The Elements of Typographic Style
Encyclopedia
The Elements of Typographic Style is a book by Canadian
typographer, poet
and translator Robert Bringhurst
. Originally published in 1992
by Hartley & Marks Publishers
, it was revised in 1996
, 2001
(v2.4), 2002
(v2.5), 2004
(v3.0), 2005
(v3.1), and 2008
(v3.2). A history and guide to typography
, it has been praised by Hermann Zapf
, who said “I wish to see this book become the Typographers’ Bible.” Jonathan Hoefler
and Tobias Frere-Jones
consider it "the finest book ever written about typography," according to the FAQ section of their type foundry's website. Because of its widespread use, it is sometimes abbreviated simply as Bringhurst.
The title alludes to The Elements of Style
.
s in the book's third edition are as follows:
In addition to these chapters, the book also contains five appendices, an historical synopsis, and a foreword.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
typographer, poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and translator Robert Bringhurst
Robert Bringhurst
Robert Bringhurst is a Canadian poet, typographer and author. He is the author of The Elements of Typographic Style – a reference book of typefaces, glyphs and the visual and geometric arrangement of type...
. Originally published in 1992
1992 in literature
The year 1992 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-New books:*Ben Aaronovitch - Transit*Julia Álvarez - How the García Girls Lost Their Accents*Paul Auster - Leviathan*Iain Banks - The Crow Road...
by Hartley & Marks Publishers
Hartley & Marks Publishers
Hartley & Marks Publishers is a Vancouver, British Columbia-based publishing company that began as a publisher of books on a diverse range of esoteric subjects. Many of the company's early books concerned health and medicine and an interest in Eastern culture...
, it was revised in 1996
1996 in literature
The year 1996 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, is removed from an advanced placement English reading list in Lindale, Texas because it "conflicted with the values of the community."* In the United Kingdom, the first...
, 2001
2001 in literature
The year 2001 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* The film version of J. R. R. Tolkien's classic book, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, is released to movie theaters...
(v2.4), 2002
2002 in literature
The year 2002 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*March 16: Authorities in Saudi Arabia arrested and jailed poet Abdul Mohsen Musalam and fired a newspaper editor following the publication of Musalam's poem The Corrupt on Earth that criticized the state's Islamic...
(v2.5), 2004
2004 in literature
The year 2004 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Canada Reads selects Guy Vanderhaeghe's The Last Crossing to be read across the nation....
(v3.0), 2005
2005 in literature
The year 2005 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*February 25 - Canada Reads selects Rockbound by Frank Parker Day as the novel to be read across the nation....
(v3.1), and 2008
2008 in literature
The year 2008 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*January 1 - In the 2008 New Year Honours, Hanif Kureishi , Jenny Uglow , Peter Vansittart and Debjani Chatterjee are all rewarded for "services to literature".*June 15 - Gore Vidal, asked in a New York Times...
(v3.2). A history and guide to typography
Typography
Typography is the art and technique of arranging type in order to make language visible. The arrangement of type involves the selection of typefaces, point size, line length, leading , adjusting the spaces between groups of letters and adjusting the space between pairs of letters...
, it has been praised by Hermann Zapf
Hermann Zapf
Hermann Zapf is a German typeface designer who lives in Darmstadt, Germany. He is married to calligrapher and typeface designer Gudrun Zapf von Hesse....
, who said “I wish to see this book become the Typographers’ Bible.” Jonathan Hoefler
Jonathan Hoefler
Jonathan Hoefler is an American typeface designer. Hoefler founded Hoefler & Frere-Jones , a type foundry in New York that Hoefler shares with fellow type designer Tobias Frere-Jones.Hoefler has designed original typefaces for Rolling Stone Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, The New York Times Magazine,...
and Tobias Frere-Jones
Tobias Frere-Jones
Tobias Frere-Jones is a prolific type designer who works in New York City with fellow type designer Jonathan Hoefler at Hoefler & Frere-Jones, a type foundry in lower Manhattan...
consider it "the finest book ever written about typography," according to the FAQ section of their type foundry's website. Because of its widespread use, it is sometimes abbreviated simply as Bringhurst.
The title alludes to The Elements of Style
The Elements of Style
The Elements of Style , also known as Strunk & White, by William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White, is a prescriptive American English writing style guide comprising eight "elementary rules of usage", ten "elementary principles of composition", "a few matters of form", a list of forty-nine "words and...
.
Chapters
The titles of the chapterChapter (books)
A chapter is one of the main divisions of a piece of writing of relative length, such as a book. Chapters can be numbered in the case of such writings as law code or they can be titled. For example, the first chapters of some well-known novels are titled:*"The Boy Who Lived" – Harry Potter...
s in the book's third edition are as follows:
- The Grand Design
- Rhythm & Proportion
- Harmony & Counterpoint
- Structural Forms & Devices
- Analphabetic Symbols
- Choosing & Combining Type
- Historical Interlude
- Shaping the Page
- The State of the Art
- Grooming the Font
- Prowling the Specimen Books
In addition to these chapters, the book also contains five appendices, an historical synopsis, and a foreword.
Editions
- First edition: Hartley & Marks Publishers, 1993, 254pp, ISBN 0-88179-110-5 (hardcover)
- Second edition: Hartley & Marks Publishers, 1996, 352pp, ISBN 0-88179-133-4 (hardcover), ISBN 0-88179-132-6 (paperback)
- Third edition: Hartley & Marks Publishers, 2005, ISBN 0-88179-205-5 (hardcover), ISBN 0-88179-206-3 (paperback)
External links
- The Elements of Typographic Style Applied to the Web – an unaffiliated webpage applying the same principles to web typography
- A Classic Thesis style - An Homage to The Elements of Typographic Style – LaTeXLaTeXLaTeX is a document markup language and document preparation system for the TeX typesetting program. Within the typesetting system, its name is styled as . The term LaTeX refers only to the language in which documents are written, not to the editor used to write those documents. In order to...
and LyXLyXLyX is a document processor following the self-coined "what you see is what you mean" paradigm , as opposed to the WYSIWYG ideas used by word processors...
template for dissertations, books and articles inspired by Bringhurst's book