Thursday, June 22, 2006
Stop Stealing Sheep and Find Out How Type Works
Erik Spiekermann, E.M Ginger
Published by: Adobe on July 2002
This book was originally published in 1992. The title comes from a fact that Frederic Goudy said:
Anyone who would letterspace lowercase would steal sheep.
This is apparently a misquote according the WikiPedia and Robin Williams. Goudy actually said:
Anyone who would letterspace blackletter would steal sheep
Blackletter is usually referred to as Gothic and the Goudy wisdom encompasses the idea that this kind of font depends on a tight relationship between the adjacent leterforms.
Certainly this book is informative and rich. The style is kind of magazine style - with blocks of text indispersed with images and their captions. A book to dip into then.
Here could be some more books that are just as useful
But they may not be in my bookshelf
Graphic Design: A Concise History (World of Art)
Type and Typography: Portfolio Series
Thinking with Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, and Students (Design Briefs)
No More Rules: Graphic Design and Postmodernism
How to be a Graphic Designer, Without Losing Your Soul
The Ten Commandments of Typography/Type Heresy: Breaking the Ten Commandments of Typography
Dialogue: Relationships in Graphic Design
A Smile in the Mind: Witty Thinking in Graphic Design
