Typography according to the University of Lethbridge

U of L campus. Basically one big building built into the side of a hill.

Well I hadn't intially planned on doing my bibliography on Typography but there were a few circumstances that weren't exactly in my control that led me to it. I came up to Canada for Thanksgiving (Yes, Canadian Thanksgiving was a month and a half ago :)..but I still welcomed the break from school). I knew that I would need to do this bibliography but i wasn't exactly sure where I would be able to. Just with the fact that books were going to be needed and a fairly large variety as well. You would think that would be easy but I come from a town of 2500 people so there really isn't all that much when it comes to resources and things such as big libraries.
My sister goes to the University which is 45 mins away and the next university after that is 2 and a half hours away so I saw that as my only option as far as being able to find the right books. So that's what I ended up doing.
So I went to the University of Lethbridge and spent a couple of hours on campus there browsing the library. The campus had a completely different feel compared to BYU and it was a fun/different experience just being there and seeing how things were.
There services proved well though and I was able to accomplish what needed to be done.


Typography (from the Greek words τύπος(typos) = form and γραφή(graphy) = writing) is the art and technique of arranging type in order to make language visible


Haley, Allan. Alphabet: the History, Evolution, and Design of the Letters We Use Today. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 1995. Print.

The Latin Alphabet began as simple forms scribed with reed or stylus. Today these same letters are constructed but it different forms. Some typefaces were created hundreds of years ago while others are just strokes that are mimiced from caligraphers brushes. Each letter of the Alphabet is broken down and described by Allan.[ This book was near the section of type/graphic design where I was guided to in my library search]

Simon, Oliver. Introduction to Typography. Pelican Book. 1954

The principles of typography of books from the beginning to the end. Includes the details about typefaces, type setting, text pages and also a bit of the decorative material. Also numerals are talked about which often times when typography is mentioned, numbers arent typically thought of in many cases. They are just as necessary though and important. [This book came up in the Library catalog]

Ambrose, Gavin, and Paul Harris. Fundamentals of Typography. Lausanne: AVA Academia, 2006. Print.

This book if put together by a graphic designer and a journalist/editor who explain the beginnings and the history of what they both deal with on a daily basis.They explain th eeffects of printing in Europe and what happened when moveable type came into existence. [The library catalog was used in order to find and obtain this book]

Jury, David. What Is Typography? Crans-Pres-Celigny: RotoVision, 2006. Print.

David Jury covers all the aspects of Typography in a general form. Anything from the nature to the reading, to the speaking and writing of typography. Although this book is a bit modern and does contain information that is a bit more recent, it gives a great overview of what Typography is and how and why it's gone through the changes it has.[I  used the University Of Lethridge Book Catalog to locate this book]

Dodd, David. From Gutenberg to Opentype. Ilex, 2006. Print.

David is specialist int typographic theory and explains a variety of aspects of typography. One thing I thought was important and why this book is great is the information he gives on italic type because of it's relevant use today. [This book was on the shelf near others that I had searched out from the catalog]

Bringhurst, Robert. The Elements of Typographic Style. Hartley & Marks, 2002. Print

A little hard to navigate and find the best information but Bringhurst dives into the renaissance Roman letters. The Roman type was very distinctive and there are some punches and types that have been discovered from the 1500s. He breaks down the Roman letters into cateegories in order to understand and pick them out. [This book came up as I searched for Typography at the library]

Bartram, Alan. Typeforms: A History. Oak Knoll Press. 24 Nov. 2011.

This book is partly based on An Atlas of Typeforms which he also participaed in the writing of. This book follows a chronological sequence starting from the late 1400's to the present. Printing, like many other things, went from one thing to another. He likened it to Alchemy, where it attempts to turn base metal into gold. [ I found this on on the shelf as well as I browsed around the shelves of the Library]


So this project was a good one to keep focused on school as I went through the break and it definitely helped me to understand typography a lot better. I would have planned to have this posted earlier but the time frame for me being able to get to the University didn't yield such, so that's what it is when it is. Sorry about that. Happy Thanksgiving