Type Families and Classifications

Over the entire lifespan of fonts, there have been many different kinds of typefaces which need to be categorised in order to be understood. There are four basic groups:

• Serif Typefaces
• Sans Serif Typefaces
• Script Typefaces
• Display Typefaces

As time has gone on, designers and typographers have created and developed different methods to directly specify certain typefaces. Some of these methods and systems have sub-categories in which there are more typefaces. 

Old Style

Old style fonts include the first Roman types, which was first created sometimes between the 15^th and 18^th centuries and also includes typefaces that were created based on these Roman fonts. The axis of the curved strokes in Old style fonts are usually leaning to the left, and the serifs are almost always bracketed. The contrast in the stroke weight is not huge or dramatic and is easy to read.  There is a minimal variation of thick and thin strokes and the serifs on the Old style fonts are usually quite small. 

Neoclassical

Neoclassical fonts were fonts that were created in the late 18^th century and a perfect example of Neoclassical font work would be Giambattista Bodoni’s work. When these typefaces were first released they were known as ‘classical’ designs.  It then became clear to printers and designers that these fonts were not updated versions of old fonts but new designs altogether. Because of this realisation the name was then changed to ‘modern’. They have also been known by the names of Neoclassical or Didone. The letters in this category have been clearly constructed and have very strong contrast between the thick and thin strokes. In Neoclassical design there is usually very little or no bracketing on the serifs. The ends of the letters, known as ‘stroke terminals’ are rounded quite often and gives the typeface a very elegant look. 

Transitional

John Baskerville was an English printer and typographer and was the creator of the Transitional category in typefaces. He established this new design in the mid-18^th century. These fonts represent the transition between Old style and Neoclassical typefaces, and Transitional usually consists of typefaces that incorporate pieces of both Old style and neoclassical fonts. Because Baskerville worked with calendar paper and had developed certain methods, he was able to draw and create much thinner and finer character strokes. In Transitional fonts, there is more contrast than in Old Style, serifs are bracketed and head serifs are oblique. 

Slab

A type design that became very popular in the 19^th century was the Slab serif typeface, and this was mainly used for advertising. Slab serifs have very heavy serifs and very little or no bracketing. The Slab serif typeface is usually seen as a sans-serif typeface to most viewers, with a slight addition of thick serifs. This typeface is usually known for headlines and large text, but is not used for body text. 

Type Families

The Helvetica Font Family

The Garamond Font Family

Dadaism - The Art Movement

Dadaism was an art movement in the early 20^th century and spread through most of Europe. It began in Zurich, Switzerland in 1916 and quickly spread to Berlin. Along with Berlin, it had been very popular in New York and the year before had seen the rise of New York Dada. It rose as an artist’s reaction to the horrific war and many other things that had started the war.  The very origins of Dada were much before the war and many things contributed to the creation of Dada. The development of collage and cubism, along with abstraction from Wassily Kandisky formed part of what was Dada, as they no longer had to work within the constraints of reality and logic. Four main art movements that helped fuel Dadaism were Cubism, Futurism, Constructivism and Expressionism. What came out of Dada varied hugely, as there were many different ways of artists express themselves.

Francis Picabia

Francis Picabia, or Francis-Marie Martinez de Picabia, was a French painter and typographist.  He was born in January in 1979 and died in November in 1953.  He was associated with many different art movements in the early 20^th century and first was involved in Impressionism and Pointillism. After experiencing these two art movements he became heavily interested in Cubism. His abstract approach and pieces were high in colour and contrast, and went very well with the movement. He was one of the foundations of the Dada art movement and was well-known in France as well as the United States. 

This is a piece of work by Francis Picabia and is an oil painting. I find it very interesting when looking at it, as it is very geometrical and brings out the past. Nowadays there are not many illustrations of geometric drawing as much as there are digital geometric drawings, and this makes you see that it was very possible to do this by being a refined painter. The shapes in this painting are all jagged edged and there are hundreds of them, adding to the big picture look. I also like the colour scheme that has been used here as it has a great difference in colours and also the fact that Picabia used a very effective colour combination. Orange and black go very well together and this painting proves it. There are also hints of red in the painting, adding a little shading to the painting. It is very surreal and is not supposed to be anything real, which is what I like about Picabia’s work. Even with the fact that it is a surreal painting, it reminds me of a cave, as the painting almost looks like it curves forwards near the top, and how it changes perspective near the middle of the painting, creating a ground angle.  This is my favourite piece of Picabia’s, as there is nothing negative I can find about this painting. 

