Type and design booklet

Designed by Makayla Garrett

Table
Contents of
Type Classification 03
Blackletter
Oldstyle
Transitional
Modern
Slab
Sans-serif
Anatomy of Type 09
Typographic Art 17
1

Type
Classification
2

Blackletter
The Blackletter typeface (also sometimes referred to
as Gothic, Fraktur or Old English) was used in the
Guthenburg Bible, one of the first books printed in
Europe. This style of typeface is recognizable by its
dramatic thin and thick strokes, and in some fonts, the
elaborate swirls on the serifs. Blackletter typefaces are
based on early manuscript lettering. Gutenberg used
blackletters for his bible and books, this signaled a new
era in typefaces used for printing. Blackletters are difficult
to read as body text and Roman
and Italic faces were easier to
print with movable type. For
these reasons, in the 1500’s,
blackletter became less popular
for printing in many countries
except Germany and the
German speaking countries.
3

Garamond is a classic Old Style
typeface. Claude Garamond,
who died in 1561, was originally
credited with the design of this
elegant French typeface; however,
it has recently been discovered that this
typeface was designed by Jean Jannon in 1615. Many of the
present-day versions of this elegant typeface may be either
Garamond or Jannon designs, although they are all called
Garamond. This is a typical Old Style face, having very little
contrast between the thicks and thins, heavily bracketed
serifs, and oblique stress. The capital letters are shorter
than the ascenders of the lowercase letters. The letterforms
are open and round, making the face extremely readable.
Old Style
4

Transitional
Baskerville, an elegant, well-designed
typeface created by the Englishman
John Baskerville in 1757, is an excellent
example of a Transitional typeface.
Transitional typefaces are so called
because they form a bridge
between the Old Style and the Modern faces. Compared
to the Old Style, Transitional typefaces show greater
contrast between the thicks and thins, serifs are less heavily
bracketed, and the stress is almost vertical. Baskerville
characters are very wide for their x-height, are closely fitted,
and are of excellent proportions. Baskerville is considered
one of the most pleasant and readable typefaces.
5

Bodoni is a Modern typeface, designed in the late
1700s by the Italian typographer Giambattista
Bodoni. At the end of the eighteenth century, a
fashion grew for faces with a stronger contrast
between the thicks and thins, unbracketed serifs, and
a strong vertical stress. These were called Modern
typefaces. All the older faces became known as Old
Style, while the more recent facesÑjust prior to the
changes were referred to as Transitional. Although
Bodoni has a small x-height, it appears
very wide and black. Because of the
strong vertical stress, accentuated
by its heavy thicks and hairline
thins, Bodoni should be well leaded.
Modern
6

Slab
Rockwell is a distinctive version of a geometric slab
serif design, which has retained its popularity since its
appearance in the 1930’s. The slab serifs, or Egyptians,
originated in the nineteenth century when they were
used principally for display work. Rockwell is notable
for its judiciously clipped slab serifs, and is given a
particular sparkle by means of its angular terminals. In
more recent years this style of typeface
has been increasingly used for text
setting where their even color and
visual impact can be fully exploited.
7

Helvetica is a sans serif typeface
of Swiss origin. Although
typefaces without serifs were used
in the nineteenth century, it was
not until the twentieth century that
they became popular. In 1957
the Haas foundry introduced Haas Grotesk, designed
by Max Miedinger (with Eduard Hoffmann), later to
become known internationally as Helvetica. Helvetica’s
large x-height, slightly condensed letters, and clean
design make it a very readable typeface. In general,
sans serif typefaces have relatively little stress, with
optically equal strokes, and should always be leaded.
Sans-serif
8

Anatomy
of Type
9

Bar
Bowl
Ascender
Counter
10

Stem
Ear
Arm
11

Shoulder
Serif
12

X Height
Descender Line
Vertex
Baseline
Descender
13

Typographic
Art
14

Paul
Renner
(1878-1956)
15

FUTURA
FUTURA
FUTURA
FUTURA
FUTURA
Paul Renner was an outspoken German
twentieth-century painter, teacher,
designer, and typographer. In 1926
Renner became head of Printing Trade
School in Münich, later he became
director of the Master School for
Germany’s Printers. Renner was overtly
against the nazi party and would
publish writings condemning their
actions which led to his eventual arrest.
Renner sought to influence culture and
society through his writing. Renner
is best known for creating Futura, a
geometric san serif font, in 1927. At
that time Futura was considered a progressive font, and
despite being made decades ago Futura continues to be
seen as an important modern font. Renner was fascinated
by modernism but was known to have a dislike for many
parts of modern culture such as dancing, movies, and jazz
music. Regardless of this Renner is often described as the
bridge between the nineteenth and twentieth-century style.
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