A Typographic Workbook: A Primer to History, Techniques, and Artistry [Paperback]

Kate Clair (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471292370 | ISBN-13: 978-0471292371 | Publication Date: January 4, 1999

Quickly master the concepts and skills you need to successfully design with type

a typographic WORKBOOK

To help you gain a deeper understanding of the effects produced by various fonts and typographic techniques, designer Kate Clair takes you on a fascinating tour of the innovative potential of type. Extensive visual examples illustrate the use of type as an expressive communication tool. From selecting the right font, to spacing it, to the creative integration of fonts, she explains the decisions made by successful designers. At the same time, she provides step-by-step guidance and numerous practice exercises that help you develop the confidence and skills needed to put that knowledge to work in your own designs. In addition, a detailed history of type is included.

A valuable professional resource for working designers and an indispensable training tool for graphic design students, A Typographic Workbook features:
* A historical overview of type and typographic technologies
* In-depth explanations of the formal qualities of different typefaces
* Skill-building exercises and projects to sharpen your skills
* Quizzes and review questions that help you gauge your progress
* An overview of computer terms and principles

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Quickly master the concepts and skills you need to successfully design with type

a typographic WORKBOOK

To help you gain a deeper understanding of the effects produced by various fonts and typographic techniques, designer Kate Clair takes you on a fascinating tour of the innovative potential of type. Extensive visual examples illustrate the use of type as an expressive communication tool. From selecting the right font, to spacing it, to the creative integration of fonts, she explains the decisions made by successful designers. At the same time, she provides step-by-step guidance and numerous practice exercises that help you develop the confidence and skills needed to put that knowledge to work in your own designs. In addition, a detailed history of type is included.

A valuable professional resource for working designers and an indispensable training tool for graphic design students, A Typographic Workbook features:
* A historical overview of type and typographic technologies
* In-depth explanations of the formal qualities of different typefaces
* Skill-building exercises and projects to sharpen your skills
* Quizzes and review questions that help you gauge your progress
* An overview of computer terms and principles

About the Author

KATE CLAIR is a general partner in Hats-Off Impressions, a design firm based in Binghamton, New York, and a faculty member in the Communication Design Department at Kutztown University in Kutztown, Pennsylvania.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (January 4, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471292370
• ISBN-13: 978-0471292371
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,047,383 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars typography 1.01, November 12, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: A Typographic Workbook: A Primer to History, Techniques, and Artistry (Paperback)

This book is an excellent starting place for any newbie designer/typographer (despite the shortcomings of occasional poor typography as mentioned in other reviews). It's very difficult to find a book that covers the breadth and depth of this one, yet still manages to deal with fundamental issues in a very readable and accessible way. You won't find another book as comprehensive and practical as this one!

The beauty of the book lies in its ability to reveal ALL the tools and skills you require, in a no-nonsense style, to create legible and artistic type. Your work won't win awards after reading it, but you will be armed with all the practical concepts you need to work with type in a competent and creative manner. I get the impression from the tone of the text that it's written for a young audience, maybe first-year college students, so the writing can sometimes belabor seemingly straight-forward concepts.

The numerous exercises are designed to impart the nuts-and-bolts techniques of how to use type in a practical yet expressive way. Most of the projects are concerned with the mechanics of legibility and information hierarchy, as well as kerning, tracking, leading and ligatures etc. The history sections are also very informative and outline the expansion of writing systems and technologies throughout human social development.

After reading this and completing the exercises, the reader could comfortably move onto a more advanced treatises on type like "The Elements of Typographic Style" by Bringhurst or "Type in Use" by White, equipped with a well-grounded foundation to absorb more technical/conceptual information.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly Ambitious, March 28, 1999

By 

Simulacrum - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Typographic Workbook: A Primer to History, Techniques, and Artistry (Paperback)

This is a 370-page college-level textbook about the use of printed letterforms, or what is more widely and commonly known as Òtypography.Ó It is surprisingly ambitious, in the sense that it makes an attempt to discuss an enormous range of issues, large and small, related to the history, theory, and practice of typographic design. The result, which interweaves an astonishing amount of text with hundreds (maybe thousands) of black-and-white illustrations (of mixed quality), is easily enough to fill two or three volumes. The first 270 pages consist of 20 chapters with such general headings as ÒReadability and Legibility,Ó ÒTypographic Hierarchy,Ó and ÒThe Grid Structure.Ó Within each chapter, there are a dozen or more subsections on such topics as ÒDesigning with Two Families of Type,Ó ÒLetterspacing and Its Effect on Readability,Ó and ÒColor Symbolism Through Time.Ó Intended to function also as a type specimen book, it ends with 75 pages of type samples, while, throughout the volume, the texts on the pages are purposely set in varying type styles, with annotations about typeface, size, and leading. How admirable to have put all this information under one cover. Yet, sadly, it suffers the critical flaw that, too often, the typography and layout of the book contradict its own principles. For example, nearly all the text is set in 8.5 point type with 12 point leading, regardless of typeface. While convenient for type comparisons, the effect of this is devastating for the reader, since some type styles can survive dense paragraphs at that setting, while others cannot. In the bookÕs opening pages, the boldface, small cap headings for ÒdedicationÓ and ÒacknowledgementsÓ are so small and tightly letterspaced that they are all but unreadable. These strange errors, of which there are many throughout the book, are not quibbles. The relationship between what one says (content) and how one speaks (form) is essential in design, which is largely about form and function, and, in the end, the book undermines its own credibility. It is, after all, an arrangement of type about type, a book about book design. (Review from Ballast Quarterly Review, Vol 14 No 2, Winter 1998-99)

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Wrong Edition is Reviewed Here!, November 3, 2005

By 

Cynthia D. Busic-Snyder (Morrisville, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Typographic Workbook: A Primer to History, Techniques, and Artistry (Paperback)

The reviews posted here reflect comments made regarding the 1st edition of this book. The second edition takes into account the many concerns indicated here as well as by other professionals, and provides a more streamlined approach in language that is easier to read.

Please take a look at this verion of "A Typographic Workbook" 2ed to reflect on the changes. Post a new review if you have had a chance to look at it as well!