Journey from Concept to Creation

   It all started with the Egyptian alphabet (actually part alphabet and part picture writing), then the Phoenicians (based on trade rather than literary purposes) borrowed from the Egyptians and created an alphabet consisting solely of what we call consonants. Then the literary-minded Greeks came into the fray, adding vowels and giving it the name "alphabet" that we all know and love today. Then the Romans modified that. While there are some 200 alphabets, with over 50 in use today, the English alphabet, consisting of 26 letters (derived from the Romans) is the world's most widely used. Whew, breaking down all those centuries into one short paragraph was really hard to do. But, there is much more to the story.
   From Johannes Gutenberg's time (c.1400-1468) -- basically credited with the invention of moveable type printing -- to the eighteenth century, type designs were calligraphic (based on handwriting). The character and flow of handwriting was the result of the shape of writing instruments (reeds, brushes, wax tablet styluses). When letters were first cut and punched in metal, they were inspired by the broad-nibbed pen that was used at the time for writing. The pen would be turned at a slight angle resulting in thick and thin markings on the writing surface. These markings were the inspiration for Roman typefaces which are based on ancient stone carvings.
   Fortunately, the gazillions of typestyles are classified. They fall into four main categories of Roman, Gothic, script and ornamental (decorative). Typestyles can be further classied into broad groups sometimes called "races," as follows:
   Old-Style Romans (15^th-17^th century) -- thick and thin strokes with serifs. The difference between the thick and thin strokes is small and the serifs appear to merge into the main strokes. The axis of the strokes is "tipped" to the left. The serifs may be at slightly different angles and they are almost always bracketed. They can have slight imperfections, adding to their unique charm. Based on early Roman letters carved into majestic columns, they are both beautiful and most legible -- "warm and friendly." Common examples would include Bembo, Caslon, Garamond and Souvenir.
   Modern Romans (late 18^th century) --  thick and thin strokes with serifs, but the difference between them is more pronounced. Serifs are stiff, straight and unbracketed. They have a more precise geometric design. Legibility is not quite as good as old-styles, although they are preferred by some typographers. Bodoni is a classic example.
   Transitional Romans (mid 18 century) -- Some of the old style characteristics, some of the modern. Baskerville is a beautiful typeface that is lighter than the usual old-style, yet less mechanical than the moderns. Other examples include Fournier and Times Roman.
 Sans Serifs (19^th-20^th century) -- Originally considered unappealling by purists, hence the name Grotesque or Gothic, there are three distinct types:
1) Bauhaus inspired with formal proportions such as Futura and Spartan, 2) the Swiss-inspired gothics and grotesques which are less geometric and more sophisticated such as Helvetica (Latin for Swiss -- the names often reflect Swiss origin) and Univers, and 3) Humanist typefaces which look more like they were created by human hands, including types with thick and thin strokes but no serifs like Optima (Zapf Humanist), Radiant and Broadway. Other examples are News Gothic, Frutiger, and Gill Sans.
   Slab Serifs (19^th century) -- The serifs and strokes are the same thickness. They have been known as "antiques" and "Egyptians" and some of the family names reflect Egyptian influences: Cairo, Karnak, Stymie, Memphis,etc. Slab serifs can make good headlines but lack legibility when used as body copy. When they have bracketed serifs and some difference in stroke thickness such as Clarendon, they tend to have more grace and beauty.
   Decorative--Ornamental (19^th-20^th century) -- While these typefaces can be given separate headings such as Old English, Latins, etc., I prefer to lump them into this group. These are fonts that do not fit into other groups. They are useful for advertising headlines if and when they convey the mood of the message..seldom if ever useful for body copy. Examples are P.T. Barnum, Cooper Black, Goudy Handtooled, Griffon Shadow, etc. They often have names that are descriptive of their tone and mood.
   Script-Cursive (19^th-20^th century) -- Script fonts are meant to mimic cursive handwriting. The problem is that they simply cannot do so convincingly. So,  here is a tip -- it is, IMHO, best to avoid using them. They lack the irregularity of true handwriting, hence they tend to look phony. If you want a true script, turn to a professional calligrapher. Btw, when the letters do not join, technically they are called "cursive." Examples of scripts include Commercial Script, Brush and Kaufman.
   Grunge (1995) -- Designed more for image than legibility, Grunge has become a big enough movement to warrant its own category. It represents a large collection of "dirty" typefaces -- an outgrowth of postmodernism and deconstructionism.
   Inside these categories are the many "families" of type. Families are divided into series and the series are divided into fonts. Bodoni, for example is a "family" in the category of Modern Roman. Ultra Bodoni is a series and 24 point Bodoni is a font within the series. Within a particular font, there can be a variety of faces, i.e. all caps, small caps, caps small caps, caps and lower case (upper case and lower case terminology comes from early handset type cabinets where capital letters were in the upper section and small letters were kept in the lower part of the "type case"), all lowercase, all caps italic, caps and lowercase italic and all lowercase italics...adding boldface, expanded, condensed and letterspaced versions results in hundreds of faces -- all of which can be used in different sizes. The result? Gazillions of typestyles from which to choose.
   I should point out that I have really only scratched the surface here...attempting to offer a concise overview and a useful reference. In my next blog, Typography (Part Three), I will try to offer some additional resources and tips for choosing appropriate fonts. Oh... didn't I promise that in my last blog? I guess I lied -- or just ran out of room. Is patience not a virtue?

[Edit]

I can't stand the guilt, so here is your first tip:
· In the early stages of type specication, think in terms of classications or categories of type (sans serifs (Bauhaus vs. Swiss vs. Humanist) vs slab serifs vs. Roman (Old-style vs. Modern vs. Transitional). Decorative, Grunge, etc.), -- pick one of the more commonly used fonts in your chosen category and "rough" it in -- your potential choices are now far fewer -- then narrow it to a specic typestyle(s).