Pretty much every Monday, when I am going through the routine “how was your weekend?” stuff with my classes, I remind them what a total and complete nerd I am. My weekend usually goes, as I relate to them, something like this: time with family, at the park, church on Sunday, and lots of reading. It is beyond them that I choose to spend my free time with a book.
That is why choosing to spend my free time reading Just My Type by Simon Garfield would be so far beyond their comprehension that I would probably lose what little respect they might have for me.
To warm you up for this, watch this short video:
I think my interest in fonts began when I noticed in the publication information (yes, I read all that junk) that the font of the book was specifically mentioned. I am aware of many different fonts thanks to Microsoft Word, but I had never thought about the choice that went in to choosing a font for a book publication. Anyway, that prompted me to buy this book even to the ridicule of my loving parents.
I was hoping this book would be more of a history of printed type. I had hoped it would describe the evolution of one font to the next. I had hopped it would detail the differences between the fonts. Unfortunately for me, it didn’t really do any of that. I am not the intended audience for this book. This is a book for dedicated graphic designers, and not a survey for the layman.
There were certain interesting aspects of this book; it did briefly discuss the designer and inspiration for many popular fonts, it had a few funny chapters such as the world’s worst fonts, it showed some details of obscure fonts. But mostly, reading this book was a labor of love that by the end turned into just plain labor.
Any graphic designers out there? Give it a try. Let me know what you think. For the rest of you, check out something more captivating, like Mrs. Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.
