Typography

Because I am a page designer for the school paper, typography is something that I enjoy. A well-designed page for me is all about the type.  So needless to say, I was excited about this blog.

The type for my book is blackletter.  Blackletter is often referred to as Old English or gothic.  The Gutenburg Bible was printed with blackletter. 

A sample of the type from the prayer book.  

It was used in Germany until the 1920s, when sans serif fonts became more popular. In 1933 Hitler declared the new typography un-German and Fraktur to be the people's font. The Nazi's continued to use this font until 1941 when the Nazi's banned its use, citing its "Jewish origins." (Heller)

Sample of Fraktur

Blackletter is characterized by tight spacing and condensed lettering.  Condensing the lines and letter spacing reduced the cost of book production by cutting the amount of materials needed. (Graphic)

Blackletter is not used much today because it is hard to read.  The font is not as hard to read in my book, because of the small amount of text. Imagine if this font was used in commercial books today.  Would you like to read Harry Potter or  your favorite paperback in this font?

You can see blackletter today in the New York Times masthead, on a bottle of Corona, or, my personal favorite, at the entrance of Disneyland.

"The text of the book is the thing for which everything else exists." -W.A. Dwiggins, The Structure of the Book 

Works Cited
Graphic Design History. Blackletter/Gothic Lettering. N.p., 2011. Web. 24 Feb. 2014.
Heller, Steven. The meaning of type. Eye Magazine, 2003. Web. 24 Feb. 2014.