Jost Hochuli: Detail in Typography

Or, to give it it’s full title: Jost Hochuli: Detail In Typography, Letters, Letter spacing, words, word spacing, lines, line spacing, columns.

Detail in Typography is one of the more recent publications by Hyphen Press. Published for the first time in English last year (2008), Detail in Typography was first published in Germany Switzerland in 2005 and it’s translation to English has given this slim book a much deserved wider audience.

Typography is happily no longer an esoteric art to the average designer and there are a plethora of typography books on the market. With typography being such a huge subject Hochuli’s classification and definition of ‘micro typography’  (a term Hochuli first coined in 1987) makes Detail in Typography another welcome addition to the range of accessible books on the subject of type.

For the designer Detail in Typography is a great refresher, for the student, it is an essential introduction to typography, understand and appreciate micro typography and students of design will have a solid foundation for dealing with all things type and type related.

The split into letters, letter spacing, words, word spacing, lines, line spacing and columns gives Detail in Typography a clear and defined structure, reflecting the principles of the subject matter perfectly. It is full of examples and as expected from a Hyphen book, beautifully designed.

For anyone interested in further reading on typography I would recommend the following two books:

For a contextual look at the history of type I would recommend Modern Typography by Robin Kinross. From the books back cover, a quote from Matthew Carter, Eye magazine; ‘As a brief history of typography it is difficult to think how it could be better.’ I could not put it any better myself. The cover has also got an uncoated finish in bright yellow, although impractical and soon was covered by my newsprint fingerprints, looks amazing.

Before this post becomes a Hyphen press love-in I would also recommend The Elements of Typographic Style by Richard Bringhurst for a wider look on the practical application of type. Often quoted as the ‘bible of typography’. But not by me.

Buy Details of Typography here.

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