Illustration Annual—July, 2000 

It says six and a half years in preparation, but I don’t believe it. This masterwork about letter-making comes from a full career of love and study about letter-forms, type fonts, and using the knowledge of readable letters in drawing logos. The result is a five and a half pound volume filled with more than you want to know—but always interesting if you are in the communication arts. It’s always been amazing to me to realize how many kinds of letters we can read, the thousands of typefaces, the italics, the scripts, and the tortured letterforms graphic designers twist into logos that they expect customers to be able to read. Doyald Young gives us assurance that letters and logos can be legible and beautiful.

   Doyald Young has taught classes at the Art Center for Design in Pasadena for almost thirty years. He, however, also has a full stu

dio practice and shows more than fifty examples of identities and logos for Pacific Rim clients, national firms and Hollywood stars and titles. And he lets us in on the steps of development as he works with clients. When he does a logo he doesn’t call it lettering, he calls it drawing. Amazingly, he doesn’t work with pens and brushes at the start. He draws letters with a sharply pointed pencil in small size, enlarges them for a refinement step and finishes the job with the computer. With his sharp pencil method he draws steel pen round-hand or full brush script as well as 12-point Garamond. Clients often respond to his logo development drawings done, with knowing eye and precise hand rather more than the final polished art. Perhaps he’s developed his drawing method because there aren’t good left-handed pens or brushes.

   To be able to work with the variety of letterforms that we’ve sanctioned by use as readable has required study and analysis in depth. Type started, of course, with Gutenberg’s Textura German blackletter which we don’t much use, but by the late 1400s Roman Oldstyle faces were being cut by Jenson and Griffo based on the incised letters of ancient Rome. In the two thousand year history of the Roman alphabet nothing has changed the basic shapes of the letters. Over the centuries, hundreds of font letterstyles have been cut, each as individual as a finger-print, reflecting times and varying cultures. They are our typographic heritage and to the educated eye project character and beauty.

   Doyald enlarges selected classic text letters to dissect them with analytical comment. A three-inch high showing of Sabon reveals the structure and sculpture of each letter’s form, the slants of the joinings and the subtle swelling of the vertical strokes. It is a pleasure of seeing. As with a butcher’s chart, the parts of letters are posted out: waist, spine, spur, arm, tail. Dozens of fonts are so examined and by example you’ll find the art of the lettering masters in things we all read but often don’t see.

   Doyald Young is admittedly selective about the classic fonts he’s chosen to explore but his analysis can be applied to most any font. Graphic design and publishing is in a world of confusion now with thousands of typographic styles on offer. A few weeks ago I needed to match a fontstyle that another designer had selected and four of us at the typographer’s shop searched through Precision Type’s Complete Font Reference Guide to Electronic Publishing. Thousands of faces: serif, san serifs, scripts, display and novelty faces. It was daunting and time wasting, but Doyald Young’s identification dissections helped us solve the problem. The digital world is a wonderfully rich one.

   Doyald says that he unabashedly extols the work of Hermann Zapf who writes from his home in Darmstadt, Germany, “Logotype design can display imagination and skill. Logos may be derived from existing typefaces so that the final design relates to an existing typeface and the original commission can be expanded into a total corporate identity program.” Now, that’s a great thought and part of the practicality of Fonts & Logos.

   This awesome book is, in itself, an object of beauty. Its presence in my studio impresses clients. Doyald has designed a special letterfont, Fino for the cover, a refined, serifless Roman: brilliantly new.

   For the professional designer, the student, the typophile, or for just those of us who like to read, Doyald Young increases the pleasure by getting us to see the subtle beauties of the letterforms we are reading. He then shows us how letters fit together to form words—logos of excellence and lasting distinction.    

—Byron Ferris

In 1955, Beatrice Warde, designer and typographer for the Monotype Corporation, published a series of essays in which she defined good typography as a crystal goblet—transparent, but as crucial to carrying meaning as the goblet is to carrying wine. The best practitioners of any pursuit often make the toil of their profession invisible to their audience. So it is with many of the twentieth century’s finest lettering artists, among whom Doyald Young could be reasonably said to have the stature of a Michael Jordan or a Itzhak Perlman—except that they’re better known.