Marcel Duchamp

Marcel Duchamp was a French painter, sculptor, writer and a professional chess player. He was also a naturalised American and travelled to America back and forth in his life. He was born in July in 1887 and died in October in 1968. A lot of his work is associated with Dadaism and conceptual art. He is also considered one of the three artists who helped create and further develop the design of the plastic arts, the other two artists being Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. Duchamp was seen as very important and had huge impact on the art in the 20^th century and overall design of the 20^th century. His work was so powerful that some of his work also helped inspire and create art and design in the 21^st century.

This is a painting of Marcel Duchamp’s, and is a geometrical painting. I think this ties in very well with Surrealism and Cubism and is very strange in its own way. I really enjoy looking at the bright and vibrant colours in this painting and the way the colours impact the painting strongly. The most common colour in this painting is yellow, followed by orange and blue. There are many shapes in this painting and they all form together to create a scene. This enables viewers to interpret it differently among themselves, as each person may see something different when they look at this. The shapes morph into people and I imagine this scene in a room lit by a lantern, thus causing the yellow light, but then I wonder where the blue colour comes into play. This is the ingenuity of Duchamp, as he didn't want people to think realistically and start thinking of the impossible. In a way, the colours and the way Duchamp painted and used create a very soft feeling, thus making you think the image is melting or something of the sort. This is my favourite piece from Marcel Duchamp, as the use of powerful colours and geometrical shapes create an astounding image. 

Max Ernst

Max Ernst was a German painter and sculptor, as well as a graphic artist and a poet. He was born on the 2^nd of April in 1891 and died on the 1^st of April in 1976. Ernst was a fundamental key to the development and creation of the Dada art movement and a leading figure in the Surrealist art movement. He lived in France and the United States for long periods of his life and was a renowned artist. He was an innovative artist whose art was shocking yet brave and he had a very artistic vision, which can be seen in his work in Dadaism and Surrealism.

This is a painting by Max Ernst and is a very well created and professional painting. I think this is a piece of work for the Surrealism art movement, simply by looking at the elements on the page and seeing a kind of melting effect. The colours on this painting are not very different and stay within the same colour range. The colours do not branch out, so it isn’t too harsh on the eyes to see too many vibrant colours on the page. The first, main colour that you see is the bright green that is in the shape of a large sculpture. Everything around the bright green sculpture has been given the effect of fading away, and looks like it has been there for a long time; however this bright green object has only been there for a short period of time. I also think that the green object looks like it is melting, as the objects and the way they have been painted make it look like an almost liquid form, and is quite thick and gloopy. When I look at this painting I feel as though it is quite eerie and sinister, as the dark colours in the background and the bright overpowering green in the foreground makes me almost nauseous. Of course, this is just my opinion, and many other people may consider this as their favourite pieces of all time. Ernst wanted all different opinions on his work, and thus allows this in his work. 

The Bauhaus Movement

The Bauhaus was created by Walter Gropius in 1919, just after the end of the First World War, and was founded in the city of Weimar in Germany. Walter Gropius was a German architect and was a visionary, wanting to create and inspire. His main objective of the Bauhaus School was seen as crazy at the time; to combine all the arts into material design.  In other words, the entire sector of design expanded from that point onwards in history. Gropius explained his thoughts for his genius thoughts and ideas and was effectively combining architecture, sculpture and painting into a single expression. With this in mind he created a curriculum so crafted and well-thought out that artists and designers were able to learn and create areas of both art and design.  This led to many different and varied creations in the industry.

Herbert Bayer

Herbert Bayer was an Austrian American graphic designer, painter, photographer and architect, as well as many more professions. He was born in April in 1900, and died in 1985. He joined the Bauhaus somewhere between 1921 and 1924 after he became an assistant to an architect. He created and designed materials as well as advertising graphics for the Bauhaus.  He left the Bauhaus in 1928 to become art director of Vogue Magazine in Berlin. He was widely seen as the last living member of the Bauhaus, and will be remembered for his work during the Bauhaus movement. 

