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1000 Type Treatments – Book Review #6

Posted 12 Apr 2010 - One gratefully received comment

Typography is one of those design disciplines that can overtake your entire career, it’s very easy for designers to become obsessed with type and then let it become the focus of their everyday activities. Of course even if this isn’t the case and typography isn’t your bag, it’s one of those things that you still need to understand. Type cannot be ignored.
Books like the one I’m about to review give an excellent insight into successful typography, which can lead to the reader obtaining a better understanding of how type works, whether it’s a passion or a chore.

Blurb: The ability to wield typography is a clear indicator of a designer’s talent. Being able to craft type well and thoughtfully requires a deep understanding of typography’s inherent complexities, and a keen eye for it minute, subtle details. This book contains a collection of 1,000 instances of thoughtful and inspired type usage, along with credits that note which fonts were used in the design. The photography in this book homes in on the star of the book – type treatments – so readers can get an up-close look at each piece.
This must-have book showcases an array of fonts in a catalog-like format, making it easy for the working designer to practically shop for ideas.

I was previously unaware of this book and received it as a competition prize from Design Forums (you can see my winning entry here.) It’s great when you get a book as a surprise and it turns out to be really useful, it’s much better than buying the book yourself.
If I had to sum up this book in a glib and slightly vulgar way it would be as follows: 1000 Type Treatments is typography pornography.

I’ve written before that design books fall into a few categories, instructional, advisory and inspirational. This is most certainly the latter.
This is one of the few books I own that I don’t read, because there is no text to read. As the blurb describes it is an inspiration catalogue, an ideas flip book.

If you are stuck for ideas on how to begin a typographical project this is the perfect book to look though to give you a starting point.
The genius of this is how all of the images are laid out in a very clear almost clinical way.
Firstly examples are sectioned by how they have been used, the sections are as follows: Logos, Brochures, Websites, Posters, Books, Packaging, Signage, Magazines and Catalogues.
Each picture is numbered, with a legend at the top of the page noting the company/designer that produced the work and the country they are from. This numbering scheme is then complimented at the back of the book with an index that gives more details of each type treatment. This index includes the specific project art directors, designers, client, the software used to produce it and in most cases the fonts used. This information not only helps you to understand each design but is a perfect reference tool to research further into your favourite designs.
As for the work examples themselves there is something for everyone. Like all good showcases the book encompasses a variety of styles and approaches. Each sample is of a very high quality, the sort of work that impresses you while at the same time makes you jealous that you didn’t have the idea first.

This book is not only a great inspiration tool, it’s also a well designed and beautiful object in it’s own right. The layout design is simple and elegant with enough restrictions to make sure the works on display are given prominence.

If type is your passion, or you would just like a better understanding of how type works this book is worth a look.

Have you read this book, what did you think of it? Can you recommend other books that plough a similar furrow?

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