Font. The SourceBook [Paperback]

Nadine Monem (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 12, 2008

From wood block to digital fonts, Font: The Sourcebook draws on the rich history of typefaces to produce a uniquely comprehensive survey of this fascinating field, beginning with its history in the foundry and carrying through to the most cutting edge and digital fonts being designed today.

With essays and interviews from esteemed typographers, graphic designers and artists, Font: The Sourcebook explores font as information, fine art, identity and historical marker, all the while charting the evolution of the typeface with pioneering fonts that have marked its history, such as Garamond, Gill Sans, Helvetica, Univers, Meta and Unit. Looking at both the iconic and the more arcane arenas where fonts come into play, the book goes on to profile some of the most innovative and important historical and contemporary typefaces currently in use, making Font: The Sourcebook a resource no designer, typographer, artist or aesthete will want to be without.

Font: The Sourcebook includes the work of John Baskerville, Herbert Bayer, Chris Brand, Neville Brody, Dave Farey, Adrian Frutiger, Claude Garamond, Johann Gutenberg, Gareth Hague, Heinrich Jost, Howard Ketter, Ross Mills, Albert-Jan Pool, David Quay, Erik Spiekermann, amongst others.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"For anyone with even a passing interest, Font is an essential and continually engaging survey." -- Dazed & Confused, August 2008

Product Details

• Paperback: 319 pages
• Publisher: Black Dog Publishing (August 12, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1906155410
• ISBN-13: 978-1906155414
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 6.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #641,111 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent content, but I wish the overall size was larger, September 27, 2010

By 

A. McCullough (Carnegie, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Font. The SourceBook (Paperback)

This is a niggle based on my own aging requirements; while the book's content is excellent and as a historical reference to the development and usage of type it's very, VERY good, the overall size of the book make the type size used difficult for me to read even with glasses. It's not a lay-flat binding, either, so the occasional two-page spread is all but destroyed. I'm glad I bought it but I would have wished for better binding and a larger size overall.

Beyond that, the content is well worth the purchase price if you are a graphic designer or just obsessed with typography (and I am both); from hieroglyphs to Illustrator, the theory and history of type design and those who design them is well represented. If you enjoy type, this will find its way onto your bookshelf. I just wish the publisher had taken some of the principles to heart and printed the book larger :-)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Book, January 17, 2010

By 

Fabricio Farias "Fabo" (Tally, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Font. The SourceBook (Paperback)

Honestly, I recommend this book to anyone who has a slight interest in Typography. Tells the whole history of typography and has great quality pictures, I loved the insights on different contemporary designers. Just stop wondering and buy it. This is one of my most treasured books in my library.

4.0 out of 5 stars Your guide to understanding typography, January 10, 2012

By 

ThisGuy - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Font. The SourceBook (Paperback)

This isn't too much different from other Typography history/informational books I've read, other than it has those added short stories. Also, not as much color/pictures for inspiration as I had hoped. Overall, I like collecting typography books, just if I were to have seen these in person, I would have probably stayed with The Complete Typographer.