Herbert Bayer created many masterpieces with the intention of making them simple yet aesthetically pleasing. This particular image I enjoy looking at because of its colour scheme and how it excels in the simplicity of itself. The first thing you see in this image is that the page is on a slant, which is not unusual considering the world had seen the rise of slanted designs before, such as Jan Tschichold’s work in the Swiss graphic design sector. The slant of this poster is not even a major difference to the readability or look of the poster, and adds quirkiness to this piece of work. Most slanted works are hard to read and require some head-turning, but this certain way needs no movement. The text is all in a sans serif font and if it were in English would have been easy to read, as it stands out in the centre of the page. The small thumbnail photo in the corner is a very nice addition to the page and gives it a more approachable feel. Something else I noticed in this design was that there were many orange/red rectangles all over the page, highlighting text and gaining attraction in certain places. The colour scheme of this poster is orange, black and a papyrus colour and texture that was very popular in the early to mid-20^th century. This is, in my opinion, a great choice of colours and it worked tremendously well.

Naum Gabo

Naum Gabo, or his birth name Naum Neemia Pevsner was a well-known Russian sculptor and was involved in the Constructivism movement in the 20^th century. He was also a pioneer of Kinetic Art, a form of art that contains movement that can be seen by the viewer or looks like it is in a fixed state of motion. He was born in August in 1980 in Bryansk, Russia. He began as an engineer instead of an artist, and this led to many new and interesting designs in the art world. He was the first sculptor to ever use translucent materials and to create great abstract creations to incorporate space in a positive way. Along with Constructivism, he was associated with many other art movements, such as Cubism, Futurism, Abstraction-Creation and Bauhaus.  He made countless creations and a lot of his work can be seen at the Tate Gallery in London. His most famous work goes by the names of Constructed Head No.2, Head of a Woman and Translucent Variation on Spheric Theme, and many more. 

I really like this piece of work of his, as it looks really abstract and well-created, and in some perspective looks almost space-like. It is called ‘Linear Construction No.2’ and was formed together using plastic and nylon threads. It exists in more than twenty versions, and differ in hanging or standing in a room.  It is said to be one of Gabo’s favourite works and perhaps this is the reason why I enjoy looking at is so much.  I noticed the reason why it feels space-like is because of its three-dimensional look, as this was created by placing the stringing in certain areas. As it gets closer to the centre of the sculpture, the entire object looks more and more packed with string and plastic, making it look very calm on the outside. 

Johannes Itten

Johannes Itten was a Swiss expressionist painter, designer, teacher and much more. He was associated with the Bauhaus school, as he and Lyonel Feininger worked under the direction of Walter Gropius within the Bauhaus school. He was appointed as one of the first masters at the Bauhaus school in 1919, and until 1922, he was both director of the preliminary course and master of form of many workshops. He was an important pillar in the Bauhaus art movement, as he promoted the Mazdanan cult, which spread over religions and many philosophies. He left the Bauhaus in March 1923 after difference of opinion with Gropius. 

Johannes Itten's colour wheel is a very important piece of work contributing to his collection, and is also the first thing that caught my eye as I searched for Johannes Itten's pieces of work. After researching I found that Johannes Itten was one of the first few people to define and figure out the best colour combinations. This led to many great colour schemes, which led to many great designs.  The way he created this technique was by creating a geometrical representation of 12 different shades of colours. He based these colours of the three min colours, which are blue, red and yellow. He would then create another colour by mixing the first two primary colours together, creating a secondary colour. From mixing red with yellow, red with blue and blue with yellow, he was able to create three different secondary colours. 

Lyonel Feininger

Lyonel Feininger was a famous American-German painter and a fundamental key to the Expressionist art movement. He was also very good at illustrating and doing things such as caricaturing and drawing comic strips. He was born in July in 1871 and was born in New York City, where he spent his early life until he was 16, when he left for Germany to study and practice his art, so he could achieve his ambition. In 1894 he began his working career as a cartoonist and was greeted with a lot of success. He was a well-known caricaturist and worked for magazines, newspapers and many types of publications which alternated between America and Germany. When he turned 36 he started looking at other options in the art field, and found he enjoyed spending time as a fine artist. As well as fine art, he had also produced many photographs to which he kept close by and showed only to his friends. On top of being a fine artist, photographer, cartoonist and caricaturist, he was also a pianist and composer and had made several compositions. He also did some work for Bauhaus and worked at the school for a number of years. 

