Typographie: A Manual on Design

by Emil Ruder

This book is the legacy of Emil Ruder, one of the originator of Swiss Style, famous throughout the world for the use of asymmetric layouts, use of a grid, sans-serif typefaces and flush left, ragged right text. His holistic approach is still recognized as fundamental for graphic designers and typographers all over the world. The voume is a comprehensive masterpiece seen in its overall structure: in the themes presented, in the comparison of similarities and contrasts, in the richness of the illustrations and the harmoniously inserted types. Behind the purely pedagogic examples of exact proportions, a rich, philosophical thinking shines through. Today, fifty years after this book was first published, it is still widely used and referenced.

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

273 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1981

Reviews

[Vidal Francisco · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book as a layman who knows little about typography and I learned a lot, but it isn’t very straightforward and introduces some lofty concepts that aren’t clearly explained. But a good foundational introduction to graphic design elements.

[Olosta]

Still very much, and nowadays maybe more than ever, relevant book about typography.

A delight for the eyes, light on text and heavy on typographical examples.

[Sergei Bobrov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Сложная практическая литература для тех, кто уже в теме. Пока не совсем понимаю что к чему, потому сложно воспринимать было. Хотя насмотренность хорошая

[SSSJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book teaches about typography related techniques with theories , diagrams , philosophy and practical examples. Some things are outdated which can't be avoided as it has been over 50 years since this book was first published , it is still quite helpful for anyone studying typography.
The book has changed my views about typography in various ways and i totally agree with the author's statements like "Typography has one plain duty before it and that is to convey information in writing. No argument or consideration can absolve typography from this duty.".
NEGATIVE POINT: Sometimes the visuals feel overused and since every page has paragraphs in English , German and French it can force some readers to skim , the book might not be suitable for beginners in the subject of typography.
POSITIVE POINT: The book is light on texts with each line having less than 60 characters and has various diagrams and visuals that make it enjoyable to read , the examples in this book are worth studying for anyone who has anything to do with design or typography.

[Olena Golubiatnikova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Несколько дней назад дочитала "Типографику" Рудера. Хорошая книга, очень так про композицию здорово. А еще понравилось:
"Мышление в контрастных категориях - не путаное мышление, поскольку противоположности могут смириться в гармоничном целом."

[Rusty Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must book for a graphic designer especially if you focusing on Typography.

[Seven Pesos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent design resource. Did a light reading of the text in general, and deeper readings of sections I felt I could learn more from. Will return to this book for reference.

[Azamat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Книга имеет интересный формат и больше напоминает какие-то открытки с небольшими комментариями. Это очень удобно для быстрого освоения материала, но в связи с большим количеством примеров, потребуется больше времени, чтобы это всё устаканилось в голове.

Эта книга мне понравилась больше, чем "Новая типографика", но наличие авторских примеров сводит оформление к несколько условному виду. С одной стороны, Рудер подготовил все примеры специально для книги (сам или его ученики), но с другой стороны хотелось бы разнообразия в картинках - чтобы примеры были взяты из реальной жизни.

Так же порой утомляет читать комментарии, потому что не раз будут моменты, когда текст на первой странице, а примеры на следующей - и всё это с одного листа, т е придется скакать туда-сюда, чтобы читать комментарий и смотреть пример.

В любом случае, так как книг по типографике на русском довольно мало, эту можно рекомендовать дизайнерам, тем более, что автор известен в узких кругах :)

[Fernando · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW!, a great local designer mentioned Emil Ruder as his favourite designer/typographer on a small conversation we had. The name remained on my mind and a couple of days later I found information about Ruder on a Design's History website (Design is History - Emil Ruder).

I've understood how type works thanks to some books on the subject, but I've been never been exposed to such a clear and deep discourse on proportions, contrast, typographical shades, colour, rhythm and some more related techniques for setting type. This is a must and an eye-opener for anyone interested on Swiss and modernist Design.

You can buy a copy directly from the publisher (Niggli), or you can try catching one on eBay and save a couple of bucks. Do yourself a favour and BUY THIS BOOK!

[Shea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this alongside "The Elements of Typographic Style" (Bringhurst). I found the visuals to help and the diagrams particularly intuitive for someone to see the relation to typography to the larger layout/construction of the world.

[Widgets & · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book from a legendary Swiss modernist. More here: http://www.designer-daily.com/book-re...

[Erin Newby · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books on typography.

[Oren Bochman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best!!