Book 9 - Simon Garfield "Just My Type"
Feb. 1st, 2015 10:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jazzy_daveSimon Garfield "Just My Type" (Profile Books)
I feel like a huge nerd for liking this book as much as I did, but hey, I probably wouldn't be doing this blog if I wasn't one already. Basically, this book breaks down rather nicely the history of some of our most popular fonts and where they come from. Garfield does a great job of making this really interesting, even for those who aren't exactly typeface nerds, which are admittedly a very small group of people. This book was required reading for my Book Design class, and while I am interesting in typefaces and fonts, I wasn't particularly excited about reading a whole book about them. However, this changed when I actually caught myself laughing in the first chapter.
It was fascinating the learn about the history of these fonts that we use in everyday life but never really think about. Who actually wonders about the history of Times New Roman before they start using it for their term paper? Not very many. Now that I know some of these histories and the work and creativity that goes into making these typefaces, I have a much higher appreciation for them.
I also enjoyed the layout of the book itself. He has chapters on a certain subject in typefaces and then at the end of the chapter, gives us a brief history of a more famous typeface that most everyone has heard of in their lifetime, such as Futura and Helvetica. There is also an entire chapter on Comic sans that makes me giggle.
Before this book, I never really thought that typefaces alone could send a message to their readers, and how some typefaces have become so prominent with businesses that it makes people in the know roll their eyes when they see it. How unoriginal to use Helvetica, but damn is it pretty! After reading this book, I now look at type on signs and brochures and wonder which typeface they used and why. What does this typeface say about this company? It's astounding how much time, effort, and money goes into finding just the right typeface, and how important that is for branding since picking the wrong typeface can actually turn people away from a business. No joke! He also makes fun of the 2012 London Olympics font which I found horrendous even before I read this book. That font and logo was just a mess.
In the end, if you want to read a book that gives you a highly informative but also engaging look into the world of type, this is the book for you. It is easy to understand, and while he sometimes uses typeface jargon, he makes sure to explain these phrases which was extremely helpful when he would talk about kerning, ascenders, descenders. A great read that has the changed the way I view type and fonts.
I feel like a huge nerd for liking this book as much as I did, but hey, I probably wouldn't be doing this blog if I wasn't one already. Basically, this book breaks down rather nicely the history of some of our most popular fonts and where they come from. Garfield does a great job of making this really interesting, even for those who aren't exactly typeface nerds, which are admittedly a very small group of people. This book was required reading for my Book Design class, and while I am interesting in typefaces and fonts, I wasn't particularly excited about reading a whole book about them. However, this changed when I actually caught myself laughing in the first chapter.
It was fascinating the learn about the history of these fonts that we use in everyday life but never really think about. Who actually wonders about the history of Times New Roman before they start using it for their term paper? Not very many. Now that I know some of these histories and the work and creativity that goes into making these typefaces, I have a much higher appreciation for them.
I also enjoyed the layout of the book itself. He has chapters on a certain subject in typefaces and then at the end of the chapter, gives us a brief history of a more famous typeface that most everyone has heard of in their lifetime, such as Futura and Helvetica. There is also an entire chapter on Comic sans that makes me giggle.
Before this book, I never really thought that typefaces alone could send a message to their readers, and how some typefaces have become so prominent with businesses that it makes people in the know roll their eyes when they see it. How unoriginal to use Helvetica, but damn is it pretty! After reading this book, I now look at type on signs and brochures and wonder which typeface they used and why. What does this typeface say about this company? It's astounding how much time, effort, and money goes into finding just the right typeface, and how important that is for branding since picking the wrong typeface can actually turn people away from a business. No joke! He also makes fun of the 2012 London Olympics font which I found horrendous even before I read this book. That font and logo was just a mess.
In the end, if you want to read a book that gives you a highly informative but also engaging look into the world of type, this is the book for you. It is easy to understand, and while he sometimes uses typeface jargon, he makes sure to explain these phrases which was extremely helpful when he would talk about kerning, ascenders, descenders. A great read that has the changed the way I view type and fonts.
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Date: 2015-02-01 11:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-02-02 12:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-02-02 02:04 am (UTC)So is it the font that was used for the 2012 Olympics or is it actually called the 2012 London Olympics font? :o
Hugs, Jon
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Date: 2015-02-02 05:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-02-02 10:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-02-02 02:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-02-07 01:27 pm (UTC)