Today, they can be easily multicoloured at any size. Though multiple-coloured type specimens can be found in the nineteeth century, the faces made by the foundries in metal were monochrome affairs. Making them in digital form is quicker and easier than cutting them in metal (think of making these letters in six point). Made in the age of letterpress, shaded forms now benefit greatly from the possibilities of contemporary production and reproduction. Was it simply copying the effect one would observe when letters are three dimensional in manufacturing, perhaps like a shop front? Or were they created from the imagination of an engraver or draughtsman? And when did they first appear in type? Certainly, the forms can be found before the nineteenth century, though the proliferation during this time makes us most commonly associate them with this era. Simple in effect, they involve a simple black line around a white letter and then a black shadow, which gives the appearance of raising the letter off the page, giving it a faux three-dimensional quality. Where shaded typefaces came from is a matter of conjecture.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |