What do you think they were and why?

Nothing quite like asking someone else to do your research for you. Here's one hint: computers might be involved somewhere.

When I teach Type 2 (which I should call "Book Typography," but the school won't let me) at an arts college, I give them a pop quiz on world history about the 3rd class session. It has about 17 events from about 600 C.E. to the present. The students are to place them in chronological order and then they are to note the implications these events had on visual culture.

Good Lord, do they hate this exercise. They say "we're design students, not history students." I respond that the two are not to be separated.

To perhaps ease the pain a bit I include "instructor's birth" and "student's birth." No one has attributed anything of importance to my birth, which is fine and accurate. I have gotten some pleasingly egocentric predictions of student accomplishments. After the quizzes have been passed back to me and we begin to discuss them, I note that anyone who places my birth earlier than it is will automatically fail the quiz.

powers

Tracking

Ramelton,
Start by naming all the typographic developments prior to the 20th Century and you will easily be able to determine what is left.

ChrisL

But, Chris, you also have to factor out the 21st-century developments.

Ramelton: Sorry if that came across more harshly than intended. Seriously, though, computers and automated typesetting are one of the more important factors. ChrisL's suggestion is a good starting place.

> hint: computers might be involved somewhere.

Somewhere being really only the last quarter of the century.

>But, Chris, you also have to factor out the 21st-century developments.

Question - lazy-arse-freeloading-students - 19th, 20th or 21st century? ;-)

>But, Chris, you also have to factor out the 21st-century developments.

Steve, Once he gets that far and actually shows some progress, we can discuss the 21st Century.

Before you catch a fish, you actually have to cast your line into the water.

ChrisL

[[http://www.fazed.org/video/view/?id=138|Not necessarily, Chris.]]

I'd say that this is one is the most significant typographic developments of Twentieth Century:

Quoting sii
>But, Chris, you also have to factor out the 21st-century developments.

Question - lazy-arse-freeloading-students - 19th, 20th or 21st century? ;-)

Wow what an unfriendly comment to make on a forum, as I stated at the start of the thread we are just about to start the typography module in the course, all I was looking for was some friedly pointers to watch out for in the module that might help with it, I am amazed at the tone on this forum and will take my interests to another forum and hope that the vulgar people here dont reside on that forum aswell.

I have to say though thank you to the people that did provide genuine answers.

regards
ramelton

And by the way sii if you think I'm some free loading script kiddy you would be sadly wrong because I'm a mature student.

>And by the way sii if you think I’m some free loading script kiddy you would be sadly wrong because I’m a mature student.

Probably explains why you were offended by my joke. A younger internet-savvy student would have noticed the "winky", and not taken offense. ;-)

>I am amazed at the tone on this forum and will take my interests to another forum and hope that the vulgar people here dont reside on that forum aswell.

Best of luck! aswell that ends well.

"I am amazed at the tone on this forum"

I am amazed that the recent crop of students on these forums have no idea how to interact with people online.

Tip: The quality of answers typically reflects the quality of the question.

When I was a student, there was no Internet. Just libraries and people. And still, we had to write essays and make research. I guess technology creates lazyness.

dr

And still, we had to write essays and make research.

I would say that research skills were the most important thing I learned at university, and certainly the aspect of my education that I have made most persistent use of since.

... all I was looking for was some friedly pointers ...

To all intents and purposes it looks like you wanted other people to do your thinking for you.
At the very least, you could do a little research and float a few ideas that you think may be relevant, and see what others think of them.

in other words, getting other people to do your homework for you
can be a lot of work! but knowing how to perform that little trick
will be very useful for you in your professional career. ;+)

-bowerbird

the post wasn't nearly as funny the second time... ;+)

-bowerbird

Ramelton, you and the NOLA students are learning that you have to take some lumps if you want to play with the big boys. And Mr. Grumpleton hasn't even popped in here to give his thoughts yet.

20th Century schtuff not yet mentioned...
Sans serif --> Bauhaus/Modernism
Phototypesetting
Dry Transfer Type

not to mention The Apple Mac.

Erik Spiekermann

cheerio Queneau

PostScript, True Type, Open Type

Some key words to Google and search Wikipedia with: Monotype, Compugraphic, Linotype, Penta, Pagemaker, Aldus, TeX (search under Knuth if there are too many bad hits), Troff, photocomposition, Quark, and Letraset. Maybe others will add to this list, as it is just giving you direction, rather than doing your research for you.

Through technology, the ability to produce fonts faster than ever before - compare and contrast that with where the technology was at the turn of the century and how over time, photosetting - then digital - changed all that.

And that's just technology. It's not just technology.

20th century design movements reshaped the types we use in drastic ways. Just charting this evolution would make an incredible research paper; from bauhaus to ... garage fonts.

Businesswise: how was type bought, distributed, used - ATF, Linotype, Monotype - thru ITC - and compare that with where we were by around 2000.

You're gonna need a copy of Meggs' History book.

and

Stanley Morison and Beatrice Warde.

Those two should spice up a paper or two.

s.
mehallo.com

...I'm a mature student. So why behave like an immature one? Go to the library, do your own research, you'll be better off for it.

remember, just ignore the grumpy old men;
do not respond to them or challenge them... ;+)

-bowerbird

this one wasn't funny the second time either...

the duplication is enough to make _me_ grumpy... ;+)

-bowerbird

To think that I used to like cats ...

www.typophile.com

oh yeeeah.

[[http://typophile.com/node/56300|Photographic and cathode-ray typesetting]] belong up there among important developments, wouldn't you think?

Universal literacy.

Héctor

[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYecfV3ubP8|Apple's 1984 commercial]] still gives me chills.

So does the invention of Rubylith :-)ChrisL

I think you are all being a bit too tough on the topic starter. I actually stumbled upon this page searching for more information on photocomposition systems. There are a lot of snippets of information available on such systems but I have yet to find a comprehensive overview.

Ramelton, information on technologies to reproduce type can be found on my site at http://www.prepressure.com/library/prepress-history/1950-1959. This is a work in progress so make sure to doublecheck - but isn't that true for anything found on the web?

Pay no attention to the underemployed-by-choice, dear ramelton, the bad students of the past rise against the good ones of the future in every generation. That's the good and the bad, I leave the ugly for later;)

The arrival of the typewriter as a tool for the masses.
The perfection to 1/10,000 of an inch accuracy of the mechanical punch cutting process.
The development of the commercial photo composition machine.
The automation of post-input typesetting.
The invention of the cargo container and, the founding of Typophile.

I'll leave it to the student to follow these leads, because I agree with John H that research skills are one of educations greatest gifts. :)

Cheers!

O my what a great thread, this has been the best crash course in typography education ever for a graphic design student like me, thank you to everybody who contributed
regards
ramelton

dberlow said:
> The invention of the cargo container

oh, you sly devil, you... ;+)

-bowerbird

“ What were the important developments in typography during the 20th century ”

The dongle, also known as the hardware key. Fonts in old printers were supplied in a cartridge that was 'plugged' in the printer.
No cartridge, no type. Good old days.