Raw material may be made into a finished product which will have the
quality of usefulness alone. Utility is the first purpose of most of the
works of man. But when the maker is moved by pride in his work and a
desire for beauty to make his handiwork pleasing in appearance as well
as useful a second purpose is fulfilled. All civilization and most forms
of savagery demand that the equipment of routine life shall be pleasing
to the eye after its prime purpose of usefulness has been developed.
If an article be pleasing in appearance its making will have involved
some of the elements of design. The relationship of its parts, the lines
of its construction, its coloring, the manner in which it is ornamented
will depend first upon its purpose, but will be guided by a group of
recognized traditions which we call the principles of design.
Design governs the arrangement of masses, lines, and dots to secure the
qualities of beauty and fitness.
Any piece of work which is definitely arranged with consideration for
its various parts and their relationship is called, in the abstract, a
“design.” Thus we speak of a poster, a decorated wall, a building, or a
printed page as “a design.”
Any successful design will have the qualities of fitness and beauty.
Fitness to purpose is largely a mechanical factor. An ugly building may
protect its occupants from the weather, and an ugly printed page may be
entirely legible. Beauty depends upon esthetic qualities; that is, upon
the characteristics of the design which will appeal to the eye and mind
through the consideration of—
Harmony (of shape, tone, color, and conception).
Balance and proportion (of mass, shape, and color).
Rhythm (of shape, line, tone, and color).
This conception of the elements of design covers all of the many things
that mankind makes—buildings, or railroad trains, or sculpture, or
paintings, or pottery, or furniture, or the printed page alike. In each,
different though they be, the purpose of design is to relate the various
surfaces, masses, and structural lines and to decorate or ornament the
finished whole. Countless materials may be used and all the varied
purposes of the equipment of mankind must be satisfied, but the
application of the principles of design will be similar throughout. This
point is emphasized so that the student of printing may find a common
ground with the workers in all the fine and useful arts.
In the printed page, design is concerned with the arrangement of masses
and lines on a flat surface—the face of the sheet of paper. Hence
design in printing considers two dimensions only, width and length. The
third dimension, depth, which must be treated in all but flat surfaces,
can only be represented on the printed page and the means of showing
depth is really an illusion by which the eye sees various colors and
tones which convey a pictorial impression.
It is important to note that design and pictorial representation
serve each a different purpose in printing. Yet they are similar
mechanically in that each requires a printing surface (type, borders,
ornaments, and engravings) which may be prepared by the same mechanical
procedures. The picture exists for its own interest or as an
illustration for the text. As such it is merely an element in the design
of the page. Decoration or ornament may be used to embellish the page,
as a pattern on its flat surface, and may be related to the text, but
need not serve as an illustration to it.
Fig. 1. A design of flat surfaces and a realistic pen sketch of the same subject.
As an example: Much of the material devised for the decoration of the
printed page (ornaments and borders) is derived from natural forms; i. e.,
leaves, flowers, etc. The leaves, stems, and flowers which are adapted to
form the ornament shown in Fig. 1 are a flat pattern of black and white.
The same material is rendered pictorially in the pen sketch accompanying
the ornament. It will be observed that the flat treatment of the
ornament depends upon arrangement of interesting flat masses for its
significance. The pen sketch not only conveys an impression of the form
of the natural objects, but it also suggests depth. A photograph of the
natural objects, reproduced by a printing plate, would be still more
realistic.
The preceding points have been given emphasis as a warning against a
tendency to use pictures, however pleasing, as decorative material; or
to allow design in printing to be concerned with a representation of
depth. The same masses of shadow and light which express roundness or
depth in a picture may be formed into decorative flat masses and thus
embodied in the design of the page. In Fig. 2, A is a picture which
might be used as an illustration or for its own interest. B is a flat
rendering whose arrangement of masses suggests the pictorial interest of
A without denying the flat surface upon which it is printed.
Since design is a matter of arrangement, its materials are the masses,
lines, and dots which make up the whole form.
A dot theoretically has no dimensions. And a line (being the path of a
dot in motion) theoretically has length but no width. While if a line be
moved sideways it produces a mass which has area and shape.