Lyonel Feininger’s paintings were usually in the geometric style and had many jagged edges of different shapes all over the painting. Many of the buildings in his paintings are usually made up of triangles and the top of the houses usually look very sharp. I really like this style of painting as it differed a lot from traditional fine art painting, and went for something new and completely different. In this particular painting, you get the sense you are looking at a house through a street with houses on the side. The house on the end looks very small compared the houses on the side, but that could just be perspective. The colours used in this painting have been picked very well, as it gives off the feeling that it was painted to look like it was at night, or in the late evening. The dark blue and the turquoise colour at the top make the painting feel as if it is portraying night. Something else that proves this painting is set in the dark is how on the right there is a yellowish tinge radiating the area around it. I think this is a lantern and it is glowing and lighting up everything around it. This painting is very grainy and I this effect goes quite well with this painting, as this is one of the ways you can see a clear difference in shapes. 

El Lissitzky - Constructivism

El Lissitzky, or his full name Lazar Markovich Lissitzky, was a Russian artist, photographer, designer, typographer and architect. He was one of the influential members of the Russian Avant Garde and helped spread and grow suprematism, an art movement based on shapes and geometrical designs. He did this with the help of his mentor Kazimir Malevich, which he also produced propaganda and exhibition displays with. El Lissitzky was a fundamental part of the Bauhaus and Constructivism art movements in the 20th century.   He was born in 1890 in Pochinok, a small town which was roughly 30 miles from Smolensk, the former Russian Empire. Pochinok was mostly Jewish, which shaped Lissitzky’s life around the fact that he was Jewish. He spent most of his early life in Vitebsk, which is now part of Belarus, and then went to Smolensk Grammar School. At 13 he received advice from local Jewish artist Yehuda Pen, and at 15 was already teaching other students about different aspects of art from what he had learnt so far. He applied to Saint Peterberg but was rejected purely on the fact that they only allowed a certain amount of Jewish students into their university. This was decided by the Tsarist regime. He went to study in Germany, studying architectural engineering, and in the summer of 1912, he wandered around Europe, travelling from places like Paris and Italy. While he travelled, he learnt things everywhere he went and found out all sorts of things, from fine art to ancient Jewish culture. He was forced to return to his home after the outbreak of the First World War, and went through Switzerland and the Balkans. 
In my opinion I think EL Lissitzky was a fine artist and had a real knack for creating images and posters, and created them perfectly. I enjoy looking at a lot of his creations and I like to think that he shaped the design for the 20th century. 

These pieces created by El Lissitzky are very professional and in my opinion are excellent. The use of shapes and geometrical shaping really grabs the audiences attention, and you instantly see this. The image with the cube in the centre is a very well-known piece of El Lissitzky's, and is also one of my favourites. The reason I find it fascinating is because of the fact that it is so simple yet it looks so good. The image basically shows a triangle grid near the bottom of the image, with two lines protruding from the base of the triangle. The lines are curved and are two contrasting colours, red and blue. In between these lines is a cube, and the tip of the square is touching both the red and the blue line. The cube is in a simple perspective and has clear and effective shading. The base of the square is white, and the rest of it is white. The background of this image is a papyrus-colour and works very well, as he used this in many of his images. 

The second image works well because it is an arrangement of complex shapes and minimalism, which somehow tie in and look quite good in this image. The image basically shows a collection of different shapes and lines with different colours, and this is what attracts a viewer. The reason I saw this image was because of the bright red square within all the dark coloured lines and other shapes, as well as the same papyrus-coloured background which EL Lissitzky has used countless times. I also like the small stars in the top of the shapes, as the black and red stand out from the papyrus and also give the viewer a shape to which they can relate to, as everyone has seen a star before. Many of these shapes are quite unusual and quirky, and I think the reason a square was put in the centre was for people to notice that before noticing all the other shapes. The last image is also an arrangement of shapes and lines, but in this image it is accompanied by text, and this is a well-known piece of El Lissitzkys. It works quite well in gaining viewers and an audience, as the famous colour scheme of black white and red are being used in this image. Black white and red are very commonly used in a lot of practices within the art sector, so it is not unusual for an artist to create a piece of art using these colours. The first thing you see when this image grabs your attention is the giant  red triangle on the white background, accompanied by half of the image being black. Inside the black background is a white circle, which connects to the white half of the background. Trying to describe this piece is quite difficult, which is why simply looking at the image tells the entire story of what it is. The reason I like this image is the amount of shapes and different colours Lissitzky had to create, and the time it must have taken must have been very long. No two shapes are the same, and this is what i like most about this piece. 

