Typographic Design: Form and Communication

Typographic Design: Form and Communication, Sixth Edition is the latest update to the classic typography text that covers all aspects of designing with type. Revised to reflect the shift in graphic design conception and understanding, the book contains a brand-new exploration of typography in media versus typography in motion, and provides the latest information on emerging trends and technology in the design process. Full-color images showcase recent design examples and a companion website features a robust collection of resources for students and instructors. Striking a balance between fundamental information and pivotal new knowledge and ideas, the book provides the perfect basis for engaging new learners as well as seasoned professionals.

Typography is the comprehensive design of type, encompassing selection, placement, manipulation, and communication. An integral element of the graphic designer's arsenal, typography skills translate across industry boundaries into print, video, film, television, packaging, advertising, digital design, and more. Typographic Design provides insight, information, and practical instruction for every step in the process, from concept to execution. Topics include:

• Letterforms, syntax, and legibility
• Communication and the typographic message
• Evolution and technology of typography
• Typographic design processes, and using the grid

The book also contains case studies that illustrate the successful use of typography, demonstrating the impact of good type on the overall design, and a listing of type specimens that exhibit good communication through good design. Words are an important part of the human condition, and presentation can have a major impact on the message. Graphic designers must be able to manipulate type to convey precisely what's intended, and Typographic Design is a comprehensive guide to mastery.

Rob Carter is Professor Emeritus at Virginia Commonwealth University, and has served as a visiting professor at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam. He is the author of American Typography Today, Typographic Design: The Great Typefaces, the five-volume Working with Type series, and Digital Color and Type. He is also coauthor of Meggs: Making Graphic Design History.

The late Philip B. Meggs was School of the Arts Research Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University; visiting faculty at Syracuse University and the National College of Art and Design in Dublin, Ireland; and contributing editor to Print magazine. He authored more than a dozen books and 150 articles and papers on design and typography, including a section on graphic design in Encyclopedia Britannica.

The late Ben Day was Professor Emeritus at Virginia Commonwealth University. He also taught at Boston University and had been a Visiting Designer at the University of Connecticut.

Sandra Maxa is Director of the Graphic Design Post Baccalaureate Program at the Maryland Institute College of Art, has served as visiting faculty at the Pratt Institute, and has taught at Parsons The New School for Design and at Rutgers University–Newark

Mark Sanders is full-time faculty in the Graphic Design department at Maryland Institute College of Art, has served as visiting faculty at the Pratt Institute, and has taught at Parsons The New School for Design and at Rutgers University–Newark.

Both Sandra and Mark are Partners at Q Collective, a visual communication and branding studio in New York and Baltimore.