notable designers

NOTABLE DESIGNERS 44

ALDUS MANUTIUS

Aldus Manutius was born in 1452 in the small town of Bassiano, about 40 miles southeast of Rome. He initially spent his days studying humanism and the ancients until 1494 when he moved to Venice to open his own print shop: The Aldine Press. Manutius was considered the “scholar-printer” of the Italian Renaissance, as he was well regarded for his meticulous work ethic and his fluency in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Although his strong linguistic background allowed Manutius to design typefaces in multiple languages, he did not have the production experience most Renaissance printers possessed to successfully cut his typefaces (not to mention operate a printing press). Aware of this obstacle, Manutius reached out to a well-known metal worker, Francesco Griffo (also known as Francesco da Bologna), to partner with him at his print shop as his punch cutter. Griffo, the son of a goldsmith and engraver, was incredibly seasoned in his craft and had already gained a great deal of experience working with typography prior to working with Manutius. The skills Griffo contributed were crucial to the success of both The Aldine Press and typography as a whole, but have often been undermined by the credit given to Manutius’ throughout history.

Despite Manutius’ lack of technical skills, he remained an incredibly important figure in the history of type design, as he not only expanded the stylistic possibilities of letter forms but additionally made learning more accessible to all across the globe. Through his ability to create books in other languages, including a Greek-Roman Dictionary, his development of the first Italic typeface, which was designed to aid in the conservation of space on a page, and most importantly his invention of Octavos (pamphlet-sized books which are considered as the equivalent of the modern paperback), Manutius had a remarkable influence on the development of type design and its influence on literacy.

NICOLAS JENSON

Nicolas Jenson was born in Burgundy, France in 1420 and is considered to be the most technical print master, type designer, and engraver of the Renaissance. Prior to his printing endeavors, he was trained as a goldsmith and cut dies for coinage at the French Royal Mint. He later traveled to Mainz (the birthplace of printing) where he studied the art of movable type under Johannes Gutenberg, inventor of the first printing press. In 1470, Jenson moved to Italy and opened his print shop in Venice- the new epicenter of publishing, where he printed about 150 books during the ten years before his death. Although his print career was fairly short, his familiarity with casting metal on a small scale allowed for Jenson to easily pick up the new profession and work efficiently. In fact, it was during these ten years that Jenson made one of the greatest contributions to design history: Roman type.

Derived from a conglomeration of the inscriptions on Roman monuments for uppercase letters and Carolingian minuscules for lowercase letters, Jenson catalyzed the gradual shift away from Medieval blackletter to the much more legible and contemporary humanistic alternative that remains in use today. Although there are records of attempts at Roman typefaces made by Jenson’s predecessors, it was Jenson’s unparalleled sense of precision that resulted in the most complete and polished design. Jenson’s work served as a model for roman type throughout Europe and, furthermore, helped form the typographic canon of proper design technique.

ERHARD RATDOLT

Erhard Ratdolt was a German printer born in Augsburg, Germany in 1447. Although little is known about Ratdolt’s life prior to his move to Venice in 1476, he is regarded as the most creative of the designers of the Renaissance, as his work presents a unique aptitude for ornament and craftsmanship. Upon Ratdolt’s arrival in Venice, he began work on his Kalendarium of 1476, a lunar calendar spanning 55 years, which was based on the studies of the astronomer Johannes Regiomontanus. The Kalendarium signified an incredibly pivotal moment in history for both the arts and sciences, as it was the first application of modern methods for astronomical calculation, the first book to ever include a title page, and the first known attempt at color printing! In fact, Ratdolt’s title page was only the beginning of his remarkable typographic discoveries. Following his Kalendarium, he went on to produce the first edition of Euclid's Elements in1482, which bears the first printed mathematical diagrams. In addition to the first woodcut diagrams, Ratdolt also printed a dedication copy of Euclid’s Elements, which contained a dedication letter printed entirely in gold and was the first piece of printed matter to utilize metallics in printing to be presented to the Doge of Venice.

Ernst Goldschmidt the author of The Printed Book of the Renaissance, wrote of him: “Of all the fifteenth-century printers Ratdolt stands out as the most inventive experimenter and as the originator of a greater number of technical innovations than any other. His whole career is distinguished by his constant willingness to tackle any new technical printing problem that presented itself.” There are few typographic revivals of Ratdolt, mainly due to the ornamental nature of his type being unfit for contemporary publishing. However, while his typography may not serve as an eternal model for Roman-style type design, it was his illustrative approach to his work that allowed him to break new ground in the print industry, as well as perceive the numerous possibilities and promising developments in the typographic arts.