Practically, a dot may be larger than a pin point and may have definite
shape—a square dot or a round dot. Also in the common terms of design a
line may have width (often called weight). Thus we speak of a narrow or
light line as contrasted with a wide or heavy line.
 |
|  |
Fig. 2, A. Halftone engraving from a photograph, retaining full pictorial effect of depth, expressed in various gray tones and soft edges. This is an illustration. | |
Fig. 2, B. Decorative pen drawing from the same subject, telling the story of the photograph in flat surfaces of black and white. Suitable to decorate a type page. |
A mass will have shape, which is the impression conveyed to the eye by
its general contour. It will have size or measure, which will be its
actual or relative area. It will further have tone or color, its general
relation in appearance to black and white or to the colors of the
spectrum. Embodying these terms in an example: We may specify a mass
square in shape, having an area of four square inches, and being gray
in tone. These three characteristics, then, will identify and describe
any mass.
In printing, the successive lines of type which form a paragraph, block,
or connected series of paragraphs or blocks, are considered as a mass.
An initial letter may be another mass; a head-band still another; and
ornaments or illustrations may form other masses. All must be considered
as mass elements in the design of the page, with rule borders as
surrounding lines, or heavier designed borders as surrounding masses.
Thus all the component parts of the printed page are reduced to elements
or materials of design, and with these materials an arrangement is to be
made, for the sake of beauty, which will have the qualities of harmony,
balance, proportion, and rhythm.
The dictionary defines harmony, in art, as “a normal state of
completeness in the relation of things to each other.” This “state of
completeness” in a harmonious scheme is such that we have no desire to
change or modify any detail or characteristic.
Balance is defined as “the state of being in equilibrium.” In design
this refers to the equilibrium or balance of attraction to the eye
between the various masses.
Proportion is “the comparative relation of one thing to another” with
respect to size.
Rhythm, in design, “is a movement characterized by regular recurrence
of accent.”
Let us discover the embodiment of these qualities of design with a
simple experiment. Cut from black, dark gray, and light gray cover paper
a miscellaneous assortment of small pieces as shown in Fig. 3. This
group of squares, oblongs, triangles, diamonds, circles, and whatnot
has none of the qualities of design as it appears in Fig. 3.
Fig. 3. A group of miscellaneous masses having various measures,
shapes, and tones. Arranged without thought of design.
Choose from Fig. 3 certain pieces which seem to have a definite
similarity of shape. Combine them with another rectangle, as in Fig. 4,
and the result is certainly more orderly and pleasing than the unrelated
tangle in Fig. 3. In Fig. 4 we have developed the quality of shape
harmony.
But we note that in spite of the harmony of shapes in Fig. 4 some of the
pieces of paper seem unduly prominent because of their blackness. They
do not seem harmonious with the gray tone of the others. If we replace
them with other pieces gray in color, as in Fig. 5, the result will be a
more pleasing relationship of tone throughout the design. Thus we have
made a simple demonstration of tone harmony.
If our pieces of paper were of various colors we could make another
arrangement to express a color harmony. The problem of color, however,
has so many phases that it is considered separately in this series.
If rhythm is to give us a “regular recurrence” of various features of a
design, it will be possible to choose a combination of pieces of paper
which will show a rhythmic arrangement, Fig. 6. It will be noticeable
here that the shapes occur in successive groups which repeat an idea.
We may also arrange a series of pieces in which the tones are rhythmic,
progressing from light to dark in repeated groups. This will be a simple
example of tone rhythm, Fig. 7.
Summing up the experiment thus far the following definitions may be noted:
Shape harmony will exist when masses similar in contour or shape are used to form a design.
Tone harmony results from the use of tones in a design which carry a feeling of relationship.
Fig. 4. Units selected from Fig. 3, having a common similarity
of shape. But they are not harmoniously related in tone.
Fig. 5. The same shapes used in Fig. 4, substituting equal
tones of gray as needed to produce harmony throughout.
Fig. 6. Simple development of shape and measure rhythm such
as might occur on a printed page. Masses should be related in
measure as well as in shape.
Fig. 7. Simple illustration of tone rhythm as it may occur
on a type page. The tones progress from the white of the
margins
through the light gray masses of type,
to the darker grays of decorations.
Shape rhythm is the regular recurrence of similar shapes in a design
or a rhythmic increase or decrease in the size of shapes used in a
design.
Tone rhythm is a recurrence of similar tones or a regular progression
of related tones from light to dark or the reverse through a design.
The four qualities above are so closely related that there is often no
definite dividing line between them; indeed, a successful design will
embody them all.
