Jan Tschichold

Hajo Hadeler

Essays on the Morality of Good Design

The Form of the Book

Nick Gracilla

Jan Tischichold was a leading proponent of modernism — he died in the 70s, and left the legacy of the redesigned Penguin Classics books. He later recanted on his rigid views as laid out in Form of the Book. Read it to see deep insights into form and structure of texts; underlying patterns of form stretching back to illuminated manuscripts; the oddities and peculiarities of folks in typography; and how the lack of an indent on a paragraph leads to misunderstanding, cultural ruin, and decay. 

 The book itself should be highlighted as a paragon of successful typography: beautiful paper, set in Linotype Sabon, and a real pleasure to read.

The Form of the Book Essays on the Morality of Good Design

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