Exploring Typography (Design Exploration Series) [Paperback]

Tova Rabinowitz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 21, 2006 | ISBN-10: 1401815057 | ISBN-13: 978-1401815059 | Edition: 1

What do designers need to know about typography? The answer can be found in this richly illustrated book that examines the varied uses of type in contemporary visual communications. Exploring Typography takes a concise but thorough approach to introducing and examining the principles of typography. Coverage begins with a brief history of type and a survey of how type is classified. Readers then learn about the physical components of letters and the rules of legibility, readability, and style. Subsequent chapters survey the creative use of emphasis, designing effective layouts, using grids, and developing original type styles. Finally, the author examines contemporary challenges in type while introducing terminology and concepts relevant to designing with type in a digital environment.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Tova Rabinowitz received a Bachelors of Fine Arts from the University of Michigan and a Masters of Education from the University of Illinois.

Product Details

• Paperback: 414 pages
• Publisher: Thomson Delmar Learning; 1 edition (February 21, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401815057
• ISBN-13: 978-1401815059
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #356,757 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great job!, January 9, 2007

By 

Erich Shelton "Lord Fontleroy" (Evansville, IN United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Exploring Typography (Design Exploration Series) (Paperback)

I teach at a 4 year university and had been unhappy for a while at the textbook we were using; but like any big ship, it takes a while to steer in another direction. In the meantime, I had a lot of time given to checking out possible exchanges and I was so glad that I found this book. It is everything many of the others in its genre are not.

One issue from a previously used textbook was the layout and the amount of material being presented. It was not only clumsy for a book on typography, but tragically full of errors; in spelling, grammar and facts. This book, "Exploring Typography," covers all of the important information for a first introduction into the subject. It gives a nice overview of the history of written communication starting with pre-historic man, up to the present digital era we are in. It also challenges us to think outside of where we are now and to grasp typography's place in the future.

The thing I enjoy perhaps most about the book is its easy layout. Students often have so much to read in their studies, and sadly many only skim the surface for the relevent information to get by. The layout is broken into bite-sized paragraphs, lots of images and consequently keeps their interest longer. A number of chapters highlight a present-day typographer or designer, which gives students a look at their upcoming peers as they look toward graduation.

For those interested in using the book as a textbook, I would certainly recommend having a look at it. It is a very easy-to-follow book for any age level and is definitely worth exploring. Tova Rabinowitz has done a very nice job in supplying future and current designers with something they can tangibly use and apply into their design.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exploring Typography, May 25, 2006

By 

Ellen Levitt - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Exploring Typography (Design Exploration Series) (Paperback)

Thomson Delmar Learning just sent me the book Exploring Typography to review for use in my classroom. I think it is one of the best on the subject and know it will be adopted for use in my classes. I teach at an independent high school in Vermont and also at the state college near by. The book is well organized and the illustrations are great. It must have taken a lot of effort and time to write; I am always in awe of someone that can bring light to a difficult and confusing subject such as typography....great book!!!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review by Typography Researcher and Author, Colin Wheildon, June 15, 2009

By 

Type Afficionado - See all my reviews

This review is from: Exploring Typography (Design Exploration Series) (Paperback)

Tova Rabinowitz has excelled with her book Exploring Typography. It's a master piece. She covers, comprehensively and comprehensibly, all aspects of the craft - history and development, layout and design, legibility and readability, digital applications, creativity, and techniques - in a user-friendly presentation. For anyone whose livelihood or interest is in typography and its ramifications, it's an essential tool. But more than that: it's a very good and interesting read. I rate it as the best book on typography I have encountered in my more than 50 years experience.

SIgned: Colin Wheildon, typography researcher and author of Type and Layout (Strathmoor Press, Berkeley, California and Worsley Press, Hastings, Victoria, Australia).