In todays class we looked at the invention of printing press and how it shaped the future of type.
Gutenberg was a goldsmith from Germany, he invented the printing press in 1436 which changed the future of the world. He wasn’t the first to create a printing process as China and Korea had been developing printing since the 9th century. Nobody truly knows when the printing press was first invented or who invented it.
His design was created by using metal printing blocks with each individual letter. Gutenberg made replicas of letters so that it could be printed out in mass quantity. To do this he reversed the lettering in brass and then creating multiple moulds with molten lead. He found a genius way to flatten out the printing paper by using a winepress which should be used for grapes or olives.
Gutenberg published 180 copies of the bible in 1452. He used a gothic typeface and colour which was revolutionary in this time period. Pieces of the books somehow survived and can be seen in The Gutenberg Museum in Mainz, Germany.
Not only did Gutenberg create mass copies of the bible but he also reached thousands of people using print. This was made possible by printing information on paper easily and swiftly which created large amounts of newspapers and books. By doing this it lead to people being able to voice their opinions more clearly leading to new information and cultural ideas being shared.
A typeface is a group of letters combined into a word. Many typefaces have similar patterns. There are fundamental principles in typography design that make a typeface style most effective such as readability and legibility. Below are a few fundamental principles we went over in class. I decided to write a few notes on them for better knowledge and understanding.
These are just a few common fundamentals that we have went over in class.
Cap height is the height of a capital letter above the baseline of a typeface. It can be most noticeable in letters such as H or I were the capital letter is flat. It can be also seen in round letters and pointed letter such as “O” and “A” which also go higher than the baseline.
X height tells the correct placement and positioning of a letter. Its the highest point of a lowercase letter such as the letters “g” and “y”. Its easier to read a smaller font size with a tall X height as it has better legibility. Letters such as “b” and “m” align with X height which makes it clearer to see.
Ascenders are lowercase letters that go above the x-height while descenders goes below. Line spacing is important for these letters as it has to be easy to read. For instance if the paragraph spacing is too tight it would make it squashed and hard to perceive.
Weight is the thickness of a typeface. While choosing lettering you can often choose from bold, light, extra light, black or extra bold. Depending on what project you are creating font weight can be extremely effective for impact. If you are trying to make a design look softer for example extra light would be a great option.
Serif is easier known as a old fashioned formal lettering such as New Times Roman. The strokes extend from the letters and gives it a very professional appearance. You can find serif in many books.