TYPOGRAPHY 1 OVERVIEW (Intro to GD, Wk 4)

A B R I E F O V E R V I E W O F T Y P E H I S T O R Y & T E R M S

cuneiform
Mesopotamia, c 3150 B.C.
Sumerians created the first written
language based on abstract signs
around 3000 B.C.E. Imprints of the
signs, called cuneiform, were made by
pressing a wedge-shaped stylus into
wet clay.
This marked the emergence of an
abstract writing system out of a set
of pictographic symbols. The symbols
were largely descriptive.
The map below shows the current-day
archaeological sites of Mesopotamia.

Phonetic alphabet
1500 B.C.
A phonetically based alphabetic
system, in which the sound of spken
language are represented by a scheme
of abstract marks, was developed
by the Phoenicians from 1500 B.C.
The influence of the Phoenicians as
a trading culture introduced teh idea
of a full, non-representational writing
system across the Mediterranean and
formed the basis for successive Greek,
Etruscan and Roman alphabets.
The Phoenician alphabet was based on
the principle that one sign represents
one spoken sound. In the illustration to
the left, each sign is shown its sound
value, name and meaning. Reads from
right to left.

Greek alphabet
The Ionic version of the Greek
alphabet, officially adopted by the
Athenians in 403 B.C.E.

roman alphabet
Trajan column inscription cut in 114
CE. The letterforms are considered to
be the finest surviving examples or
early Roman capitals. Shown below is
a closeup of the fourth line from the
top.

scribes & calligraphy
Humanistic formal script, favored
by the Renaissance scholars, was
based on the Carolingian script and
the inspiration for Nicholas Jensen’s
typefaces.
Humanistic cursive, Cancelleresca
Corsiva, was a popular writing style
and the model for italic typefaces.

uncials & half uncials
Carolingian manuscript showing
the writing style approved by
Charlemagne for adoption throughout
the Holy Roman Empire (c.800 C.E.).
The letterforms became the model for
the our lowercase letters.

origins of movable type
Woodblock printing on paper,
whereby individual sheets of paper
were pressed into wooden blocks with
the text and illustrations carved into
them, was first recorded in Chinese
history, and the oldest surviving
printed book to be documented, a
copy of the Buddhist Diamond Sutra,
is dated 868 AD. As a method for
printing patterns on cloth the earliest
surviving examples from China date
to before 220,[1] and from Eygpt to
the 4th century.[2] By the 12th and
13th centuries, many Chinese libraries
contained tens of thousands of printed
volumes.
Around 1040, the first known movable
type system was created in China by Bi
Sheng out of porcelain. Metal movable
type was first invented in Korea during
the Goryeo Dynasty (around 1230).
Neither movable type system was
widely used, one reason being the
enormous Chinese character set.

Johannes Gutenberg
c. 1397–1468
Movable type began in the West with
Johannes Gutenberg in fifteenth-
century Germany.
In 1455 Gutenberg published his
42-line Bible, commonly known as
the Gutenberg Bible. About 180 were
printed, most on paper and some on
vellum. His typography took cues from
the dark, dense handwriting of the
period, called “blackletter.”
Gutenberg’s technique of making
movable type remains unclear. In
the following decades, punches and
copper matrices became standardized
in the rapidly disseminating printing
presses across Europe. Whether
Gutenberg used this sophisticated
technique or a somewhat primitive
version has been the subject of
considerable debate.

blackletter
The letters in Gutenburg’s 42-line
bible were designed to replicate
the calligraphic Textura Blackletter
forms used in German illuminated
manuscripts of the time.
Blackletter, also known as Gothic
script or Gothic minuscule, was a script
used throughout Western Europe
from approximately 1150 to 1500. It
continued to be used for the German
language until the twentieth century.
Fraktur is a notable script of this type,
and sometimes the entire group of
faces is currently known as Fraktur.

