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Re: Fonts?

Subject: Re: Fonts?
From: Dick Margulis <margulisd -at- comcast -dot- net>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Date: Tue, 26 Oct 2004 06:45:08 -0400




Broberg, Mats wrote:

Quoting Dick Margulis:


That's absurd. What was safe and more or less eternal in 1880 or 1920 or 1950 or 1980 looks dated today; and there is no reason to suspect that what is safe and more or less eternal won't look dated ten years from now.


True, if you refer to layout and graphic design.
But probably not true if you talk about typefaces. A good typeface is a
typeface that does not look dated in 50 years, and the history of
typefaces are full of such examples. Take a look at book typography
between 1600 and today. Most books nowadays use the same typefaces as
were used then, with good result.



Mats,

You're right, of course, that we still use faces based on classic designs, even if they differ substantially in the details. I was being a bit hyperbolic there. But individual faces do go in and out of style, even for basic book work. Set (tight/loose) and word/sentence spacing also follow trends. Faces get recut for every new technology. It's actually pretty easy to pick up a book and pin it to a date range of about 30 years without looking at the title page or copyright. I shop in antiquarian bookstores, and I play that game with myself. I don't get fooled often.

Dick

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RE: Fonts?: From: Broberg, Mats

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