Introduction

We know that typography has a huge impact on things

such as communication, advertising, readability and
legibility, subtitles, books and more, but what about our
society? How has modern typography affected us as a
civilization/society and why?
This is a very specific uestion, and even though you!d
think the answer is simple " finding research and pure
facts on this sub#ect can be surprisingly difficult$
This essay will try to do #ust that, give some hard facts
about how modern typography has affected our society "
all the while e%plaining why$
The &rinting &ress 'evolution
When a man named (ohannes )utenberg invented the
&rinting &ress machine and method in *+,-, it changed
the world$
(ohannes )utenberg is to thank for books and magazines
as we know them today$ He is also to thank for a lot of
other print related things, the ability to mass.produce
books . from educational documents and te%ts, to the
)utenberg /ible 0the first /ible and document created
using )utenbergs invention1 to enabling the masses to
create and sell their own books and philosophers to spread
their ideas and thoughts$
)utenbergs invention of movable type printing set the
&rinting 'evolution in motion, the &rinting 'evolution is
widely regarded as one of the most important events of the
modern period$
The invention of the printing press played a key role in the
development and beginning of the 'enaissance,
'eformation, the 2ge 3f 4nlightenment, and the 5cientific
'evolution$ It also laid down the material basis for the
modern knowledge.based economy and the spread of
learning to the masses$
)utenberg was the first 4uropean to use movable type
printing, around *+,-$
In 'enaissance 4urope, the creation and arrival of
mechanical movable type printing brought about the era of
mass communication, which permanently altered the
structure of society$ The somewhat unrestricted and un.
guarded travel of information " which included
revolutionary ideas " transcended borders, captured the
masses in the 'eformation and threatened the power of
political and religious authorities$ The sudden increase in
literacy broke the monopoly of the literate elite in
education and learning and gave the foundations to the
emerging middle.class$
2ll across 4urope, the sudden ability to gain knowledge
and cultural self.awareness of people led to the rise in
proto.nationalism$
In the *-
th
6entury, the replacement of the )utenberg.style
press by steam powered rotary presses allowed printing on
an industrial scale, while Western.style printing was
adopted all over the world, becoming the sole medium for
modern bulk.printing$
The sharp rise of medieval learning and literacy amongst
the middle class led to an increased demand for books,
which the time.consuming hand.copying method fell far
short of accommodating$ The process of reading also
changed, gradually moving over several centuries from
oral readings to silent, private reading$
The printing press was also an important step towards the
democratization of knowledge.

The printing press also allowed the establishment of a
community of scientists who could easily communicate
their discoveries through the establishment of widely
disseminated scholarly journals, helping to bring the
Scientific Revolution. Because of the rinting ress,
authorship became more meaningful and profitable. !t
was suddenly important who said or had written what,
Because the printing process ensured that the same information
fell on the same pages, page numbering, tables of contents, and
indices became common, though they previously had not been
unknown. "urthermore, now that book production was a more
commercial enterprise, the first copyright laws were passed to
protect what we now would call intellectual property rights.
#n the other hand, the printing press was criticized for allowing
the dissemination of information which may have been
incorrect.


"riedrich $oenig and %ndreas Bauer
&uring the !ndustrial Revolution, a man named "riedrich
$oenig and %ndreas Bauer altered the design of the rinting
ress radically, first, the use of steam power for running the
machinery, and second the replacement of the printing flatbed
with the rotary motion cylinders. Both changes were
successfully implemented by $oenig. 'e produced his own
new(style steam powered printing press with the help of a man
named %ndreas Bauer. $oenig and Bauer sold their two first
models to The Times in )ondon in *+*,. They then perfected
and refined the early model so that it could print on sides sides
of a sheet at once. This began the long process of making
-ewspapers available to a mass audience .and in turn helped
spread literacy/ and from the *+012s changed the nature of book
production, forcing greater standardization in titles and other
metadata. Their company $oenig 3 Bauer %4 is still one of the
world5s largest manufacturers of printing presses today.
The steam powered rotary printing press, invented in *+,6 in the
7nited States by Richard 8. 'oe, allowed millions of copies of
a page in a single day. 8ass production of printed works
flourished after the transition to rolled paper, as continuous feed
allowed the presses to run at a much faster pace.
'elvetica2s Success
!n the *9012s, a man named 8a: 8iedinger, a Swiss artist, with
the help of another man named ;duard 'offman, created one of
the most popular typefaces of our time < 'elvetica. They
created the typeface at the 'aas Type "oundry in Switzerland.
'aas set out to design=create a new sans(serif typeface that
could compete with the successful %kzidenz(4rotesk in the
Swiss market. #riginally called -eue 'aas 4rotesk, the
typefaces name was changed by 'aas2 parent company Stempel
to 'elvetica in order to make it more marketable internationally.
>hen )inotype adopted -eue 'aas 4rotesk, it2s design was
reworked. %fter the success of 7nivers, %rthuer Ritzel of
Stempel redesigned -eue 'aas 4rotesk into a larger type
family.
'elvetica is one of the most widely used sans(serif typefaces.
?ersions e:ist for the following alphabets and scripts@ )atin,
Ayrillic, 'ebrew, 4reek, Bapanese, $orean, 'indi, 7rdu, $hmer
and ?ietnamese. Ahinese faces have also been
developed=created to complement 'elvetica.
'elvetica is also a popular choice for commercial wordmarks,
including those for Societe 4enerale, 68, %merican %pparel,
B8>, ;A8, Backass, Beep, 8c&onald2s, 8otorola, anasonic,
Target and many more.
So why is it so popularC >ell, 'elvetica was designed in post(
war ;urope, and many companies were looking for a change. !t
was the opposite of all the kitschy, fancy, decorative typefaces
that covered corporate materials and advertisements.
'elvetica2s sleek lines and modern sensibilities were just what
companies were looking for to remake their identities and set
themselves apart.
Aompanies stick by 'elvetica because of what they have
invested in it. Because of this, it has become associated with
corporate culture and business. #ne of the best things about
'elvetica is its neutrality. !t was designed specifically not to
give an impression or have any inherent meaning. %nd because
of this, it2s very adaptable to use for different design projects.
That2s one reason why it2s been used by everyone from ost(!t
to %merican %pparel. !t2s also widely seen online, as it2s a web(
safe font on 8acs.
'elvetica is particularly well(suited to signage and other designs
where legibility is key. This is further reinforced by the wide
variety of companies that have used the font in their logos or
other corporate identity materials .%merican %pparel, %merican
%irlines, Target, the -DA Subway, etc./. %nother of 'elvetica2s
main advantages is that it2s a very EsafeF font. !f you2re unsure
of how particular typefaces influence design, 'elvetica can be a
good fall(back option that will have little impact by itself.
!n 011G, )inotype 4mb' held the 'elvetica -#> oster
Aontest to celebrate the H1th anniversary of the typeface.
!n 011G, director 4ary 'ustwit released a documentary film,
'elvetica, to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of the
typeface.
"rom %pril 011G to 8arch 011+, the 8useum of 8odern %rt in
-ew Dork Aity displayed an e:hibit called IH1 Dears of
'elveticaI. >hich celebrated the many uses of the typeface. !n
01** the &isseny 'ub Barcelona displayed an e:hibit called
'elvetica. % -ew TypefaceC
The e:hibition included a timeline of 'elvetica2s consolidation
over the last fifty years with a view to understanding its role in
the history of design, as well as its antecedents and its
subseJuent influence. The itinerary started out with a selection
of local works, highlighting the top(Juality design of current and
past creations whose common denominator is their use of
'elvetica.
Bauhaus
% man named >alter 4ropius opened the doors to a school that
came to be known as Bauhaus. The year was *9*9 when
4ropius founded Staatliches Bauhaus >eimar.
4ropius named the school Bauhaus, which is the
transliteration for building house, but according to the
Bauhaus(7niversitKt >eimar, it stands for Ean eagerness
to e:periment, openness, creativity, a close link to
industrial practice and inter(nationality.F
;ven though contemporary styles had come into play
before 4ropius opened the school, the Bauhaus
movement was considered a radical step towards
modernism.
Bauhaus was operational in three separate locations@
>eimer, 4ermany from *9*9 < *90H, &essau, 4ermany
from *90H < *960, and Berlin, 4ermany from *960 <
*966.
!t was reJuired for all students to complete a preliminary
course covering theoretical aspects and practical
perspectives before continuing onto the specialized
workshops.
!t wasn2t until the summer of *906 when a poster was
made for the school that attracted others to notice the
uniJue font and design. ;ffective visual communication
was a main focus when creating and designing.
Dou will see a balanced layout, vibrant colors, harmony,
geometric shapes and strong bars.
7sing upper case or lower case fonts, but not a
combination of the two, the typeset was clear and
concise.
The te:t was laid out in various ways.
!n addition to being horizontal and vertical, Bauhaus is
known for placing te:t on angles and also wrapping te:t
around things.
%s the legacy continues, Bauhaus style typography is
still used in modern day designs and posters.
Dou will find their style on album covers, posters for
movies, events, and signage. #ne of the most notable
was a print designed for the #bama residential
Aampaign, a rally which was held in Berlin. !t2s only a
speculation, but using the Bauhaus influenced design
could have been #bama2s way to show respect and
appreciation for the people and the country.

