Typographic Design: Form and Communication

by Rob Carter, Philip B. Meggs, Ben Day

For more than two decades, the type book of choice for design professionals and students

Typographic design has been a field in constant motion since Gutenberg first invented movable type. Staying abreast of recent developments in the field is imperative for both design professionals and students. Thoroughly updated to maintain its relevancy in today's digital world, Typographic Form and Communication, Fourth Edition continues to provide a compre-hensive overview of every aspect of designing with type, now in full color.

This Fourth Edition of the bestselling text in the field offers detailed coverage of such essential topics as the anatomy of letters and type families, visual communications and design aesthetics, and designing for legibility. Supplementing these essential topics are theoret-ical and structural problem-solving approaches by some of the leading design educators across the United States. Unwrapping the underlying concepts about typographic form and message, Typographic Design, Fourth Edition includes four pictorial timelines that illustrate the evolution of typography and writing within the context of world events - from the origins of writing more than 5,000 years ago to contemporary Web site and electronic page design.

New features

Full-color treatment throughout

A new ancillary Web site containing resources for self-learners, students and professors (www.typographicdesign4e.com)

Two new The Typographic Grid and Typographic Design Process

An updated design education section that includes recent examples of projects assigned by leading design educators

New case studies that showcase design for Web sites and animated typography projects

Case studies detailing examples of visual identification systems, environmental graphics, book and magazine design, Web site design, type in motion, and wayfinding graphics

Updated coverage of digital type technology

Genres: Design, Art, Art Design, Nonfiction, Reference, Academic, Collections

323 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Rob Carter (born 1949) is an American professor of typography and graphic design at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Reviews

[Marcia]

I was intrigued by the film "Helvetica" and decided to try one of MIT's free online courses http://tiny.cc/a4Xr0 "Fundamentals of Computational Media Design." This is the textbook. It's fascinating.

[Elizabeth]

I'm finding this to be really fascinating. It goes into depth no other typography 'manual' I've read has.

[Kn0thing]

A classic to be read and re-read. If you like this and are interested in the larger scope of graphic design, look for Megg's History of Graphic Design - the granddaddy textbook of graphic design.

[Dana]

I bought this book for a class on typography in college. It gives all the basic rules and information about typography which is very helpful for graphic designers or anyone else who wants to learn more about typography. Great book for reference!

[Hau Tran]

A much more in-depth look at typography. Currently reading, so I will have a better idea of how I like it when I finish it.

[Maggies Daisy]

Thought it was a very informative book on Typography.

[Marius Černuševičius]

The book is worth revisit and its plenty of useful information about typography.

[Collin]

This book changed my life.