2. August 31, 2015Article 1
Creative Visions
MATTHEW CARTER
Typography Issue
Rules of different
type styles
History of Georgia typeface
and the man who created it
Inside the life of Typography
A Man of Type
Georgia & Verdana
3. Rules of
Different
Type
Styles
gEvery designer needs to understand typography.
We explain the fundamental concepts and
terminology in words that you can understand.
I
n this article we introduce
the fundamental concepts
of typography, followed by a
detailed glossary of its
main terms.
Typography is, quite simply, the art and
technique of arranging type. It’s central
to the work and skills of a designer and
is about much more than making the
words legible.
Your choice of typeface and how you
make it work with your layout, grid,
colour scheme, design theme and so on
will make the difference between a good,
bad and great design.
Good typography is partly down to
creative intuition, but it’s impossible to
become skilled in typography without
understanding the basic rules of the
craft – even if you mean to break them.
There are an astonishing array
of professional fonts to choose
from. But with great power
comes great responsibility.
Just because you can choose
from a vast library doesn’t
mean you have to; there’s
something to be said for
painting with a limited palette,
and tried and
tested fonts like Helvetica
continue to serve us well.
Despite sites such as ours
providing links to the best free
fonts available, but that doesn’t
mean it’s not worth investing.
A typeface, like any form of
design, is created by craftsmen
over a substantial period of
time, using the talent and
experience they’ve been honing
for many years.
And the benefits of a
professionally designed font
– various weights and styles
to form a complete family,
carefully considered kerning
pairs, multi-language support
with international characters,
expressive alternate glyphs
to add character and variety
to type-setting – are not
always found in a font
available for free.
choosing a font
4. g
Here are some of the most
important typographic
considerations the professional
designers needs.
01. Size
All typefaces are not created
equally. Some are fat and wide;
some are thin and narrow. So
words set in different typefaces
can take up a very different
amount of space on the page.
The height of each character is
known as its ‘x-height’ (quite
simply because it’s based on
the letter ‘x’). When pairing
typefaces - such as when using
a different face to denote an
area of attention - it’s generally
wise to use those that share a
similar x-height. The width of
each character is known as the
‘set width’ - which spans the
body of the letter plus a space
that acts as a buffer with other
letter.
The most common method
used to measure type is the
point system, which dates back
to the eighteenth century. One
point is 1/72 inch. 12 points
make one pica, a unit used to
measure column widths. Type
sizes can also be measured in
inches, millimeters, or pixels.
02. Leading
Leading describes the vertical
space between each line of type.
It’s called this because strips
of lead were originally used to
separate lines of type in the
days of metal typesetting.
For legible body text that’s
comfortable to read, a general
rule is that your leading value
should be greater
than the font size; anywhere
from 1.25 to 1.5 times.
03. Tracking and kerning
Kerning describes the
act of adjusting the space
between characters to create
a harmonious pairing. For
example, where an uppercase
‘A’ meets an uppercase ‘V’, their
diagonal strokes are usually
kerned so that the
top left of the ‘V’ sits above the
bottom right of the ‘A’.
Kerning similar to, but not the
same as, ‘tracking’; this relates
to the spacing of all characters
and is applied evenly.
04. Measure
The term ‘measure’ describes
the width of a text block. If
basic concepts
you’re seeking to achieve the
optimum reading experience,
it’s clearly important
05. Hierarchy and scale
If all type was the same size,
then it would be difficult to
know which was the most
important information on the
page. In order to guide the
reader, then, headings are
usually large,
sub-headings are smaller, and
body type is smaller still.
Size is not the only way to
define hierarchy
it can also be achieved with
colour, spacing and weight.
Typography
is a beautiful
group of
letters,not
letters in a
beautiful
group.
5. Matthew
Carter (born
1 October 1937 in
London)
A type designer and
the son of the English
typographer Harry
Carter (1901–1982).
He lives in Cambridge,
Massachusetts, United
States. He designed
the classic web fonts
Verdana and Georgia,
as well as other
designs including Bell
Centennial, Miller and
Tahoma. In 2010, he
was named a MacArthur
Fellow.
MatthewCarter
6. 1937 Born in London.
Introduced as a child to
type by the work of his
father, Harry Carter, a
typographer, book designer
and type historian.
1955 Accepted at Oxford
University but unable to
start until the following
year he begins an
internship at Johannes
Enschede en Zonen,
typfounders and printers,
Haarlem, Netherlands to
study punchcutting for a
year. Visits the Plantin-
Moretus Museum in
Antwerp where he assists
Harry Carter and Dis
Vervliet sorting collection of
16th century punches
1956 Decides not to
take up place at Oxford
University. Instead, assists
Harry Carter in organising
a small museum about the
history of
Oxford University Press
1960 While working as a
freelance designer and
lettering artist in London,
he visits New York and
meets Jackson Burke,
director
of typographic development
at Mergenthaler Linotypeh
1963 As Typographic
Advisor to Crosfield
Electronics, agents for
the Photon/Luitype
photosetter, he frequently
visits Deberny Peignot,
manufacturers of Lumitype
fonts, in Paris, and meets
Adrian Frutiger.
