type designers art of the 20th century

Author: David Jury
Format: Hardcover
Publication date: 26 June 2025
416 pages

The twentieth century saw many developments in printing technology, which in turn influenced the way typefaces were designed and manufactured. At the start of the century, creating type was limited to a small number of elite artisans capable of hand-cutting each letter out of metal. When the manufacture of type became automated each original letter still had to be drawn by hand albeit now with minor constraints. However, after the Second World War phototypesetting technology caused a radical change in the way type was devised and although its reign was brief it led finally to the new-found freedoms and opportunities of digitisation.

Alongside this background story of technological evolution, Type Designers of the Twentieth Century describes the achievements (and occasional failures) of thirty-seven key type designers to explore the evolution of the designer, the rise of the advertising agency and the changing function of the printer. The working methods of each designer, the typefaces they designed and their lasting influence are described in detail. Here you will find Frederic Goudy and Edward Johnston, Stanley Morison and Roger Excoffon, Hermann Zapf and Adrian Frutiger, renowned contemporary designers such as Neville Brody and Carol Twombly, and many more.

Taken together, the work and working lives of these extraordinary designers chart the radical changes that have taken place in typography during the twentieth century.