Typeface designs for the letters E and F
A short history of calligraphy and typography
Article written by:
Ewan Clayton
Themes:
People and writing, The art and design of writing
Explore how the design of letterforms has evolved over time and across the world.
Calligraphy versus typography
Writing can be a form of art: a playground for human invention, ingenuity and skill. This applies both to writing by hand (calligraphy) and to letters and characters designed in printed or digital form (typography). As calligraphy is a gestural art, it incorporates more variation in form than typographic writing which is made mechanically and often within narrow technical constraints.
If we picture this on a sliding scale, on one end is typography, where legibility is primary (e.g. notices on a motorway sign or someone’s name on a form), and down at the other end is calligraphy – writing that is produced primarily for its decorative or expressive qualities – where legibility is less important (e.g. architectural friezes, lettering in paintings or the ornamental lettering engraved on a banknote).
But all letters and characters – handwritten or typographic in form – have been ‘designed’ by someone, and are a means of artistic expression.
