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Questions and Answers
What does the word 'typography' mean?
What does the word 'typography' mean?
The word 'typography' means 'writing with pictures.'
What does arranging type involve? (Select all that apply)
What does arranging type involve? (Select all that apply)
Arabic is read and written from left to right.
Arabic is read and written from left to right.
False
Hieroglyphs use a _______________ writing system.
Hieroglyphs use a _______________ writing system.
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Match the following alphabet developments with the respective civilizations:
Match the following alphabet developments with the respective civilizations:
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Study Notes
History of Typography
- The earliest known attempts to communicate with images date back to around 25,000 B.C., with cave drawings being a primary form of pictorial communication.
Ancient Writing Systems
- The earliest form of writing emerged from Sumeria around 4000 B.C., with text written from top to bottom, then from left to right.
- Hieroglyphs used a pictogrammatic writing system, with over 750 individual Egyptian pictograms, and were written from right to left, left to right, or downwards.
- Phoenicians developed a system of 22 magic signs or symbols that represented sounds rather than objects, which became the basis of the modern Latin alphabet around 1600 B.C.
Development of the Alphabet
- The Greeks adopted the Phoenician characters, creating their alphabet and refining the language by adding the first vowels (5 of them).
- The word ALPHABET is derived from the Greek characters alpha and beta.
- Aramaic, created from Phoenician around 900 B.C., is a Semitic language that pioneered Arabic and Hebrew.
- The Romans further created the alphabet by using 23 letters from the Etruscans, with modifications and additions.
Typography and Printing
- The Romans used seven of their letterforms as base numerals, with each letter representing a numeric building block.
- Johann Gutenberg invented handset movable type in 1450, allowing for quick production of books and contributing to the expansion of knowledge.
- The Gutenberg Press utilized movable types, which were inked and then transferred onto damp sheets of paper.
- The first book printed using the Gutenberg Press was the 42-line Gutenberg Bible.
Typography Terms and Characteristics
- Many typographical terms are named after the different characteristics of type blocks.
- Block, Blackletter, Gothic, Old English, black, or broken typefaces are based on the ornate writing style during the Middle Ages.
- Blackletter typefaces are used to add decorative touches and appear heavy and difficult to read in large text blocks due to their complexity and unfamiliarity.
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Description
Explore the evolution of typography, from ancient paintings to digital type, with a focus on the ornamental pixel font inspired by Cyrillic ornate lettering and Arabic Square Kufi.
