Faces on the Edge: Type in the Digital Age

By Steven Heller

Steven Heller and Anne Fink Designed by Michael Ian Kaye Faces on the Edge Type in the Digital Age More than any other graphic medium, today's fontography mirrors the traditions, eccentricities, and trends of modern society. Faces on the Edge, by prominent art director and author Steven Heller, is a spellbinding survey of the revolutionary effects of digital type design on 20th-century typography. More than 200 typefaces, from the classically inspired to the exuberantly (near) illegible, are featured in this compilation, illustrating how new technologies have dramatically increased the possibilities of type design. Included are typefaces from many of the world's most innovative type foundries, such as Emigre Fonts, FontShop International, Garage Fonts, Thirst Fonts, Exploding Fonts, and T-26, and represents some of the finest type designers such as Zuzana Licko, Rudy VanderLans, Jonathan Hoefler, Tobias Frere-Jones, Ed Fella, and Barry Deck. The Typefaces are Organized into Six Kinds of Fontography: Rebirths and Revivals - Greeking Roman - Digital Carvings Off the Wall - Optical Delusions - Lots O' Laffs Typefaces are identified by date, designer, and foundry; a brief description text places each in the larger context of digital type history. With useful information on how to obtain and apply each typeface, Faces on the Edge is an indispensable resource for graphic designers, desktop designers, and students alike. Over 200 illustrations in color and black and white document the real-life application of these inventive typefaces in popular magazines, advertising, posters, and multimedia. Faces on the Edge is a vivid, timely account of what is undeniably a significant era of type design.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 047128761X
• ISBN13: 9780471287612
• Release Date: March 1997
• Publisher: Wiley
• Length: 131 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 10.0" x 0.3" x 7.0"

Customer Reviews

Type production unlimited

As a designer and teacher, I find this book to be an inspirational springboard. From practicality to exclusivity, this book offers samples that must inspire one to produce new and fresh ideas unless one is clinically brain-dead.

Loved it! Typophiles hard to resist

This book will be difficult to date. I have read it and re read it over and over and find the typefaces inside inspiring and can recommend it to anyone! Definitely one for the studio library. It reminds me of what lengths designers go to in their designing type ... awesome. Thoroughly used as a resource book. Everthing from Emigre to Thirst (my favourite) ...