Letterforms: Typeface Design from Past to Future

by Timothy Samara

Designer, author, educator Timothy Samara is a world authority on type and graphic design. His 2004 Rockport book,  Typography Workbook has become an essential reference text for design classrooms and industry professionals.

Now, in  Letter The Design of Type, Past to Future he takes readers even deeper, expertly guiding them through the aesthetics as well as the technical considerations of his subject. He begins with an overview spanning the invention of movable type to today's digital typography, and ends with a showcase of contemporary fonts.

Samara's true focus in this book is conveying the essentials of type design to practitioners, and thoughtfully and thoroughly explaining and illustrating the development of form and style. He walks you through letter form anatomy, stroke formation and rhythm, tool methodologies, structure and proportion, tool methodologies, and tons more.

This all makes for one excellent, timely reference work that designers can return to in designing logos, wordmarks, signage, titling accents, and all of their graphic design work.

Genres: Design, Nonfiction

240 pages, Hardcover

Published July 3, 2018

Reviews

[Nicki Markus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Letterforms is a wonderfully interesting read. Beginning with a detailed history of typography, the book goes on to look in-depth at the formation of letters and, from that, typefaces, and ends with a summation of some of the trends of the last twenty years. This is a work that will be of huge interest to graphic designers, but which will also appeal to the average layperson looking to learn more about the subject. I certainly found it fascinating, and as you would expect from a book on this subject, the pages are beautifully laid out. All in all, it is an informative and engaging read.

I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley.

[Literary Redhead · Rating 5 out of 5]

LETTERFORMS by Timothy Samara, world authority on type and graphic design, has created a handsome and very helpful guide that covers letterform aesthetics, technique and history. An essential reference book for graphic designers of all kinds.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.

#Letterforms #NetGalley

[Wayne McCoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Letterforms: Typeface Design from Past to Future' by Timothy Samara is a book about how typeface and fonts are designed.

The book starts with the history of printing fonts and what was considered the norm. As time went by, typeface became bolder in design to help with selling products. The design of typefaces is discussed next with the importance of spacing and letter widths. The book concludes with how letterforms can be extracted for modern logos.

Throughout the book there are many examples and studies. As a calligrapher and reader, I found the book fascinating. I know that spacing exists in type, but the lengths to which it is painstakingly designed. I enjoyed reading this book.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Quarto Publishing Group - Rockport Publishing, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

[Tiffany W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Providing a very detailed (yet abridged) history of typography and fonts, this book introduces the aesthetics of fonts and evolution of letters to readers. Each part of the evolution and history is given a detailed explanation along with lots of pictures, making it a perfect book for reference and people who love the art of letters.
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Overall: 4/5
Appealing: 4/5
Cover: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Page Design: 5/5

[Liz (Quirky Cat) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of Letterforms: Typeface Design from Past to Future through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I should probably preface this by saying that I love typography. It’s my favorite graphic design focus, and I love reading about the history of fonts and typefaces. Naturally when I saw this book I knew there was no way I could continue without having read it, so here I am.
Letterforms is wonderfully comprehensive in the subject that it is covering. Everything from the history to how individual letters were invented, to their evolutions (accompanied by fun anecdotes), and finally even their reinventions.
That doesn’t sound like that much to squish into one book, but trust me when I say that it is. The history of type is actually quite long and sometimes overwhelming. This book gives a full and comprehensive look at it without throwing too much information at once. In short, it’s the perfect balance. Never one did I feel like I was reading a list of facts as opposed to an actual novel, and that exactly what I was hoping for.
Reading about the invention and evolution of the individual letters was fascinating. I knew the basics, but honestly I’ve never seen such an in-depth explanation like this one. I’m absolutely thrilled with it. I actually wish I had this book when I was working on my graphic design degree, but alas…
If you’re looking to learn about something new, or have already found yourself fascinated with letterforms, then this is absolutely the book for you. It’s charming and informative and very well written.

For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[Andreea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was sent a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I have so many mixed feelings about this book! Shortly, this is a book just for the passionate and graphic designers with an interest in typography and fonts. It is a great reference book, but it is not for the ordinary reader.

It really dissects fonts and formats and letters and it gives you all the information you will probably ever need (and possibly more), but at times it felt too crowded on the page or I was getting distracted by some letters and the chapter was failing to get the message through which I think it's not great for a book that is about letters, right?

But it is still a great book, full of information and including in the final chapter a lot of inspiring references to famous text branding, logos and more.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Following a detailed, yet abridged, history into the origins of today's letters, this book introduces different font faces and what their tiny details might tell us about the font, design conventions, formal construction, optics, light and shadow, and many more. There is, for example, a section on terminal shaping, how the end swirl, or not swirl, of a letter should look like and what the different forms are called.

This book is more about the aesthetics and the history and evolution of letters rather than a how-to for different fonts, or lettering.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who is interested in more than just the basics about fonts, people who might work in design or arts departments - or any other font nerd.

[Sammm]

A digitized ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[SplatterGeist Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

A valuable treasure trove for any aspiring or existing graphic designer, regardless of your current position in the field, Letterforms makes a great reference book as well as an exciting encyclopedia (of sorts). If you're a graphic designer curious for deeper knowledge about previous styles of design or how certain typography styles came into being and maintained their popularity, then make sure you grab a copy.

[Maggies Daisy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the book very informative and liked the overall feel of the book. Was nice and easy to follow along with amazing graphics.