Fifty Type Faces That Changed The World

Design Museum Fifty

by John L. Waters, Design Museum (Contributor)

See the 50 most influential fonts not just on the page of the book, but in use on cellphone screens, billboard posters, perfume packaging, aircraft hulls, buildings and more. This witty, engaging insight into the meanings of type ranges from classical Rome to the digital future, via pivotal moments over the past few hundred years.

Genres: Design, Nonfiction, Architecture, Art

112 pages, Hardcover

First published September 2, 2013

Reviews

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it – what I understood. Too much was left unexplained for this uninitiated reader – why Albertus is called Albertus, for example, and what's the difference between being a member of a "family" of types and being a type with a completely new name despite having been based on another print type. The glossary could have been more extensive – I went looking for "grotesque" with no luck.

The book did send me off searching for more on Pouchee and his decorative alphabets, and it was fascinating to discover that the British face Transport was made for its purpose on travel signs in the UK. I recogized it readily – but had never realized I hadn't seen it anywhere else. A little more discussion of what was different about a new type than its predecessors would have been interesting, too; there's some of that, but the author probably thought it was obvious.

Liked it, though, and I'll read more on typefaces.

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved looking at all the fonts and typefaces. This book is easy to follow, with a short descrip of the history of 50 major typefaces, how they were created and how they evolved into the 21st century. The writing is a little dry and I think assumes you have a pretty good working knowledge of fonts. I wish they showed more of the typefaces. If you're really interested in the history of type, i prefer "Just My Type" by simon Garfield.

[Sula · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sure who this is aimed at - there's not enough background information and context for those who know little about typography, and for those who do there is probably little new to them. The writing is dry and ironically the font it is set in is not the most readable for a body text and would be better just as the titling font.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

A handy reference. Not exactly an intro to using and selecting type. More like an appetizer for such a book.

[Marc Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

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[Alessandro Muraro · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a fun read through the history of typefaces, good book.

[Kya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book for someone who knows nothing about typeface. I enjoyed the read, especially as someone within the design community - I feel as though I will make more informed decisions about my typeface moving forward.