The Elements of Typographic Style

The Elements of Typographic Style
Cover of The Elements of Typographic Style, version 3.0 from 2004.
Author	Robert Bringhurst
Country	Canada
Language	English
Subject(s)	Typography
Publisher	Hartley and Marks Publishers
Publication date	1992
Pages	254 pp (first edition)
ISBN	ISBN 0-88179-110-5
OCLC	25411784

The Elements of Typographic Style is a book by Canadian typographer, poet and translator Robert Bringhurst. Originally published in 1992, it was revised in 1996, 2001 (v2.4), 2002 (v2.5), 2004 (v3.0), and 2005 (v3.1). A history and guide to typography, it has been praised by Hermann Zapf, who said “I wish to see this book become the Typographers’ Bible.”^[1] Because of its widespread use, it is sometimes abbreviated simply as “Bringhurst”. The title is a play on The Elements of Style.

[edit] Chapters

The titles of the chapters in the book's third edition are as follows:

1. The Grand Design
2. Rhythm & Proportion
3. Harmony & Counterpoint
4. Structural Forms & Devices
5. Analphabetic Symbols
6. Choosing & Combining Type
7. Historical Interlude
8. Shaping the Page
9. The State of the Art
10. Grooming the Font
11. Prowling the Specimen Books

In addition to these, the book also contains five appendices, an historical synopsis, and a foreword.

[edit] Editions

• First edition: Hartley and Marks Publishers, 1993, 254pp, ISBN 0-88179-110-5 (hardcover)
• Second edition: Hartley and Marks Publishers, 1996, 352pp, ISBN 0-88179-133-4 (hardcover), ISBN 0-88179-132-6 (paperback)
• Version 3.1: Hartley and Marks Publishers, 2005, ISBN 0-88179-205-5 (hardcover), ISBN 0-88179-206-3 (paperback)

[edit] See also

• Anatomy of a Typeface

[edit] References

1. ^ Hermann Zapf, as cited on the back cover of the book in version 3.1, ISBN 0-88179-206-3

[edit] External links

• A review on Type Books
• The Elements of Typographic Style Applied to the Web – an unaffiliated webpage applying the same principles to web typography