Thinking with Type

Some of you may recall my rant on the BSU bookstore earlier this week.  However, I was able to get my hands on a copy of Thinking with Type by Ellen Lupton.  The nerd in me really enjoyed flipping through the pages in this book.  As a kid, I used to play around with the fonts on Word and see all the neat things I could do.  The two pages that really stood out to me were 23 and 31.

Page 23 stood out because I have always really liked "Monster" fonts; however, I will admit that I did not know they had such a title until this book.  So, I guess that's the point of this book - to learn something new.  I find the designs of these fonts intriguing.  They are like works of art - ornate and complex.

For similar reasons, I found page 31 interesting.  This section focuses on type as a narrative; that is the idea that the typefaces were designed to reflect "physical process."  These fonts are artistic as well albeit in a different sense.  They are rough and unpolished, which gives them a certain level of interest all their own.