Jan Tschichold - Swiss Graphic Design

Jan Tschichold was a Swiss typographer, designer, teacher and writer. He was born in 1902 in Leipzig, Germany, and grew up in Switzerland in the early 20^th century. He was known for being an innovative and transformative designer in the 20^th century and his designs and creations were an inspiration to many people. Tschichold’s father was a local sign-writer and had practiced calligraphy. This childhood upbringing and background is what made him different from other typographers of that era. As almost every other typographer had gone to an art school or had studied for many years, Tschichold already had a lot of experience and this proved to be successful. This upbringing may have also been the reason why he, unlike any other designer or typographer, used commercial paper stocks and stock fonts rather than handmade paper and custom-made fonts. 

Tschichold's work really speaks out to me, as I really enjoy the minimalistic side of art, as that is where modern art is going. I am fascinated by the contrasting colour schemes and the bright reds and blues in his work. For example, the first poster on the left is very simple but requires a simple approach to this design. The way Tschichold makes your eyes feel as if they should view the poster at a slight angle rather than head on is astounding and is very clever. The entire poster has been created at a slant, yet looks completely normal. The colour scheme of this poster is black, white and red, which is a very popular colour scheme among many professions in art and media. Something I find unique about Tschichold is how he created a small circle in the top right of the poster where he inserts a portrait image of a man. I find this interesting and it works very effectively. The text as well as the page is on a slant and is matching to the same angle.
The second poster is the one on the top right, and this colour scheme is also black white and red. I like this one the most, as it deals with perspective on the text and images. It has red lines coming from near the top right corner and this is where everything on the page is warping around. I like this effect and I think it has worked really well, especially the text. I also like the red circle with an image inside it, as Tschichold has put a square image in a circle, trying to stand out and be very recognisable.
The third poster has a different colour scheme and is quite different to the other two, as many things are different, but effective. The font is different and looks elegant and classy, and the colour scheme is black white and blue. The text seems to be slanted again in this poster, which is clear it is a unique mark of Tschichold. The page is also slanted but this time has a huge chunk of the blue part taken out, which I think is a really well-done and perfect choice for a design like this. 
Tschichold's work has impressed me and I really like his style of work, as it expresses minimalism and perspective, along with incorporating shapes into your designs. I also like the way he slants his work, which I think is quite clever with the work he does, as it makes the poster look like there is more than there actually is.

Herbert Matter - Swiss Graphic Design

Herbert Matter was a Swiss-born American designer and photographer, and was well known for his revolutionary use of photo collaging. Matter heavily influenced design in the 20th century and helped form the many different kinds of design we have today. He was born in Engelberg, Switzerland, in 1907, and grew up in Switzerland. He studied painting and design in Switzerland as well as in France, and he worked with a number of people famous for their innovative and creative ideas and creations, such as AM Cassandre and Le Corbusier. When he returned to Zurich in Switzerland, he created posters for the Swiss National Tourist Office, and instantly internationally received many compliments and praise. When he had reached the end of his education, Matter became a freelance graphic designer and photographer in Paris, not unlike other Swiss graphic designers of that era. He travelled to America in 1936, where he was hired by the great art director Alexy Brodovitch. He worked and created masterpieces for famous magazines such as Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue and many others. He began working as a professor of photography at Yale University in 1952 and ended his teaching career in 1976. He was also a design consultant from 1958 to 1968 to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. In 1977 he was elected to the New York Art Director’s Club Hall of Fame. He received a Guggenheim Fellowship in Photography in 1980 and the AIGA award in 1983. 

These designs are very varied in the sense that some of them are simple and some of them are quite full of information and objects. For example, the America Calling is quite simple yet has an elegant feel to it. I think this could be the sepia tones making it look elegant, but this is how it is effective. It also uses the colours of the American flag to attract an audience and to get people to look at the poster. It also has a grainy feel to it, and I think this looks good as it makes the image look older than it actually is, and ties in well with the sepia tone. The font also comes together with the old-style theme of the image. The second image is, in my opinion, very crammed and in-your-face. When I say this I mean it was intentionally meant to look like this, and the artist has pulled that off spectacularly. My favourite thing about this image is the fact that the entire image is black and white, with the contrast quite high, and the instant pop of red in a few words. The font makes it even harder to read considering the colours in the background clashing with the colours in the foreground, as well as the actual font itself. This was meant to stand out, as a new way to attract an audience, and it worked very well. The third poster is an image of a snowy road, and once again Matter made a bold and eye-catching design, as the photo in the background is all black and white, excluding the sky, and then the title in red guides your eyes to the wording, thus creating an effective poster. It is not a dark shade of red, but a very bright and saturated shade of red, and works well in this style of work. 

