Typography Referenced is a comprehensive visual guide to typography, blending reference material with casual reading. It is well-designed but may be too technical for average readers, making it more suitable for high school seniors and college students pursuing careers in graphic design or commercial art.
Typography Referenced is an attractive and informative book that serves as a comprehensive visual guide to the language, history, and practice of typography. The book is pitched as something between a reference and a book for casual perusal, with a broad range of material that includes conceptual and practical information about existing typefaces and how to work with them. The design of the book is well-executed, and it includes a section listing schools, periodicals, conferences, museums, and websites related to typography, making it suitable as a textbook for an introductory college class on typography. However, the book may be too technical for average readers, and the number of authors leads to uneven writing. High school seniors and college students beginning their path toward careers as graphic designers or commercial artists will find this guide invaluable.
Quick quotes
The introduction pitches the title as something between a reference and a book for casual perusal (liking it to Judy Jones and William Wilson's An Incomplete Education).
However, the overall breadth of material, both conceptual and practical — including information about existing typefaces and how to work with them — and a section at the end listing schools, periodicals, conferences, museums, and websites related to typography, make it suitable as a textbook for an introductory college class on typography.
This title is somewhat technical for average readers, and the number of authors leads to uneven writing. Still, high school seniors and college students beginning their path toward careers as graphic designers or commercial artists will find this guide invaluable.