Typography is the art and procedure of arranging fonts and writing languages readably and also visually appealing. The history of typography starts from hand-written fonts and has grown to visual fonts to date. Many important elements are involved in typography such as adjustment of spaces between the alphabets and words, point size height measurements of characters, kerning (another word for spaces between some specific letter pairs), and others.
The history of typography has 4 major stages right from the early hand-written documents and books, the Gutenberg Revolution, the Rise of Modern Typography, and finally the Digital Age. Among these 4 stages, the rise of moving fonts took place in the Gutenberg Revolution by Johannes Gutenberg, evolution in the printing technology look place in the rise of the modern typography phase, and visual fonts evolved in the digital age respectively.
How did the Evolution of Fonts take place over the Centuries?
In the beginning, fonts were merely hand-written but the manuscripts were very attractive and inscribed amazingly. This was called calligraphy which was very popular because of its attractive look and perfection of expressing emotions.
Later in the 15th century, Johannes Gutenberg brought the Gutenberg Revolution which changed the way people understood fonts. Movable types of fonts evolved in this revolution period and the production of numerous printed books & other materials took place, increasing the literacy rate and spreadable knowledge.
Last but not least, in the Industrial Revolution and the digital age, computerization took place and visual fonts came into existence. These fonts were faster to be produced and easier to spread, not only in a particular place but worldwide.
This gradual evolution of fonts over the centuries changed the way people wrote, understood, and spread knowledge through fonts. That is why this evolution is visual and widely accepted throughout the world.
Frequently Asked Questions –
- Which factor played a major role in the evolution of fonts over the centuries?
The addition of technology in the way people visualize and use fonts has brought a great amount of evolution in font styles over the centuries. Nowadays, movable fonts are used by numerous mass production houses and digital typography is not a big deal now.
That is why it can be said that technology is one of the most crucial elements of the process of evolution of fonts throughout these years.
2. How can the history of typography be described in 2-3 lines?
The history of typography took place right from the hand-written manuscripts directly to the movable font types which were discovered by Johannes Gutenberg. This invention was done in the 15th century and it brought a lot of difference in the way people communicate and disseminate knowledge with each other now.
Nowadays, digital fonts are used which follow their own set of principles. More and more visual effects have started adding up with the fonts to spread information and knowledge throughout various media sources.
Conclusion –
Typography has evolved so much from the time it was first invented till now and this progress will keep moving ahead more and more in the coming years. However, one thing that would never change is the ‘change’ itself. Technology, advancement in knowledge, increased accessibility to worldwide sources, and many other factors have contributed to this evolution & this will surely keep going on.
Therefore, keeping up with the growing pace of fonts without forgetting their roots (the history of typography) is what will keep people up to the mark while working with fonts. Using different font styles will then be possible if you are up-to-date with the additions that come up every day and include them in your work whenever necessary for sure.