( )
Metal Type
While the details of Gutenbergs
working methods were closely guarded
during his life and remain the subject
of speculation and research, but the
casting of his type is likely to have
followed a process that came to be
widely adopted across Europe.
While this process underwent
considerable refinement between the
15th and 20th centuries, it remained
at the core of typefounding for some
400 years.

linotype and monotype
In the 1880’s, two American engineers
independently designed machinery to
automate type composition. In both
cases, this was achieved by assembling
the matrices for casting text ready
for printing. The process came to be
known as hot metal, because the lines
of text are created by fresh casting
rather than the manual arrangement
of previously cast (cold-metal) type.
The development of the Linotype
and Monotype machines were closely
followed by the invention of the
punchcutting machine in 1884, by
Linn Boyd Benton. The machine alloed
a punch to be created as a direct,
unmediated transcription of a drawing,
which eliminated the type designers
dependence on the punchcutter, and
consequently became a less specialized
practice, embraced by designers,
illustrators, and architects.

phototypesetting
Typesetters used a machine called a
phototypesetter, which would quickly
project light through a film negative
image of an individual character in
a font, through a lens that would
magnify or reduce the size of the
character onto film, which would
collect on a spool in a light-tight
canister. The film would then be fed
into a processor, a machine that would
pull the film through two or three
baths of chemicals, where it would
emerge ready for paste up.
Phototypesetting (sometimes referred
to as “cold type”) dates back to the
1940s, but the technology became
popular in the early 1970s when
it replaced metal typesetting as
offset lithography printing grew in
popularity.

the digital age
Stay tuned for pt 2!

T Y P E C L A S S I F I C AT I O N

General classification
Serif/Sans Serif
serif
sans-serif

General classification
Display/Text
Optimism is a strategy for making a better future.
Because unless you believe that the future can
be better, it’s unlikely you will step up and take respon-
sibility for making it so. If you assume that there’s no
hope, you guarantee that there will be no hope. If you
assume that there is an instinct for
freedom, there are opportunities to change things,
there’s a chance you may contribute
to making a better world.
The choice is yours.
–—Noam Chomsky
QUICK
BROWN
JUMP

Vox System
Maximillien Vox, 1954
Maximillian Vox (1894-1974), a French
typographer, developed the Vox Type
Classification System in early 1950s-it
consists of 9 general type categories
and is used primarily in Europe.
The first four Vox categories are
historically defined, mapping the
development of type forms from the
Venetian Humanist letter through
the Garalde and Transitional forms to
the Didones. Subsequent categories
are based upon characteristics of
appearance: slab serif and sans serif
types (termed Slab Serif and Lineale
respectively), with some recognition
of subgenres within these categories.
Finally, the terms Glyphic, Script,
and Graphic are used to categorize a
range of faces outside the typographic
mainstream, according to the
processes and tools that inform their
design.
Typeface example English French Description
Pastonchi Humanistic Humanes First roman characters.
Garamond Garaldic Garaldes "Garamond + Aldus"
16–17th century origins
Better thick/thin contrast.
Baskerville Transitional Réales Bridge between Garaldic and
Didones. More upright,
delineated contrast.
Bodoni Didonic Didones "Didot + Bodoni"
High contrast between thick
and thin lines.
Giza Mechanistic Mécanes Geometric and Industrial from
the 19th century.
Egyptian-type faces.
Gill Sans Lineal Linéales Sans serif with uniform lines of
varying thicknesses:
Ultra thin to bold weights.
Trajan Incised Incises Resembles a Latin inscription.
Titling fonts, devoid of
lowercase.
Shelley Andante
Script Scriptes Imitates cursive writing.
Letters may or may not
conjoin.
Bolide Manual Manuaires Evocative of hand-rendered
letters.
Vadstenakursive Black Letter Fractures "Gothic" or "Fraktur" faces.
Used particularly in Germany.
¤Бксцч(Tatlin Cyrillic)
Times Greek (Times Greek)
Non-Latins Non-Latines Typeface that uses a non-Latin
alphabet.
Adapted from: Ponot, René. “Maximilien Vox, Le Typographe.” Maximilien Vox:
Un Homme et les Lettres (Paris: Agence Culturelle de Paris, 1994), 87–89.
Appendix C: ATYPI-Vox Typeface Classification System

Vox adapted
The author of our textbook adapts
the Vox system into more useful and
accurate categories.
The Vox classification is useful in that
it describes a clear, linear progression
of typographic development. However,
since Vox’s time, type design has
continued to change and evolve.
Advances in communication media
and font design technology (especially,
the advent of digital type founding)
have resulted in literally thousands of
new types. Some of these types defy
description, let alone classification.
While attempts have been made to
expand the original Vox system by
creating new or hybrid categories (for
example, Neo-Clarendon or Demi-
Didone), these classifications are not
universally understood or accepted.
1 Humanist
2 Garalde
3 Transitional
4 Didone
5 Slab Serif
6 Humanist Sans
7 Grotesque
8 Neo-grotesque
9 Geometric
10 Glyphic
11 Script, Italic, and Chancery
12 Decorated/Ornamental
13 Blackletter
14 Beyond Classication

