A long time ago (i.e. before desktop publishing), most people probably didn’t know that much about fonts. And there were many of them, but they took forever to take–there were at least two things that had to be made before you could even make the little metal bit that goes into a press. (Clearly, I’ve not absorbed any of the technical info I read in this book.) Now, most people know at least about Palatino, Times New Roman and a few more, including the much-reviled Comic Sans. In these digital days, we get to pick our fonts, often from a list numbering at least 3 digits. In Just My Type, Simon Garfield explores the history of typefaces from Gutenberg to today. He talks about their designers, their uses and their controversies. He even profiles some fonts, as interstices between chapters.
I’d categorize myself as medium nerdy about graphic design–it’s not really something I do, but as a person who makes other aesthetic choices for money, it’s something I think about more than many people. As such, I really enjoyed Garfield’s examination of type and how it can make or break a sign, book or whatever. He talks about how the Nazis felt about fonts, and the recent controversy when IKEA changed their catalog typeface. The only thing I wished for was more examples. He lists at the end of the book all the fonts referenced in the book, but I’d like to see more of what each of those look like. Oh well, can’t have everything.
(Library book)
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