Pocket Bringhurst by Megan Hann

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Pocket Bringhurst

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P o cket bringhurst

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To my mom;

I know you’ll enjoy this

more than I will.

✧

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Pocket Bringhurst Copyright © 2022 by Megan Hann ARTD 444 Typographic Systems, Natalie F. Smith & Molly Catherine Briggs, Instructors, Spring 2022, School of Art & Design, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Robert Bringhurst is a Canadian typographer, poet and translator. He is the author of The Elements of Typographic Style, which is recognized as the authoritative book on typography. The Elements of Typographic Style was originally published in 1992 by Hartley and Marks Publishers. It has been revised and updated many times over since the original publication. Pocket Bringhurst is a compilation of the author’s notes after reading Bringhurst’s The Elements of Typographic Style during the Spring 2022 semester. This project was designed by the instructor, Natalie F. Smith, not only to provide a handy reference for future use and to help teach other students, but to put put the principles of the text into practice. The course was ARTD 444, Typographic Systems and was taught by Natalie F. Smith and Molly Catherine Briggs, based on original research by Natalie F. Smith, in the School of Art & Design at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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C on t e n t s

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Foreward

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Glossary

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Foreword

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This booklet is a summary of Robert Bringhurst’s book, The Elements of Typographic Style. It was my job to read and digest the text and summarize it for future reference and for those who would need a quick and handy tool to reference typesetting laws. I have written, typeset and designed this booklet whilst also learning everything there is to know about typography. It is because of this book, this project, this class and my professors that I am now privileged with the knowledge of good typography.

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For e wor d

First Principles

Typography has a pretty simple job, to convey the content of the page to the viewers in a legible way. It can often be misused, making it harder for the reader to read through the text. Your typography should be transparent and durable. The typography should be interesting enough to make people want to read it, but not too over the top to the point of being a distraction. The letters come together on a page to make up the words. The words come together to make up sentences. These sentences give us paragraphs and so on. Without letters we would not be able to read or write. It is our job as typographers to honor each individual letter because they each play a part in the grand scheme of things. Type’s original purpose was to copy other texts, as typographers we are still tasked to copy text, except now we have more of a purpose. We make typography idealized writing. It is our job to make the text readable, and visually pleasing. We essentially make the letters come to life. As typographers we are much bigger than your typical literary style. Typography deals with everything. Spacing, letters, typefaces, sizing, etc. all comes down to the typographer and what they feel would work best in the text. We manipulate the text to make it readable and appealing to all.

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Tactics

As typographers it is our job to make the typography fit the text. Through reading the book we can get a sense of what tone, message, etc. the author is trying to convey and match it. Typography styles the text for how it should be read. It is our

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job to analyze what the text is saying and help the text to reveal the deeper meanings. Good typography will disappear. Reading the text helps you to place other typographic elements, such as images, notes, illustrations, etc. Depending on what the text is saying it is our job to make sure the extra features line up and make sense. Every different typographic page can be different and each one should be addressed case by case. Each and every different typeface has its own unique style, tone, character, etc. Based on what the subject matter is and what kind of text you are styling you should pay attention to the typeface chosen. Everything in typography has its own style and it is our job to map out when we should use the different styles. Frame your text. You should always pay attention to how the page frames the text, and where the text sits on the page. There are a lot of different ways to approach this but you should always be aware of how the content reads. Every little detail matters in typography and you should make sure you spend time to care for everything.

Horizontal Motion

Horizontal motion in typography is when you are working with movement from left to right between letter spaces, word spaces, text size, typefaces, line spacing, etc. All of these different features can affect how readable your text is from left to right. Keep in mind that each circumstance varies and you should always check to make sure the text looks correct visually. Looking at characters per line, you want to make sure each line does not have too much text or too little text. The average character per line should roughly be between 45 to 75 characters with 66 being the sweet spot. A quick way to tell how many words per line you should have would be to look at the type size and times that by 30, divided by the leading gives a rough estimate of your line length in picas.

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Ragged type and justified type can depend on personal choice, but it can also depend on the situation. Setting type with a rag can lighten up the page visually. There is no need for double spaces after periods. The space ends up being distracting because of the extra added white space. Same goes for colons and other punctuations. When working with initials in names do not include spaces after periods, only space between initials and names. When working with acronyms such as CIA, AD, BC, etc. You should set in small caps and smaller than the surrounding text. Depending on the letters and the length of the word in small caps, you should letter space as needed. When working with numbers you may also letter space as needed to create a bit of breath between them. DO NOT letter space between lowercase letters unless absoluteCh ap ter 1

Size 10 type x 30 = 300 / 12 leading = 25 picas

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ly necessary. Of course, there are different exceptions to every rule but in large bodies of text there is no need for condensed or extra space between lowercase letters.It might be expectable to letter space lowercase when… Single letters Roman or italic type Black letter faces Cyrillic type Kerning is altering the space between selected pairs of letters. Too little kerning is preferable to too much, it really should only be used in a select number of places. For example, between letters such as Av, Aw, Gf, Gj, To, Vo, Wo, Yo, etc. Never alter the shape or size of letters. Your own personal judgment is always required even when using a program that does it for you! When creating lists, contents pages, recipes, etc. make sure to pay attention to how you let the reader know of this break in text. You really only need a few indicators as to what is happening, and extra space can help the reader have some breathing room. Vertic al Motion Vertical motion in typography is when you are working with movement up and down with leading, text size, typefaces, variations in line, etc. All of these different features can affect how much breathing room is allowed in your text making it easier to read overall. Leading is the distance from one baseline to the next. You want your lines to have a positive leading to allow breathing room between each line. If the lines are too close together it makes the text much harder to read. Bringhurst’s book is set to 10/12 x 21 (which reads, 10-point size by 12 leading by 21 picas length in lines). Make sure you are keeping leading consistent through your entire work, it can get distracting if it varies. Never use

negative leading, unless it is a stylistic choice with the typeface or font you are working with. When working with headings, subheads, block quotations, footnotes and illustrations don’t be afraid to make variations and add life to the page. Change the typefaces, size, weight, leading, etc. to create a visual break.

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Blocks and Par agr aphs

Always start your first paragraph flush left, or left aligned. The following paragraphs can then start with an indent of about 1 em dash. You can also experiment with ornaments, drop lines, out-dented paragraphs. When working with drop quotes make sure to input one line of space between text and the quote. This allows the reader to see a visual difference in the text.

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Hyphenation and Pagination

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When using hyphenation make sure to double check where your words are being cut. If a word is cut in half and only two letters travel over to the next line that is too drastic of a cut. Make sure words less than four letters are not being hyphenated. Avoid more than three hyphens in a row in a paragraph. Hyphenate proper nouns only as necessary. Hyphenate according to the rules of language. Some last-minute tips would be not to start two lines with the same word. Look for any orphans or widows and move them to the next or last line. Lastly, make sure facing pages are always balanced in their type. Always break rules when called for!

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Size

For more than 400 years there has been a set scale in points that type designers use. These sizes create an evenness and rhythm in the text. You should follow the scale when working with typography and adjust as needed. Common point sizes include: 6,7,8,9,10,11,12,14,16,18,21,24,30,36,48,60,72 Numer als, Capitals & Small Caps

Small Caps (lowercase numbers) examples include; 23 August, 3:00 AM, 213-A Beacon Street, $47,000 USD, Postal codes NL, IL, SF, Honolulu 96014, Toronto M5S 2G5. Large Caps (uppercase numbers) examples include; 1832, 2000, 2022, and 81’ F, 13’C. Roman numerals should be set to match the surrounding type. You can also match the text to the style you are using.

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Text–if you are setting body text in a normal roman setting than the numbers should be lowercase to match.

Titling–if you are setting titles in all caps than your numbers should be in all caps as well.

Figures–if you are setting your text in small caps than your numbers should be lowercase.

Italic–if you are setting your text in italics than your numbers should be lowercase and in italics to match.