Oldstyle
Transitional
Modern
Sans Serif
Slab Serif
Graphic

Transitional
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee
Nn Gg Ss Qq
higher contrast strokes • near vertical axis • larger x-height
sharper serifs • larger counters
Garmond Baskerville Times

Modern
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee
Nn Gg Ss Qq
extreme stroke contrast • vertical axis • no brackets
flat serifs • geometric counters
Didot Bodoni Modern

Humanist sans
classical proportions
minimal contrast, with
some variation at junctions
med x-height
light weight
AaBbCc
Type identification (sans serifs)
grotesque
variable contrast
variation at junctions
wide set
AaBbCc
neo-grotesque
little variation of stroke
width
slightly condensed form
high x-height
minimal contrast
well-defined counters
AaBbCc
geometric
geometric construction
rigorous monoline stroke
width
no contrast
circular counters
AaBbCc

San Serif
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee
Nn Gg Ss Qq
no serifs • flat terminals • uniform contrast
upright axis • generous x-height
Helvetica Ak. Grotesque Gil Sans

Oldstyle
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee
Nn Gg Ss Qq
low contrast strokes • angled stress • small x-height
pear-shaped terminals • small counters
Bembo Centaur Caslon

Slab Serif
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee
Nn Gg Ss Qq
hybrid of serif & sans • consistent stroke weight
very wide • heavy serif
Clarendon Rockwell Courier

Graphic
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee
Nn Gg Ss Qq
Display-only • illustrative, conceptual
includes scripts
Snell Poplar trajan

L E T T E R T E R M I N O L O G Y

Typeface vs font
Quartz
Quartz
Quartz
Quartz
Quartz
Quartz
Quartz
ABCDEFGHIJKL
NOPQRSTUV
abcdefghijkl
nopqrstuvwxyz
0123456789
!@#$%^&*()_
+?”><:;,./’;[]{}

typical fonts of a typeface
Quartz
Adobe Garamond Regular
Quartz
Adobe Garamond Italic
Quartz
Adobe Garamond Bold
Quartz
Adobe Garamond Bold Italic

Additional Fonts
Quartz
Additional weights (Adobe Garamond Semibold)
Quartz
Additional widths (Grotesque MT Bold Extended)
QUARTZ
Swash characters (Adobe Garamond)
quartz 0123456789
Small Caps (Adobe Garamond Small Caps and Oldstyle Figures)
Quartz
Special caps (Adobe Garamond Titling Capitals)

Special characters/Fonts
fl fi
Ligatures (Adobe Garamond)
QUARTZerclxLn
Dingbats (Zaph Dingbats)
quartadw
Type Ornaments (Minion Ornaments)
Æ œ œ
Dipthongs

True vs fake Italics
I am a true italic.
I am a fake italic.
I am a true italic.
I am a fake italic.
I am a true italic.
I am a fake italic.
Cochin
ITC Goudy Sans
Futura

Type terminology
Stress
In a curved letter, the thickening of curved strokes and the position or angle of
this thickening in relationship to the vertical axis. An important design feature
of most typeface and lettering styles, stress is derived from a related feature
in writing created with a broad-edged writing instrument. Stress is typically
described as either diagonal (oblique or biased), as in a typeface such as Sabon,
or vertical as in Century Schoolbook however, horizontal stress is also possible
(as in P.T. Barnum or Branding Iron). The characters of a typeface may all
share the same angle of stress or may have slightly varying angles; sometimes
capitals and lowercase letters in the same typeface are designed to have
different angles of stress. Also called curve stress; a curved letter may also be
said to have an inclined or tilted axis.
o o o o d

Type terminology
Color
The overall value of lightness or darkness that is created by words, lines,
paragraphs, or pages of type when viewed against their background. The
combination of typographic factors that contribute to the color of a text
include the typeface design, weight, size, x-height in relation to capital height,
line length, leading, word spacing, and character spacing. Some authors use
this term to refer to the overall appearance of a typeface.
Rilisi blandreros alis nisi.Doloreet
iusto doloreet venim dolore tat loreet
lortisi.Idunt nulla at. Gait veliquatum
deliquat dolutatie ea acin velenim ali-
sim nit am del iniat luptat.Olenibh eum
digna feu faci tet nis alit am dionsequi
endipit prat. Tis nonsequat atie velit,
quate feugueros dolestionsed dolor
alisit, quat.Utat nisisis ametum dunt
ad tet la feugue.
Rilisi blandreros alis nisi.Doloreet iusto
doloreet venim dolore tat loreet lortisi.
Idunt nulla at. Gait veliquatum deliquat
dolutatie ea acin velenim alisim nit am
del iniat luptat.Olenibh eum digna feu
faci tet nis alit am dionsequi endipit prat.
Tis nonsequat atie velit, quate feugueros
dolestionsed dolor alisit, quat.Utat nisisis
ametum dunt ad tet la feugue.
Helvetica 12/14 Mrs. Eaves 12/14

