typeworship:

Review: Type Matters! 

Simple tips for everyday typography by Jim Williams

The publishers Merrell kindly sent me an advance copy of their book to peruse. I felt obliged to ask “what makes this guide different from all the other typography reference manuals?”. The excellent Bringhurst’s The Elements of Typographic Style and Felici’s The Complete Manual of Typography are certainly not lacking as guides.

The response: Simplicity.
The information has been distilled right down and is presented in a well designed format. At just over 150 pages (many of these containing just one finely honed example) it is aimed at all users of typography, from students and professionals to anyone who produces layout design on a computer. 

The book has an interesting back story too. It came about when the author, Jim Williams, was asked by a design company in Manchester to give a series of talks, one of which was about tips that could help designers with day-to-day typography. The presentation sat on his desk for months afterwards until Staffordshire University, UK (where Jim lectures part-time) provided funds for the presentation to be printed for use by his students. It was then featured by Creative Review following which he received lots of requests from all over the world. He was then encouraged to develop a book, and here it is.

 It has been designed like a Moleskin notebook with wonderfully tactile faux-leather cover, ribbon placeholders and an elastic enclosure strap. It feels like a book that will wear well rather than require being kept pristine.

If you want a comprehensive grounding in the fundamentals of typography or an accessible, concise reference guide, this book is for you.

Published 2nd April 2012. More information at: merrellpublishers.com