Just My Type: A Book About Fonts

Written by Simon Garfield (352 pages)
Published by Profile Books (21 Oct 2010)

I must confess I did struggle with the first chapter of Just My Type. That’s because it deals with Comic Sans, and I am an avid Comic Sans Hater! When I stopped for a moment to consider how much I don’t like that font, and how well the case both for and against the dreaded Sans were put forward, I knew this was a book for me. It was great to learn about the font that I consider my nemesis and to learn that its designer, Vincent Connare, is fully aware of the mixed opinions and welcomes the banter!

Just My Type is a great read from start to finish. It’s incredibly well researched and absolutely packed with facts and information that will make you stop and think “oh, that’s why it’s called that!” As you read, you discover the roots to some of the phrases that you throw around the design studio every day, whilst not really knowing what they mean or where they come from!

Engrained in the factual style with which Simon Garfield writes, there is a very wily humour, which took a while for me to notice, but the more you read, the funnier some of his observations are. It wasn’t until I reached chapter 17, that I thought it might have been an idea for me to make notes on the things that I wanted to follow up on, or read more about – the book does offer a huge amount of ideas for further reading for a creative mind! I went back, skim read what I had already read, and now I have quite a lengthy list of further reading.

I can’t recommend the book more. It’s great for new designers to really get a more in-depth knowledge of one of the often-overlooked aspects of design; and like-wise it’s great for people who thought they may have known it all. It’s very easy to digest, but very rich in information. Each chapter deals with a subject, such as ampersands, legibility and metal type. In between the chapters you will find a Font Break – a mini-chapter that details a particular font each time – and these I must say, were a really nice touch. Especially considering that my 2 favourite fonts, Univers and Sabon, were covered in plenty of detail. As a personal point, my favourite chapter was The Ampersand’s Final Twist, which has inspired me to try and create the world’s finest Ampersand.

Just My Type was a refreshing read in a world full of coffee table photo books and in many ways a welcome change. If you haven’t already read it, get to it! If you think you know it all already when it comes to type, you probably don’t and therefore, get to it!

Related Links:

Find out about Just My Type and Profile Books from the publisher’s website: Profile Books
Just My Type is available to buy online from Amazon