Our definition of proportion as a comparative relationship of size is so
broad that any sizes may be in proportion. The quality of proportion in
design is always assumed to be a pleasing relationship of sizes. It
thus becomes necessary to determine what relationship of sizes will be
most pleasing.
The use of equal masses in a design is monotonous. The eye finds variety
of size more interesting. But to determine what form of variety is most
interesting we must find, if possible, the ideal area relationship
between masses in a design. This problem has of necessity been solved by
the designers of all nations and all periods, and it is interesting to
note that the result has everywhere been practically the same.
Let us arrive at the expression of good proportion by the simple means
of dividing a rectangle into two parts which will have the most
interesting relationship. This rectangle is A in Fig. 8. B shows a
division into equal parts, the result being uninteresting and
monotonous. In C the division gives a feeling that the lower part is too
large; it is crowding the upper and the result is not pleasing. The
relationship in D is so nearly equal that the division seems to have
been an inaccurate effort to locate the center. Somewhere between the
division point in C and that in D will probably be the best point.
Repeated trials will locate the point about as in E, which will be found
to lie about two-fifths of the distance down from the top. This will
give the upper area in E an area of 2 and the lower an area of 3. Hence
the relationship or proportion is said to be as 2 is to 3. By the term
“good proportion,” or merely the word “proportion,” in speaking of
design this ratio of 2 to 3 is assumed.

Fig. 8. The division of a rectangle, A, to secure spaces
of interesting
relationship. Equal division in B. Overbalanced effect in
C. Too nearly
equal in D. More interesting in E, where the relationship of spaces is as 2 is to 3.
It is interesting to note that when a space has been divided into the
ratio of 2 to 3, the relationship of the smaller to the larger is
practically the same as the relationship of the larger to the original
whole. Or, mathematically, if the original, having an area of 5, is
divided into parts of 2 and 3, then 2 is to 3 as 3 is to 5,—a ratio
which is approximately true.
The student of architecture finds the most careful consideration of
proportion in the relationship of spaces throughout all the
architectural orders. In printing, the designer must be guided by the
same traditions.
Fig. 9. “Spotting” a single line on a page so that it
makes an
interesting division of space. There are 2 parts of white space
above and 3 parts below.
Fig. 10. Placing a single line so that it will appear to
be centered.
The dotted lines show the mathematical center of the vertical side.
The straight lines show the center of the type line.
The most simple application of proportion to the division of a printed
page occurs when a single type line or compact group of lines is to be
placed on the page (Fig. 9).
It is unfortunate that it is so easy to divide space mechanically in a
type page by using identical measures of furniture or slugs above and
below. When, in certain instances (as in a business card), tradition
demands that a line be “centered” vertically, it will be found that the
exact centering of the line will make it appear a bit low. An optical
illusion demands that such a line be raised slightly if it is to appear
in the vertical center (Fig. 10). This apparent center is called “the
optical center.”
The same condition makes it necessary when an apparent square is to be
used that the width of the “square” be slightly greater than the height.
(Fig. 11.)
Fig. 11. A true square above and an optically corrected
square below.
Psychologists explain that the eyes find it more difficult
to judge the
length of vertical lines, hence are inclined to exaggerate them.
The physical equilibrium which exists in the balanced “seesaw” of our
childhood and the optical balance which is the result of the proper
adjustment of masses within the confining edges of a design are similar,
in that each is an equalizing of forces of attraction. In the former the
force is gravity; in the latter, the attraction to the eye, which varies
with the size and tone of the mass. While the force of gravity usually
brings balancing masses to a horizontal alignment, optical balance may
bring the masses in a design into equilibrium on any desired line,
horizontal, vertical, or diagonal.
The attraction which a mass possesses varies directly with its size and
tone. Thus a mass of four square inches, solid black, will be twice as
strong in attraction value as a mass of two square inches, solid black.
It will also be twice as strong in attraction value as a mass of four
square inches, neutral gray (the gray being half the value of black).
The attraction value of gray tones particularly affects the
consideration of blocks of type which vary in depth of tone according to
the blackness of the type face, closeness of spacing, etc.
Since the “seesaw” must have its sawhorse and the weighing scale its
point of support, it follows that any condition of equilibrium, physical
or optical, demands a point of balance. In design, this point will
determine the location of the related masses. It will be apparent upon
further thought that the point of balance should have some relationship
to the edge or confines of the design.
