Typographic Design: Form and Communication

I had the privilege to have Phil Meggs for Type I in which we used this book. This book in conjunction with his instruction provided me with an invaluable foundation in the understanding of type and it's use as a communication tool. It's a must in any graphic designers library.

I am taking a course right now with Rob Carter. So at the risk of this sounding like a biased review, please know that I'm not the kind of person who allows personal feelings to stand in the way of my opinion on what's good and bad. Professor Carter's ability to effectively communicate is carried over to this text remarkably. Any obscure questions that I've had regarding typography and design have been answered by him personally and he nearly always pulls this text out to illustrate exactly what he means. Point is, I'm in my third year in a design program and even the "random, not covered by other professor" topics, are covered in this text. This is a text that designers will be going back to long after they've obtained their degree and are working in the field. It's a fantastic investment. --s

I imagine this book working well as a text for an introductory course on typography. Part of that impression comes from the clear need for an instructor to tie the material together and bring it to life with practical exercises. The format addresses an audience that reasons in visual terms. Each two page spread, sometimes each page presents a complete thought. Illustration demonstrates each of the points made. The first section presents a history in sound-bites, highlighting the history of print and placing it in historical context. Next, about fifteen pages establish the anatomy of a character and typeface, and the words that describe it. Successive chapters describe basic visual hierarchy and composition, page formatting and legibility, technology as of 1993, and samples from typographic curricula at colleges around the US. The last and larger half of the book presents case studies in a few pages each, then nearly 100 pages of type specimens. Each specimen appears in enlarged form, making important details easily visible. Next, the specimen appears in several examples of body text, giving the font's real reading experience at several point sizes and spacings. This book does a fair job with the basics, and educators may find ideas that will help their own classrooms. Experienced typographers, even students taking their second course, will bottom out quickly. Your experience of this book will depend on how you use it. A good instructor could find it a helpful adjunct, but self-taught students won't get the direction they look for. -- wiredweird

Among the things that Gutenberg invented was the whole idea of type. Since then however, there have been literally thousands of type designs developed. Some have been developed for greater readability, some came about so that a greater density of words could be put on a page, some were designed for a logo that would be unique and recognizable around the world. Today the typography world in in a state of flux greater than ever before as new digital fonts are being designed. This book is the bestselling book in the field and discusses virtually everything there is to know about type, its uses, the effect that different styles have on the mind, the characteristic of new electronic fonts, screen fonts, laser printer fonts and much more. It is a highly graphic book using pictures to clearly illustrate what creative use of fonts can do to a book, an ad, or a web site.

Definitely a must have. If you are going to own only 3 books on design this should be one of them. Covers the basics of typography in great detail and then goes on to discuss how it has been implemented through history. Great solid content and great examples, like most of Meggs work.