Ellen Lupton

The organization of letters on a blank sheet—or screen—is the most basic challenge facing anyone who practices design. What type of font to use? How big? How should those letters, words, and paragraphs be aligned, spaced, ordered, shaped, and otherwise manipulated? In this groundbreaking new primer, leading design educator and historian Ellen Lupton provides clear and concise guidance for anyone learning or brushing up on their typographic skills. Thinking with Type is divided into three sections: letter, text, and grid. Each section begins with an easy-to-grasp essay that reviews historical, technological, and theoretical concepts, and is then followed by a set of practical exercises that bring the material covered to life. Sections conclude with examples of work by leading practitioners that demonstrate creative possibilities (along with some classic no-no's to avoid).

A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, & Students

Thinking with Type: A Primer for Deisgners

matej yangwao

Onboarding to fonts, brings overview, history, AA, how to use typography while sending message, tweaking right amount of text, less is more nuance.

Seems great intro but not any deep dive.

≥The bottom line is that when typography is used in a creative and sensible way, it adds value to the words and gives them structure, allowing the meaning to be conveyed in a more concise and impactful manner.

≥Text positioning is, therefore, vitally important in terms of the overall look of your work.

≥When positioning text correctly, a process called “kerning” needs to be used. This helps the designer manually adjust the space between each letter and ensures that letters that don't sit next to one another naturally can be tweaked to look more visually pleasing.

≥You also need to make sure that you’re not using too many words to get your message across. A message can often be communicated effectively with fewer words, and readers don’t need to be confused with excess bulk. Try getting to the point with fewer words and focus on being concise.

≥Just as designers should avoid filling up space with arbitrary visual effects, writers should remember that no one loves their words more than they do.

Erik Wallace

From time to time I buy resource books and out of all of my purchases this may be the most handy. Besides being beautifully laid out and a pleasure to read, there is a wealth of information for designers of all experience levels. Thinking with Type provides a nice overview of the history of typography starting with the first typefaces to desktop publishing. From type the subject matter shifts to basic design principles and there is also a nice intro to grids. To top it off there is an excellent appendix full of wonderful resources: proofreaders marks, keyboard shortcuts, the correct usage of dashes, and lastly, worthy advice on all things design. Fantastic.

Thinking with Type: A Primer for Deisgners A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, & Students

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