The confining edge of the design is usually a rectangle, on the printed
page. The location of a point of balance within this rectangle tends to
divide it. How shall it be divided in the most interesting way? By
applying the ratio of good proportion. So the point of balance may be
located usually on a line which divides the page into parts of 2 and 3.
When equal masses are to be balanced it is obvious that they will be
equidistant from the point of balance. (Fig. 12.)
Fig. 12. Equal masses balanced at equal distance from the center point.
When the masses are unequal the point is at unequal distances from the
centers of the masses. These unequal distances have the same ratio as
the masses themselves, but the larger mass is always the shorter
distance from the point. If 1 pound is to balance 4 pounds it is
obvious that the 1-pound mass must be 4 times as far from the point of
balance as the 4-pound mass.
Fig. 13. Mass of 4 units balanced by 1 unit.
Hence, to balance two masses in a rectangle, the point of balance will
be found by proportion, placing it on a line which divides the
rectangle into parts of 2 to 3. The balancing of the masses across this
point will then be a matter of determining their relative distances from
it. It is apparent that the larger of two masses may be far enough from
the point of balance so that it will force the smaller entirely out of
the rectangle. It is of course easy to move the larger closer to the
point which automatically brings in the smaller. What constitutes a
proper distance from the edge of the rectangle will be discussed under
“Margins,” in the book on Typographical Design.
Fig. 14. Mass of 3 units balanced by mass of 1 unit,
taking the point of balance upon the line which divides
the space in good proportion.
Fig. 15. Measures of 3 and 1 balanced by a measure of 2,
the point of balance dividing the space in good proportion.
The balance of three or more masses within a rectangle involves the
consideration of two at a time, balancing the pair or pairs with the
remaining mass or masses.
In Fig. 15, masses 1, 2 and 3 are to be balanced within the rectangle.
Balancing 3 with 1 gives the balancing point P. Taking 3 plus 1 from the
point P, we locate the mass 2 to balance them across the line AB which
divides the rectangle in good proportion. The point p then becomes the
balancing point for the entire group. Mathematically, 3 plus 1 equal 4;
4 is twice 2; therefore the mass 2 must be twice as far from the point
p as the balanced masses 3 plus 1.
Two other combinations might have been worked out with the masses in
Fig. 15: 3 plus 2, balanced by 1, the mass 1 being placed five times as
far from the point p as would the point P. Or 2 plus 1 might have been
balanced by 3, in which case the distances would have been equal.
The application of these principles of balance to the problems of
typography is largely a matter of influence. The typographer should be
guided by them but he need not make mathematical calculations if his
eyes be trained to judge relative attraction values so that he can
arrange his various masses to secure balance.
When two parts of a design are equal in every respect so that if the
design were folded over one-half would superimpose in every detail with
the other half, then a state of symmetry exists and the design is said
to be symmetrical. The line upon which such a design would be folded,
or, in other words, the line which bisects a symmetrical design, is
called its axis.
The printed page is often symmetrical with respect to its vertical axis
(Fig. 16).
In Fig. 16 the line AB is the vertical axis of the page.
Fig. 16. Type page, symmetrical with respect to its vertical axis.
Fig. 17. Page arranged for variety. Not symmetrical on
either axis.
This arrangement is frequently used in advertising display,
but is rare in book work.
It is rarely possible that the printed page can be symmetrical with
respect to its horizontal axis. Such a state would involve a division
of the page below its optical center and would also have an
uninteresting division of its spaces, with equal masses above and below.
It should be noted that symmetry on the vertical axis permits full
variety in the size of the masses used.
The absence of symmetry in a design gives it the character of variety,
which may be defined as a state of inequality in the arrangement of the
parts of a design.
In Fig. 17, neither the horizontal axis nor the vertical axis divides
the page so that its units are symmetrically arranged.
In any arrangement, pictorial or decorative, the eye of the observer is
attracted to various parts in succession, depending on their character
and position with respect to each other. This quality, called motion,
will be more pronounced as the several units tend to lead more
definitely from one to another. Fig. 18 shows the path which the eye
follows as it looks at the ornament. In pictorial composition the same
quality is employed to emphasize the story to be told or the character
of the arrangement used by the painter. Then it is called “line.” This
quality of design is not to be confused with “action,” which is the
depiction of a figure in motion, as shown in Fig. 19.
Fig. 18. The diagram shows the motion of the eye as it
perceives the
design above. This motion is due to line entirely, not to accents of tone.
Fig. 19. Showing action in the figure depicted, without motion in design.
