history of typography: the industrial revolution

The Industrial Revolution affected typography and its advancement in many different ways. It had two major effects on print communication including the introduction of more functional type designs for commercial business and new kinds of print. Print media emerged from this era and allowed advertising to be done in a new, effective, mass-producing way.

The ability to design new typefaces was easier as well. The Linotype Machine (right), or Line-Casting Machine, was invented during this time and improved the rate at which type can be set. Its input was much like that of a typewriter. Thomas Edison considered this to be "the eighth wonder of the world". A few other of inventions during this time were the Pantographic Punchcutter in 1885, and the Monotype Character Caster in 1893. The Punchcutter worked by having an operator trace a brass pattern of a letter with one part of the device, and its cutting tool engraved the letter onto the punch. The Character Caster cast single letters in lead and composed them into a page.

Something else introduced during this time was the style of bold face. Serifs were experimented with as well, and eventually disappeared altogether into a style known as grotesque.

American Typefoundry (ATF) was also founded during this time. It was largely directed and created by Morris Fuller Benton (right). 23 type foundries merged together to create this company that is a monopoly in the type industry, and the largest in the world.

In 1796 Commercial Art was founded by Alois Senefelder. By the year 1848 the process was refined to print speeds of 10,000 sheets per hour allowing for mass production at a fast rate. Lithography merged art with industry to produce posters and plates for books. This is now known as Graphic Design, although the term did not come about until the 1950s.

Quiz Question: Name one invention from the Industrial Revolution.

Sources:

http://graphicdesign.spokanefalls.edu/tutorials/process/type_basics/slab_serif.htm

http://www.typophile.com

http://www.myfonts.com/foundry/atf

Ambrose, Gavin and Paul Harris. The Fundamentals of Typography. Switzerland: AVA Publishing, 2006.

definitions.

absolute measurement-measurements of fixed values; all absolute measurements are expressed in finite terms that cannot be altered

relative measurement-many measurements, such as character spacing, are linked to type size, which means the relationships are defined by a series of relative measurements; ems and ens are examples of relative measurements that have no prescribed, absolute size; their size is relative to the size of the type being set

points-the point is the unit of measurement used to measure the type size of a font (ex: 7pt Times New Roman); this measurement refers to the height of the typed block, not the letter itself; also 1/72nd of an inch

picas-unit of measurement equal to 12 points that is commonly used for lines of type

x-height-the height of the lowercase 'x'; as such is a relative measurement that varies from typeface to typeface

the em-a relative unit of measurement used in typesetting to define basic spacing functions, and therefore it is linked to the size of the type; equals the size of the given type

the en-a unit of relative measurement equal to half of one em

en dash- 1/2 of an em rule and is used to separate page numbers, dates, and to replace the word 'to' in construction implying movement

em dash- used to form lines and house nested clauses

hyphen-1/3 of an em rule and is used to link words

alignment-refers to the position of type within a text block, in both the vertical and horizontal planes

justification-this alignment allows the appearance of rivers of white space to appear;  word spacing on separate lines is irregular, unlike range left type where all lines have the same spacing

flush left-this alignment follows the principle of handwriting, with text tight and aligned to the left margin and ending ragged on the right

flush right-right aligning text is less common as it is more difficult to read;  it is sometimes used for picture captions and other accompanying texts as it is clearly distinct from body copy

letterspacing-adds space between letterforms to open up text;  the addition of too much space can make text look disjointed as words start to dissemble

kerning-the removal of space between characters;  kern originally referred to part of a character that extended outside its bounding block or printing block

tracking-adjusting this affects the amount of spacing between characters

word spacing-adjusts the amount of space between words

widow-lone word at the end of a paragraph

orphan-the final one or two lines of a paragraph separated from the main paragraph to form a new column, and should be avoided at all costs

leading-a hot-metal printing term that refers to the strips of lead that were inserted between text measures in order to space them accurately; leading is specified in points and refers nowadays to the space between lines of text in a text block

indent-text blocks can be indented so that some or all of the text lines are moved in from the margin by a specified amount; traditionally the first paragraph is not indented, with indentation commencing with the second paragraph

first line indent-the text is indented from the left margin in the first line of the second and subsequent paragraphs;  the first paragraph in a document following a heading, subhead, or crosshead is not normally indented as this introduces an awkward space, although this can be done

hanging indent-similar to a running indent except the first line of the text is not indented

adrian frutiger.

Adrian Frutiger was born in Switzerland, and grew up with a passion for the arts.  His interest was mostly in sculpture, but that was discouraged by both his father and school teachers.  They realized he had a real talent in printing, but

 he continued to do both.  It is noticeable in his work that his work as a sculptor has influenced his typographical design skills.  

Adrian is mostly known for his creation of the font "univers", which is often confused with other fonts, "helvetica" and "folio" (all being based on the 1896 font "Akzidenz-Grotesk".  

Adrian designed this to eliminate confusion.  The number used in a font is a combination of 2 numbers.  The first set describes the weight and the second width and position.  They describe styles anywhere from ultra light, normal, and heavy, to extended, oblique, and ultra condensed.  The way he designed this numbering system is very unique and creative, and much less confusing that word description.

The univers grid is also something that almost all designers are familiar with.  Different variations of the fonts are labeled by numbers as opposed to names.  It is said that "Frutiger envisioned a large family with multiple widths and weights that maintained a unified design idiom."  

Source:

http://jonmoserdesign.com/images/frutigerposter.gif

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Frutiger

john baskerville.

John Baskerville is best remembered as a typographer and printer.  Born in England, John later in his life became a member of the Royal Society of Arts.  His works became well-known and well-used by the Royal Society of Arts and Benjamin Franklin, who later brought his work to the United States, which were adopted for government publishing.

Early in his life, John was a master writer and headstone engraver.  Over the course of the years, this turned into him setting up a printing business, and doing very well at that.  He managed to print a series of books but lost money doing so, so ended up asking the government for a subsidy to produce a bible for a university. 

Baskerville is still used quite often today, thanks to George Jones' revision and accurate recutting of the metal of Baskerville's English 14pt. Roman and Italic and 1929 done for Linotype & Machinery Ltd.  

The font is very unique in a sense that there is a greater contrast between the thick and thin strokes, the curved strokes being very circular in shape, and the serifs being sharper than usual.  It is said, and obvious to look at, that his background as a writing master can be seen in his work and design of fonts.  

Sources: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Baskerville

http://www.myfonts.com/person/baskerville/john

http://www.virtualbrum.co.uk/history/images/brum7.1.gif