Lost in Font

Typography

The art of designing the parts of letters in a language to enhance reading experience.

Johannes Gutenberg

Inventor of the printing press in 1440, believed it could replace handwritten books.

Blackletter Typefaces

The typefaces invented by Johannes Gutenberg, characterized by their thick strokes.

Nicolas Johnson

Noted the space blackletter typefaces occupy and created the first Roman typeface.

Roman Typeface

A typeface similar to blackletter but with less thickness, allowing for shorter books.

Jenson Roman

The first font based on typographic principles rather than manuscript models.

Italic Typeface

Created by Aldus Manutius and Francesco Griffo in 1501, still in use today.

Old Style Font

Created by William Caslon in 1734, mimicking handwriting and saving space on pages.

Transitional Typefaces

Developed by John Baskerville in 1757, featuring more contrast than old style type.

Modern Roman Typefaces

First appeared in 1780, including Bodoni and Didot.

Antique Font/Egyptian

Designed by Vincent Figgins in 1815, characterized by its boldness.

Sans Serif Font

The first created by William Caslon IV, lacking the small tags of serif fonts.

Johnston Typeface

An iconic sans-serif typeface created by Edward Johnson for the London Underground in 1916.

Goudy and Copperplate Gothic

Fonts created by Frederic Goudy, the first full-time designer in 1920.

Helvetica

A minimalistic modern sans-serif typeface created by Max Miedinger in 1957.

Digi Grotesk

The first digital typeface designed by Rudolf Hell in 1968, known for its geometric style.

Outline Fonts

Created in 1974, these fonts were more geometric in design.

True Type Fonts

Developed in the late 1980s, allowing for scalable fonts across different systems.

Open Type Fonts

Introduced in 1997, these fonts are universal for all computers and were created by Apple.

CSS

Created for font styling, allowing for more control over typography on web pages.

WOFF

Web Open Font Format invented in 2009, enabling the creation of digital fonts.

Forensic Font Experts

Specialists who use science to analyze fonts in legal contexts.

Self Checkout

Introduced in the 1980s, its popularity declined post-COVID-19, with many stores removing it.

Barcode

A visual data representation invented by Bernard Silver and Joseph Woodland in the 1960s.

Amazon Go

A store concept by Amazon that automatically charges customers for items taken.

QR Codes

Two-dimensional barcodes designed to direct phones to specific URLs.