Type is language made visible, and has been traced to exist as early as around 3200 BC in Ancient Sumer. Since then, the way we visually represent languages has changed and developed vastly.
All that is necessary for any language to exist is an agreement amongst a group of people that one thing will stand for another.
According to historical research, Greek was the first alphabet, which was adapted from the Phoenician. Latin is a further development from Greek, which is widely used today. Below is the letter A from the latin alphabet, which was originally a bysons head, which may have meant 'food'.
Alphabets were incredibly simple in the start, only consisting of symbols such as eyes or animals or water (pictograms).
Type was entirely created by hand using tools such as quills and brushes, before the Gutenberg press was invented in 1436. This made it possible for type to be reproduced time and time again using blocks.
Timeline of typographic classification:
1450 - 1700: Classical/Old style
1700 - 1790: Transitional
1790 - 1870: Modern
1870 - 1960: Bauhaus/Swiss Modern
1960 - 2000: Contemporary
The Elementary Education Act 1870 made education for all children mandatory, which made type a tool for all classes.
Max Hiedinger invented Helvetica which was formerly called Neue Haas Grotesk. He wanted to create a typeface that would compete with Akzidenz-Grotesk in the swiss market. He wished to create a neutral typeface that had great clarity, no intrinsic meaning in its form, and could be used on a wide variety of signage.
Arial was invented 25 years after Helvetica, and 25 years is the maximum time that a design is protected by intellectual property before it lapses. The similarities are uncanny!
The Elementary Education Act 1870 made education for all children mandatory, which made type a tool for all classes.
Max Hiedinger invented Helvetica which was formerly called Neue Haas Grotesk. He wanted to create a typeface that would compete with Akzidenz-Grotesk in the swiss market. He wished to create a neutral typeface that had great clarity, no intrinsic meaning in its form, and could be used on a wide variety of signage.
Arial was invented 25 years after Helvetica, and 25 years is the maximum time that a design is protected by intellectual property before it lapses. The similarities are uncanny!
- Vincent Connare worked for Microsoft and designed Comic Sans MS in 1994, a highly unpopular font.
- Tim Berners-Lee invented the internet in 1990.
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