1965 Works as staff type
designer at Mergenthaler
Linotype, Brooklyn, New
York. The best known
design from his six years
there is the script face
designed for photosetting
in 1966, Snell Roundhand.
1971-81 Works as freelance
type designer in London for
Linotype companies in the
US, Germany and the UK.
1977 Becomes Senior Critic
at Yale University School of
Art in the Graphic Design
MFA programme. Carter
holds this position today.
1978 Completes a four
year project to Bell
Centennial which was
commissioned by AT&T
with an outstandingly
exacting technical brief
specifically for use in US
telephone directories,
BIOGRAPHY
where it is still used today.
Designs Galliard, which
was influenced by Robert
Granjons’ 16th century
type designs, and quickly
became a publishing
industry standard.
1980 Appointed
typographical advisor to
Her Majesty’s Stationery
Office, London & Norwich,
England – a post he held
until 1984.
1981 Co-founds the digital
type company Bitstream,
Inc. in Cambridge,
Massachusetts, with Mike
Parker, Cherie Cone and
Rob Friedman, as vice-
president and director
responsible for design
standards. Among the most
successful designs
is Bitstream Charter,
with its exceptionally full
character set.
1991 Leaves Bitstream to
co-found Carter & Cone
Type, Inc. in Cambridge,
Massachusetts, with Cherie.
1994 Designs Verdana for
Microsoft in answer to the
challenges of on-screen
display and to recognise
the characteristics of pixel-
rather than pen-rendering.
7. C
arter has the
privilege of having
retraced the
technological development
of typography in the course
of his own training. After his
immersion at Enschedé, he
spent six years as a freelance
type and lettering designer in
London. He then moved into
phototypesetting technology
as a typographical adviser
to Crosfield Eletronics. In
1965 he decided to move to
the United States to take a
position at Mergenthaler
Linotype in New York,
where he designed Snell
Roundhand, Helvetica
Compressed, and Greek and
Korean faces, among others.
Six years later, Carter crossed
the Atlantic again, returning
to London but preserving
his link with Linotype. He
designed Balliard, the font
that is perhaps most closely
identified with his name,
during this period, as well as
Bell Centennial, a beautiful
space-saving font created for
use in American telephone
directories. Alongside these
classics, he created Hebrew,
Greek and Devanagari fonts,
as well as Shelley Script.
Crowning, metaphorically
but also somewhat literally,
the prolific period, Carter
was named Typographical
Adviser to Her Majesty’s
Stationery Office, the British
government printer, from
1980 to 1984, and was elected
a Royal Designer for Industry
in 1982. In the midst of the
professional recognition,
Carter became interested
in the entrepreneurial
implications of the digital
type revolution. In 1981 he
was one of four cofounders of
Bitstream Inc., a digital type
foundry based in Cambridge,
Massachusetts. Bitstream
was among the first of the
independent font foundries.
More than a decade later,
two of the founding partners,
Carter and Cherie Cone,
established a new, smaller
company called Carter
Cone Type Inc. With the
diminution in scale and staff,
Carter was relieved of some
of the administrative and
financial burdens to be found
in larger organizations.
Carter’s typographic
achievements over the last
five years have proven the
wisdom of his move into
smaller quarters: some of
his finest works—the fonts
Elephant, Mantinia, Sophia,
Big Caslon, Alisal and
Walker—were created during
1995 Designs Sophia for the Museum of
Fine Arts, Boston influenced by lettering
on a Roman chalice in the Museum’s
collection, and Walker,
the mutable typeface for the Walker Art
Center in Minneapolis.
1997 Designs Miller, based on 19th
Century Scotch Roman faces. It becomes
a popular choice for newspapers including
the UK’s The Guardian.
2002 Typographically Speaking: The Art of
Matthew Carter opens at the University of
Maryland Albin O. Kuhn Gallery, Baltimore.
2004 Designs Yale, a signage typeface for
Yale University, and refines the typeface
for the identity of the Museum of Modern
Art, New York.www
I describe
Carter Sans
as a sanserif
whose stroke-
endings show
the effect of
the chisel
more then the
pen
8. I have
always been
intrigued by
inscriptional
lettering
with flared
terminals to
the strokes
this period. While many
of Carter’s typefaces have
responded to pragmatically
defined needs, the Carter &
Cone fonts have tended to be
of a more speculative nature,
pursued as inspiration struck.
Mantinia, for example, is
based on the lettering that
mesmerized Carter when he
saw a major retrospective of
Andrea Mantegna’s work: “I
think he is the best letterer of
any painter. I had this feeling
that, historically speaking,
Mantegna had been very
important in opening people’s
eyes to the beauty of the
classical letterforms.”
Carter’s reputation is one
built on both good type and
good words: his contributions
to the formal vocabulary of
typography must be seen
against the backdrop of his
intellectual gifts. He is an
articulate commentator
on typography, an amused
observer of its public life,
sprinkling lectures with puns
and aphorisms that betray the
life of a mind obsessed with
type (e.g., “movable type is
now mutable type.”).
Carter sees two tendencies in
type designers: those who have
a strong visual personality,
and those whose work does
not elaborate a signature
aesthetic. Carter offered Goudy,
Hermann Zapf and Gerard
Unger as examples of designers
whose work he admires for its
singularity of vision. Carter
vividly described their fonts
as having “residual, skeletal
forms.” He sees himself,
however, as coming from a
different position, attributable
to his background in type-
founding rather than art or
design school. While there may
be no recurrent structure from
one of Carter’s fonts to the next,
there is certainly a great deal
of structure particular to each
one. One of Carter’s favorite
assessments of his work asserts
that the letters he draws have
“backbones.” This sturdiness
of structure is evidence of
an analytical rigor that his
fonts, writing, and speaking
share. His typefaces have the
precision, conviction, and
distinction of a well-thought
argument or clear diction.
When Carter says, “I can’t
think of a period in typography
that I would rather be working
in,” one realizes that he has
grasped the implications of his
own talent in its intersection
with history. When asked
what sustains his interest in
typography, he offers this:
“A font is always a struggle
between the alphabetic
nature of the letterform,
the ‘A-ness’ of the A, and
your desire to put some of
yourself into the letterform.
It’s a struggle between
representing something (you
cannot take endless liberties
with a letterform) and trying
to find some iota of yourself
in it.” With characteristic
modesty, Carter speaks of
finding oneself in the letter
as opposed to merely putting
oneself in it. The statement
is a beautiful evocation of the
tension between expression
and restraint that animates the
work of Matthew Carter.
9. The medal of AIGA—the most distinguished in the field—is awarded to
individuals in recognition of their exceptional achievements, services
or other contributions to the field of design and visual communication.
The contribution may be in the practice of design, teaching, writing
or leadership of the profession. The awards may honor designers
posthumously.
Medals have been awarded
since 1920 to individuals
who have set standards
of excellence over a
lifetime of work
or have made
individual
contributions
to innovation
within the
practice of
design.
Individuals who
are honored may
work in any country,
but the contribution for
which they are honored should
have had a significant impact on the
practice of graphic design in the United States.
M
atthew Carter is
a type designer
with fifty years’
experience of typographic
technologies ranging from
hand-cut punches to computer
fonts. After a long association
with the Linotype companies
he was a co-founder in 1981 of
Bitstream Inc., the digital type-
foundry, where he worked for
ten years. He is now a princi-
pal of Carter & Cone Type Inc.,
in Cambridge, Massachusetts,
designers and producers of
original typefaces. His type
designs include ITC Galliard,
Snell Roundhand and Shelley
scripts, Helvetica Compressed,
Olympian (for newspaper
text), Bell Centennial (for the
US telephone directories), ITC
Charter, and faces for Greek,
Hebrew, Cyrillic and Devana-
gari.
For Carter & Cone he has de-
signed Mantinia, Sophia, Ele-
phant, Big Caslon, Alisal and
Miller. Carter & Cone have
produced types on commission
for Microsoft, Time, Newsweek,
Wired, U.S. News & World
10. Report, Sports Illustrated, The
Washington Post, The Boston
Globe, The Philadelphia In-
quirer, The New York Times,
BusinessWeek, The Walker Art
Center, the Museum of Modern
Art, Yale University, and the
Hamilton Wood Type Museum.
Carter is a Royal Designer for
Industry, and a Senior Critic
on Yale’s Graphic Design facul-
ty. He has received a Chrysler
Award for Innovation in De-
sign, the AIGA medal and the
Type Directors Club medal. In
2010 he was awarded a MacAr-
thur Fellowship, and in 2011 he
received the Lifetime Achieve-
ment Award from the Smithso-
nian National Design Awards.
Born in Czechoslovakia, Peter
Bil’ak lives in the Netherlands;
worked at Studio Dumbar,
before starting a design studio
in The Hague, Netherlands,
where he works in the field
of editorial, graphic and type
design, combined with part
time teaching at the Royal
Academy of Arts in the Hague;
in 1999 started Typotheque
type foundry, in 2000 founded,
edited and designed art & de-
sign journal DOT DOT DOT; in
2009 co-founded Indian Type
Foundry, now writing for vari-
ous design related magazines;
and collaborating on creation of
modern dance performances.
FUTURE / HISTORY
Celebrating the 25th anniver-
sary of the AIGA Boston New
Directions lecture series, FU-
TURE / HISTORY is a series
of lectures engaging the voices
defining contemporary graphic
design. Bringing established
masters and rising stars of
design together, FUTURE /
HISTORY creates a dialogue
considering the future of visu-
al communication. The series
will kick off in April with type
designers Matthew Carter and
Peter Bil’ak, followed by a lec-
ture in May by one of the orig-
inal New Directions speakers,
Rick Valicenti. Two additional
FUTURE / HISTORY lectures
are being planned for Fall 2014.
I’m not sorry
that I began
learning by
learning
to make
type before
learning to
design it. But,
I would not
neccessarily
recommend it
nowadays.
