Refining

A small adjustment to a shape, a little more space between visual elements, or a change in order—graphic designers refine form and ideas constantly as part of their process. While iteration has always been a part of how graphic designers hone visual communication, the Renaissance (the period that began in the fourteenth century in Italy, when the classical literature of ancient Greece and Rome was revived and read anew) is particularly noteworthy for this because it ushered in the transition from the medieval to the modern world. Type design, page layout, ornaments, illustration—even the total design of the book—were all rethought by Italian printers and scholars. The process of refinement continues to change the discipline of design in subtle and bold ways and influences how individuals synthesize and practice their own visions.

Topics

• The Italian Renaissance
• “Scientific” typeface refinement
• Rococo era
• Caslon and Baskerville
• Modern style fonts
• Private presses communicate to the imagination
• The Arts and Crafts movement
• Cubism’s elemental forms
• De Stijl—reducing the language of form
• Constructivism’s geometric forms
• Twentieth-century typeface design
• New typography in the Netherlands
• Tschichold returns to traditional typography
• Refining form and communication in America
• Phototypography expands options for designers
• Bending graphic design traditions
• New-wave typography
• Retro and vernacular design
• Expressive typography and design
• Digital typeface design and historic sources