Swiss Graphic Design - Josef Muller Brockman

Josef Muller Brockmann was a Swiss graphic designer and a teacher. He was born in the town of Rapperswil, Switzerland in 1914. Most of the subjects he took in the University of Zurich were mostly design-based, as he studied architecture, design and the history of art. After leaving university Brockmann began his career by becoming an apprentice to designer and advertising consultant, Walter Diggelman, but already had second thoughts. He left the apprenticeship and instead audited courses by Ernst Keller and Alfred Williman at the Zurich School of Arts and Crafts. He devoted himself to being a freelance designer and illustrator, and in 1936 opened up his own studio in Zurich, focusing on graphics, exhibition design and photography. He was asked to create some concert posters in 1951 for the Tonhalle in the same city of Zurich, which he created and called ‘Musica Viva’.

These pieces were created by Brockmann, and just by taking a quick glimpse you can see how inspiring and influential he must have been to other aspiring graphic designers in that time. A lot of his work usually contains 2 or 3 colours, but that sometimes differs. The one with the black lines intrigue me because of the fact that it looks strangely like a 3D image, which could have been the effect he was trying to send out. The image with the two arrows really interests me because he uses negative space to try and make the viewer doubt which arrow they are supposed to be looking at, and in that perspective I think he managed to hit that target. I think that design is very innovative and the idea of two arrows is used by many companies and logos today. I really enjoy looking at the piece with the white lines and the blue background, as it is a very simple colour scheme, but needs only shapes to attract an audience. He used rectangles of different widths and lengths to create an almost futuristic look. 

In Brockmann’s work, he makes good use of shapes and colours, and really knows how to combine the two into something marvellous. Many posters are usually crammed with a lot of objects and focal points, but Brockmann creates pieces that are very simplistic and easy on the eyes. This is a great trait of Brockmann’s, as he is able to keep a page shockingly simple yet also catch an audience’s attention rapidly. His work is a great example of Swiss style, as Swiss art usually excels in simple and clean art which promotes minimalism. Some posters and designs almost make me feel claustrophobic, as there is many a time where there is too much crammed onto one page, but with Brockmann and his Swiss design it is much more relaxed and free.  

The Innovation of Linotype

The creation of Linotype is one of the most distinguished artifacts and inventions in the United States’ entire printing world. Created and developed by German watchmaker Ottmar Mergenthaler in 1884, it revolutionised the way type was created, and the world had not seen anything as innovative or astounding since the creation of Gutenberg. The linotype hugely increased the speed at which printing was done, and the newspaper industry excelled because of this creation. Its technique, at the time, was quite innovative and outside-the-box thinking, and required actual lines of text instead of each individual letter. The name Linotype is derived from the full name, Line of Type, which is exactly what the machine is. This machine is very different from any other machine and there are a number of reasons why. It also had a professional effect on printed work, which led to the newspaper industry becoming more popular. Like all products, the Linotype had a rival, and it was called the Compositor, which promised a faster and practical way of creating type. Both machines wanted to revolutionise and change the way the print world saw things, but the Linotype came out on top as its machinery and simplicity was what people wanted.

The Linotype is quite large and measures at about 7ft tall. It works by creating a line at time, thus the reason why it is called Line of Type. Inside the Linotype are matrices, which are small brass parts with the edges indented with characters. These are assembled into lines to create a line of text. Once one of these lines are creates, a line of text is automatically cast via a solid bar which is more commonly known as the Linotype slug. The person behind the machine, the operator, types the text onto the keyboard and the Linotype pulls type, which is then able to be printed. The Linotype machine has four major components that make the machine able to work and function properly. These four parts are: the magazine, the keyboard along with all its parts, the casting machinery and the distributing mechanism. The matrices are held in the magazines and they show the different type cases. The keyboard works by getting the matrices in the right/wanted order, as it gives complete control of the machine and allows the operator to write and create lines of text that they so want. Once the keyboard is set with all its different functions, the rest of the process is automatic.

