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The Impact of Edward Johnston’s Work on Calligraphy, in 20th and 21st-Century Type Design

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Advances in Ergonomics in Design (AHFE 2021)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems ((LNNS,volume 261))

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Abstract

Edward Johnston, who designed the sans serif font that bears his last name, is also considered one of the precursors of modern calligraphy, after the relative oblivion to which it was downvoted for almost four centuries, following the implementation of the mechanical press. His work Writing and illuminating, and lettering, published in 1906 and successively reprinted since then, sparked a new interest in calligraphy and a new school of handwriting style for font designers. This paper aims to present evidence of the importance for type designers to acquire knowledge of calligraphy in order to create fonts with a high level of readability. This evidence is supported by literary research that present historical facts, and by the analysis of font type designs over the centuries in parallel with the calligraphic evolution and history.

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Correspondence to João Aranda Brandão .

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Brandão, J.A., Rodrigues, S.L. (2021). The Impact of Edward Johnston’s Work on Calligraphy, in 20th and 21st-Century Type Design. In: Rebelo, F. (eds) Advances in Ergonomics in Design. AHFE 2021. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 261. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79760-7_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79760-7_4

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