Description

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A fresh look at typographic design as an art and as a storytelling device that expresses narratives, emotions, and voice

Stretching the boundaries of typographic expression, Type Tells Tales is a sensational showcase of type that is integral to the message it conveys, with the capacity to emote, engage, and guide the reader from one thought to the next. Navigating the far reaches of graphic design, Steven Heller and Gail Anderson reveal how type can render a particular voice or multiple conversations, how letters in various shapes and sizes can guide the eye through dense information, and how type can become both content and illustration, as letters take the form of people, animals, cars, or planes.

The book’s 332 illustrations – including 290 in color – feature historical examples by F. T. Marinetti, Bruno Munari, and Francis Picabia, among others, as well as by contemporary designers such as Richard Eckersley, John Hendrix, Maira Kalman, and Corita Kent. The book firmly locates the letter in the realm of artistry, finding exciting common ground among the pursuits of design, illustration, writing, and typography. 

About the Author

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Steven Heller was art director at the New York Times for 33 years. He is currently co-chair of the MFA Designer as Author program at the School of Visual Arts, New York. Gail Anderson is an award-winning designer and lecturer at the School of Visual Arts, New York.

Praise For…

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“A gorgeous tour of the ways type can be integrated so thoroughly with text that the type itself helps tells the story at hand . . . If you’re a type lover, this book is like Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and your birthday all rolled into one.”—Malcolm Jones, Daily Beast

“[A] rich study of typography . . . This beautiful book is sure to strike a chord with bibliophiles and art lovers alike.”—Publishers Weekly

“A beautiful book . . . Heller and Anderson take the reader/viewer through a smorgasbord of tasty typographic treats. . . . Yale University Press has printed the book in rich color on an excellent paper in an oversize folio, production choices that enhance the drama of the typefaces and render them almost master drawings.”—S. Skaggs, Choice

“An artful exploration of the boundaries of type . . . gorgeously illustrated . . . it paints a vivid tapestry of the lives and techniques of the various graphic designers and typographers featured.”—Michael Opsteegh, Technical Communication