Abbreviations and acronyms in type should use small caps and be spaced properly. Examples of this would include; San Francisco, CA, USA, AM and PM, ninth century CE, 450 BC, World War II or WWII, JFK, etc. You can also set acronyms such as CD, TV, UFO,

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UNESCO, ASCH, etc. as small caps. You have control over how the reader will see your words and understand how they should be read so setting them correctly can really help you control that. Remember genuine small caps are not shrunken versions of the text you are working with. If you are planning to slope small caps it can be done, but it must be faked by your program. When doing so be careful not to alter the type too much or it will look distorted. If you are worried about this, find a typeface with preset italic small caps. Ligatures The space between the letters, or the kerning, is important when it comes to type. Especially when looking at letters such as lowercase f and j. These letters tend to reach over into the next letters space creating and awkward overlap or space. As typesetters we can kern these letters to make them better fit together. We can also add ligatures to connect the letters in a more visually pleasing way. It is like a puzzle! Lowercase f and j tend to have problems with letters b, f, h, I, j, k and l. All languages are different and when typesetting in another language it is important to recognize the letters that they use that may cause these problems. In programs that allow you to insert ligatures automatically you should always go back to check if it was done correctly. Make sure there are not any extra ligatures where you might not want them. “Ligatures should go where they are needed and then stay no matter what.” If you do not want to worry about ligatures you can find typefaces to work with that do not require them.

faces, etc. All of these things can be used to your advantage when laying out text. You can use them in hierarchy, which helps the reader see what is the most important on the page. Don’t try to overwhelm the reader with a bunch of different styles, this could distract them from what you are trying to say. For example, do not use both bold, italics, small caps and swash caps all on the same page–it can just make it visually confusing. Do not use a font that you don’t need, “good type is good because it has natural strength and beauty,” really if you think about it less is more. Be careful when sloping text on your own. There is a big difference between sloped type (also known as oblique type) and italics. When manually sloping type–you are distorting the text. It can be done but this is not something you want to go overboard with. Use italics when available.

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Contr ast

Always change one parameter at a time. Like I stated above, you don’t want to overwhelmed your reader. A simple use of either or can be a really good tactic for creating some visual breaths in the page and hierarchy. When it comes to punctuation–keep in mind what the text is doing around it. If you use bold the punctuation does not need to also be bold. If you use italics then you should include punctuation in the italics to keep the flow of the words. Lastly, if you are using small caps you should double check to make sure your spacing with the punctuation works out.

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Tribal Alliances & Families

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Always make sure to marry type and text. What this means is each and every text has its own requirements and expectations that you are to follow. Some of these features to consider include; the union of uppercase and lowercase, ornamental initials, small caps, Arabic figures, italics, sloped caps, bold type, condensed

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Op enings

Your title page should be a place of dignity and presence. It should be balanced. Everything should be carefully paced and sized. You don’t want your design to be crowded or minimal, you want to find a happy middle to please aesthetically. You also want it to be consistent throughout your entire passage so that the readers don’t get visually confused. Tip: Screen your text which means changing opacity to get variations on your title pages. When it comes to laying out your paragraphs, you want to start your first paragraph margin flush left. There are multiple things that can be done to show the start of a new paragraph such as, colored type (red), small caps, bold, large initial capital: a versal or lettering, etc. Always double check your spacing especially with letters such as A, I and O. Headings can come in all different kinds of weight and sizes. They are typically named in order of how they appear on the page or hierarchy, H1, H2, H3, etc. You should decide if you want your headings to be symmetrical (centered) or asymmetrical (justified). Make sure you use the number of headings that you need in your text, no more. Stay consistent! What should you do when including notes?

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Footnotes–this is when you see the note tagged in the text and left at the bottom of the page to reference quickly. When the footnote gets too long they can be visually distraction so make sure you keep it short or switch to a different style of notes. These notes should be smaller in point size than the actual text.

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Endnotes–this is when you see the notes for the whole book in the back matter. You have a lot more freedom

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when doing notes this way due to the fact that they can be as long as you please without distracting the page. This can be tedious for readers to flip back and forth if they are interested about the notes. These notes should be smaller in point size than the actual text. Side notes–this is when notes are left in the right – or lefthand margin, besides the text. This text can be easiest to find and read if designed correctly. These notes can be the same size as the actual text.

Starting & Stopping

Some extra tips from this chapter; make sure your text has enough breathing room, you don’t want it to be tightly packed and overwhelming on each page. Make sure your front and back matter is balanced. A verso is a left page and a recto is a right page. NEVER leave a right page blank. Always start a chapter on the recto, or right page.