Not long ago, art directors and designers had to “comp in” headings on layouts by hand. They could perhaps imagine the great knowledge and skill required to draw and execute a font or logotype, and admire the masters of the form. But now, although Ed Benguiat, Hermann Zapf, Doyald Young, and others are still around, the computer has pushed them from the consciousness of today’s end user—an unfortunate injustice.

It can be either spellbinding or annoying to watch such masters perform their art, because we can’t figure out how they do it. Fonts & Logos tells all. Every minute detail of the labor is examined, to reveal why the finish appears effortless. Fonts & Logos gives the reader not just a window, but a microscopic view of the esoteric art of letterform and logotype creation. It’s a complete education, including a succinct 500-year history of type design, an unparalleled anatomy of every letter in the alphabet, and deep analysis of serif letters, sans-serifs, and scripts, each followed by a collection of handlettered logotypes appropriate to the category, all drawn by Mr. Young. The “Font Sampler” section provides detailed inspections of at least 30 time-honored typefaces. Thirty-two pages are devoted to the process of updating the type that accompanies Prudential’s familiar Rock of Gibraltar mark. Even experienced identity mavens may be astonished at the painstaking thoroughness of the process (not to mention the sensitivity of the identity director and the patience of the artist).

It must be made clear that Doyald Young’s long career in creating logotypes has not produced the kind of high-profile logos that delight perusers of design annuals. Hermann Zapf, in his introduction, generalizes Young’s logotypes (slightly unfairly) as being predominantly for “hotels, their restaurants, and cocktail lounges” By comparison to marks created by Landor Associates or Lippincott & Margulies, Young’s logotypes are almost as invisible as Ms. Warde’s wineglass. But this isn’t a book of logos; rather, it describes the process of creating the finest possible letterforms for corporate logos.

The ability to create type seems to have been lost in the computer revolution. Fonts & Logos is the bible, the map, and the Rosetta stone for those who would carry this low-profile high art into the twenty-first century. The book takes one’s breath away, beginning when one lifts the five pounds of its 385, 9”x  l2” pages. The thoroughness of its treatment of the subject is awesome. Its design is exquisite, the printing, flawless. And the $65 cover price is a bargain.

John Langdon

Author, Wordplay

Professor, Drexel University’s Nesbitt College of Design Arts

The talk of fonts and typefaces has been transformed over the last couple of decades from esoteric discussions by craftsmen in large, heavy equipment-laden rooms to everyday vernacular in every computerized office and home. This democratization has placed much pressure on logo designers and font developers to maintain standards formerly controlled by the skilled few, but now is accessed by anyone. Finally, we have a manual to understand not only the complexities of font design and logo design, but the creative process as well.

This volume, which is a follow-up to Logotypes and Letterforms, stands alone as a generous reference guide to fonts (377 showings), font design, logotype design and typographic history. Although the author describes Fonts & Logos as a foundation course, this book is really much more than that. Novices will benefit from Mr. Young’s forty-five year association with the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, as this book describes every type classification with many generous examples. The brief chapter “How I Work” is worth far more than the cover price for anyone with an interest in drawing his or her own letters and logos. Professionals will find this a great source of typographic inspiration at the depth and level in which the design and drawing of both type and custom logos are covered. As one who prefers illustrations to endless copy this book is a joy in its concise text and many illustrative examples. Of particular note are the many pencil sketches showing the author’s wonderful drawing skill, a dying art form which is much alive in this book. Good drawing skills are the basis of all logotypes and fonts and that is elegantly displayed in this rich and complete volume.

Doyald Young, designer and educator, re-cently published Fonts & Logos, a rich, engaging and multifaceted book on the letter arts. Drawing on his long career at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, Young’s book is both an instructional work of singular achievement and a paean to the western Latin alphabet. Graphic design professionals will be as amply rewarded as neophytes when plumbing the depths of this nearly 400-page book. The discussion, comparison of fonts, and enlargements of individual letterforms not only bring back to mind one’s initial attraction to the profession, but they also renew both creativity and critical thinking.