On the printed page the eye may be definitely directed from one unit to
another through this quality of motion, which forms a very valuable
resource for the printer. Fig. 20 is a diagram of a simple use of
motion, the eye progressing as indicated by the arrows through the
masses which make up the page.
Fig. 20. Diagram of motion as employed in advertising
to lead the eye progressively through a page.
While the elements of design concern all the parts of a proposed scheme
(on the printed page, its masses of type, decorative border, head-band,
initial letters, tail-piece, etc.) certain parts will be used solely to
beautify the whole design. They ornament or decorate it. “Ornament is a
means by which Beauty or Significance is imparted to Utility.”
Ornament may be either Symbolic or Esthetic.
Symbolic ornament consists of elements or forms chosen because they are
significant of the purpose of the design.
In Fig. 22, the ornament is symbolic in its close connection with the
message conveyed by the type.
Esthetic ornament consists of forms chosen for their beauty alone. In
Fig. 23, the head-band and initial are pleasing in design and they
beautify the page without having the slightest relation to the text of
the page.
Esthetic ornament characterizes the periods of design which have had the
most important influence in the development of printing: the Greek,
Roman, and Renaissance.
Symbolic ornament is found in Egyptian, Assyrian, Byzantine,
Scandinavian, Celtic, Persian, Indian, Gothic, Chinese, and Japanese
design. For intimate study of these various styles and periods the
reader is referred to the various books listed in the bibliography.
Fig. 21. Ornament designed with natural forms.
Fig. 22. House-organ cover design by Mr. F. W. Goudy,
in which the ornament is symbolic of the message of the page.
Fig. 23. Type page decorated with esthetic ornament. Much of the
decorative
material available to printers is of this character. Since the
printer need not study its symbolic significance
he may choose such
decoration for its qualities of tone and good drawing.
Ornament may be natural or inventive. Natural ornament confines itself
to the rendition in decorative design of forms chosen from nature,
either animate of inanimate. Inventive ornament consists of elements not
derived from any natural source. It is usually geometric in character;
that is, it is rendered in patterns and masses expressed in geometric
shapes.
Fig. 24. Type border used as geometric ornaments.
Fig. 25. Further use of type border to make a flat
pattern or “all-over”
design. Compare the effect with that shown in the facing illustration.
In the artistic development of the various races, geometric design has
often been the result of religious restrictions upon the imitation of
any animate forms. The Mahometans have developed it to its highest type
of expression. Arabian and Moorish architecture and handicrafts are the
best examples, with the crystal beauty of the Alhambra, the wonderful
palace built by the Moors in Spain, as the supreme achievement of
geometric design.
Fig. 26. A niche in the Alhambra, at Granada, Spain.
Showing characteristic Moorish ornamentation.
Geometrical design uses simple materials, being the oldest of the
elements of decoration. The implements of savages and the tattooing of
the Indians prove this. From the first crude expressions of the original
squares, circles, zigzag lines, and sundry simple combinations, gradual
development led finally to the delicate forms of Moorish design. The
elaboration of this style involves deep mathematical problems and
careful draftsmanship.
The majority of geometrical ornaments may be divided into three groups.
As we find them in typographical material these groups are bands or
borders, made up visually of repeated units or spots; enclosed spaces or
panels; and unlimited flat patterns or “all-over” designs.
Fig. 27. The development of a motif (stems, leaves, and
berries) into a
decorative spot. Diagram in the upper corner shows the
geometrical
arrangement of the material. The spot has been repeated to form a band.
Fig. 28. Development of the motif used in Fig. 27 into a
natural ornament.
The forms and growth are not distorted but the
rendering is in flat surfaces to hold the decorative quality.
In nearly every style and period of design the plant-world has been the
biggest source of material for adaptation. The direct imitation of
natural forms, keeping as much as possible of their shape, color,
formation, etc., is called naturalistic design. A departure from the
exact details of the natural form, forming the design according to the
rules of rhythm and symmetry, with strict attention to regularity leads
to a result more artificial in character.
Whether the ornament you consider be naturalistic or artificial, the
original source, which is the plant-form or other natural form from
which the design was made, is called the motif of the design. It is
interesting to survey the world about you and note here and there a
recognizable motif in the design of wallpaper, hangings, furniture,
rugs, books, and so on all through the works of man.
