Post mainly based on the book Basics Typography 03: Understanding Type
For any graphic designer or typographer it is essential to understand history and development of types, in order to contextualise them.
GENERAL APPROACH
ATypl classification system:
1 Classicals
1.1 Humanist (Centaur)
1.2 Garalde (Garamond Pro)
1.3 Transitional (Baskerville)
2 Moderns
2.1 Didone (Bodoni)
2.2 Mechanistic (Rockwell)
2.3 Lineal
2.3.1 Grotesque (Aksidenz Grotesk)
2.3.2 Neo-grotesque (Helvetica)
2.3.3 Geometric (Futura)
2.3.4 Humanist (Gill Sans)
3 Calligraphics
3.1 Glyphic (Albertus)
3.2 Script (Snell Roundhand)
3.3 Graphic (Braggadocio)
3.4 Blackletter (Wittenberger Fraktur)
3.5 Gaelic
Fashionable types: just like clothes, some typefaces can go in and out of the fashion. If they don’t escape trendy trap, they won’t last very long, so using them wisely is a must.
Ubiqutious types: types used everywhere by everyone, often overexposed and being seen as a “lazy choice”. They are default types often within software packages (Helvetica, Times New Roman…)
Delicate types: types with very thin strokes such as ultra-light and ultra-thin.
Classic types: the ones that stand the test of time. Traits of a good typeface are good proportions of x-height to ascender and descender height and depth, not too narrow or too wide character widths, and well proportioned without dramatic changes in contrast between thick and thin stroke.
“From all this experiences the most important thing I have learned is that legibility and beauty stand close together and that type design, in its restraint, should be only felt but not perceived by the reader.” -Adrian Frutiger
Unusual types: perfect for one-off project usually used in advertising or promotional work.
SERIF TYPES
http://orig10.deviantart.net/594d/f/2013/154/6/d/serif_types_by_martinsilvertant-d67nuuc.jpg
You can get this book here:
Interesting and inspirational letterings, I found in Portsmouth (UK):
https://www.instagram.com/p/BA-XM0Ek4Gc/?taken-by=nejakalan
https://www.instagram.com/p/BA2OuhQE4KI/?taken-by=nejakalan
https://www.instagram.com/p/BBVkV8nE4Jx/?taken-by=nejakalan
