Typography

Michael Bierut's Life as a Font

Submitted by Alissa Jones on Mon, 11/23/2009 - 10:50
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Last week, I listened to Michael Bierut present “My Life as a Font” at a UMBC/AIGA Baltimore event. He worked his way through the alphabet, showcasing a project for each letter and discussing the typeface used. But what I really enjoyed hearing were all the lessons he seemed to pick up along the way.

 

Art of the Letter

Submitted by Alissa Jones on Thu, 06/18/2009 - 13:27
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The alphabet only has 26 forms, yet each shape can be interpreted in so many ways. Here are several examples of the letter A in serif and san-serif faces.
image showing lots A shapes
They all vary in x-height, weight, contrast of line and aperture size. Some possess a delicate sense, while others are heavy and solid. But still with all these variations, we can recognize the letterform. The Latin alphabet was developed by the Romans, but typographers today still find new ways to represent it.