The book 'Thinking with type' by Ellen Lupton is highly accessible and provides practical tips on typography, helping the reviewer overcome their phobia and understand the nuances of font selection and layout. The book is praised for its sarcastic tone and useful advice, though the reviewer remains skeptical about certain aspects like fonts conveying happiness.
The reviewer initially struggled with typography, feeling overwhelmed by the decisions involved and skeptical about its impact on readability and mood. 'Thinking with type' by Ellen Lupton proved to be a valuable resource, offering practical tips and insights that helped the reviewer understand how to match fonts, use kerning, leading, and other typographic techniques effectively. The book is noted for its accessible style, sarcastic humor, and ability to demystify complex concepts. While the reviewer now appreciates that fonts can convey different moods, they remain uncertain about the idea of a font being 'happy'. Overall, the book is seen as a great tool for anyone looking to improve their typography skills.
Quick quotes
I already knew that there are families of fonts that go together, but this book taught me what I need to do to match them up properly and have them look good.
I now know that italics aren’t all bad — as long as they’re not a slant, and that ALL CAPITALS is generally a bad thing, but small caps are very useful.
And now I do believe a font can be light and airy, or dark and heavy.