The Complete Typographer

Book excerpt: This hands-on design guide helps readers build a foundation for the development of an individual typographic sensibility by providing a brief outline of the evolution of type, an introduction to the language and terminology of type and type setting, fundamental rules and conventions of professional practice, and key decisions on type selection and page layout. More typefaces are now readily available to a wider public than at any time in the past–this book presents a basis for the confident and informed exploration of a rich and vivid medium that continues to play a fundamental role in human communication.A directory of typefaces places the major type categories and typefaces into their historical context, introducing some key examples of excellence in contemporary type design as well as identifying the fundamental values that have sustained the continued use of classic typefaces over the last 500 years of print history.A guide for aspiring designers, typographers, graphic artists, desktop publishers, and advertising production people who want to sharpen their attention to detail and develop a sensitive typographical eye.