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Superscripts–make sure the weight and space of your superscripts is consistent. Instead of numbers with endnotes, you can include a symbol on pages to let the readers know you are referencing a note. Superscripts should come after the end of a phrase or sentence to indicate a note. Use superscripts in the text and full-sized numbers when it comes to the notes themselves.

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Tables & Lists

Always give your typographic attention to tables and lists. Approach it as just another text box that needs to be properly typeset. Follow these rules to help:

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Keep all text horizontal.

Do not set letter forms too small or too condensed.

Always set a minimum number of rules, boxes, dots, etc.

Rules, guides and dividers should run with the text, vertically in the case of lists.

Do not separate the first or final column.

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Make sure there is enough white space or breathing room in your tables.

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Less is more, avoid over punctuating lists.

Align numbers together.

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Analphabetic St yle

In this chapter we learn about logical pause. This includes periods, commas, parentheses, squiggles, dashes, dots, etc. Good typographers learn how to set type with as few of these symbols as possible. If a font you are using does not include these symbols you need you can find a typeface to put in place, just double check to make sure the styles don’t clash. When it comes to ampersands, always pick the more artist one. It is a lot more interesting to look at and the reader will appreciate it. Hyphens–are short, blunt, thick and level. It tends to have a slight upward percent increase. The hyphen is used for splits in between words and slits of words at the end of lines. Hyphens at the end of lines often looks best when hung into the right margin. Hyphens are not the same as em and en dashes.

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Dashes, Sl ashes & Dots

There are two other variants of hyphens. Sometimes it comes down to how you want to style the page, and sometimes. En dash, which is half an em. Em dash, which is one full em. Em dashes can be used to lead in front of dialogue or to mark an author after a quotation. There are also cases with their own line length which includes subtraction dashes and the three-to-em dash which is one third of an em. When it comes to dashes in between numbers use an en dash or a three-to-em dash. You could always omit the dash and include colons instead, this could free up some of the visual pause in the text. There are times when you need to use an even longer dash, which is known as a three-em. This is an old standard sign for the repetition of a name. Virgule, or a slash is another way to represent a comma. For

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example, Wednesday / August 3 / 1977, Tibetan Guest House / Thamel, Toronto / Ontario, he/she, etc. There is another slash mark you should be aware of, called the solidus (or fraction bar). This is used for fractions and other mathematical equations. Similarly, to the slash, there is a special symbol known as the dimension sign used when talking about multiplication. For example, 4x4 uses the letter x, while 4x4 uses the dimension sign. Lastly, there is a special character for ellipsis, or three continuous periods…these are used for pauses in the text. When using punctuation with ellipsis, keep in mind there should always be three periods before the mark. i…j k…. l…,l l,…l m…?

should be positioned like every other punctuation mark. It is also common to place punctuation inside the quotation marks. Colons and semicolons should be the only punctuation positioned outside the quotation marks. Keep in mind these types of rules change with different languages so you should always be ready for the differences. Note, no need for apostrophes after plural numbers. Lastly, make sure you kerning is consistent when it comes to quotation marks.

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Diacritics & The Keyboard

When it comes to typography your main goal is to communicate the text to the viewers in the best way possible. Don’t be afraid to make tough decisions, add or delete things. Be confident in the typography you are putting forward. Luckily, technology has come a long way and there is so much more we can do with typography now that was restricted before. Use all of your keyboard’s keys to your advantage!

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n…!

Parenthesis

Use brackets and parenthesis set with adequate space. Parenthesis are curved, usually fitting into a perfect circle. Don’t be afraid to borrow parenthesis from other typefaces if the one you are using falls below standards. You may also adjust parenthesis to line up with the text. NEVER slope or italicize your parenthesis.

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Quotation Marks & Other Intrusions

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Minimize the use of quotation marks. You don’t want your text to be overrun by visual breaks that can easily distract the reader from the text. There are three forms of quotation marks that are still popular today. Common American practice is to use “double quotes first, ‘and then single quotes’ inside the double quotes.” All quotations

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Technic al Consider ations

In a digital world it is easy to forget what type was made for in the first place. As we navigate through the countless typefaces and fonts we should keep in mind the medium that it was designed for originally. For example, before 1950 all typesets were designed to be set in metal and printed with. Since the start of the digital age, typefaces have begun to be converted into digital typefaces, some transferring better than others. Always choose the typefaces that survived this transition for best results. You also want to make sure your typeface not only fits the medium, but also the paper.

