Hand to Type: Scripts, Hand-Lettering and Calligraphy

by Robert Klanten (Editor), Jan Middendorp (Editor), Hendrik Hellige (Editor)

Although, or perhaps because, most of us write less and less by hand, our fascination for handwritten letterforms is growing. Typeface designers who specialize in traditional, charming, or spectacular lettering with a handmade look have become role models for today’s young typographers and graphic design students. Script fonts―digital type families based on handwriting―are among the most sought on the typography market today. Scripts from the past, be it 18th-century formal calligraphy or advertising headlines from the 1960s, are being digitized and turned into OpenType programming. The love of the hand-written look is nothing new. Even the oldest printed books pretended to be something unique and not a machine-made mass product. Hand to Type is a collection of some of the best work by today’s lettering artists in the fields of hand-made and digital script forms. The book includes texts about outstanding designers and contains a series of expert chapters outlining the principles of script forms that may be lesser known to most western typographers―from the German Sütterlin to Arabic and Asian scripts. Hand to Type also traces script fonts back to some of the earliest hand-lettering as a sign of authenticity, or printing type made to look like formal writing.

Genres: Design, Nonfiction, Art, Reference, Art Design

240 pages, Hardcover

First published November 25, 2012

About the author

Robert Klanten has been a key figure in the global creative industry for more than a quarter of a century, helping to reimagine the way we approach publishing. He has driven over 800 publications and commercial projects.
Robert is the CEO of gestalten, the company he founded in 1995. Under his leadership, gestalten has established itself as a pillar in the field of contemporary visual culture, design and architecture, by immersing its readers in creative landscapes, cultures, people and art. gestalten regularly collaborates with the biggest names in the creative world and is known and loved by millions around the globe for its iconic books.
He has shown how creativity has no limits in the digital age: through inspiration, inclusivity and promoting understanding; and by connecting the global and the local through storytelling.

Reviews

[Jenny Webb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated, thoughtful essays, just (unfortunately) not well edited.

[Min Tran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book on typography and lettering. It's not a how-to book; it's a beautiful book filled with inspiring works by modern type designers and letterers.