Young first sets the historical context by briefly introducing the various typeface classification systems and a chronology of typography in the European tradition. His taxonomy of letter parts establishes the vocabulary for the ensuing discussions. The function of a logo is also defined.

Detailed examinations

In the middle sections of the book, Young presents an exhaustive dissection of the forms of serif, sans serif, and script letters, in addition to selected logos from his own work. The comps of these logos, all lettered by hand, are truly a tour de force, recalling a time before computers when a keen eye and a well-trained hand were the sole tools used when creating type designs. The case history of the new Prudential Insurance logo is particularly instructive. Young also provides an evaluation of a number of overlooked or forgotten typefaces that he admires. The book concludes with a brief but invaluable section titled simply “How I Work”—something an artist rarely reveals in print.

Throughout the book, Young pays close attention to the fundamental architecture of letterforms, using enlargements to show how subtle shape-shifting can have a significant impact on the success of a typeface design. The large number of alphabet comparisons reveals the astonishing diversity of “feel” that typefaces of similar construction can have. Young’s experience as a teacher is richly evident in his descriptive analyses.

Intimate insights

It is with this detailed study of letterforms and their relationships that Young accomplishes something of exceptional value—he communicates the alchemy of sensual drawn forms that are ultimately transformed into the utilitarian marks we read. This is one of those rare books that connects with the reader in an enduring way—as one’s knowledge of letterforms deepens, fresh insights can be gained when revisiting the material.

Fonts & Logos substantiates several maxims about typography by Charles Bigelow and Kris Holmes, noted type designers and commentators on the subject. Here are two:

“Typography is abstract, achromatic, and two-dimensional, yet it constitutes a complete aesthetic microcosm accessible to the literate intellect.”

“Typefaces exist only to serve language, yet their art is as subtle as music or painting.”

Spreads from the book can be seen at the web site of Young’s publishing company, Delphi Press, at www.delphipress.com. Information about ordering the book can also be found there.

Editor’s note: The reviewer, Brian Allen, is employed at Agfa Monotype in Palo Alto, Calif. In addition to working in font production, he is also a letterpress printer and calligrapher, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Pacific Center for the Book Arts.

Agfa Monotype. All rights reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Click here for more information on our secure site.

Seven years ago, the author of this book produced an exquisite, slightly shorter work on Logotypes & Letterforms in which he shared what he had gained from 40 years as a type designer and 25 as a teacher of typography at Art Center College of Design. In this equally elegant sequel, he provides both an overview of typography and a technical guide for decisions about legibility, font design, the compatibility of type styles, and the function of type within logos. Anyone who loves letters will delight in the myriad forms that appear in the book’s diagrams and exemplars.

For The Love of Letters

Two books, Logotypes & Letterforms and Fonts & Logos have, over the last several weeks, provided me with some of the most satisfying font related reading I have yet experienced. They are not books to be read, ticked off your list, and then shelved. They are amazing works of reference to which I will continue to return time and time again for the insight and freshness of thought they bring to my own appreciation of the form of fonts.

Logotypes & Letterforms was published in 1993 and Fonts and Logos in 1999. Both are the creation of Professor Doyald Young whose inscription, in the books I am reading, appears at the head of this column. Clearly Doyald Young’s life revolves around his love of letters and his teaching of lettering, logotype design and the fundamentals of typography. Over 40 years of specialization in the design of typefaces, logotypes and corporate alphabets provides the basis for his publications, which have been adopted by a number of colleges for their logo design classes. Both books go far beyond any suggestion that they are simply learning texts. They are truly definitive works of reference, enhanced by some of the most scholarly and descriptive text I have had the pleasure to read.

