Customer Reviews

Typography Essentials: 100 Design Principles for Working with Type

5 star:		(7)
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3 star:		(1)
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You can never learn too much about typography. When designers ask me what I recommend for them to improve their craft, I always tell them to study type, take a type class, or buy a type book. Now thanks to Ina Saltz, all I have to do is tell them to buy a copy of Typography Essentials. So many books deal with either the form or function of typography; this one fuses both perfectly. With its elegant system of presentation and organization, strong visual examples, and a sense of both art and science, Typography Essentials is the one book that no graphic designer should be without. It's just that good. Most importantly, it's typography for the working designer, type meant to work, to inform, to engage, to function. Get a copy of this book for yourself immediately, and give one as a holiday present to your favorite art director.

About me: I've been a publication art director for 30 years, have art directed Entertainment Weekly, Fortune, Real Simple, Vibe, New York, Details, and many more.

If essential means containing the essence, then the title of this book captures its content. Typography Essentials does more than communicate the principles that are absolutely necessary to the creation of attractive and readable text. It illustrates them with exceptional contemporary examples. From stalwarts like The New York Times to supermarket check-out magazines, and from wine bottle labels to a book on tantric sex, the author presents effective and eye-catching uses of type.

Not just for beginners, this manual informs anyone who uses type for any purpose. I have been working with type for fifty years, and was riveted by some of the notions that are presented. More exciting for me than the examples that follow the rules are the successful ones that break them. It has already changed the way I look at a page. This book has 100 clearly defined subject headings like "Properly Weighted Small caps and Fractions" and suggestive ones like "Chaos Versus Order." Each delivers a concise, easy to understand conceptual message, and the superb specimens make it impossible to miss the point.

Typography Essentials should sit on your shelf next to Robert Bringhurst's classic, The Elements of Typographic Style.

Typography Essentials is a must-have companion for anyone who cares about type--from the experienced pro to the beginning student. The book is cleverly organized by the myriad of ways one can think about letterforms accompanied by eye-stopping current examples to prove it. The text is smooth and clear with insightful thoughts on how to use type to solve graphic problems.

Typographic Principles is a contemporary, well-organized and approachable overview of the art and craft of typography. It covers not only the fundamentals, but also the rule-breaking paradoxes that show how designing with type can be exciting, innovative and current. Ina Saltz' book is a survey of the best in modern typography. The colorful and diverse examples are organized not just by designer or typeface, but, more importantly, by how the designers approach typography and use the principles of type design to illuminate their ideas. This book not just "tells" but "shows"--something often missing from other typography volumes. Typography Essentials is a highly recommended edition to your type library for either the novice or the professional looking for inspiration.

I'm incredibly happy with the book - I recommend it to anyone interested in type or graphic design.
I'm just disappointed because the book I ordered looks as though it was stepped on at some point..
Some of the later pages have crumpled-up marks in the corners. Mostly happy, just a little disappointed
as far as that goes.

is perfect for both budding designers and skilled professionals who want to explore and be inspired by the intricacies of great type design. Each one of the 100 principles is very specifically illustrated with inspiring, modern type samples. Overall, the format makes learning about typographic design very digestible while hitting the key points.

This is a great book if you want to know most of the tricks Graphic Designers use to make a type statement.
Great for beginning Graphic Artists.

Typography Essentials has strong and fresh examples of typographic treatments. I think designers and instructors of all ages will benefit from how well this book assists in creative education.

This is a fantastic book that teaches advanced typographic technique and refinement. There are plenty of excellent introductory typography books, and several great expert type references, but Typography Essentials is great for those who already know the basics and want to learn more. Advanced students or professional designers who want to expand and refine their typographic sensibilities would benefit greatly from this text. Ina Saltz teaches this sensibility via lots of contemporary design examples; clearly organized and beautifully presented. The book could function as a linear text, but it is organized by design concept and can be accessed more randomly as needed. In other words, it would be a great inspiration book around the design studio.

Ina Saltz has created one the best graphic design books to appear in many years. As the former Creative Director of Sports Illustrated magazine, I know first hand the challenges of using typography to express ideas with beauty and clarity. Typography Essentials breaks down the process of working with type into unique categories that elucidate the process for the designer. I will continue to look at, and to read, this book for inspiration. Any student or professional would do well to keep this book nearby.