Type Rules!: The Designer's Guide to Professional Typography (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"…is a quality addition to the typography student's bookshelf." (Designorati.com, 6/18/06)

Product Description

"I've purchased and read just about every book on typography written over the last twenty-five years. Ilene Strizver's Type Rules! is one of the best. It's a book that will prove its value time and again."
—Allan Haley, Director of Words and Letters, International Typeface Corporation

"Type Rules! is a 'must-have' book for students and professionals alike. I highly recommend it."
—Prof. Ed Benguiat, World-renowned type designer and educator, School of Visual Arts, NYC

Type Rules!, Second Edition is an up-to-date, thorough introduction to the principles and practices of typography. From the fundamentals to cutting-edge applications, this Second Edition has everything today's serious designer needs. Dozens of exercises reinforce authoritative coverage on such topics as how to select the appropriate type for the job, how to set type like a pro, how to avoid common mistakes, and how to design a typeface, as well as how to fully harness the power of major design packages like Adobe InDesign and QuarkXPress.

This new Second Edition also includes three new features:

• Tech Tips—Instructional sidebars that succinctly explain how to achieve the covered typographic principles and techniques
• Type Tips—Expert tips and helpful hints that offer insightful details on covered topics
• Educational Supplements—Exercises and assignments that reinforce material and show how to apply techniques in the real world

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 2 edition (March 10, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 047172114X
• ISBN-13: 978-0471721147
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #520,681 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Contemporary Type Teaching Tool, March 30, 2001

By	Dina K. Wasmer (Baltimore, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Type Rules! (Hardcover)

I've been searching high and low for an up-to-date book to teach a graduate Typography course. Phil Meggs, Typographic Form and Function ©1985, is a wonderful tool, but recent students were critical of the "dated" nature of some of the material. "Type Rules!" is a great alternative and/or supplement.

Strizver makes her point clear from the get go - setting type is a craft, not something the computer does for us. Also, type communicates a message all by itself, and many of us are ignorantly communicating the wrong message.

However, the author never gets pompous or overly theoretical. The points she makes are accurate; clearly articulated; ground not only in research, but in a true understanding of type; and are communicated in a contemporary manner.

The "rules" are real-world tools and are applicable for novices as well as professionals. Please note: this book was not created to be a bullet point check off list for administrators and anyone who owns a computer with some fonts to pick from. This is a book for people who work to communicate a message with type, beyond the content of the written word. It's a well written, easy to read book with lots of fabulous examples from many of the men and women who got typography and typographic design where it is today; all very useful examples for teaching.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars concise content coverage, love the binding, June 20, 2001

By	Carolyn Hendricks "chendricks" (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Type Rules! (Hardcover)

I am currently employed as a typesetter and ordered this wondering if I needed another type book. But I was pleased with my purchase because while it has only 160 pages, it covers type from the origins of writing to customizing and designing your own fonts.

It has well chosen illustrations and covers some of the intricacies of setting type on the computer. I think it would make a good textbook for a college course in typesetting. I plan to use some of the illustrations to clarify things for people I work with who don't know what typesetting is all about.

And something I really appreciate about it is the binding. I have the 2001 hardcover edition (only one available, I think), and when I open the book and set it on a table, it stays open and it lies flat. It has stitched signatures without an excess of glue. (Unfortunately, stitched signatures are not a guarantee a book will stay open. Sometimes the binders glob on the glue after the signatures are stitched.)

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars thorough, thoughtful, June 29, 2006

By	Cheryl Towler Weese (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Type Rules! - geared specifically for teaching at the college level - is one of the best basic typography books I've seen. Ilene Strizver has done a terrific job of breaking down the components of typography into digestable chapters, each complemented by clear, intelligent exercises. The book is replete with illustrations that serve as solid examples of each concept she articulates; and includes guidance for utilizing current design software. I'd recommend this book hands down to any teacher or student of design - as well as to any practicing typographer seeking to hone their skills.