Thinking in Type: The Practical Philosophy of Typography

by Alex W. White

With this visually stunning primer, designers will develop the skills and vision to produce truly innovative, eye-catching type design. All of the basics about type design are covered and in-depth information is provided on more advanced topics such as the differences between type applications, how typography creates identity, and what readers look for and respond to. Using more than 2,000 images from the 18th century up to the present day, this book can be used as a first exposure primer for students and as a reader for professionals.

Allworth Press, an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing, publishes a broad range of books on the visual and performing arts, with emphasis on the business of art. Our titles cover subjects such as graphic design, theater, branding, fine art, photography, interior design, writing, acting, film, how to start careers, business and legal forms, business practices, and more. While we don't aspire to publish a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are deeply committed to quality books that help creative professionals succeed and thrive. We often publish in areas overlooked by other publishers and welcome the author whose expertise can help our audience of readers.

Genres: Design, Nonfiction, Art, Reference

224 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2004

Reviews

[Peter Curtiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Typography spans a whole bunch of means that are DifFiCuLt tO DemONsTrAte in this medium, including font, size, font style, contrast, empty space (ever notice how websites leave empty margins - too many words per line can cause fatigue for the reader, and looks messy), and others.
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While it is not the main thrust of the book, I find it particularly interesting that when typography design is done well, it becomes -invisible-. The medium merges with the message. I like to think of it using the metaphor of looking through glasses that are tinted slightly, and forgetting they’re ever there.
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In this “attention economy” we find ourselves, design is of increasing importance (as what one has to say is of little importance if there is no attention to be paid to it), and typography is one of the essential mediums of design. In many places the book talks about a fine balance between attention grabbing methods (eg sans serif fonts for titles) and then reader comfort methods (eg, serif fonts, which is more comfortable to read, for the main body of the text).
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The book itself is gorgeous, about half of it examples of various typographical devices. Also the author integrates the ideas in a very interesting way, playing with the typography of the main text (eg, scrunching or expanding the spacing between letters or words) to illustrate their point. Would highly recommend to anyone interested in design.

[Hamid Nasr · Rating 3 out of 5]

در زمینه آشنا شدن با تایپ و تاریخچه فونت مطالب بسیار خوب و خلاصه آورده شده و در جاهایی با قرار دادن نمونه ها و اسامی طراحان منبع خوبی برای پیدا کردن و دنبال کردن اسامی طراحان تایپوگرافیست هر چند زیادی حاشیه نویسی ها و کمی ویراستاری کتاب ادیت کننده است ولی منبع و شروع خوبیست برای آشنا شدن با مقوله تایپ

[Donny Truong · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alex W. White's "Thinking in Type" is a concise, informative book on the practice of typography. Unfortunately, the design of the book itself is quite distracting with crammed examples. What's the deal with square-triangle bullets throughout the book? White ought to focus on the content of the book and let someone else handle the design.

[Seamus · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was my very first introduction to typography as a child and I was blown away. Every single page is packed with clear visual examples of the concept discussed in the text. I have used the information I gained from this book hundreds of times.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great behind the scenes look at typography.

[Wes]

would like to revist again, i remember liking the comic book feel to it