The Design Process Seen Through the Eyes of a Type Designer

Abstract

Through a historical overview of the influence designing had on the early days of printing, the paper finds the English printer and typefounder John Baskerville (1706-1775) to be the first real known type designer. Based on this assumption, the paper presents a model for how a contemporary design process is carried out, and reflects upon the relationship between this and the way Baskerville might have worked in the development of his historical innovating typeface style.