Towards a TypeMedia Syllabus

Currently this is an informal reader, a list of useful books and of articles for the student interested in typography and typedesign. This list is not complete, nor does it claim any authority. It was compiled by a real person looking at actual books, so that might be a plus.

  • Françoise Berserik, Lettercarving for typedesigners. The Hague: Erven Berserik Uitgeverij, 2024 [84 pp]. 2024
    ‘This handbook was written for the students of Type and Media. Its aim is to explain how to carve letters in stone. It describes the course, which consists of a sequence of three carving exercises and many practical aspects relating to these, such as choosing and preparing stone, learning about tools, and sketching and making a new drawing for lettering that is suitable for carving.’
  • George Bickham, engraver, The Universal Penman. London: 1743 [212 p]. 1743
    Modern edition by Dover Publications, Mineola, New York. “George Bickham, a noted engraver and calligrapher, first compiled this work back in the 1740’s, from the best specimens of 24 of the leading calligraphers of his day. UnfortunatelyBickham published his work in 52 separate parts over a period of eight years. In Bickham’s own day it was difficult to get a complete set of the Universal Penman.”
  • Alfred Fairbank, Berthold Wolpe, Renaissance Handwriting, An Anthology of Italic Scripts. London: Faber and Faber [104 p + 96 plates]. 1960
    Fairbank’s introduction discusses different handwriting practices in the Renaissance. Quills, proportions, ink etc. Wolpe wrote notes on the 96 plates.
  • Edward M. Catich, The Origin of the Serif. Brush Writing & Roman Letters. Davenport, Iowa: Catich Gallery St Ambrose University [312 p]. 1968
    “This handsomely illlustrated book goes beyond a discussion of the serif. Here you will find a new approach to the history, lineage, and development of our alphabet, a detailed explanation of letter cutting in stone, the manner in which the brush differs from all other writing tools, and the role it played in the shaping of our classic Roman alphabet, with a wealth of other information pertinent to the graphic arts, including an account of the early twentieth century Chicago sign writing and its relation to Imperial Romain epigraphy.”
  • Mathieu Lommen, John Lane, Bram de Does, typographer and type designer.. Amsterdam: Uitgeverij de Buitenkant [312 p]. 2003
    “Bram de Does is best known internationally as a type designer, and the influence of this Trinité and Lexicon on younger designers is undeniable. […] This monograph is the first comprehensive publication devoted to De Does’ life and work. It places his book and type designs in a broader context, and includes seven contributions by prominent designers on De Does’ typefaces in their design practice. It also provides an extensive bibliography.”
  • Nicolete Gray, Ray Nash, Nineteenth Century Ornamented Typefaces. London: Faber and Faber [238 p]. 1976
    “This classic work, originally publised in 1938, has been revised by the author for the present new edition in larger format. It is still the only book devoted to this brilliant initial period in the history of display type design. Chapters on nineteenth-century layout, and the final decade 1890-1900 have been added; also a chapter on nineteenth-century type by Professor Ray Nash.”
  • Gerrit Noordzij, Broken scripts and the classification of typefaces. The Journal of Typographic Research, vol.4, no.3, 1970, pp. 213-40. 1970
    Written as a review of Walter Plata, Schatze der Typography, gebrochene Schriften (Frankfurt on Main), this is the first publication of Noordzij’s contrast origin theory. → PDF
  • Gerrit Noordzij, The stroke, theory of writing. The Hague: Royal Academy of Art, Amsterdam: Uitgeverij de Buitenkant, 2021 [86 pp]. 2021
    Reprint of the 2009 Hyphen Press edition with minor text corrections. New cube illustration by Just van Rossum.
  • Fred Smeijers, Counterpunch. London: Hyphen Press [192 pp]. 1996
    “Western typography is still dominated by letterforms designed in the first hundred years of printing. What were the processes behind these forms? This book provides a close-up view of the work of these sixteenth-century French and Flemish punchcutters.”
  • Robin Kinross, Modern Typography, an essay in critical history. London: Hyphen Press [192 pp]. 1992
    “In a survey of developments since 1700, this book proposes new understanding of modern typography: as something large and more deeply rooted than a modernism of style. Rather, ‘modern’ is taken to imply an articulate consciousness of action. The book’s treatment lays stress on debates over principle and explanations of practice But full weight is given to the social, technical and material bases of the activity.”
  • Walter Tracy, Letters of Credit. A view of type design. Boston: David R. Godine, [224 pp]. 1986
    Practical introduction to proportion (chapter 6), The form of letters, Secondary types: italic, bold face (chapter 7), Numerals (chapter 8), Character spacing (chapter 9). Good bibliography
  • Gerard Unger, Theory of Type Design. Rotterdam: nai010 publishers [240 pp]. 2018
    Unger discusses different topics in and around type design. Richly illustrated with examples from his own practice and historic and contemporary work, footnotes and references.