Why fonts and typefaces? Design really interests me. I think I have a good eye for design, and I actually enjoy designing things myself. I've learned that well-used fonts and typefaces are an integral part of good design.
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| I think these are pretty fonts, especially together. |
What's the difference between fonts and typefaces?
How were different fonts and typefaces used? (Were they used like we use them today--emphasis, readability, etc.?)
Who designed fonts and typefaces? Were they artists? Printers? Both?
How did various fonts and typefaces get used in religious texts?
Did any scientific research go into fonts and typefaces? Researching readability, perhaps?
I think I'll start my research simply--with Wikipedia. Then onto its references and "external links".
This website also seems to have a pretty good list of published sources.
Some of the system was scientific. For example, the point system used in fonts was developed such that 72 points equals one inch, so a 12 point font is 1/6" tall. As far as some of the first fonts, Aldus Minutius that Dr. Burton talked about in class today was the inventor of italics, a way to condense text so you can fit more on a page and also appeal to a taste for more cursive-like writing as was popular in his time.
ReplyDeleteOh perfect, thanks, Blaine!
ReplyDeleteI think the creation of different fonts was simply a result of different printers carving letters in slightly different ways because they were different people working in different parts of Europe. They didn't have a standard manual of how to create a font, they used what they knew to create letters. Different fonts used by a single printer were probably made to add emphasis to certain words or to make some books fancier than others.
ReplyDeleteIn line with Catherine's comment, I always find it interesting to compare handwriting. It's so interesting that today we're all taught to write letters the same way and yet each of us develops our own personal preferences in writing. Did any of you go through a phase where you wrote certain letters a certain way, but you no longer do that? For example, just after I learned to write in cursive, I really liked the loopy tail of the "y" and so even in print, I would add a little loopy to the tails of all my "y"s. A few years later I decided I didn't like the "Y" with the loop and returned to my old way of writing. I wonder if ancient scribes ever got sick of writing their letters a certain way? Did they ever change it up for the sake of changing it up?
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