Linotype Model 4

The matrix is the very foundation of the Linotype machine, as casting a line of text and returning all the matrices back to their places is essential for the Linotype’s success. To produce a single line of text with the Linotype machine, three steps must be accomplished. First, the matrices must all be composited into a line. Secondly, the slug (line of text) must be cast. Thirdly, and lastly, the matrices should all be distributed back to where they originally were. 

The sequence in which the Linotype machine works is quite simple if you understand the basics of a printing press. The person behind the machine, the operator, presses the desired characters and letters on the keyboard, which releases the selected matrices from the magazine. The matrices are then sent to an assembling elevator, where they are all put in order. The letters are then engraved into the matrices, after which this line of matrices goes to where they are cast, the casting unit, where a plunger injects molten metal into the mould. The slug is then put into the galley tray, where the lines are held in the correct order. While this is happening, the matrices are being sent to the second elevator and are distributed into the magazine, where they are supposed to be. Once the Linotype slug has been created, it is taken to the proofing area, where it is locked in a bed press and inked and printed to check if there are any mistakes or flaws in the text. If there are any, the slug goes back to the composer. When the slug is correct, it is signed off and sent to the press.

The keyboard of a Linotype machine is quite similar to a typewriter. It has 90 keys and is separates letter cases, as all the lowercase letters are on a side depending how often they are used.  All the uppercase letters are on the other side. All of the symbols that are not letters are situated in the middle of the keyboard, in between the lowercase and uppercase letters. The unfortunate thing was that although this machine was very complex and was very innovative in its time, it had no backspace key or anything to erase the past commands. If a mistake was made, the operator would run their fingers down the first two rows of the keyboard so that the slug would come out as ‘etaoin shrdlu’. This would mean that they would have to recast thee slugs, but on occasion these mistaken slugs would make their way into the newspapers and prints, making it a joke in the printing industry. 

This is the keyboard of a Linotype machine, all the lower-case letters on the left, the upper-case letters on the right and all the symbols in the middle.

The creation and development of Linotype drastically sped up the printing process, as prior to the creation of mechanical printing everything would be printed by movable, individual letters. Many people were needed for print, as they needed to set the type by hand, which meant that countless people were hired to try and speed up the process. This did not work out as planned, and printing with movable type was chaos. It would take very long to find letters and assemble them into lines, in order. It was a very slow, tedious and tiring work, and this meant that printing newspapers or books would take a very long time. Many a time would a typesetter run out of letters, or sorts, as they were called, thus the saying, “out of sorts.” This was very frustrating for workers as they had spent a very long time trying to assemble a line. The Linotype machine massively increased the workload and was much faster, efficient and less time-consuming. It also only needed one person to operate it, which meant that a single man could do the work of five or six men. Naturally this kind of speed in the workforce made the initial workers fear they would lose their jobs. However, this was quite the contrary, as the speed at which they were creating magazines, newspapers and books was so fast compared to their original work speed that they needed more men to work the machines. 

As you can see, the text has individual letters and characters in it, which proved to be a much slower process. 

On this image, you can see a very clear difference in the way it holds text, as the whole line of text is on this one bar, known as the Linotype slug. 

The creation of the Linotype machine led to many other pioneering breakthroughs in the 19^th century and early 20^th century. However, it was not born overnight. It had many competitors and had been thought about for at least twenty years prior to the Linotype machine. All these machines before the Linotype machine had not been as successful as the Linotype, leaving the Linotype machine to prove the best.  Its simplistic, reliable and easy to use design had made it that much easier to choose between the Linotype machine and other competitors, such as the Paige Compositor. It completely changed the way the print world works as it was much more available to the public, as well as its high production rate. The fact that it took almost no labour compared to a job you would need six people for was astounding. These qualities of the Linotype machine had locked in its fame and soon it was all over the globe. It was internationally seen as a success. It is a machine that will not be forgotten in the print world, as it revolutionised typesetting and printing. 

Johannes Gutenberg

Johannes Gutenberg, or his full name Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg, was a German blacksmith and inventor and is the man who led Europe with his invention of the printing press. His invention proved to be superior and far more advanced than the work of other printing presses in the past. Mechanical movable type was not around or had been thought of before Gutenberg had begun using his innovative ideas and turning them into reality. The printing press played a vital part in history and without Gutenberg and his ideas the world would not be what it is today. The creation of the printing press is regarded as the most important event in the modern era. It gave a chance for ordinary people to be able to read and to have knowledge. Before this only the churches would get prints and books. This gave power to the masses and quickly spread all around the world. His work started the printing revolution and was also very important in the making of the Renaissance, Reformation, the Age of Enlightenment and the scientific revolution.

