Letterforms

Designer, author, educator Timothy Samara is a world authority on type and graphic design. His 2004 Rockport book, Typography Workbook has become an essential reference text for design classrooms and industry professionals. Now, in Letter Forms: The Design of Type, Past to Future he takes readers even deeper, expertly guiding them through the aesthetics as well as the technical considerations of his subject. He begins with an overview spanning the invention of movable type to today's digital typography, and ends with a showcase of contemporary fonts. Samara's true focus in this book is conveying the essentials of type design to practitioners, and thoughtfully and thoroughly explaining and illustrating the development of form and style. He walks you through letter form anatomy, stroke formation and rhythm, tool methodologies, structure and proportion, tool methodologies, and tons more. This all makes for one excellent, timely reference work that designers can return to in designing logos, wordmarks, signage, titling accents, and all of their graphic design work.

Alphabetical diversions that amuse, inform, and impress Survival notes for graffiti artists. Handwriting research. Artistic letterforms. Therapy for post-traumatic stress, stroke, and dementia. Bitmap editing for CRT computer typesetting. The exuberance of Vietnamese calligraphy. Needlework. Entries by 83 theorists and practitioners in 24 countries.

Inspiring ideas, firm convictions, lovely dreams The book ranges from from pyrography to stonecarving. It deals with low-resolution hinting and handwriting therapy for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. It contains over a hundred entries of work samples and notes by leading letterforms practitioners.

A publishing first, this is the only book on the market to examine the intriguing history, evoluton, and application of four specific genres of dynamic letterforms: hand-drawn, vernacular, humorous, and digitally driven.

Illustrates 110 complete alphabets in various type styles in capital letters, and includes sixteen complete lower case alphabets, and seventy sets of numbers and other symbols.

This thorough workbook provides a complete course in calligraphy, from basic alphabets and letterforms to templates, from spacing and layout to complex projects. It’s big, it’s complete, and it’s filled with the most detailed lessons on calligraphy anyone will ever need. A complete overview of the basic tools explains what each pen can do, and how inks and paints can affect the quality of the work. Several tasks are laid out for students to master: They can start with "skeleton letters,” and then gradually try more complex forms, including Rustica, Antique Uncials, and Carolingian. Prepare for a project by understanding line spacing, centering, layout, pasting up, and using color. Then, see how to make giftwrap, fashion handmade greeting cards, design posters, and copy poetry and prose.

"When the first University of Denver Publishing Institute came to a dose in August 1976, all of us involved in its launching knew that we had a real success on our hands. And we knew it was due in great measure to an outstanding faculty of more than forty top publishing executives who had come to Denver during those four weeks to teach our students. How regrettable, it seemed, that their knowledge and expertise were available only to the eighty students handpicked for that first class. Fred Praeger, publisher of Westview Press, suggested a solution. ""Do a book,"" he invited, ""and let Westview publish the curriculum for others to share."""