Italic type design
Research and resources
The process of designing italic typefaces has been a mystery. There are very few guides or resources, or even basic documentation of what designers do as they create italics. Designers seem to be expected to just know how to do it. The following upcoming articles, based on a five-year study, will reveal the influences, strategies, and techniques used by designers both past and present.
The essential italic
ATypI Montréal 2017
The first public product of my research into italics was a presentation given at ATypI Montréal in 2017. This is the story of how italic established itself as part of our typographic language, was transformed as it was relegated to secondary roles, and yet remains a strong and essential part of typeface design.
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The italic design process
ATypI All Over 2020
New
This presentation is a twenty-minute, rapid, and brief introduction to the italic design process, based on my italics research, and prepared for ATypI All Over 2020. This video is a good starting point if you read nothing else about italic design.
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Designing italics
Complete research results
New
This thesis contains the complete results of a five-year study into the italic design process. It consists of 279 pages and almost 200 illustrations. The goals are to describe and document the process used by designers to design italics for text typefaces and offer an approach to designing contemporary italics.
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Italic identities and influences
Factors in design decisions
Coming soon
The design of italics is influenced by its multiple identities as a language feature, a typographic element, a historical marker, a design object, and a business product. This article will explore these identities and their influences.
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Linguistic and typographic uses of italic
Evolution and design impact
Coming soon
Italics have been used for over 500 years to highlight that the text is somehow different or special—both linguistically and typographically. This article will describe the wide range of uses of italic and provide a comprehensive list of how it has been used over the last five centuries.
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