Swiss Style

The !nternational Typographic Style, also known as the
Swiss Style, is a graphic design style developed in
Switzerland in the *9H1s that emphasizes cleanliness,
readability and objectivity.

'allmarks of the style are asymmetric layouts, use of a
grid, sans(serif typefaces like %kzidenz 4rotesk, and
flush left, ragged right te:t. The style is also associated
with a preference for photography in place of
illustrations or drawings. 8any of the early !nternational
Typographic Style works featured typography as a
primary design element in addition to its use in te:t, and
it is for this that the style is named.

The &igital %ge of Typography
8acintosh
The 8acintosh was the first commercially produced computer to
showcase the concept of a 4raphical 7ser !nterface. !t also
helped develop the concept of >DS!>D4 .what you see is
what you get/ printing. Basically meaning that what you saw on
screen was what you got when printing. The concept was
pioneered by the founders of %dobe !nc. This meant that finally
people could print things .especially fonts/ without having to go
through a comple: process to get what they wanted.

ostScript
%dobe then invented postscript which used mathematical
calculations to portray typefaces instead of pi:el by pi:el
definitions of fonts. !t is a computer language for creating vector
graphics. This is turn made printing of fonts and te:t much
easier and much more creatively fle:ible.
)aserwriter
The laserwriter was a laser printer with a built in ostScript
interpreter introduced by %dobe in *9+H. !t was one of the first
laser printers available to the mass market. The laser writer was
a key component in the beginning of the desktop publishing
revolution.
TrueType
The system was released as TrueType with the launch of 8ac
#S L System G in 8ay *99*. %ll of the fonts with TrueType
could now scale to all sizes .which was very difficult to do
before/ on screen and printer, making the 8acintosh System G
the first #S to work without any bitmap formats.

&avid Aarson
&avid Aarson is an %merican 4raphic &esigner and %rt
&irector. 'e is best known for his creative and fresh .not to
mention innovative/ magazine design, and e:perimental
typography. 'e was the art(director of the magazine Ray 4un.
"or which most of his typographic and layout style in known. !n
particular, his widely imitated aesthetic which defined the so(
called E4runge TypographyF era. &avid Aarson was one of the
most influencial graphic designers during the 912s. 'is layouts
and magazines featured distortions or mi:es of vernacular
typefaces and fractured images. 'e left them almost illegible,
leaving it to the viewer to decipher them base on their opinions.
'e was one of the most successful self(taught graphic designers.
-eville Brody
-eville Brody is one of the top names in the 4raphic &esign
industry, because of his style and how he has impacted the
4raphic &esign !ndustry. Brody is mostly known for his
typographic work, it is very creative and different=edgy. 'e
continues to push and break the boundaries of the 4raphic
&esign world. Brody studied at the )ondon Aollege of rinting,
but was always criticized for his creative outlook and out(of(the(
bo: thinking. "rom an early age Brody showed his talent and
motivation. !n the *9+12s Brody started work at a magazine as
an %rt &irector at a magazine called EThe "aceF, a very popular
magazine in the *9+12s. The magazine was known as the
E"ashion BibleF. 'e gained a fair amount of attention from
working in the magazine. >hen he left in *996, he went on to
create his own studio called the M-eville Brody Studio2, which is
now known as the Research Studio, which a risen up in status to
becoming a global success. There are now studios located in
aris, Barcelona and Berlin. Brody has also brought over twenty
different typefaces to the design industry in his career, which
have helped shape the design industry to this day.
Aonclusion
The conclusion to my essay is this, underneath any art
movement, underneath the things we take for granted in our
daily lives < there is history, there is a movement, there is
impact and revolution. The world of typography is something
that we hardly ever think about, let alone get involved in. The
alphabet, language, books and verbal communication are all
something we take for granted and use in our daily lives.
But we, as human beings, as a society, have created and refined
these basic things to what we see around us today. So ne:t time
you see logo < think.
By learning about the past we can learn respect and earn
motivation, to walk towards the future. To create new fonts, new
history < and a new revolution.
So, what does the future of type holdC -obody knows. But we
can guess, and >; can create that future.
'elvetica is one of the most popular fonts ever created, but who
knowsC 8aybe in the ne:t couple of years another typeface will
come into e:istence and become just < maybe even more
popular, than 'elvetica is now. #ld fonts and typefaces are
recycled, and new fonts are created based on older typefaces, so
most fonts are always being re(created, recycled and re(used.
! hope that you enjoyed reading this essay, and have developed
and interest in the world of type.