The Fundamentals of Creative Design [e-Book]

Ambrose, G. and Harris, P., 2011. Typography. The Fundamentals of Creative Design, pp.54-91.

Symbol Zapf Dingbats 1978 Hermann Zapf 
Designed to complement contemporary typefaces, several traditional symbols are given a modern interpretation, including the dagger and the pilcrow.
Experimental Flixel Just van Rossum 
A font questioning the link between legibility and communication. 
Decorative Rosewood 1994 Kim Buker Chansler, Carl Crossgrove and Carol Twombly
An ornate circus-inspired in-line decorative typeface.
Graphic American Typewriter 1974 Joel Kaden and Tony Stan 
Font designed to replicate the appearance of hand-typed text.
Optical character recognition OCR–A 1968 ATF
Designed to meet the requirements of the European Computer Manufacturers Association (ECMA).
PG 65


*Extended Type Family - An extended type family is all the variations of a particular typeface or font. It includes all the different weights, widths and italics. Examples of family names are Univers, Times Roman, Arial and Garamond. Many type families are named after their creator or the publication in which they were first used. Type families are a useful design tool because they offer a designer a range of variations that work together in a clean and consistent way. To achieve clarity and a uniform feel to a piece of work, many designers restrict themselves to using only two type families for a project, meeting their requirements from the type variations these contain to establish the typographic hierarchy. For example, from the six variations of the Officina family on the opposite page, you can pick out typefaces for use as titles, body text and captions.
PG 66

Modernism (1890–1940) through the cubist, surrealist and Dadaist movements was shaped by the industrialization and urbanization of Western society. Modernists, including the De Stijl, constructivism and Bauhaus movements, departed from the rural and provincial zeitgist prevalent in the Victorian era, rejecting its values and styles in favour of cosmopolitanism. Functionality and progress, expressedthrough the maxim of ‘form follows function’ became key concerns in the attempt to move beyond the external physical representation of reality through experimentation in a struggle to define what should be considered ‘modern’. In graphic design, modernism embraced an asymmetrical approach to layout with strict adherence to the grid, an emphasis on white space and sans-serif typography, and the absence of decoration and embellishment.

- Idea that choosing standardised type reflects more focus on the idea of the overall product rather than focusing on the communication through type.

P88

An elaborate letterform taken from the Diesel book produced by Spanish design studio Vasava Artworks. The book features typography of a highly graphic nature. These elaborate upper-case letters appropriate a fantasy novel, blurring the boundariesof text and image. The base typeface, a slab serif, is fused with illustrative elements and designs. 

Graphic typefaces do not easily fit into any categoryGraphic typefaces are those that are constructed rather than drawn to make a strong visual impact in shortbursts of text. Shown is American Typewriter, Joel Kaden, 1974.