The development of a motif into ornament or decoration calls for the use
of all the principles thus far established, plus familiarity with the
medium to be used and the inventiveness that comes only with some
experience. If the reader lacks this experience and is interested in
undertaking to devise ornament or decoration with pen, pencil, or brush,
he is advised to consult some one or more of the books on the subject
which are listed in the bibliography. If he has facility with his pencil
and enthusiasm for the work he will find it a most fascinating
undertaking.
Fig. 29. Initial letter decorated with natural ornament
and a pen sketch treating the motif in a more realistic
way. Further
emphasis of the essential flatness of surface
in material that is to decorate a flat sheet of paper.
The student of design finds that historical study of his subject carries
him through the entire history of art, from the crude expressions of
prehistoric man down the long and varied centuries to the styles and
fancies of the present day. He will find his theme closely interwoven
with the story of the development of races, the rise and fall of
nations, the whole thrilling drama of ancient and modern history.
Printing, as a means of making records and of embodying and illustrating
thought, has given us the wide field of literature on design. But in the
making of books as an application of design, and in the making of all
other forms of printed matter, printers since Gutenberg have been
influenced by relatively few of the many distinct periods through which
art has come. And those few have usually been the artistic feeling which
prevailed at the time the printers lived.
To trace the periods of design that have most influenced printing is to
tell in part the history of the craft. Since that subject is developed
elsewhere in this series, suffice it to follow briefly the steps through
which the making of books has passed.
Since the invention of movable types came opportunely to meet the desire
for enlightenment by means of books, it was natural that printed books
should be planned closely to imitate the hand-written or lettered books.
These latter, having been produced for centuries by the men of the
church to whom had been given training in the arts, had been brought to
a high state of perfection in design. It has often been said that
Gutenberg’s forty-two line Bible, one of the first books printed from
type, has never been surpassed in pure beauty of design and in the
rich quality of its type masses.
Fig. 30. A reproduction, greatly reduced, of a page from
a Manuscript Bible
of the early 14th Century. Entirely the product of
the quill and brush
of the writer and illuminator. Such books were
usually done in black ink
on parchment or vellum and decorated in water colors and gold leaf.
Fig. 31. A page from an illuminated Flemish manuscript of
the middle
15th Century, showing characteristic treatment of
illustration and
decoration. This and the preceding example are shown
for
comparison with Figs. 32 and 33. They demonstrate the
effect of the writing of books upon the development of printing.
Fig. 32. Type of the Mazarin Bible (exact size).
But the first books printed from type were all of religious character,
and the type itself was designed to imitate the black, condensed “text”
letter forms which had been developed by the scribes. The elaborate
initial letters which marked the sundry divisions of thought were
repeated by the early printers, sometimes to be illumined by hand and
later as engravings on wood or metal. There was no distinct departure
from the ecclesiastical style of the monks save as was necessitated by
the mechanical limitations of the new process of printing. Hence came a
style which marked the first years of printing with the influence of the
church. And that style today can be embodied in modern work by means
of typographic material, black text types, missal initials, and liberal
use of color. But it will always be associated by the power of tradition
with church literature and ecclesiastical printing.

Fig. 33. Reproduction of a page from Gutenberg’s 42-line
Bible, of which it
has been said that no later book has been more
beautifully designed.
In completing this book and for some years after,
the illuminating and
decoration were done by hand, only the type being set and printed on the press.
Perhaps it was fortunate for the future of the printing art that the
upheaval in Mainz drove printers out of the restricted atmosphere in
which their craft was growing. For with the spread of printing into
Italy, where printers sought freer fields, there straightway came a
marked change in its use. The first Roman type was cut and the printers
grew under the influence of the most splendid period in the history of
art, the Italian Renaissance, the revival and further development of the
arts which had well-nigh perished through the dark centuries. The purity
of line and form, the severe dignity, and the almost too perfect
proportion which had been developed by the Greeks over a thousand years
before were revived and interpreted with more human feeling by the
Italians of the fifteenth century.
Just as Gutenberg, Fust and Schoeffer set a standard in ecclesiastical
printing with their first efforts, so Nicholas Jenson in cutting his
first Roman type established a precedent which has lived to the present day.
Designers of today find inspiration in the classic expression of the
Greeks for printed work which is to be similarly restrained and
dignified. Type faces have been developed which are distinctly classic
in feeling, echoing the letter-forms of the inscriptions which were cut
in stone by Greek and Roman artisans. (Figs. 35-6.)
