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The New Typography. A Handbook for Modern Designers by Jan Tschichold

Second edition

Overview   Process   Poster  

Task: to translate and publish an important book by Tschichold, so far unknown to a Russian reader.

Jan Tschichold’s The New Typography was first published in 1928 in Germany and in a way became a modern typography manifesto. This very thorough and fascinating work studies numerous theories from social criticism and art history to emerging importance of photography in graphic design. On top of this, the author clearly sets very definite guidelines for the printed material design. The final chapters provide practical instructions on preparing everyday documents, down to choosing the paper size and appropriate typefaces combination.

novaya tipografika cover
The book in a dust jacket

This is the first complete edition in Russian. Few chapters were published earlier in a Soviet magazine Poligraphicheskoye Proizvodstvo (“Printing Industry”), 1929.

The introduction to the current edition was written by Vladimir Krichevsky.

Though the standards from the book are out of date and out of use, and the author himself later disowned some of the statements and ideas, The New Typography remains one of the 20th century’s most significant books dedicated to typography and graphic design. This book is essential for graphic designers, type designers, illustrators, typesetters, and others interested in graphic and type design history.

«

The purpose of this book is to show the connections between typography and other types of creativity, to state clearly the principles of typography, and to demand the creation of a contemporary style. The connection between typography and all other fields of creativity, especially architecture, has been accepted in all progressive periods. Today we are witnessing the birth of a new and splendid architecture, which will set its stamp on our period. Anyone who has recognized the deep underlying similarity between typography and architecture and has understood the true nature of new architecture can no longer doubt that the future will belong to the new typography and not the old.»

Excerpt from “The New World View” chapter

Release date: December 21 2010

Cast:

art director
metteur-en-pages
typesetter
translator
chief editor
editor
proofreader
production manager
author

Jan Tschichold (1902–1974) was a German typographer, book designer and teacher, who made a major contribution to the development of typography and graphic design of 20th century. In 1923 at the Weimer Bauhaus exhibition he got introduced to the Modernist design principles and became converted. As a result, he condemned the customary kind of types together with centered composition and advocated the use of sans serifs, minimalistic geometrical constructions, and asymmetrical layouts. While paying respect to the rationalism of the time his works were practical, aesthetical and took advantage of the new printing technologies.

After publishing The Elements of Typographic Style (1925) and The New Typography. A Handbook for Modern Designers (1928) Tschichold became a prominent figure in modernist circles. In these works he stated the fundamentals of the Modern movement typography with its functional approach to printing materials design.

During his years in book-making industry Tschichold has designed innumerous German, English, and Swiss publications. Later he abandoned some of the extreme principals stated in his earlier works and supported more traditional approaches.

244 pages
Number of copies: 3000
Format: 225×155×23 mm (8.9"×6.1"×1")
Hard cover
ISBN 978-5-98062-039-4

novaya tipografikatitle
The title page

The book is laid out and typeset in the style of the original German edition of 1928.

novaya tipografika 80 81
Pages 80–81
novaya tipografika 144 145
Pages 144–145
novaya tipografika 184 185
Pages 184–185
novaya tipografika 192 193
Pages 192–193
novaya tipografika 216 217
Pages 216–217

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