> To give an overview of the history of type
> To outline the six classifications
> To inform us of some famous type faces and their connotations
> To explore the function of typography
Typography
> Meta-communication
> Paralinguistics
> Kinesics
Type face Families
> Old Style
> Transitional
> Modern
> Slab Serif
> Humanist Sans Serif
> Gothic
Origins of Writing - 3200 BCE: At this point people were attempting to visualise language. Communicating on a much broader scale to a wider variety of people. Knowledge and culture spread at a quicker rate.
Roman Empire & Alphabet - 113AD: Still basically the alphabet that we use today, the Romans came up with an agreed system of sharing knowledge. Around 500BC the Roman empire fell and very little happened in the west through the Dark Ages for 700 years or so.
Around 1450 - The Age of Print: The invention of the Gutenberg print press (1456) and movable type. This was a huge progression from monks handwritten scripts. The ability to produce reprints meant that more people could get access to materials; Western civilisation begins to develop again, kickstarting the Renaissance.
First type faces were developed following movable type. Gothic fonts and scripts were used to reflect handwriting. (Gothic scripts now reference the Dark Ages). Developments followed and typefaces no longer needed to reflect handwriting. They now referenced developing technology.
Jensen is an example of a classical typeface which reflects the idiosyncrasies of handwritten scripts, referred to as 'Humanist'.
Fonts that are referred to as 'Old style' reflect the Humanist fonts. They have connotations of sophistication.
Type then moved from being linked to human form, to being logical and rational, based on a grid format. - Transitional typefaces.
1784: Modern culture and modern consumer culture emerges. Further refinement of fonts leading to totally unhumanist typefaces with very few references to handwriting. The most famous is Didot (Didone) - With the smallest possible ligatures and a great contrast between thick and thin lines. Didot reflects Modernism and is used in a lot of fashion magazines (Vogue) - seen as being clean, fresh, new, fashionable etc
1800s: Industrialisation and mass urbanisation, leading to the introduction of the Slab Serif fonts. In a chaotic society, attention grabbing type was needed to communicate quickly and aggressively. These typefaces were bold and eye catching and used on ads and fly posters. Can be used now to reference Victorian culture.
1870s: Education Act - the acknowledgement that the mass public could not read and forcing a system to emerge to make people literate. This would result in mass access to reading and a higher importance for typography.
1919: Walter Gropius (founder of the Bauhaus school) Bauhaus Modernists emerge and type became a Modernist obsession. Sans Serif fonts were regarded highly - reflecting the ideology of function over form. It was about looking forward. These typefaces were neutral and didn't reference a country's past. Signifies progressiveness and being up to date.
Eric Gill created Gill Sans (his most famous typeface) which was a Sans Serif font used on the London Underground, as well as on the modern, simple design of Penguin books.
'Times' was invented to refer back to a time of 'Imperial Greatness' - its connotations are the opposite of the Modernists. The Serif font was considered conservative.
The history of typefaces and their connotations are really important factors to take into account before utilising a font. For example, the Nazis used Gothic fonts in their propaganda to stand away from the Modernists. They wanted to move away from the forward-moving 'people-coming-together' connotations of the modern fonts. Using this typeface nowadays could evoke the wrong kind of response due to its use throughout history.
1957: Max Miedinger invented Helvetica. It is seen as the epitome of Modernist font. It has no historical connotations and instead maintains total clarity. It is the signature font of Swiss style and is used by a huge amount of Graphic Designers.
The typeface 'Arial' came about after Microsoft waited 25 years for the license on Helvetica to run out, before completely ripping it off. The fonts are incredibly similar in appearance.
1990: Steve Jobs. Apple Macs totally changed design aesthetics and gave people the ability to actively understand type and design.
To conclude:
> The choice of typeface can change the meaning of text through its connotations. The majority of typefaces can carry heavy 'historical baggage'.
> Even if something is beautifully designed, a poor font can completely cheapen the aesthetic.
> We all hate Comic Sans.
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