Typography is associated with the design, choice and use of types.
Do you know the etymological origin of the word typography ? If not, and before going into the full analysis of the meaning of the term, it is important for you to know that it is found in Greek. Specifically, this word comes from the union of three components: the word types which means “mold”, the concept graphos which can be translated as “to write or record” and the suffix – ia which is equivalent to “quality or action”.
Typography is the skill, craft and industry of choosing and using typefaces (letters designed with a unity of style) to carry out a printing task. It is an activity that deals with everything related to the symbols, numbers and letters of content that is printed on physical or digital media.
The design, appearance and dimensions of type depend on typography. It is possible to distinguish various branches or divisions in this art, such as creative typography (which explores graphic forms beyond the linguistic purpose of symbols), editorial typography (linked to the normative properties of type families), detailed typography or microtypography (focused on line spacing, letter spacing and visual marking) and macrotypography (specialized in the type, style and body of symbols).
Origins of typography
Initially, typography imitated calligraphy. Over time, more legible and easy-to-understand types were chosen, a decision also linked to technical advances.
The original movable type was developed by Johannes Gutenberg ( 1398-1468 ), although such experiments were already being carried out by the Chinese in the 11th century. Gutenberg dedicated himself to engraving the characters in relief in reverse on a matrix made of steel and, in 1445 , he succeeded in creating the first printed book in the West (the Bible ).
The aforementioned book is also known as the 42-line Bible, in reference to the number of lines that made up each page.
Typography is linked to the letters, numbers and symbols that are printed.
What are the types
When talking about typefaces, which are each of the existing types of letters or the printing parts used to highlight a specific letter or sign, we must emphasize the fact that they have a series of components that make up their anatomy. Thus, for example, they have a height, antlers, an arm, a tail, a certain inclination, serifs and even an ear.
In this way, starting from this set of elements and many others, two classifications of types are established: historical or by form.
In the case of the first type we can say that it is made up of ancient, Egyptian or modern types, among others. Meanwhile, in the second type, this set of letters is differentiated based on whether or not they have serifs that make it easier or more difficult to read.
Typography techniques
In the 19th century , typography relied on two major techniques: monotype and linotype .
While in monotype each symbol is cast in relief in isolation, in linotype the entire lines are cast separately and, at the end of printing, the whole line is cast again.