Drop Caps and Initial Letters | Magazine Designing. Drop caps and initials are an effective way of grabbing readers attention because they add personality and visual strength to the page. Though, there is a slight difference between them. Drop caps drop below the baseline and initials sit on the baseline but are much bigger than the body text. Both, naturally signify the beginnings of the text and drop caps can be used instead of paragraph subheads.
Their origins date back to the 9th century when they were used in religious books. Those drop caps were richly illustrated, painted in bright colors and gilded. They lost popularity at the beginning of the 20th century, especially during the Bauhaus period, but they are having a revival in last 20 years. Drop caps and initials practices Today drop caps and initials can be used in numerous ways. The choice of typography is up to you. I have one rule that I follow and that is to almost never use drop caps that drop only two lines deep. Also take into consideration the width of your text column. Letter Fountain. Typolution. On the Slab: Rockwell, Anatomy of a Typeface. Incunabula Short Title Catalogue. First Impressions | Spread of Print through Europe. Johann Gutenberg established his print workshop in Mainz in the 1450s and within twenty-five years the innovation had spread to every country in Western Europe.
During the fifteenth century the continent of Europe was in political turmoil and the fates of states and cities changed rapidly. The catalyst for the rapid spread of printing was the sack of Mainz in 1462. Mainz was an important city and the seat of the archbishop, who held great power and status as the representative of the Pope north of the Alps. Internal squabbles and factional fighting within the Catholic Church led to war between the opposing sides.
The instability and unfavourable business climate created by the war caused an exodus of printers and other tradesmen, who sought more politically stable cities with commercial potential. A print workshop was set up in Bamberg (190 km from Mainz) in about 1460. The Nuremberg Chronicle was printed by Anton Koberger in 1493. Creative Animal Typography by Dan Fleming | Photo Vide. www.bemboszoo.com/Bembo.swf. Got Bored Of Lorem Ipsum? 22 “Different” Alternatives For Placeholder Text. When designing anything with content (websites, brochures, etc.), if you don’t have the real content, using Lorem Ipsum is the most common way to fill those spaces. However, for anyone who designs regularly and needs such filler text, it is pretty boring to use Lorem Ipsum again and again. If you want to try an alternative to Lorem Ipsum, there are several web-based generators which are easy-to-use, customizable and, usually, fun.
Check them out: P.S. If you also want to complement placeholder text with images, I suggest checking 8 Free Placeholder Image Services For Instant Dummy Images. Bacon Ipsum A meaty alternative for generating dummy text. The service has a JSON API, an Android app and a supportive image placeholder service for generating a mockup full of bacon. Vegan Ipsum Didn’t like Bacon Ipsum? Vegan Ipsum will bring all the freshness of season vegetables into your mockups. Samuel L. This is a dangerous alternative to lorem ipsum: So, please use responsibly. Fillerati Lebowski Ipsum. Fonts, typefaces and all things typographical — I love Typography (ILT)
14 Top Typeface and Font Combinations Resources. By Douglas Bonneville on December 3, 2009 One of our most popular font articles is about how to create good font combinations. But don’t take our word for it! We’ve collected a cadre of excellent articles to help you make even better typeface pairs. Take a look at our font combinations article and the free PDF after you peruse this list. (10/12/2010 – Updated) (8/29/2010 – Font Combinations book released) (7/23/2010 – Updated) (5/26/2010 – Updated list again) (3/16/2010 – The list has been updated with more resources) Remember, a typeface is a whole set of fonts with all its variations. 19 top fonts in 19 top combinations Complete with graphics and a PDF chart to get you going!
BTW: The Big Book of Font Combinations wants you to stop by and check out its samples. And don’t forget to check out our very own “19 top fonts in 19 top combinations” article, complete with graphics and a PDF chart to get you going! Even more font pairing resources Happy font combining! www2.hawaii.edu/~ailed/125/resources/PickingTypefaces.pdf.