Useful but quirky
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This is a very useful book, but sometimes rather opinionated. For instance, Bringhurst passionately detests 'titling figures' that is, numbers of even height set on the line, 01234... He wants us to always use 'text figures', numerals that I can't show here, where the tails of 4 and 9 hang below the line, and 8 is taller than the rest. He scorns titling figures as 'middle-class' and 'illiterate', fit only for classified ads.
He is also inconsistent in his prejudices. Italic faces were first made in the middle ages only in lower case, so had to be used with upright capitals and brackets etc. Bringhurst tells us that because of this history, we must today always use upright, not sloped, brackets with italics. But he quietly accepts and uses sloped capitals with italics in his own book.
Despite these oddities, this is an enlightening and helpful book.
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Just lovely
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I bought this book when I became (briefly) the editor of a corporate newsletter some years ago. It was the only useful purchase I made, and served to open up whole new typographic vistas that I didn't even know existed. But be warned it deals exclusively in subtlety and artifice - there is no post-modernist digital age brashness here - but learn the lessons and you will become very, very good, without anyone else ever knowing how. The book is both witty and enjoyably informative, a combination that means it's an easy read from cover to cover. And it's own typography is beyond reproach, quite beautiful.
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THE best book on type you will ever read
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I've got dozens of books about type and typography. This is by far the best. It is clear, intelligent, scholarly and practical. It is also beautifully written, well designed and often downright funny. If you know a designer or typophile who doesn't own this yet, buy it for them.
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In depth and lyrical...
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This is a superb book covering all aspects of type design in an almost lyrical prose style. It doesn't use endless pages of typeface specimens as filler but is endlessly informative. Covers such things as the effects of historical movements in typography. Highly reccomended to anyone at all interested in the subject.
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Where Serious Designers Learn Typography
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Serious designers who are beginning their trade, or old hats who might need to be refreshed in typography can benefit from Robert Bringhurst's "The Elements of Typographic Style." Bringhurst has brought us a thrifty tome of typography. Succinct, he isn't bound to entertain the reader, but educate him. His glossary of typographic terms will bring you into the know about apertures, dot leaders, nuts and muttons. Just as useful is his thorough appendix of sorts and characters. With an image of the characters, he explains in a few sentences what characters is when it is to be used properly. He distinguishes acutes from graves from primes from hois from apostrophes. Adjacent to this lexicon is a quick visual index of alphabetic character. This section alone was worth the price for me. The real science of "The Elements of Typographic Style" is in Bringhurst's bulk of explanations of letter construction, page composition, defining and given shorts histories of classic fonts as seen in specimen books, a great chapter on analphabetic symbols. I fully recommend this book. Artists, designers, illustrators all should have a copy of this. It reads easier than you might suspect, and would serve as a fine textbook. Writers should read it for no other reason than it is interesting, but to also have pity on our poor designers who must make our words look nice. Anthony Trendl
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