From Gutenberg to OpenType: An Illustrated History of Type from the Earliest Letterforms to the Latest Digital Fonts

by Robin Dodd

This lively account of the printed word draws together the histories of typography and printing into one robustly illustrated volume, and describes how dramatic changes in technology have affected type design. Historical paintings, engravings, and photographs give a visual context to the different eras of type design and print, and key typefaces from each historical era are discussed and compared to others of the era. The original use of each typeface is pictured alongside contemporary examples, providing a broad sense of the character of each face. Sidebars explain how to use individual typefaces, warn of pitfalls, and highlight the particular benefits of using the face. A superb and engaging introduction to the world of typography, the book is also a vital reference for anyone who works with type and knows that understanding the history of letterforms is key to using type creatively and effectively.

Genres: Design, History, Nonfiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published May 24, 2006

Reviews

[Aaron · Rating 2 out of 5]

Clunkily written (e.g. interspersing short chapters about historical context with little connection to the rest of the text), and slickly but not usefully designed (e.g. going in depth about a particular typeface on one page but not showing an example of that face for another two pages, if at all).

[Tamsin Barlow · Rating 2 out of 5]

A beautiful book to look at but not a beautiful book to read. I could never decipher the logic of the writing sequence and while full of type examples it was often lacking in examples of the font he was actually writing about. Definitely a book for someone with a working knowledge of typeface, printing processes and letter punching.

[Jake Cooper · Rating 2 out of 5]

Strike 1: disjoint paragraphs with no narrative
Strike 2: few side-by-side type comparisons
Strike 3: describing type is like describing wine: one part truth, two parts nekkid emperor

[Scott Pearson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I am not a graphic designer, I have followed graphic design and computerized fonts since the 1990s. Thus, many of the font-forms referenced in this book are familiar to me. This book narrates how letters have historically been formed by technology. As the title implies, it starts with ancient scripts, continues with Gutenberg’s printing press in the 1400s, and closes with modern fonts digitized in OpenType on computers.

Dodd focuses her energies on how the biggest fonts came to be. The stories behind high-impact fonts (like Times New Roman and Helvetica) are exposited. She also addresses how the best fonts (like Times Old Roman or Gill Sans) came into being. Most importantly, she dissects why these fonts have proved successful and what historical currents shaped their success. By alternating between these two hats, she acts both as a historian and as a graphic designer in authoring this book.

As one would expect, this book is replete with images of fonts and of fonts being used in design. It is colorful and full of visual stimulation. At times, it can degenerate into stretches of technical jargon, but it illustrates just how hard telling stories about fonts really is!

I found the story of transitioning from script to serif fonts (with the small dots at the ends of characters) in the printing-press era especially interesting. I also enjoyed observing the evolution in the modern era from serif fonts to sans-serif fonts (without the small dots). Finally, I enjoyed seeing the transition from sans-serif fonts back to specialized script forms facilitated by technologies like OpenType. This history of type-technology is clearly evident to the observant reader through the book’s images.

Erudite graphic designers and those interested in the history of technology will find this book especially useful. Personally, I will look at fonts more deeply due to time spent in this book. Through knowledge of good writing, history, and graphic design, Dodd crafts a book that will sit on many coffee-tables and begin discussions on an interesting quirk of history.

[John Roberson · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the title indicates, this is a history of type, ancient to contemporary. It focuses on the relationship between technological developments in printing and the development of print, but also relates to politics, society, economics, religion, etc. The book explains how many of the fonts we use today came to exist and how they were understood as art by their creators. It includes many examples of type in use as well as explanatory notes for graphic designers.

[Steve , M.D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look into the most bizarre aspects of bowls, ascenders, descendants, and ligatures as you'll likely find.