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Pr actic al T ypogr aphy

When picking your typeface always make sure to pick one that suits the subject matter, but also keep in mind you should not go overboard in representation. You also should focus on typefaces that can fit all your needs such as bolds, italics, small caps, symbols, etc. Working with a typeface that does not have any of those things really limits what you can do with the text. Make the most of what you have, sometimes it is okay to mix and match typefaces–but do so sparingly and reasonably.

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Historic al Consider ations

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There are a lot of different types from different time periods, you should always try and design with one that fits your text. For example, if you are typesetting a book written by a woman you might choose a typeface designed by a woman. Or if you have a text written by a French author, you might choose to set it in a French typeface.

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The Multicultur al Page

New and Old Orthogr aphies

In typography we work with two different kinds of beauty, consistency and contrast. Bringhurst provides us with tips to achieve both.

Don’t be afraid to do some research if you don’t know something about a language or a typeface. There is always something changing in the rules, types, etc. so don’t be afraid to ask. Familiarize yourself with the way the type is used in other examples. Never add unnecessary characters in these types of situations because you can overcrowd the page and confuse the reader.

Always start with a single typeface family. This will keep consistency among the letters and the different fonts. It will also give you contrast between the different types of fonts you have access to. Always use roman, italic and small caps to your advantage. There are many different combinations of using these three versions of the type, but if done well it can be very successful with consistency and contrast. Always use bold type sparingly. Bold fonts are recent additions to typography and a lot of them are just parodies of original typefaces. Ask yourself if bold is really necessary in your text, does it add to the consistency and contrast? A small amount of bold adding to the structure of a piece can do so.

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Building a T ype Libr ary

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Every typographer should have their list of favorite typefaces based on their experience. If you know the ins and outs of 5-10 typefaces as well as when it is appropriate to use those typefaces, you’re golden. You can never go wrong with just sticking to one typeface. In this scenario you will still be able to follow the rules and maintain consistency, balance and contrast.

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Always pay attention to hierarchy. This helps both with consistency and contrast for the readers eyes which adds so much to the text.

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Mixing Alphabets

Be very cautious when using different languages in the same text. All text should stay very similar in color and size. You want the text to stay consistent throughout so you don’t mess up the flow. Keep the continuity of the idea represented in the text. When you are done typesetting, everything should be balanced in contrast. Pay attention to the differences between the texts such as flow and slope. Some looks handwritten or italic while others are straight up and down. Find a way to marry this text while keeping the rules in mind.

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Organic, Mechanic al & Music al Proportion

A book is made up of size and proportions with the sole purpose of designing for the readers. Size and proportion are different with every book and sometimes with every page. Depending on your content you want to make sure to match everything accordingly, always trust your instincts when moving through the design process. Visual spaces have been shaped by designers, typographers, etc. for thousands of years. A lot of the proportions come from geometry using triangles, squares, pentagons, hexagons and octagons. These proportions that typographers live by exist in other places such as molecules, crystals, soap bubbles, flowers, etc. We also can see a lot of historical proportion layouts through books typeset many years ago. What it all boils down to is math. Every page has a mathematical set up proportionally to make sure that everything is sized and spaced to be the best.

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The Golden Section

Bringhurst explains to us that “the golden section is a symmetrical relation built from asymmetrical parts. Two numbers, shapes, or elements embody the golden section when the small is to the larger as the large is to the sum. That is, a:b = b(a+b).” Basically, each term is the sum of the two preceding numbers, balancing out the proportions. This gives us a scale of 1:1.615.

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Proportions of the Empt y Page

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You can compare the intervals in music to the proportions of the page. Always make sure to choose your proportions with the page

