Stop Stealing Sheep & Find Out How Type Works

215 Pages·2013·13.818 MB·English

by  Erik Spiekermann

Stop Stealing Sheep & find out how type works S Stop Stealing Sheep
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Third Edition: Celebrating 20 years in print! o
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“ Anyone who would letterspace lower case t & find out how
e
would steal sheep.” a
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frederic goudy (1865–1947), type designer i
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type works
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After two decAdes as one of the world’s Erik Spiekermann is an inform a­ h Third Edition
best-selling books on designing with type – tion architect, type designer e
(ff Meta, itc Officina, ff Info, e
including editions in Korean, German, Russian, ff Unit, LoType, Berliner Grotesk, p
Portuguese, and Polish – Stop Stealing Sheep and many corporate typefaces), &
& find out how type works continues to educate, aanrtdic aleusth oonr toyfp neu amnedr toyupso bgoroapksh ya.n d fi Erik Spiekermann
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entertain, and enlighten design students and He was founder of MetaDesign, d
type lovers around the globe. Germany’s largest design firm, as o
well as FontShop, a company for u
In this third edition, acclaimed type designer the production and distribution t
Erik Spiekermann brings his type classic fully of electronic fonts. He is a board h
member of the German Design o
up to date on mobile and web typography. He also Council and past president of the w
includes scores of new visual examples on how International Society of Typo­ ty
graphic Designers (istd), as well
to effectively communicate with type and a full as the International Institute pe
selection of new typefaces that are used and for Information Design (iiid). w
referenced throughout the book. In 2001, Spiekermann left o
MetaDesign and now runs r
If you use type – and these days, almost Edenspiekermann with offices k
s
everyone does – Spiekermann’s engaging, in Berlin, Amsterdam, London,
and San Francisco. T
common-sense style will help you understand h
In 2011, the German Design i
how to look at type, work with type, choose Council gave Spiekermann its rd
the best typeface for your message, and express highest award for Lifetime E
Achievement. That year, he also d
yourself more effectively through design. received the tdc Medal and the i
Compact, yet rich with anecdotes and visual SoTA award. In 2012, the German ti
Art Directors Club gave him o
examples, the handbook’s multilayered design its Lifetime Achievement Award. n

not only makes for a fun, fast read; it also S
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invites exploration, ensuring you learn some- i
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thing new each and every time you open it up. k
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US $39.99 Canada $41.99 n
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ISBN-13: 978-0-321-93428-4
ISBN-10: 0-321-93428-8
5 3 9 9 9
Adobe Press books are Level Beginning/Intermediate
published by Peachpit, Category Typography/Graphic Design
San Francisco, CA Cover Design Erik Spiekermann
www.adobepress.com Sheep Drawing csaimages.com 9 780321 934284
1
Stop Stealing Sheep
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3
Stop Stealing Sheep
& find out how type works
Third Edition
Erik Spiekermann
Stop Stealing Sheep tRademaRks
& find out how type works Adobe, Photoshop, Illustrator,
Third Edition PostScript, and CoolType are registered
Erik Spiekermann trademarks of Adobe Systems
Incorporated in the United States and/or
This Adobe Press book is other countries. ClearType is a trade­
published by Peachpit, mark of Microsoft Corp. All other
a division of Pearson Education. trademarks are the property of their
respective owners.
For the latest on Adobe Press books,
go to www.adobepress.com. Many of the designations used by
To report errors, please send a note to manufacturers and sellers to dis tinguish
[email protected]. their products are claimed as trademarks.
Where those designations appear in
Copyright © 2014 by Erik Spiekermann this book, and Peachpit was aware of a
trademark claim, the designations appear
Acquisitions Editor: Nikki Echler McDonald as requested by the owner of the trade­
Production Editor: David Van Ness mark. All other product names and
Proofer: Emily Wolman services identified throughout this book
Indexer: James Minkin are used in editorial fashion only and
Cover Design: Erik Spiekermann for the benefit of such companies with
no intention of infringement of the
Notice of Rights trademark. No such use, or the use of any
All rights reserved. No part of this trade name, is intended to convey
book may be reproduced or transmitted endorsement or other affiliation with
in any form by any means, electronic, this book.
mechanical, photocopying, recor­
ding, or otherwise, without the prior isbN 13: 978­0­321­93428­4
written permission of the publisher. isbN 10: 0­321­93428­8
For information on getting permission
for reprints and excerpts, contact 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
[email protected].
Printed and bound
Notice of LiabiLity in the United States of America
The information in this book is distri­
buted on an “As Is” basis without
warranty. While every precaution has
been taken in the preparation of the
book, neither the author nor Peachpit
shall have any liability to any person
or entity with respect to any loss or
damage caused or alleged to be caused
directly or indirectly by the instructions
contained in this book or by the com­
puter software and hardware products
described in it.
5
Page 8 Chapter 1 Type is everywhere.
Type exists. It is a fundamental part of our lives. These simple
facts are essential to under stan ding how to communicate more
effectively.
26 2 What is type?
Between type’s past and its future, our present understanding
of type is rooted in who we are and how we communicate.
Type is a living entit y integrated into society’s moods and trends.
38 3 Looking at type.
Training the eye to recognize type begins with familiar elements
on the page. Looking at type from the basic shapes to the finest
details is the first step toward understanding how type works.
60 4 Type with a purpose.
Choosing typefaces for a particular purpose need not be
more intimidating than planning your ward robe. Matching an
appropriate typeface with the right task is easy.
78 5 Type builds character.
Understanding the tone, or feeling, of text is essen tial in
determining what typeface to use, and how it might be arranged
on the page.
102 6 Types of type.
Once understood, basic characteristics of typefaces can eliminate
difficulty with typeface identification. Simple distinctions among
typefaces are best understood by analogy to human counterparts.
134 7 How it works.
Legible, readable type depends on a few basic principles: space
between individual letters and around words. Choosing the right
typeface for the right text also means using the right spacing.
154 8 Putting it to work.
Considering where type is going to live and work will determine its
effectiveness. Follow simple rules of placement to create practical
page layouts.
172 9 Type on screen.
Type on screen used to be the poor sister of type for print.
While technical restraints remain, there are no more excuses for
choosing an inappropriate typeface for any project that will appear
on a screen.
180 10 There is no bad type.
Type is a basic element of communication. As the means of
communicating changes, type evolves in unique and lively ways.
196 11 Final form.
Bibliography, list of typefaces, index.

