What is typography, and why does it matter?

Our Graphic Designer, Eloise, is passionate about typography and lifts the lid on what it is and why it matters:

"Text is never simply text – typography is the art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible readable and appealing when displayed, and it has a huge influence over the visual impact of a message, setting the tone and mood for the reader. Type design has a long and fascinating history, and the digital fonts we use today often have incredible backstories.

"But I think a font or a typeface is something we take for granted. Let's face it, it's something we use every day, something we use to communicate, to inform ourselves, but also something which gives character and personality to a brand. Sometimes a typface will even be created specifically for a brand as part of their identity.

"The practice of imprinting symbols into soft or malleable surfaces has been around for thousands of years. We can find examples in ancient Mesopotamia. While we can call any letter or symbol written by human beings typography, we mostly associate the word with its contemporary definition, which traces its roots to 1450 and Johannes Gutenberg’s introduction of the metal moveable-type printing press. Before the arrival of heavy machinery, we dealt with many tasks by hand, and in Europe this lead to the development of the chiselled Roman square capitals known simply as Capitalis Monumentalis. Boosted by the immense power and geographic spread of the Roman Empire, they set the stage for the entire Western-type structure, later unfolding into writing styles of their own.

"After the fall of the Roman Empire, and the great dark period which followed, the Middle Ages, only a select few were literate. It’s during that period that a broad-nibbed pen style of writing was born – what we casually refer to as 'gothic letters', which are incidently far harder to read than Roman lettering. With the arrival of the moveable printing press, thanks to Gutenberg, printing became faster, and his design directly impacted the mass spread of books across Europe, causing an information revolution.

"By the time of the Industrial Revolution, typography was all about communicating with the masses. Through signs, posters, newspapers, periodicals and advertisements, typefaces became larger and catchier with a greater variety of styles. After all the clutter of the Industrial period and with the appearance of the modernist movements, serifs were dropped and some very familiar modern typefaces, such as Helvetica, were born. As computer technology evolved, the field of typography gradually opened up, making more sophisticated fonts available to all computer users, and for designers, more fonts were available everyday, including for digital use which is a welcome development. The downside of this availablity of typefaces is the overuse of ‘bad’ fonts (eg Comic Sans).

"As a Graphic Designer I believe that it's important to be well-versed in typographic styles, iconic typefaces from the past and the origins of common typefaces. It’s not just about theoretical knowledge, either; a strong foundational understanding of typographic history helps designers understand and meet the needs of their clients more effectively.

"Case study 1: The London Underground. We all know the London tube’s logo because it's iconic. And an integral part of it is the typeface it uses. But how did this happen? To unify all of London Underground’s lines, which at that point in 1912 were run by different companies with different branding, a global identity was needed. At the time, serif typefaces were still fashionable but it was acknowledged that it would be too hard for travellers to read on the go. That's how the Johnston Sans font that we all know was born: a sans serif typeface which is easy to read at speed. It might not seem all that revolutionary today, but in the early 1900s, the fashion was for more elaborate styles inspired by Victorian calligraphy. The diamond shaped tittles (dots above the 'i') which Johnston Sans is perhaps most easily identified by, were, in fact, a nod to the popular styles of the time, mimicking the angular mark made by a calligrapher’s pen. Johnston’s typeface has been updated and adapted to suit a changing rail network and more varied uses, but in essence it's the same in use today, still looking timeless more than 100 years later. So next time you log onto TFL’s website, pay attention to these distinctive tittles and think of the design genius behind them!

"Case study 2: Typographic decolonisation in the context of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The mere existance of a type designer is a strangeness to most people. The fonts in books, phones and even computers feel as though they've always been there. Everyone breathes it but no one sees it, yet the choice of font with which you read determines which rightholder gets paid. In the case of Ukraine, the rights to most Cyrillic fonts Ukrainians see daily belong to russians. The idea that all Cyrillic fonts are made in russia is an example of the soft power of an empire that always spreads its norms and habits, or for them to appropriate what is not theirs. For example there's a Google font made by a russian designer based on letters drawn by a Ukrainian artist for which he didn’t seek consent. The description of the font was recently corrected but it took a year of discussions with Google Fonts to sort it out. Such is the importance of something which might seem as insignificant as a font, but which is part of the identity of a nation, especially when it's under threat.

"So will you pay more attention to humble fonts next time you read?!"

Here at postscript we offer graphic design, marketing and web design & development in Cambridge. To request a no-obligation quotation, please call us on 01223 949443, send us an email or complete our enquiry form.