Typeface Research: Baskerville

THE HISTORY OF BASKERVILLE





The Baskerville font was designed by type designer, writing master and printer, John Baskerville. John was born on the 28th of January 1706 in Wolverley England and died in 1775 in Birmingham England at the age of 68. He spent many years perfecting and improving existing fonts such as Caslon, however in 1730 John began developing his own style of font which was to become the beginning of Baskerville. John studied the ease of reading various faces and found that fine-stroked types were actually easier to read when printed in smaller sizes- a characteristic essential for books. It was this finding that lead to the design of Baskerville, a font that is characterised by its finer strokes. John Baskerville designed and first published the Baskerville font in 1757. Baskerville is a typeface that still to this day reflects John’s ideals for perfection, simplicity and quiet refinement.

During the time when the Baskerville font was designed, many other type designers throughout England claimed that John Baskerville’s font was too thin and stark in contrast to the fonts present at the time (such as Caslon). John’s fellow contemporaries believed that the typeface was going damage the eyes of anyone who try to read it. Despite this the Baskerville font was much admired overseas by the likes of Benjamin Franklin.

Baskerville fell out of use in the early 1900s with the onset of modern typefaces such as Bodoni. However in 1917, Baskerville was revived by a man named Bruce Rogers, for the Harvard University Press. In 1923 Baskerville was again revived, although this time in England by a man named Stanley Morison, for the British Monotype Company. The most recent revival of the Baskerville typeface was in 1996 when it was used as the basis for the design of the typeface ‘Mrs Eaves’, designed by Zuzana Licko.

Baskerville is still widely used today with many modified versions being created since its design in 1757. The refined feeling of the Baskerville typeface makes it an excellent choice when you would like to convey dignity and tradition. Baskerville is a typeface that is and will be continued to be celebrated as one of the best ever typefaces for printed books thanks to its traditional thin and start lines.

e-book review 2

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes


Typography:

1. What typeface is used (serif or sanserif ) and is the typography
clear and easy to read on a screen?
Again the designer has used a simple serif typeface throughout this e-book. The choice of a serif font has made the text very readable although as the document is long after some time the reader may start to experience sore eyes from the intensity of the white background.


2. How could the designer improve the readability of the text?
The designer could improve the readability of the text by increasing the the contrast between the colour of the font and the colour of the background. The designer could possibly have used an off-white colour to dull down the intensity of the background.


Interactivity:

1. What techniques has the designer used to allow you to quickly navigate through the book?
The designer has used a sidebar hyperlink list to break up the document for easy navigation. Each chapter is listed with the chapter name and page number and allows for the reader to click on the chapter name and be taken to the first page of that chapter.


2. What further interactive features could be added to make it even more accessible?
I think, although this document is very unattractive, that its navigational qualities are quite well designed. The body text is also better subdivided in this e-book which makes it easier on the readers eyes, giving them a chance to look away from the screen.

e-book review

The Imperial Dread Sea Scrolls.


Typography:

1. What typeface is used (serif or sanserif ) and is the typography
clear and easy to read on a screen?

A simple serif typeface has been used throughout this e-book. The readability of the text is easy throughout the e-book although as the document is around 90 pages long the large blocks of text make reading the text on screen become quite hard the further you get into the document.


2. How could the designer improve the readability of the text?

The designer could improve the readability of the text by breaking it into smaller paragraphs or sections. By doing this the text does not begin to run into one long document giving the reader the chance to rest their eyes throughout the document.

Interactivity:

1. What techniques has the designer used to allow you to quickly
navigate through the book?

The designer has broken the document up into chapters that are broken down for the reader in the contents page. The breakdown of the doument is also found in the side bar with hyperlinks that can take you to which ever section of the document you choose.

2. What further interactive features could be added to make it even
more accessible?

The only suggestion I could make in regards to this design is that the designer could make the document more appealing to the reader with more interactive headings and pictures.