A cover note to Logotypes & Letterforms asks “Can you picture the words Coca-Cola without the distinctive script of its logotype? Most of us can’t, and that shows how important the logotype is in the visual identificatio of almost any product or service we use.” Doyald Young’s fascinating commentary and analysis provides a capsule course in logotype design and development. Fonts & Logos is described as both a foundation course and a guided path through the minefields of font and logo design. Showings of 377 time honoured fonts make Fonts & Logos a source book for font selection; historical notes on the types and their designers add depth and interest. A section of Typographic Suggestions by itself constitutes a full-fledged course on the use of type.

Doyald Young doesn’t just teach—he “does.” Clients include Bushnell, John Deere, Max Factor, General Electric Company, Bette Midler, Prudential Insurance Company, Vidal Sassoon, Bob Hope, the Tony Awards, Bechtel Corporation, Dillingham, and the Annual Country Music Awards no mention but a few.

Logotypes & Letterforms has been produced as a source book of letterforms and design direction possibilities. A logotype is described as a word or group of words that defines and individual, group, product or company and may be straightforward type or a unique design. It must be effective for presentation in circumstances as varied as business cards, billboards or bottles, by day or by night, and on stationery, shelves and illuminated signs, and it must be legible, even if not particularly distinctive. Your appreciation of the basic, and not so basic, aspects of such development can only be enhanced by reading Logotypes & Letterforms.

The preface to Fonts & Logos makes the point that without skill our alphabet can be drawn or printed or scrawled in a hurried fashion—even backward—and still be readable. It is only when words must perform a specific task that their shapes become important for the sake of legibility. Fonts in books, advertising or “designed for the moment” all rely on two-thousand-year-old shapes that have an inherent interrelationship. In that time nothing has changed in the way we physiologically perceive letters and words. Doyald Young is principally concerned, in using type, with clarity of form. In Fonts & Logos he uses demonstration, explanation and he directs the viewer’s gaze to see that which is not readily apparent. Fonts & Logos is his declaration of the joy of drawing.

Another commentator, far more distinguished than I, said that Doyald Young’s font commentaries “… reflect the exacting observations of a lettering master who has dedicated his life to the understanding of fine typography and font design.” I must agree.

The physical presentation of both books is simply magnificent. They are “big.” The presentation is all you would expect from a professional who has done so much for the image of other organizations. Logotypes & Letterforms is approx 9” x 11” (22 cm x 28 cm) and runs to over 300 beautifully presented pages containing example after example illustrating the thought processes involved in the exacting task of image creation. Fonts & Logos is bigger, both physically, approx 9 1/2” x 12” (24 cm x 32 cm) and its 388 pages contain an almost mind numbing breadth of example, information and scholarship. That it has been adopted as a prestigious reference and source book for students, designers and typophiles comes as no surprise. Fonts & Logos deserves its own special place in the history of the development of typography. Purchase information for both books is available from Doyald Young’s web site delphipress.com. For those readers of this column who are moved to try to gain a true appreciation of the subtlety and choice of fonts and letter forms to reflect mood, attitude, personality and a “flavour” beyond words themselves, indulge in both books, you will not regret it.

Vanity, in the eyes of a graphic designer, often comes in the shape of a coffee table book. It’s the fun little sidebar of life we can enjoy within our career, whenever we have time to break away from the relative monotony of paying clients.

    While top-flight design stars have the revenue and means to put forth an elaborate hard-bound masterpiece (read: Bill Cahan), the vast majority that represents the rest of us can dream and still attempt to do something just as nice. But do it because you love it, for expect patience, little financial payback, and an open-eyed reality into how this not-so-little something called the publishing industry works.

   Just ask Doyald Young.

   A respected 26-year veteran of teaching future design pros at Art Center in Pasadena, Young recently released his second book, Fonts & Logos, an exhaustive and wonderful look into the art of typesetting. Communication Arts called it “awesome”; Critique and Agfa/Monotype have shared similar sentiments. More physical honors include a well-deserved medal at last November’s West Coast Show, sponsored by WADC.

. . .

