𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿, 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝗚𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗔𝗥𝗖. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲!

This is as the Title says, all about Typography. The Author gives us information set into 100 Topics… in a concise and precise manner.

As a digital media designer myself I went through this book slowly to see how explicit it would go with the subject.
It was a satisfying read, at a first glance I would say this has everything you need to know for a starter and maybe even beyond.

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌, 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝑻𝒚𝒑𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒉𝒚 𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒈𝒈𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒕. 𝑨𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒂 '𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒓'-𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒂 𝑫𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝑴𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒂 𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆.

If there is one impression I get about Elliot Jay Stocks from this "how to.." guide to typography, it is that he doesn't really like rules. That makes a book like this a little difficult, even when he is explaining why something doesn't work he often throws in a caveat that the effect that makes it seem bad, might also be the effect you are after. But then this is more of a coffee table how-to, than a prescriptive handbook. The book is split into 100 double-page spreads on a particular typographical idea, often explaining a concept rather than proscribing a rule. In many ways this works best as a bluffer's guide to typographical jargon, an awful lot of these "principles" are here to explain weight, point size, ligatures etc. He also knows he is writing this at a point when there is almost limitless control over what you can make your font-set do, with Open Type software becoming more standard, which allows you to manipulate your type to a near limitless degree. So not only is he not a rule-follower, he urges the reader and budding designer to get their hands dirty and manipulate their type.

The problem with this approach is that certain things end up with "just eyeball it" - and he can't necessarily teach taste. Very, very early on there are a few pages on clarity of purpose, are you setting a logo or paragraph for reading, and there are some decent rules of thumb about how to make the eye flow. But he is probably correct that you won't know until you set the page, and it is possible that his most important principle is to use the most flexible font possible, that has a proper foreign character set, choices of ligatures, and the ability to manipulate every aspect. Its also refreshing that he talks about designing for the web and the printed page, though it means the back end can get a bit CSS script-heavy.

It doesn't sell itself as a comprehensive guide to typography, but it is a useful guide to anyone who does a bit of typography on the side to sharpen their skills. In many ways, it would be most useful for people who work with designers to be able to talk to them in their own language (or check if they have that language, and maybe lend them the book).

Just when I thought this series couldn’t get any better, they come up with a volume on typography. I was so excited to see the title! As someone who dabbles in calligraphy and lettering now and then, this one is right up my alley.

I just love the format where concepts are discussed on the left side of the spread and examples and illustrations on the other. I have to confess that the right side of the spread usually catches my attention the most. Lots to learn for sure. And this one looks like a very good place to get essential info about typography.

Wonderful series and I wonder what the publisher will come up with next. Can;t wait to see!

Very nice book for Typography. Very decent even for someone who has degree in Graphic Designer if they ever need reminder of something. I enjoyed it and will use it to reference in the future.

Interesting and practical guide to using typefaces in design. Includes history of types and explains different nuances found within the world of typography (fonts vs typeface for instance). This would be a great resource for designers using different typefaces in projects, including digital and web-based applications.

Universal Principles of Typography was a useful and informative volume that covered all aspects of typography and typographical design. The earlier part of the book looked at the nitty gritty of typeface, from what makes up a typeface to how to combine different typefaces for the best effect. The latter part of the book was less interesting to me personally with it's focus on CSS and licensing fonts, but that would be of use to anyone working in a role that requires company branding and webdesign elements. Overall, the book was well presented with a nice layout and clear explanations, and I am giving it four stars.

Not for casual beginners. I'm probably not the audience they had in mind for this book. I was looking for a better understanding of typography, hoping to use the techniques in cross stitch samplers. I found what I was looking for, but there was a lot more information that I didn't absorb or fully understand. This isn't a book you'll be finished with after one reading. I'm sure that some of it will make more sense later and some is so technical that I'd never need it for what I'm doing.