Type design
Designs the characters of a typeface family (letters, figures and signs, with their weights and styles) so they read well together. Typography then uses those letters to set texts.
What problem it addresses
A letter isn't read alone but in words and lines. Each shape has to fit the others in rhythm, weight and spacing, and work at many sizes and on many screens.
Principles
From stroke to shape
Many printing types come from writing with a pen, and contrast and rhythm come from its stroke.
In service of reading
Readers recognize familiar shapes, so a new letter has to stay legible.
A coherent family
Weights, styles and signs share the same drawing rules.
Applications in design
Use it like this
Test the letters in real words and texts, at several sizes, not just in the alphabet.
Avoid
Drawing each letter on its own without comparing it with the others.
Don’t fall for it
Check accents and the signs of every language you need from the start.
Connections
Authors and works
- 1985
Gerrit Noordzij
Explained letterforms from the stroke of the pen and defined typography as writing with prefabricated letters.
- 2018
Gerard Unger
Proposed a comprehensive theory of type design, from the influence of each language to how the eye and brain process letters.
Sources
Original sources
- Noordzij, G. (2005). The stroke: Theory of writing (P. Enneson, Trans.). Hyphen Press. (Obra original publicada en 1985). View source: Noordzij, G. (2005)
- Unger, G. (2018). Theory of type design. nai010 publishers.
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