Type terminology
Contrast
The contrast refers to the thickness difference between vertical and horizontal
strokes. The difference between the thicker and the thinner part of the
character. Bodoni and Didot are very contrasted type designs.
o A o A

Type terminology
Body Height
Like most type terminology, the point system is based in the traditions of hand-
set metal type, and the point size originally referred to the dise of the “body”
upon which the letterform was cast. This body was of a height to accomodate
both the highest ascender and the deepest descender in the alphabet, and
to leave some additonal body clearance necessary to prevent ascenders and
descenders from touching. For this reason, a 12-point (12pt) capital letter
is not 12 points in height, and 12pt letters in come typefaces may appear
considerably larger than others despite being the same point size. This variation
is due to differences in body clearance and, primarily, to differences in x-height.
All Type
BodyHeight
Body Clearance
Cap Height
X-height (mean line)
Baseline
Body Clearance
Side Bearing

Type terminology
The Point System
A unit used to measure type, typically applied to the vertical height or size of
typefaces and characters and to the space between baselines (line spacing or
interlinear space). Traditionally equal to roughly 1/72 inch but varies in size
among different countries and manufacturers. In the Anglo-American point
system, one point typically equals .01383 inch (.351282 millimeter); in the
Didot (French) system, it equals .01483 inch (.376682 millimeter).
72 pts = 1 in
6 picas = 1 in
12 pts = 1 pica
1p6 = .25 in
1p6 = “one pica, six points”
The em: A unit of measurement equal to the current type size, e.g., an em in 12-point
type is equal to 12 points. Originally derived from the width of the upper-case M.

anatomy of a letterform
Stroke
The term stroke is applicable to any straight or curves line used to define a
major structural portion of a letter. Any single linear element in a character.
N R

Stem
Vertical, full-length stroke in upright characters like T or L; also called Main
stroke
k T L

Descender
Part of a lowercase letter projecting below the baseline.
p y q

Ascender
ortion of a lowercase character extending above the height
of a lowercase x (e.g., b, d, f, h, k, l).
x h b l

Shoulder
Curved stroke aiming downward from a stem (h, m, n)
h m n

Serif
The beginning or terminal stroke drawn at right angle
or obliquely across the arm, stem, or tail of a letter.
B R

Apex
The apex of a font character is the join of two strokes at the highest point of
the letter - for example the tip of the capital letter ‘A’.
A

Loop
Small stroke extending from the upper-right side of the bowl
of lowercase g; also appears in the angled or curved lowercase r. Might also
just be referred to as a bowl.
g

Spine
The central curved stroke of the letter S.
Ss

Arm
Short horizontal or oblique strokes projecting from a stem, as in the letters
E, F, L, T, and Y and the upper right strokes of K and k. Some authors use
this term to refer only to horizontal strokes projecting from a stem. In font
terminology, the arm of a letter is a short stroke that is free at one or both
ends.
E F L T k Y

Leg
Short, descending portion of a letter (e.g., k, R)
k R

Crossbar (Bar)
horizontal stroke that connects two strokes in capital letters such as A or H.
Afe

Terminal
T he end of a stroke that does not include a serif.
a

Ball Terminal (Ball)
A circular ‘blob’ shape at the end of a stroke on certain letterforms of some
serif fonts. The ‘a’ in Times is one example.
a

Finial
The part of a letter known as a finial is usually a somewhat
tapered curved end on letters such as the bottom of C or e
e e e

Counter
The white space enclosed by a letterform, whether wholly enclosed,
as in d or o, or partially, as in c or m.
D o e C m

Bracket
The joining of the stem of a letter to the serif. This is also referred
to as a fillet. The term bracket is, however, readily understood in the sense
of its meaning as a support.
A I

Ear
Small stroke extending from the upper-right side of the bowl
of lowercase g; also appears in the angled or curved lowercase r.
g r

