Typography First Born

For the development history of human society, writing plays a huge role.
Since writing is based on visual impressions, it can overcome space and time.
Thanks to writing, we can understand the past history of mankind. The written
word is created by the hieroglyphic foundation and is widely used from ancient
civilizations until now. Along with the development of society, these images soon
evolved into alphabets and phonographic writing, which led to the development of
various typographic systems.
Typography is the result of the evolution of writing and thus participates in a
history of visual communication spanning thousands of years. This evolution is
reflected in many important timelines related to hand, mechanical and digital in the
context of historical events and world history. Moreover, Typography is the art of
arranging, designing and creating the shape of sentences and letters so that they are
aesthetically pleasing, expressing a certain style. This work includes designing the
typeface (typeface), font size, spacing, as well as decoration,... Typography has an
“illustrious” history and is apparently a necessary aspect of graphic design.
Far away, cave paintings dating from about 20,000 BC are the first evidence
of images recorded by humans. Although prehistoric cave paintings are seen as a
type of communication, it wasn't until around 3500 B.C. that the beginnings of
formal writing were actually signified by the Sumerians. Around 3000 BC,
Sumerians created cuneiform characters - a very early writing system using
cuneiform marks on clay tablets. Cuneiforms were used to record history, tell
stories, and write letters in 15 different languages over a period of 3000 years.
By 3,100 BCE, the ancient Sumerian, Egyptian, and Chinese civilizations
developed symbols into hieroglyphic writing systems. Drawing is still used as a
means of communication in non-literate cultures in Africa, Australia and the
Americas. Most contemporary cultures use drawings as simple, vivid and highly
expressive symbols. Around 1600 B.C., a group of people living on the coast of the
East Mediterranean, known as Phoenicians, began using symbols that represented
actual spoken words. These symbols are called phonograms, currently we have
some recording symbols in the English alphabet, such as % to represent “percent”
and # to represent “number.”
 By 1000 B.C., the Phoenicians had created the first known alphabet. The 23
letters of the Etruscans were invented based on the Greek alphabet. Later, these 23
letters were also used by the Romans to further perfect the alphabet. In it, the
letters A B E Z H I K M N O T X Y were preserved, the letters C D G L P R S V
were rewritten and the two letters F Q of the Phoenic alphabet dropped from the
Greek alphabet were reused by the Romans. The letter Z is at the end of the Roman
alphabet because at first, they removed this letter, but later added it because it was
an indispensable letter. Consecutive sections are separated by small pen strokes at
the end of the letters. Roman letters are typical of bold strokes.
Middle Ages - from 400 AD to 1400 AD, was a time of well-illustrated and
handwritten manuscripts. The creations of the earlier period set the stage for
manuscripts characterized by intricate handwriting and illustrations. This includes
the use of calligraphy, which means "beauty" and "handwriting" in Greek.
It led to the development of a variety of writing styles. Unicals and half
unicals are prominent features, with rounded, polished letters. Calligraphy masters
have traveled the world to share their knowledge with the educated elite, including
East Asian, Persian, Islamic, and Western civilizations.
Johannes Gutenberg's 15th-century development of movables and printing
presses was a turning point for the modern world and technically, for modern
typography also. Guttenberg gave people a cheaper and faster way to create
manuscripts as opposed to handwriting. This period also marked the first creation
of a typeface called blackletter, which was later replaced by the more legible
Roman Type, moreover both decorative and practical typography were on the rise,
along with lighter, more orderly page layouts with delicate illustrations.
During the 1800s a system of typographical classifications was defined, and
although many different systems and sub-systems of this system existed, they were
essentially: Humanist, Old Style, Transitional, Modern, Slab Serif, Sans Serif.
Humanist, sometimes thought to be Venetian, scripts appeared between 1460
and 1470, based not only on gothic handwriting such as texture, but with thinner,
open forms than for handwritten scripts. Humanistic typefaces have the same time
period as Roman letters. The main characteristics of Humanist include the
following elements: cross-bar slanted in the lowercase "e", small X-height, low
contrast between bold and light strokes, which means there is a slight difference in
stroke width. Although the influence of Humanist typefaces was immense, they are
not often seen today. Except for a small resurgence in the early twentieth century,
but their dark color and small height made them less popular.
The Humanist styles have their roots in Calligraphy. As with the Old Style,
they also have a common origin, a remarkable departure from the simple idea of
trying to imitate the handwriting of early Italian scholars and scribes. Old Style, or
Garalde, started out to demonstrate a more refined technique – progressing to
advancements in punchcutter skills. As a result, Old Style typefaces have better
contrast between thick and thin strokes, they are sharper, more refined, and more
populous. Some of the main changes can be seen in the axes of the letter having a
slight right angle.
In 17th century France, King Louis XIV was in office and Jacques Jaugeon
was creating a typeface that could be called Transitional or Neoclassical, Romain
du Roi or King's Roman. The Romain du Roi is noted for its distinctness from the
Old Style form and less influence by handwriting forms. The fundamental novelty
of Transitional is the footer. The horizontal and unframed structure symbolizes a
break with the humanist calligraphic tradition. Also, its main strokes are thicker
and the minor strokes are thinner. One of the most famous Transitional typeface is
Baskerville, a serif typeface designed in the 1750s by John Baskerville and cut into
metal by punchcutter John Handy.
John Baskerville (28 January 1707 – 8 January 1775) was an English
businessman, in areas including japanning and papier-mâché, but he is best
remembered as a printer and type designer. Baskerville became a writing master at
Birmingham but in 1740 established a japanning business, whose profits enabled
him to experiment in typefounding. He set up a printing house and in 1757
published his first work, an edition of Virgil, followed in 1758 by an edition of
John Milton. Appointed printer to the University of Cambridge, he undertook an
edition of the Bible , which is considered his masterpiece. The bold quality of
Baskerville’s print derived from his use of a highly glossed paper and a truly black
ink that he had invented. Baskerville type has been revived, its clarity and balance
making it a good type for continuous reading.
Baskerville’s types, compared with their Garalde predecessors, are marked
by high contrast between thick and thin strokes, but the Moderns or Didones takes
this contrast to further extremes. The first Modern typeface is first graced the
printed page in 1784. Features of Diode characteristics are high contrast, abrupt
between thick and thin strokes, perpendicular and thin legs, straight axis, small
aperture.
By the Industrial Revolution typography was all about communicating with
the masses. Through signs, posters, newspapers, periodicals and advertisements,
typefaces became larger and catchier, with bolder lettering and shading—as well as
experimental serif and sans serif typefaces. Ornamental typography was another
major highlight in this era.
As typography continued to develop, new styles and variations on the serif
were created. In 1816, William Caslon IV created the first printed sans serif
typefaces. Sans Serif typefaces are extremely popular for printed materials as well
as digital materials. Sans serifs typefaces are the most popular typefaces used for
digital only content today. Other variations on typography include slab serifs and
and geometric sans.