From the course: Graphic Design History: The Arts and Crafts Movement

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Typography

Typography

From the course: Graphic Design History: The Arts and Crafts Movement

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Typography

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- The Kelmscott Press was the last great enterprise in William Morris's life. It was also one of his most personal. He was committed to the aesthetics of the books and chose the content based on his beliefs. The typography was as important as the paper, binding, and ink. As he did with other media, when he didn't find fonts that he wanted, Morris designed his own. This spawned a revival in typeface design in England and in the United States. Morris designed three Kelmscott Press fonts. The Golden legend used the press's first type appropriately named Golden. He based the design on the 15th Century typeface drawn by Venetian printer, Nicolas Jenson. The serifs are exaggerated to emphasize the handmade quality of calligraphy. Morris then created a black letter typeface emulating Medieval manuscripts, Troy, and a smaller version, Chaucer. These typefaces are based on 15th Century Germanic letterforms. They take the concepts of hand calligraphy further by imitating the action of a quill…

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