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size and contents in mind. There are a lot of preset proportions to live by but they do not always work for the page you are designing. If straying from the presets just make sure to keep the math in mind. It is also important to keep in mind illustrations or photographs. When working with images you should always shape the page around them first before looking at your text. The Tex tblock The texts main purpose is to make reading it easy and effortless. With good proportion and sizing this can easily be achieved. Your text box should balance and contrast with the shape of your page. For example, Bringhurst tells us that working on a square page with square blocks of text is unlikely to encourage reading. When looking at your facing pages, the left and right pages that face each other, you should set it up symmetrical to each other, with the spine being the dividing line. Margins & Satellites Always pay attention to the margins when designing your pages. Margins must always do three things: they must lock the text block to the page and lock the facing pages to each other, they must frame the text block, and they must protect the text block. You design is 50% text and 50% margins. Make sure you have a clear path for your readers to understand. Page numbers should always be large enough to see when flipping through the book quickly. They should also almost always be placed in the bottom outside corners. Placing them in a place that is irregular could confuse the reader. They should always know where they are in your book. According to Bringhurst, running heads are pointless, always work with running foots.

other graphical elements are also included on the page. Modular scales are very similar to grids but they are much more flexible. These scales are preset to have harmonious proportions. You can always create your own modular scale if your text does not fit into a preset one. To design your own page, you must always start in the upper left (or right) hand corner and work your way across and down. Things you must look at are proportions, page size, text block and margins. Keep in mind how they work together proportionally.

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Improvisations & Adjustments

Numerical values are important in typography. They give an impression of exactness. Always use typographic increments when talking about or adjusting the numerical values you are working with. It may help to work in even units. When it comes to your ends of lines and chapters your design must be flexible enough to accommodate them. You could run two of the previous spreads a line long. You could run half a dozen of the previous spreads a line short. Or you could re-proportion some non-textual elements, for example, headers or images. NEVER change the leading to accommodate widows, orphans, or ends of paragraphs. Small adjustments in the leading adding space or taking away space between paragraphs is never the answer. You could also always add or remove words to adjust.

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Page Grids & Modul ar Sc ales

Grids are a helpful tool to help you properly layout your pages. They are often used for magazine design or when images or 34

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Summary

Every character you use in a text are called a character set. All of the glyphs you use in a text are called a glyph palette. Both are very important when it comes to writing and typesetting a piece. Bringhurst writes, “the text is a string of characters; the font is a palette of glyphs–along with all the information (width tables, kerning tables and so on) needed for stringing the glyphs to match the characters.” I feel this piece of information is the most important takeaway I had from the ninth chapter in his book. If you think of text like an equation that you have to put together than it makes working with type so much easier. There is an abundance of ways you text could look, feel, layout, etc. and it is up to you as the typographer to take everything into account when typesetting. Also mentioned in this chapter; size, color, scale, justification, pixels, proofs, and printing are also major factors when it comes to typesetting. Although typography started as a hand-crafted art form–it has since transformed into the digital world. It is important that we pay attention to how these translations to screen affect the type itself. Always adjust your type to how it will be looked at on the other end. Although digital media lacks in character, it has given us the opportunity to work with type in a much more modern way–and at a much quicker rate. It is our responsibility as typesetters and designers to maintain the system keeping in mind the rapidly changing digital world. “One good typeface is better and more useful than fifty thousand poor ones.”

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Summary

Bringhurst includes a great comparison to help visualize the job of typography at the start of this chapter. He talks about pianos and how they have fixed notes that reach different ranges. Even though there are these fixed notes, every time someone plays the notes they do so in a different order which can be rearranged time and time again. This is exactly how we should look at typography. The marks (letters, numbers, glyphs) are the fixed notes while the way we arrange them is how we decide to play the notes–it is different every time. Pianos need tuning time and time again and this is exactly how we should look at fonts: they need tuning time and time again. I feel like my biggest takeaway from this chapter was this idea that typography is just like a musical instrument–forever changing and adapting but the core stays the same. Bringhurst provides us with some times to work with our new piano: better known as typography. Starting with, you do have the right to alter fonts that already exist. This is a very broad statement and of course there are other underlying rules but long story short, if you need a letter form to do something unavailable to you than you have the ability to make it do what you want. With that in mind Bringhurst wants to make sure you don’t go changing anything that does not need to be changed (or fixed). The same idea goes for word spacing and kerning. If you feel as though your font needs some adjusting in spacing feel free to do as you see fit!

