- Script (typefaces)
Script typefaces are based upon the varied and often fluid stroke created by handwriting. They are organized into highly regular formal types similar to cursive writing and looser, more casual scripts.
Formal scripts
A majority of formal scripts are based upon the letterforms of seventeenth and eighteenth century writing-masters like George Bickham, George Shelley and George Snell. The letters in their original form are generated by a quill or metal nib of a pen. Both are able to create fine and thick strokes. Typefaces based upon their style of writing appear late in the eighteenth century and early nineteenth century. Contemporary revivals of formal script faces can be seen in
Kuenstler Script andMatthew Carter 's typeface Snell Roundhand. These typefaces are frequently used for invitations and diplomas to effect an elevated and elegant feeling.Casual scripts
Casual scripts show a less formal, more active hand. The strokes may vary in width but often appear to have been created by wet brush rather than a pen nib. They appear in the early twentieth century and with the advent of photocomposition in the early-1950s their number rapidly increased. They were popularly used in advertising in
Europe andNorth America into the 1970s. Examples of casual script types includeBrush Script , Kaufmann and Mistral.References
* Blackwell, Lewis. "20th Century Type." Yale University Press: 2004. ISBN 0-300-10073-6.
* Fiedl, Frederich, Nicholas Ott and Bernard Stein. "Typography: An Encyclopedic Survey of Type Design and Techniques Through History." Black Dog & Leventhal: 1998. ISBN 1-57912-023-7.
* Macmillan, Neil. "An A–Z of Type Designers." Yale University Press: 2006. ISBN 0-300-11151-7.External links
* [http://www.columbia.edu/cu/news/00/01/RBMLExhibition.html Columbia University online facsimile of writing manuals including "The Universal Penman"]
* [http://www.dynamicgraphics.com/dgm/Article/28573 Allan Haley article on using digital versions of script typefaces]
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