hy i study design in darmstadt/germany. this semester i try to handle pixelfonts and handwriting. their properties and what happens if i mix them.
but before i can plant my pedigree i have to do some research about the basics of pixelfonts.
- who inveted the first one? (i guess there where some bevore the computer)
- which development they made over the years? (the fonts)
its pretty hard to find something in the internet. maybe some of you have some information.
cheers
jens
The 'old computers' site may be of interest for pointers to the earliest computers that used visual displays and hence bitmap fonts.
http://www.old-computers.com/museum/default.asp
Another interesting area would be the bitmap fonts used in early coin-op arcade machines (many used multiple colors - something you don't see very often these days) and the custom mostly monospaced bitmap fonts created for games on 8bit home computers. You'll find plenty of screen grabs from both technologies on the Web.
When I was working as a broadcast TV art director in the early 1980s, the then-state-of-the-art Chyron IV character generator used bitmap fonts. In fact, I created my first electronic typefaces using that system, using video capture and a VERY limited bitmap editing system.
Probably the oldest thing similar to bitmap fonts would be letters woven into fabric, as in a tapestry, or in rows of beads. There were also lighted signs composed of rows and columns of light bulbs before computers. I have also seen different colored bricks used to spell out a company name on old chimneys and buildings.
Even though we associate this kind of letterform with computers, it was not a recent idea. I'm not sure exactly when bitmap letterforms began to be used with computers; probably the early 1970s. It was more common for early CRT displays to use vector-based letterforms because it used less memory. These would be simple connect-the-dot designs, not like modern outline fonts.
I don't think it would be possible to say who "invented" pixel fonts. The idea was known for a very long time before computers existed and I'm sure was simply used because of its natural affinity with the kind of displays used with computers.
> Probably the oldest thing similar to bitmap fonts would be letters woven into fabric, as in a tapestry, or in rows of beads.
I'd add mosaic lettering to this list.
Si
For more recent history of pixel-based designs on the Mac, you might consider the early work of Zuzana Licko at Emigre: http://www.emigre.com/EFfeature.php?di=133
The Mac Typography wiki is a good resource if you want to cover the early Mac bitmap fonts. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_typography
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