The Elements of Typographic Style
by Robert Bringhurst

    This is one of the most comprehensive books I have read about typography. Bringhurst covers both basic design concerns and typographic history in a succinct, authoritative and orderly manner. This is an excellent introduction to those wanting to learn about typography although it is not for the casual reader. It could also be very helpful resource to those already working with type. The book itself is very well organized, and all headings used are listed in an appendix. This gives the reader a good overview of the content, and an easy way to use the book for quick references.

    While the content is focused on print, principals regarding the proper use of type to elucidate the text and invite the reader can be translated into web design and usability. I found Bringhurst's traditional approach to type particularly refreshing in today's post-Carson typography scene with its glut of free fonts and software. The book contains many useful design principals for type which would be analogous to learning colour theory or composition for design; rules that can be applied to any media, rules that you can perhaps stretch, bend or break once you've grasped them.

    Having said that, the book, however comprehensive, is by no means complete. Because Bringhurst focuses so strongly on traditional forms of text, there are no examples of type in different contexts such as advertising, or as pure design elements. Colour, for example, is not discussed. Also, non-romanized forms of other beautiful calligraphic traditions such as Japanese fonts are outside the scope of this book, although Bringhurst gives other romanized alphabets some consideration, especially the Greek alphabet.

    Overall, I found The Elements of Typographic Style to be highly informative, concise and a pleasure to read. It has a timeless quality, a strong foundation to understanding typography that will not be held sway to transitory design trends.

review by: Erica Sum

Paperback - 320 pages 2nd ed edition (January 31, 1997)
Hartley & Marks Publishers; ISBN: 0881791326

Erica Sum is currently taking cinema studies at U of T, and can also be found studying art fundies, film and animation at Ryerson, Sheridan and Studio M as a part time student. Her interest in Flash stems from her previous work in computer graphics. http://esum.tigblog.org