Link
The stroke connecting the bowl and the loop of the lowercase g.
u h g

Spur
Seriflike extensions projecting from arms and curved strokes on such letters
as C, E, F, G, S, T, and Z; also sometimes on letters such as a, c, and f. Also
known as a spur serif. Alternatively, some authors reserve the term spur for the
small projection at lower right on the G in some typefaces and use beak for
projections on the other letters.
S b G

spacing
Tracking — The average space
between characters in a block of
text. Sometimes also referred to as
letterspacing.
Kerning — In metal type, any
part of a character created by the
typefounder to overhang (extend
beyond) its allocated space on the
surface of its metal block, as in the
italic f. This extension is necessary
to create appropriate spacing
between some character pairs. In
contemporary usage, a verb, indicating
the selective removal or addition of
small increments of space between
individual character pairs (for example,
to kern a pair of letters)
The letters of the alphabet, the characters of a typeface,
are building blocks. Besides being symbols to construct a
written language, they can be used to compose any visual
impression imaginable.
Thelettersof thealphabet,thecharactersof atypeface,
arebuildingblocks. Besidesbeingsymbolstoconstructawrittenlan-
guage,theycanbeusedtocomposeanyvisualimpressionimaginable.
Tr Tr
Tracking
Kerning

Good
good spacing
Excellent letter spacing makes the
difference between good type
and great type, and it displays the
difference between a good designer
and a great designer. Inappropriate
or unconscious letter spacing can
make type difficult to read, difficult to
comprehend, and difficult to respect.
The objective of kerning is to acheive
the appearance of equal spacing
on either side of each character.
Thankfully, the majority of your
kerning needs are addressed by
InDesign’s automatic kerning methods,
of which there are two kinds: Metrics
and Optical
Bad

kerning
Certain pairs of letters always need
kerning, such as “To” or “Va.” A well-
designed face has the kerning built
into the font metrics so that when you
type certain character combinations,
they tuck into each other nicely. These
typefaces include a number of these
“kern pairs.” In fact, a font might have
anywhere from 50 to several thousand
kern pairs.
InDesign applies these kern pairs
by default, as you can tell by the
Kerning field in the Character palette,
which typically says “Metrics.”
This means that it’s using the font
metrics and applying the kerning
value built into the font. That’s why,
when you click the insertion point
between two characters, this same
Kerning field displays a number in
parentheses—that’s the kerning value
of the auto pair. (That’s also why type
automatically looks better in InDesign
than it does in most word processors,
which don’t usually apply the kern
pairs.)
LA P. To Tr Ta Te Ty
Wa WA We Wo Ya Yo
Common kerning pairs

manual kerning
What we mean by manual kerning
is adjusting the space between
two characters, which is the most
important letter-spacing feature as
it’s the only one dependent on your
eyes. Manual kerning is what you’ll use
to fine-tune your text after all other
options have been adjusted.
When you use keyboard shortcuts to
kern, InDesign applies the amount
that you set in the Preferences dialog
box at the beginning of this article.
Say, for example, when you’re using
the Type tool in InDesign, if you
place the insertion point between
two characters and use the keyboard
shortcut Option-Left Arrow (PC: Alt-
Left Arrow), each tap of the left arrow
removes 5/1000 em. Option-Right
Arrow (PC: Alt-Right Arrow) increases
the space 5/1000 em.
If you hold down the Command key in
addition to the Option and Arrow keys
(PC: Ctrl-Alt-Arrow key) to remove or
increase the kerning, this will remove
or increase 25/1000 em instead of
5/1000.
Any manual kerning you apply is
added to the kern pair that might
be built into the two characters. The
Kerning field then displays the total
amount of the kern pair and any
manual kerning you apply.
Note: The kerning value is always
applied to the character to the left of
the insertion point. You can copy-and-
paste that character and the kerning
value will go with it. If you delete
the character, then the character and
kerning are deleted.
When to use manual kerning:
1. Headlines & display type
2. Drop Caps
3. Combined fonts (especially
roman/italic combinations)
4. Script typefaces

word spacing
The space between words has
traditionally been based upon a space
equivalent to the body width of a
lowercase i. This space can be adjusted
manually for display and title setting.
In text setting, it can be specified
either as a constant — in the case
of flush, or ranged, type — or as a
maximum and minimun — in the case
of justified type. The majority of digital
type media give a generous space
between words, and th appearance
and readibility of text can in many
cases be improved by reducing the
word spacing, giving greater continuity
and less interruption to the flow of the
sentence.
are building blocks. Besides being symbols to construct a writ-
ten language, they can be used to compose any visual impres-
sion imaginable.
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TYPOGRAPHY 1 OVERVIEW (Intro to GD, Wk 4)

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