

Sequential typographic forms in space 201

Typography and image transformations 201

Unity of form and communication 202

Syntactic explorations using onomatopoeic terms 203

Visual structure motion studies 204

Type chronology booklet 205

Typographic hierarchy 206

Calendar deconstruction 207

Experimental compositions with found typography 208

Directional poster: from your house to the university 209

Visual organization and grid structures 209

New York Times grid analysis 210

Environmental grids 211

Banknote design 212

Observing systems in our surroundings 213

Typographic cubes 214

Blending Latin and non-Latin typographic forms 214

Type and image in the third dimension 215

Typezine: my favorite typeface 216

Typeface design: mind/machine 217

Experimental typographic system 218

Expressive typography: form amplifies message 219

Type as metaphor 219

Form and counterform, scale and proportion: “Ne var, ne yok?” 220

12 Typographic Design Process 221

A traditional model 222

Exploring typographic permutations 229

Exploring typographic transformation 234

Ludd: a typographic expedition 241

Composites 249

13 Type Specimens 255

Old Style 256

Garamond 258

Additional Old Style fonts 264

Sans serif 266

Franklin Gothic 268

Univers 274

Meta 280

Futura 286

Additional sans serif fonts 292

Transitional 294

Baskerville 296

Additional transitional fonts 302

Modern 304

Bauer Bodoni 306

Additional Modern fonts 312

Egyptian 314

Serifa 316

Additional Egyptian fonts 322

Selected Decorative fonts 324

Glossary 326

Bibliography 332

Credits 334

Index 338

Rob Carter is Professor Emeritus at Virginia Commonwealth University, and has served as a visiting professor at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam. He is the author of American Typography Today, Typographic Design: The Great Typefaces, the five-volume Working with Type series, and Digital Color and Type. He is also coauthor of Meggs: Making Graphic Design History.

The late Philip B. Meggs was School of the Arts Research Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University; visiting faculty at Syracuse University and the National College of Art and Design in Dublin, Ireland; and contributing editor to Print magazine. He authored more than a dozen books and 150 articles and papers on design and typography, including a section on graphic design in Encyclopedia Britannica.

The late Ben Day was Professor Emeritus at Virginia Commonwealth University. He also taught at Boston University and had been a Visiting Designer at the University of Connecticut.

Sandra Maxa is Director of the Graphic Design Post Baccalaureate Program at the Maryland Institute College of Art, has served as visiting faculty at the Pratt Institute, and has taught at Parsons The New School for Design and at Rutgers University?Newark

Mark Sanders is full-time faculty in the Graphic Design department at Maryland Institute College of Art, has served as visiting faculty at the Pratt Institute, and has taught at Parsons The New School for Design and at Rutgers University?Newark.

Both Sandra and Mark are Partners at Q Collective, a visual communication and branding studio in New York and Baltimore.

THE BESTSELLING CLASSIC TYPOGRAPHY REFERENCE, UPDATED FOR NEW MEDIA

Typographic Design covers every aspect of designing with type, from stroke weight, to syntax, to legibility, and structure. Updated to reflect the shift in graphic design consumption and understanding, this edition includes new chapters on typography in media and in motion, with full color illustrations that showcase recent design examples. Case studies demonstrate the real-world application of fundamental concepts, and the companion website offers teaching guides, student resources, samples, and other tools that augment the text.

This classic text is a theoretical and practical reference of unmatched breadth and depth:

• Explore the evolution of typography from earliest written symbols to modern mobile apps
• Manipulate anatomy, syntax, and grids to preserve legibility without diminishing expression
• Plan designs around the intended outcome, whether in print, on screen, or in motion
• Work through the complete typographic design process from inspiration to experimentation to realization, developing an individual approach along the way

Typography is an integral element in any graphic designer's arsenal of skills, and this book is the pivotal guide. Comprehensive enough for new learners and authoritative enough for professionals, Typographic Design is a valuable resource for designers at every stage of the profession.