For Fonts & Logos, Young went solo and liberated himself to do as he pleased—but at great time and cost. He even forgoes a distributor, noting that their demands—such as asking for 60% of retail revenue—is not worth it. Young has spent extensive time on the road selling the book, let alone to inform people that it exists; he recently spent an entire month in Europe doing just that.

Besides being President of Western Art Directors Club, Eric Gouldsberry is attempting to publish a book on the new ballparks of Major League Baseball. As of press time, he had an agent but no publisher—yet.

_

Mac Monitor

The Newsletter of the Savannah Macintosh Users Group

July 2000

Required reading for logo designers and type lovers.

For “putting his money where his vision is,” Young was able to create a book that not only communicates how to create art, but is, itself, a work of art.

Quality is of secondary interest to most book publishers. The typical computer or design book is rushed to market. All too often, “low bidder” authors are hired who are content merely to meet their deadlines and move on to the next book. The author’s vision and personality are typically sacrificed to the greed-driven urge to be “first” to market a particular title. (As if book buyers, the month after a program appears, care which book came out first.)

   The fact this process shortchanges readers doesn’t matter to publishers; as long as the book appears the day the software is released, presumably enough people will buy it to keep the system running. Works of art like Robert Bringhurst’s The Elements of Typographic Style or Edward Tufte’s Envisioning Information, represent the exception to the rule.

   Doyald Young’s Fonts & Logos is the latest and best example of the “personal statement/work of art” exception to the dismal state of affairs. Fonts & Logos is a major achievement, a labor of love; required reading for type lovers and designers who want the book length equivalent of a yearlong college level class delivered by one of the world’s leading logo designers.

Self-published, and proud of it

The key to the success of Fonts & Logos is that it was written to satisfy the author’s internal standards of excellence . . . and it was written and produced to the author’s own timetable. Over three years [six-and-a-half] of work went into writing and painstakingly laying out each page (compared to the typical three months a computer book author typically gets—under the best of circumstances).

   For the privilege of “putting his money where his vision is,” i.e. paying for printing the book himself, Doyald Young was able to create a book that not only communicates how to create art, but is, itself, a work of art—rather than just an ephemeral book.

Fonts & Logos succeeds because it was produced to satisfy the author’s own standards of excellence and refusal to compromise. Young went so far as to visit the printer in Asia to make sure that each page came off the printing press just right. In doing so, Young has created a legacy book—one that provides graphic designers with hundreds of pages to read, admire, and learn from again and again.

Contents

Like the best graphic design books, Fonts & Logos is relatively short on words but large on illustrations. The book is designed in spreads: most topics are covered on two facing pages. The top quarter of each page contains four columns of text that introduces a concept and describes the important things to look for.

   The remainder of the page contains illustrations of either the structure of the letterforms that illustrate the point he is making (contrast—or differences in thickness between thick and thin strokes—or that show how characters from an alphabet are modified to create logos).

   What makes the book fascinating, and deserving of so much of the reader’s time, is that the book shows numerous “alternate takes” of the logo, as well as the logo that is finally accepted. By comparing the characters in a logo to the original alphabet, designers will be reminded of how simplifying letterforms (like removing the crossbar of the uppercase A) can enhance readability at low sizes as well as project a unique image at large size.

   In order to illustrate the component parts of a letter and what makes one design different from another, some illustrations are almost four inches high—large enough to make the nuances (or “optical illusions”) typeface designers utilize to create beautiful, easy to read text. The characteristic design features of many familiar faces, i.e., Frutiger, Optima, Adobe Garamond, are discussed and illustrated at huge size, permitting you to appreciate the art, effort, and disciplined technique that went into their design.

   Numerous guidelines and call outs draw attention to the concepts described in the text at the top of the page. Afterthoughts, when present, are discreetly placed in italics at the bottom of the page. Many two-page spreads, in themselves, are worth matting and framing, to be hung on your wall.

   Although Dummies books sell better at Costco, Young is already enjoying great success with Fonts & Logos. Many of the country’s top design colleges and universities are adopting it as their standard typography text.