Type is Beautiful

Behind every typeface is a story—who designed it, and why? What are its distinctive characteristics, and what cultural baggage does it carry?

Type is Beautiful explores fifty of the most remarkable typefaces, dating from the birth of European printing in the fifteenth century, including the type used in the Gutenberg Bible, the first significant book to be printed in Europe, to the present day.

The book features key examples in the aesthetic development of typography, such as Caslon, Baskerville, and Bodoni, and those fonts which have made a significant impact on the wider world. Many fonts have added style to something culturally important, such as Johnston Sans on the London Underground, or have assumed cultural significance of their own, sometimes by accident. For instance, the designer of Comic Sans created the typeface for use in speech bubbles for a Microsoft programme, never expecting it to become one of the world's favourite—and also most maligned—fonts.

Through the fonts, the book also examines the often colourful lives of the key designers in the evolution of typography: Johannes Gutenberg, William Caslon, Nicolas Jenson, Stanley Morison, and William Morris, among others. It includes anecdotes like one designer who threw his unique set of metal type into the Thames to prevent others from misusing it, illustrating the enduring influence these figures have had on print culture.

Of equal appeal to general readers, designers, and typographers, Type is Beautiful provides a vibrant cultural guide to the aesthetic choices we make in order to spread the word.