The design of the Renaissance has been embodied in the books of many
nations. Indeed, it may be said that modern book design dates from the
start of printing in Italy. But, just as the fine arts have never since
flourished as they did in that resplendent period, so has the progress
of design in printing been a matter of the work of individuals or
limited groups rather than the character of a period or a national
expression.
Fig. 34. Ecclesiastical style in modern typography.
The voluptuous vagaries of the successive French periods of design gave
little lasting distinction to contemporary printing.
Type faces were cut at various times and by men of different
nationalities which have marked characteristics, but they are not to be
noted as establishing periods or styles in printing.
Fig. 35. An inscription in Classic Roman. Study opposite illustration.
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries printing in England grew
into forms of expression which have been recognized under the term of
“Georgian” or “colonial.” The first editions of Shakespeare typify the
earlier development of this style, which was marked by poor
typographical materials that were nevertheless arranged in a direct and
interesting manner. (Fig. 37.)
A few years later the growth of printing in the American colonies
brought this form of typographic expression into most of the printed
matter which has been preserved. The museums of printing and the
literature dealing with the times are rich with examples. See Figs. 39
to 41.
Through the ensuing decades printing developed mechanically, but it
lapsed into styles which had little or no relationship to design. It is
interesting historically to follow the efforts of the printers who rode
on the first steamboats and railroad trains; who recorded the rise and
fall of slavery and secession; who bent their rules and jumbled their
type faces during the “early Pullman days” that marked the start of many
modern successful printers. The history of the craft through all these
times has been picturesque and closely identified with the growth of the
country. But it has little or no significance for the designer.
Fig. 36. Forum, a Classic Roman type, designed by Mr. F. W. Goudy.
Fig. 37. Title page, much reduced, of a Shakespeare first
folio, showing the
Georgian style of typography. The types were poorly
fitted and of
uncertain alignment. The “stock” ornaments, cut on wood,
were
often bruised and worn. Yet there is undeniable charm in the result.
Fig. 38. An early American page, dated 1685, showing the
influence of the
Georgian style upon the Colonial printers. An
improvement in mechanical
quality may be noted. Large capitals, a
profusion of italics, and
frequent use of cross rules mark this period of printing.
Design in printing has suffered through the marvelous mechanical
development of machines and devices whose sole purpose has been to
multiply gross output. Necessary as sheer volume of production has been,
it has remained for very recent years to witness a renewal of interest
in the beauty of printing, as determined by the principles of design.
William Morris, in England, devoted a very few years, toward the end of
his life, to a protest against the commonplace and mechanical qualities
which had dominated printing previously. He revived many of the old
traditions and marked his books with his strong personality. We owe much
of our present wide-spread reverence for good design in printing to his
influence, even as we are similarly indebted to him for the
well-designed and useful appurtenances of our daily life which have
supplanted twisted and distorted furniture, stuffed birds under glass
jars, and all the atrocities of a generation or two ago. See Figs.
Among the present-day designers of printing whose work shows an intimate
study of the principles and the traditions of the craft are such men as
Rogers, Updike, Goudy, Cleland, and Currier. The product of their work
may frequently be seen in reproductions in the trade publications. It
should be studied by younger designers, for it shows the results of
earnest and understanding effort to make modern printing reach and even
pass the artistic standards which were established nearly five hundred
years ago.
Fig. 39. Page from Poor Richard’s Almanack, one of the
best known
of the Colonial publications. Its style is typical of that period.
Fig. 40. Illustrating the period of transition from the
true Colonial
style. Type and material are obviously improved in
mechanical
qualities, but the compositor must have been seeking
for “something new” in typography.
Fig. 41. Showing a typical title page composed at the
beginning of the
decline of typography in America. During almost the
entire 19th Century
there was neither reason nor design in most of the printing produced.
Figs. 42 and 43. Facing pages from “The Tale of Beowulf,”
as designed
and printed by William Morris. The small reproductions give but
a suggestion of the Morris conception of book-making.
After a century or more of the most haphazard printing, Morris revived
the traditions of the first book-makers, thereby stimulating a
world-wide renewal of interest in typography and design.
Fig. 44. Page designed by Mr. Bruce Rogers.
Fig. 45. Title page by Mr. F. W. Goudy.
Fig. 46. Folder cover arranged by Mr. T. M. Cleleand.
Fig. 47. Catalogue page by Mr. D. B. Updike.