Typography is one of the most important aspects of web pages. Without good typography, the page will be unsuccessful even if the design is fantastic.

Brief history of typography:

Typography is the study of type, typefaces and the evolution of printed letters. Earliest recognition of writing can be seen in the Egyptian hieroglyphics. The modern typefaces of western printing have evolved from the scripts of the calligraphers of 1st century Rome. The first production of books before the invention of printing was written by scribes and was very time consuming.

During 1440-50 Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press. The invention was a punch made of steel with a mirror image of the letter, which was struck, into a piece of softer metal. Molten metal was poured into this and you got type. These individual types were put into a matrix to form a page of text, inked, then pressed into paper. Gutenberg produced the forty-two line Bible as a result of his invention.

At the time of the industrial revolution, typesetting and printing speeds increased. Rotary steam presses replaced hand-operated ones. Punchcutting was improved, type could be scaled up or down without losing any of its shape or weight.

In the middle 1940’s and early 1950’s type could be projected onto photo sensitive paper using photocomposition machines. Lenses were used to adjust the size and could even overlap characters, which you couldn’t really do before.


Anatomy of letters: