Cardinal/Ordinal RISO Print Project, Ellen Knudson, 2025.
The Cardinal/Ordinal project addresses our fraught relationship with maps through the artist ’s exploration of visual and directional language. These RISOgraph prints experiment with the recognizable graphic elements and directional marks of maps combined with RISO-friendly gradients and halftones. The set of fifteen prints is an offshoot of the upcoming artist ’s book Cardinal/Ordinal. The entire project contemplates the language of and the problem with maps. See more at: https://crookedletterpress.com/#/c-o-riso/
I've been a book artist for almost 30 years. My undergraduate degree is in graphic design from North Carolina State University (Go Wolfpack) and I worked at The Art Institute of Chicago and The Detroit Institute of Arts as a graphic designer. Typography has always been an important part of my life and it remains a constant part of what I do every day as a book artist. Whether I ’m setting type in the bed of the press or on the computer, I ’m always trying to do it well. I had to learn how to do that and I ’m going to share some tips about how you can learn too. These are my personal suggestions and they might not appeal to everyone. In the end, to each his/her own, but if you're interested, here's what I think.
1. TYPE TELLS THE STORY:
My first suggestion is to understand that whether good or bad, typography tells the story. Literally, the typography guides the reader from word to word. Figuratively, it sets the tone or provides the "flavor" of a printed piece. That's the easy part. The more difficult part is the details. The typography of books is different from the typography of a logo or a poster. It's more complex because of the multiple pages, surfaces, and positions involved. A visual system is required to create a sense of cohesion and discernible flow.
A stack of my favorite books about typography and visual grammar.
2. USE GOOD TYPEFACES:
There are so MANY typefaces that it ’s mind-numbing. Many of them are poorly designed. I recommend beginning with classic typefaces and using your design skills to tell the story. You can always veer into the wild with some funky typeface on a special occasion. That's fun and all, but to get a good start at typography, I recommend using foundational, traditional typefaces, which allows exploration with the architecture of typography. It's like building with plain wooden blocks versus building with highly decorated, colorful blocks. Neither is wrong, but if you think about it there is already a strong aesthetic to the decorated blocks and it ultimately restricts what you can do typographically. Nowadays it is somewhat difficult to find free versions of classic typefaces. Check out the books below to become familiar with the names and characteristics of these typefaces. That way you can explore similar options if the classic typeface is unattainable.
Books about Typefaces:
Typographic Specimens: The Great Typefaces. Phillip Meggs and Rob Carter.
This book is a classic and one of the first books of typography I ever purchased. It’s a great reference tool and has a lot of good information in it.
Sample page from Typographic Specimens: The Great Typefaces
The Elements of Typographic Style. Robert Bringhurst.
This book is a dense text and it appears intimidating, but it is so elegantly written and beautifully designed. Even the proportions of the book itself make it stand out amongst its peers! I like to open it wherever and start reading.
Sample page from The Elements of Typographic Style
3. PRACTICE TYPE MECHANICS:
Find examples of typography that appeal to you and try to recreate them. I am not saying to copy or steal another designer ’s work. I'm suggesting this as an exercise: recreate a sample of text and try to make your type look like that type. This practice will force you to consider typeface, point size, alignment, letter spacing, kerning, leading, hyphenation, etc. It sounds very simple and it is. By getting microscopic with this exercise you will learn what's involved with typesetting. (See the sample exercise at the end of this post.)
Books about Typography Mechanics:
A Type Primer. John Kane.
This is an essential text about the mechanics and complexities of typography. This book covers much of the nitty-gritty details of typography and the book itself is beautifully designed.
Sample page from A Type Primer
Thinking with Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, & Students. Ellen Lupton.
This is one of my favorites. Lupton is a well-known designer and writer of graphic design texts. Her writing is approachable, understandable, and the book is well designed.
Sample page from Thinking with Type
Grid Systems: Principles of Organizing Type. Elam, Kimberly.
All of Elam’s books are fantastic. If you can find them, grab them! A special part of the books is the addition of tipped in translucent paper diagrams layered over the cited examples. Yummy!
Sample page from Grid Systems
4. PRACTICE GOOD COMPOSITION:
Learn how to arrange objects on a page (or in a space). Doing this well takes a conscious effort of exploration. The concepts of visual grammar apply to both type and image. These are timeless lessons that will teach you how to create visual relationships. When you experiment with composition it opens your eyes to where things go on a page and why some arrangements look and feel better than others. Every project will be and should be different!
Books about Composition/Design:
Visual Grammar: A Design Brief. Leborg, Christian.
This is another essential text. Its striking design is perfect for visual learners, which makes sense because the book is about the language and technique of visual design. It’s a fantastic reference book that I go back to repeatedly.
Sample Page from Visual Grammar
Geometry of Design: Studies in Proportion and Composition and Typographic Systems. Kimberly Elam.
The other two books in Elam’s design series, these texts are elegantly designed and readable. She distills the information clearly and inspires through her own skills with design.
Sample page from Geometry of Design
Having said all of the above, I have also seen great typography that does not necessarily follow traditional rules. Personally, I’m not a fan of assigning a formula to something and following it every single time. BORING. Below I share some examples of cool typography that I have seen. (It's mostly posters and single page designs, but I think they are contemporary examples of quality typographic design.) In all of these tantalizing and inspiring works, the various concepts of visual grammar are being applied. My feeling is that if I am tantalized and inspired then you have gone most of the way to your goal of good design!
L to R: Designer: Studio Angello Torres: Fictional poster for the 1969 Frank Zappa album Hot Rats / Peaches at Regalia. (2020); Designer: Ting-An Ho: Name the Tree: Poster for lecture (2013); Designer: Lenka Clayton, Typewriter Drawing from her ongoing project "An Artist Residency in Motherhood" (2016)
In closing, I will share a handout I created inspired by A Type Primer. It is an exhibition label that I designed for a show, and my notes detail the finer points of typography. I hope all of my suggested texts and plans of approach will encourage people to practice good typography!
Exhibition label with typographic specifications.
Ellen Knudson produces artist books as Crooked Letter Press. A book artist for over 30 years, she is Sr. Associate in Book Arts at University of Florida. She holds an MFA in Book Arts from The University of Alabama, has taught book arts, letterpress, and design at UF, Alabama, Mississippi State, Wayne State, and workshops across the U.S. Her work is in over 120 national and international collections. https://crookedletterpress.com/
https://www.instagram.com/ellen.knudson/
