Serif History
a contextualised summary of serif type history
Type design has been a field of systematic study for a long time. Out of all designed objects, letters have innumerable variations yet are still recognisable in form, from the most classic and anonymous, where print quantity was preferred, to modern and decorative where the quality shines, and artistic liberty is taken. Although typography has been in discourse as works of visual representation of vocal communication or as text as a visual object, there is also the bridging notion that typography can be both.
Type history becomes lost to the public, and designers lose themselves in the development of new typefaces. Processes and knowledge that stems from the developmental history are threatening to become lost in history.
The posters consist of four elements that serve to provide context, visual representation, body copy to provide context and a graphic assimilation of the written body copy. The headers are in their respective typecase and serve as an identifier and visual representation of the typecase. The paragraphs are divided into historical context and a breakdown of the respective typecase. The graphic attribution is an abstract representation of the investigated typecase.
The Serif History project aims to celebrate traditional typography and the design methods that created them, addressing the historical narrative and expressing the subtleties and nuances that decorate serif typefaces.
the project/heidi 2022