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Prowling the Specimen Books

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In Bringhurst’s last chapter he talks about the countless amounts of typefaces that are offered to us. There are a lot of different kinds that suit all different scenarios–ranging from different time periods. Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassical, Romantic, Modern, Postmodern, etc. all examples of different trends through the years. There are also different styles, formal, informal, fluid, crisp, delicate, robust. The point he makes at the beginning of this chapter is to let us know that there are so many different combinations we will never be able to use every single typeface ever created. In fact, there are not typefaces created by different people every day and put out into the world for use. Sometimes these are just variations of old typefaces and sometimes they are new creations. Bringhurst points out that almost everything is digital now, which is why he uses this chapter to show off how the typefaces he has chosen to touch on print out onto paper.

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Nomencl ature & Synonymy

It is impotent to always give credit where credit is due. Most typefaces are just variations of the original–it is important to keep in mind that original when using and talking about typefaces. Bringhurst gives an example, Max Miedinger’s Helvetica has been copied over and over again and renamed to things like Vega, Swiss and Geneva. This is a problem that has existed for a long time, so as designers we should be conscious when picking the typeface for our designs and we should find a way to protect these original designers. The typefaces in this chapter are further categorized into four categories.

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H – Originally a metal type for hand composition M – originally for machine composition in metal P – originally designed for photosetting D – originally designed for digital form. Serifed typefaces discussed in this chapter are: Albertina, Alcuin, Aldus, Aldus Nova, Amethyst, Apollo, Arno, Arrus, Baskerville, Bell, Bembo, Berling, Bodoni, Brioso, Bulmer, Caecilia, Californian, Carmina, Cartier, Caslon, Centaur, Chaparral, Clarendon, Comenius, Dante, Deepdene, Diotima, Documenta, Electrra, Espinosa Nova, Esprit, Fairbank, Fairfield, Figural, Fleischmann, Fournier, Galliard, Garamond, Haarlemmer, Hollander, Huronia, Jannon, Jenson, Joanna, Journal, Juliana, Kennerley, Kinesis, Kis, Legacy, Lexicon, Manuscript, Mendoza, Meridien, Minion, Nofret, Officina, Palatino, Photina, Plantagenet, Poetica, Poliphilus and Blado, Pontifex, Pradell, Quadraat, Relato, Requiem, Rialto, Romanee, Romulus, Rongel, Sabon, Scala, Seria, Silentium, Spectrum, Swift, Trajanus, Trinite, Trump Mediaval, Van den Keere, Van Dijck, Veljovic, Walbaum, and Zapf Renaissance. Unserifed typefaces discussed in this chapter are: Caspari, Flora, Frutiger, Futura, Gill Sans, Haarlemmer Sans, Legacy Sans, Lucida Sans, Optima, Palatino Sans, Quadraat Sans, Romulus Sans, Scala Sans, Seria Sans, and Syntax. When it comes to italics, blackletter texts, unicals and script typefaces make sure you pay attention to if they are faked or not. Italics can be replaced with oblique, which is when the letters are slightly slanted rather than designed to be an italic. It does not look as good and can easily be spotted. Blackletters are used as a sense of contrast. They add a bold effect to the typeface and should be used sparingly. Unicals are not used as often anymore. They usually only have one case and are used for display. When you are using script text in your design, if you are able to write it out yourself it will look much more authentic than some of

the script fonts out there. However, for longer passages in script, there are some options out there.

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Script typefaces discussed in this chapter are: Eaglefeather, Ex Ponto, Legende, Ondine, Sanvito, Tekton and Zapfino.

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Greek typefaces discussed in this chapter are: Albertina, Antigone, Arno, Bodoni, Complutum, Didot, Diogenes, Garamond Premier, Gill Sans, New Hellenic, Palatino, Parmenides, Porson and Wilson.

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Cyrillic typefaces discussed in this chapter are: Albertina, Arno, Baskerville, Lazurski, Minion, Palatino Nova, Quadraat, Quadraat Sans and Warnock.

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Inscriptional and Calligraphic Capital typefaces discussed in this chapter are: Ariadne, Auguestea, Castellar, Charlemagne, Herculanum, Lithos, Mantinia, Michelangelo and Phidias, Monument, Neuland, Numa, Pericles, Raffia, Requiem Banner, Rialto Tilting, Rusticana, Sistina, Smaragd, Sophia and Trajan.

