Typographic art seems to be constantly evolving; It’s genetic matter made up of new styles as well as old, with the established as its skeleton. With the printing of the Gutenberg Bible in 1456, traditional letter forms gave way to new cuts of type faces which were previously unheard of. Letterpress allowed the use of a combination of size, space and type face that opened the minds of printers and designers to all new possibilities. Contemporary graphic designers can sometimes neglect the history and the styles that were born of letterpress with the emergence of digital typography in the design world. The styles, techniques and rules that have stood the test of time are what graphic designers need to absorb, rather than replace with the generic simply because its easier.

The above design by Il’ia Zdanevich, for his and Tristan Tzara’s Dadaist announcement, Soirée du Coeur à Barbe, is an example of a typographical design previously unseen and made possible by letterpress. It’s use of contrast in type font, type size and white space, as well as its asymmetrical layout, was considered avant-garde at the time. These are now core design principals whose maker is often under-appreciated by the modern designer. To see the evolution of type throughout history is to see the good design styles that were adopted, as well as the bad design styles that died out. One of the lasting styles of letterpress that digital typography tries to duplicate, but often fails, is the physical appearance of a cut letter form. The imperfectness of the letterpress is what gives its type a more personal and handmade aura.

One of my favorite typographic resources lives in the digital world, but praises the physical tradition of letterpress. This is briar press, “a community of printers and artists dedicated to the preservation of letterpress”. Not only is briar press an extensive historical reference tool, but it is a great resource of scanned letterpress ornaments and initials that have been converted to vector line art. As a graphic designer that loves to incorporate historical elements into my designs, I cannot recommend it enough. Take a look and some time to appreciate the typographic styles and techniques that have survived in Darwinian fashion.

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