Just My Type: A Book About Fonts – Simon Garfield

Thoughts: Inexplicably, I didn’t take any specific notes on this book, which is a shame because I remember really enjoying it. Simon Garfield outlines the history of typefaces, from Renaissance presses like Gutenberg’s, through Linotype machines and up to modern computer fonts. He talks about how fonts are designed - at times it’s artistic, and at times it can be quite scientific, with fonts being optimized for readability by drivers hurtling along a freeway at seventy miles an hour. A book about fonts will not appeal to everyone, but for those who can imagine themselves interested in the history of Optima and Georgia, Caslon and Bodoni, I highly recommend Just My Type.

Garfield, Simon. 2010. Just My Type: A Book About Fonts. Gotham.