Karly Brunner
Chapter 2: The Anatomy of Typography
This chapter really opened my eyes to the basic components
that make up typography. Typography is also known as “thoughts-made-visible”
and “frozen sounds”. The individual parts of each letterform make them
identifiable amongst the rest. I learned there is a vast vocabulary when it
comes to identifying letterforms that allow designers to develop a greater
understanding and sensitivity to the alphabet. Some of my favorite lingo is eye, which is the enclosed part of the
lowercase e and arm, a projecting
horizontal stroke that is unattached on one or both ends, as in the letters T
and E. I also like the lingo ear, a
small stroke that projects from the upper right side of the bowl of the
lowercase roman g, and leg, the lower
diagonal stroke on the letter k. I like these words because they describe
letters as if they were human. I love the similarities between typography and
living creatures because it shows the importance of words and letters are in
our everyday lives. I thought this chapter did a fantastic job of explaining
what each word meant but also showcasing it with he helpful diagrams and
pictures. The fact that many letters share parts makes typography so dynamic
and intriguing. All twenty-six capitals, twenty-six lowercase letters, 10
numerals, punctuation, and other graphic elements must be incorporated to
create a successful stylistic typeface. I learned that old style type began
during the 1490’s while more modern styles, such as sans serif, first started appearing
in 1816. The transitional and
modern styles evolved around the 1700’s, with transitional characters wider
than old style characters and modern having extreme contrasts between thick and
thin strokes. I loved learning about all the possibilities when it comes to
different styles of typography in this chapter. 
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