7
steaLiNg sheep? Letterspacing lower This is a sidebar. As you can see
case? Professionals in all trades, whether they be by the small type, the copy here
is not for the faint of heart, nor for
dentists, carpenters, or nuclear scientists, the casual reader. All the infor­
communicate in languages that seem secretive mation that might be a little heady
for novices is in these narrow
and incomprehensible to outsiders; type columns; it is, however, right at
designers and typographers are no exception. hand when one becomes infected
by one’s first attacks of typomania.
Typographic terminology sounds cryptic enough
For those who already know some­
to put off anyone but the most hard­ thing about type and typography
We see so much type
that we sometimes nosed typomaniac. The aim of this book and who simply want to check
some facts, read some gossip, and
stop looking. This is is to clarify the language of typography shake their heads at my opinion­
not necessarily a
bad thing, as in the for people who want to communicate ated comments, this is the space to
watch.
case of this sign, more effectively with type.
which tells us that In 1936, Frederic Goudy was in
we may not enter These days people need better New York City to receive an award
this street between ways to communicate to more diverse for excellence in type design.
eleven and six, nor Upon accepting a certificate,
between eleven and audiences. We know from experience he took one look at it and declared
six, and certainly that what we have to say is much that “Anyone who would letter­
not between eleven space black letter would steal
and six. easier for others to understand if we sheep.” Goudy actually used
put it in the right voice; type is that voice, another expression, one unfit for
print. This was an uncomfort­
the  visible language linking writer and reader. able moment for the man sitting
With thousands of typefaces available, choosing in the audience who had hand
lettered the award certificate.
the right one to express even the simplest Mr. Goudy later apologized
idea is  bewildering to most everyone but prac­ profusely, claiming that he said
that about everything.
ticed professionals.
You might have noticed that my
Familiar images are used in this book to book cover reads “lower case,”
show that typography is not an art for the chosen while here it reads “black letter”–
two very different things. Lower
few, but a powerful tool for anyone who has case letters, as opposed to
something to say and needs to say it in print or C APITAL LETTERS, are what you
are now reading; black letter
on a screen. You will have ample opportunity isn’t seen very often and looks
to find out why there are so many typefaces, how like this.
they ought to be used, and why more of them I’m not sure how “black letter”
in this anecdote got changed
are needed every day. to “lower case,” but I’ve always
known it to be the latter; which­
ever way, it makes infinite sense.
See the changes By the time you finish this book
made to the sign I hope you will understand
in the last two and be amused by Mr. Goudy’s
decades: the pronouncement.
small picture on
the right is
from this book’s
first edition,
printed in 1992;
the one on
its left is from
the second
edition in 2003.
paul watzlawick
One cannot not
E
q
u
ity
communicate.
Paul Watzlawick
(1921–2007) is author
of Pragmatics of
Human Communication,
a book about the
influence of media
on peoples’ behavior.
“One cannot not
c ommunicate” is
known as Watzlawick’s
First Axiom of
Communication.
chapter 1
Type is
f
f
U
n
it T
h
in everywhere.