From Gutenberg to OpenType: An Illustrated History of Type from the Earliest Letterforms to the Latest Digital Fonts

It's a big beautiful book to pour over. I got interested in various scripts and calligraphy after reading Slovenia records in German and Latin. It may not help me read Priests' handwriting in Kurrent from 400 years ago, but it gives me some insight into areas of thought like politics and writing styles.

Although I am not a graphic designer, I have followed graphic design and computerized fonts since the 1990s. Thus, many of the font-forms referenced in this book are familiar to me. This book narrates how letters have historically been formed by technology. As the title implies, it starts with ancient scripts, continues with Gutenberg’s printing press in the 1400s, and closes with modern fonts digitized in OpenType on computers.Dodd focuses her energies on how the biggest fonts came to be. The stories behind high-impact fonts (like Times New Roman and Helvetica) are exposited. She also addresses how the best fonts (like Times Old Roman or Gill Sans) came into being. Most importantly, she dissects why these fonts have proved successful and what historical currents shaped their success. By alternating between these two hats, she acts both as a historian and as a graphic designer in authoring this book.As one would expect, this book is replete with images of fonts and of fonts being used in design. It is colorful and full of visual stimulation. At times, it can degenerate into stretches of technical jargon, but it illustrates just how hard telling stories about fonts really is!I found the story of transitioning from script to serif fonts (with the small dots at the ends of characters) in the printing-press era especially interesting. I also enjoyed observing the evolution in the modern era from serif fonts to sans-serif fonts (without the small dots). Finally, I enjoyed seeing the transition from sans-serif fonts back to specialized script forms facilitated by technologies like OpenType. This history of type-technology is clearly evident to the observant reader through the book’s images.Erudite graphic designers and those interested in the history of technology will find this book especially useful. Personally, I will look at fonts more deeply due to time spent in this book. Through knowledge of good writing, history, and graphic design, Dodd crafts a book that will sit on many coffee-tables and begin discussions on an interesting quirk of history.

If you're a typography and letterform aficionado, this book is for you. Mine was used (acceptably) and covers areas of type design progression with details you won't find elsewhere. I highly recommend the book.

I actually love this book. It has tons of interesting facts and useful information about type. Each chapter opens with some history of how different kinds of type were developed. I got this for a class, and this is one I'm definitely going to keep using in the future.Weirdly, this book contains a lot of typos. Nothing serious though, just slightly ironic

This book was required for my typography class. While it is informative, I find the writing style difficult to follow. It is not well organized. Perhaps I had too high of expectation based on the good reviews by others. While it provided a lot of historical facts, it did not do so in a memorable or inspiring way. If you're not required to use this book for a class, but just for your own collection, I'd say look elsewhere.

I am new to the world of typefaces, so I was interested in a book that was user-friendly. This one fit the bill. A very interesting layout, with the histories of various typefaces, and many examples of their uses. I did notice a few typos and mislabeled illustrations, but this did not detract from a satisfying read.

I borrowed this book from a classmate when taking my class for the history of graphic design. This book tells it all in great detail. It goes into the core details of the development of typefaces without any fluff. Fast delivery, great book, no complaints!

Perfect for someone like me with a longstanding interest in typefaces

Good book and excellent service