Gutenberg was born some time in 1398 and was born in the German city of Mainz and was the youngest son of the high-class trader and merchant, Friele Gensfleisch zur Laden. His second wife was the daughter of a shopkeeper in the town he lived in. It is believed he was baptised somewhere around where he was born. There is not a lot of information regarding Gutenberg's early life, and most of it is a mystery. He is mostly known for things he did later in life and when he used his innovative ideas to help push the future forward.

Gutenberg had already created certain inventions for printing, and it was the combination of all these that he was able to create the mechanical movable-type printing press. By doing this it allowed the mass production of printed books and was available to both readers and printers. The way he created type was to create a type metal alloy which consisted of lead, tin and antimony which had a low melting point which made the alloy more durable. He used a mixture of different mechanisms and tools from many different areas and put it all into one machine, which made it easier, effective and much more affordable. The first model that he created was in Strasbourg and was around the year of 1440.

A replica of the printing press

The Gutenberg Bible

Movable type was a big improvement on the older, traditional techniques that were used to create documents and manuscripts. At the time handwritten techniques were still being used. Mechanical movable type revolutionised European book-creating. Gutenberg changed the world for the better as his invention spread rapidly across the globe. The way he did it was by using wooden letters or characters and later turned them into metal, then formed an oil-based ink which was then used on the metal characters in the wooden printing press. With this innovative and brand new creation, 42 entire lines could be produced simultaneously, which hugely decreased the labour needed to work the machine, thus making this invention much easier and practical. Gutenberg’s most prominent book was a book called the Gutenberg Bible, and due to the high value and low price of it, almost anyone could buy one. This led to a massive rise in movable type and many people found out about Gutenberg through his book, which were only 42 lines.

In 1468, the great inventor Gutenberg died, and the most unfortunate aspect of history is that he was never appreciated in his own time, but was only recognised as a mastermind after he died. The story is quite tragic, as no one really believed in his inventions and he died thinking nothing had changed.  He died in his home city, Mainz, and was buried in a church that was later knocked down and replaced with a newer church, which was also knocked down. He may have received no recognition in his own time, but history regards Gutenberg as one of the most influential creators of all time.

Movable Type

Movable type is when typography or text is created using movable pieces of metal or other materials such as wood with engraved letters in them, so after being soaked in ink would create the letters after pressed down.  Movable type is usually individual letters and punctuation marks, so naturally it would take a decent amount of time for a single document to be created.

The first ever movable type system for creating text or art was created in China by a Chinese inventor by the name of Bi Sheng. It was made of ceramic materials and was made in the Northern Song Dynasty, around 1040 AD. It spread to Korea 200 years later in the Goryeo dynasty and this led to a metal version of the printing machine. Over 200 years would have definitely seen some new advances in the printing press, but nothing that included this kind of machinery. Because of this new technology they printed the Jikji, the oldest extant movable metal print book. These two machines were very difficult to keep up with however; they both took a lot of manpower and labour and were also very expensive. In China they still continued to use the ceramic system whereas in Korea they had the metal system. The manpower needed to handle thousands of ceramic and metal tablets was unimaginable. 

In the 15^th century Johannes Gutenberg created a much easier and innovative movable printing system which had mechanics that were much more advanced than the one created by the Chinese 400 years ago. It was also considerably easier to use because the European language had less characters and the text was more limited. Something I find very fascinating is how the type pieces are still created using the same alloy of lead, tin and antimony, which is what Gutenberg used in his printing press. 

Movable type was much more efficient and quicker to use than woodblock printing for many different reasons. The individual letters made out of metal were more durable, thus having a longer use life. The lettering was more uniform and looked tidier than the woodblock printing. Because of simple and limited alphabets such as English or various European alphabets the printing press was extremely effective and was heard about more and more. In 1445 the Gutenberg Bible was of very high quality and of a low price, which meant anyone could get one. The popularity of the Gutenberg Bible led to the quick news that movable type was much more superior to other techniques such as woodblock printing. As the news spread, so did the printing press, and soon they were all over Europe.