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Lastly, there are two typefaces: Neuland and Lithos that are not discussed in Bringhurst’s book. Neuland is a display typeface created as a hand carved type by Rudolf Koch in 1923, and Lithos is a display typeface created digitally by Carol Twombly in 1989. Both of these typefaces have “come to signify Africans and African-Americans” in a negative way. Once these typefaces reached the United States – due to the black letter style, they were used in posters during the Civil War about racism. They were also refereed to as “circus type,” because they were printed so cheaply on wood-block. It is our job as designers to keep histories like these in mind when picking typefaces. There is nothing wrong with doing some research on a font you don’t know about.

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Glossary

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Axis – also known as the stroke axis, is the angle at which the pen or other tool is used to make each letter. For example, an italic letter will have a more slanted letter than its regular form.

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Baseline – letters always line up on four invisible lines. The baseline is the imaginary line that all of the base of the letters rest.

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Blackletter – a typographic style of lettering. The letters can be massive or light and are often tall or pointed. The type has a bold look and resembles the Gothic style.

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Bleed – important for the printing process, a bleed is when the design reaches to the edge of the printed page. This overhang is to make sure that the full design it included when trimmed.

Body – the space around each letter.

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Drop Cap – a large single letter at the start of a paragraph.

Em Spaces and Dashes – a space/dash the size of the letter

M. (With 12-point type, the M space would be 12 points).

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En Spaces and Dashes – a space/dash the size of the letter N. These spaces or dashes are half the size of an em dash. (With 12-point type, the N space would be 6 points).

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Flush – when text is set even along the left or right margin. (Flush left lines up on the left margin, and flush right lines up on the right margin).

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Folio – the page number that lives at the bottom or top of almost every page.

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Glos sa ry

Font – in relation to metal, a font is a full set of lettering in a specific typeface. In relation to digital, a font is a full glyph palette itself (which includes all the characters). Glyph – the specific shape, design, or representation of a character. Examples: dashes, symbols, alternate letters.

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Small Caps – also known as “small capitals,” small caps is lowercase characters that resemble uppercase letters.

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Text Block – the part of the page occupied by text.

Gutter – the space between two columns of type.

Tracking – the horizontal movement (space) between all letters in an individual word.

Italic – type of letter form that is more cursive than roman, but less cursive than script. (Watch out for obliques posing as “fake italics”).

Weight – the darkness of the letters. Example: Gotham typeface offers, regular, medium, bold, dark, etc.

Justify – when the text block is flush right and flush left, or lined straight up on either side.

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Word Space – the space between the words. If text is justified you may need to adjust hyphenation and justification settings.

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Kerning – the horizontal movement (space) between two individual letters.

Book Terms

Leading – the vertical movement (space) between two lines of type. The space is measured from baseline to baseline.

Backmatter – information on pages following the main text of the book. Example: glossary, appendix, index, etc.

Ligatures – two or more letters that join together into a single character. There is a setting in InDesign to do this for you.

Frontmatter – information on pages before the main text of the book. Example: title page, half title page, contents, etc.

Measure – the length of a line, usually measured in picas. You can also count the measure in characters (average = 65 characters per line).

Keyline – a boundary line used to show where the printer lines will be. Example: This Pocket Bringhurst was set up with a hairline (0.25 point) black keyline to outline each page. Remember, this is turned off before printing the final pages.

Margins – the blank spaces that surround the text on the page.

Old-Style Figures – a common synonym for text figures. Numbers in old-style are also known as “lowercase numbers.”

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Pica – unit of measurement equal to 12 points. Example: Indents are usually measured by 1 pica.

Orphan – when one individual word is left stranded at the end of a paragraph.

Rag – when the ends of the lines are not lined up, staying unjustified and ridged.

Recto – right pages.

San-Serif – Modern style of typography, no extra strokes on the ends of letters. 46

Serif – extra strokes added at the ends of letters.

Glossary

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River – when the text is justified and the spacing between creates a visual pattern of white space flowing throughout the text.

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Glos sa ry

Subheads – a heading given to a text block. These can vary in size and appearance based off the hierarchy they hold. Slug – extra spacing outside the print lines to leave information on how the text is set up. Verso – left pages. Widow – when one individual word is left stranded at the top of the next page.

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This book was written, typeset, edited, designed and printed by Megan Hann. It’s summary of Robert Bringhurst’s book The Elements of Typographic Style.

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The text face is Scala Pro Regular, designed by Martin Majoor.

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Glossary