Lessons in Typography

Book excerpt: Get hands on with type in this lesson-based addition to Jim Krause’s popular new Creative Core series on design fundamentals. In Lessons in Typography, you’ll learn the basics of identifying, choosing, and using typefaces and immediately put that knowledge to work through a collection of exercises designed to deepen and expand your typographic skills. After a crash course in type terminology, you’re encouraged to walk the talk with lessons and exercises on creating type-based logos, crafting personal emblems, choosing and using the right fonts for layouts, designing your own fonts, fine-tuning text like a professional, hand lettering, and more. Krause uses practical advice, humor, and page after page of visual examples to give you a complete education in designing with type that you can read in a matter of hours and continue to learn from over the course of your career. In Lessons in Typography, you’ll learn how to: Identify and discuss fonts like a design professional Choose and combine fonts effectively for use in your projects and layouts Create monograms and logos using existing typefaces and custom-built letterforms Modify fonts to meet your design’s specific needs Space letters properly using tracking, kerning, and leading and create eye-pleasing layouts Lessons in Typography is the third book in the New Riders Creative Core series, which provides instruction on the fundamental concepts and techniques that all designers must master to become skilled professionals. Additional titles in the series include Visual Design and Color for Designers.