Book Review: Thinking with Type

My Communication & Multimedia Design study brings me in contact with a lot of design-related books. Numerous books are ugly, uninteresting and just plain boring. A few however, are interesting enough to tell you about.

Thinking with Type is such book. This book is a critical guide for designers, writers, editors and students who would like something about typography.

Thinking with Type

This book is written by Ellen Lupton, a typography teacher on the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. She wanted handbook explaining typography for her students. That is exactly what this book has turned into, a practical design handbook.

The Cover

When my school books arrived, my eye was directly drawn to that small, robust and compact book. The cover is beautifully designed, it’s clear that this book is about typography. Just awesome.

Thanks to ethanbodnar.com for the picture. My camera is broken..

Book Design

Thinking with Type is organized in three main subjects namely letter, text and grid. They both explain different aspects of typography and they do that in style. The typefaces Scala and Thesis are used to put the theory thought in the book in practice right away.

The light shades of yellow, blue and orange makes the design really stand out from the crowd and is really enjoyable. Combine that with the excellent examples, photographs and typefaces that this book is rich and you have one of the best typography books around.

The Content

You can see that Ellen Lupton has gained enough experience from her teacher job to explain all typography aspects in an easy and understandable way. You don’t have to be an experienced typographer to understand what is explained.

After reading this book you will know all the basics about typography. Don’t expect going too deep into the matter, but that is not a problem.

Conclusion

For me, this book is a must have. I browse the book numerous times a week to gain typography knowledge, examples or photographs. The Thinking with Type website is also filled with powerful information and tips.

Purchase the book from the Thinking with Type website. No affiliate link – just a typography book that deserves a spot on your bookshelf.