Modern Typography

Building on Jürgen Habermas' postulate that modernity is a "Unfinished project", Robin Kinross situates the beginnings of a real practice modern typography around 1700, with the publication, in England, from the first treatise on typography, the Mechanick exercises (1683-1684) by Joseph Moxon, and the creation of the Roman du Roi in France. He delivers here is a history of modern typography considered in a broad sense, although beyond formal modernism, by privileging approaches and practitioners who, in Europe or in the United States, have been able to articulate knowledge and practice – like the English reformers or the members of the new typography. In taking into account technical advances and the context in which the typographers operate, Robin Kinross thus emphasizes the social aspects, policies, techniques and materials that inform their practice. Originality This essay is situated on several levels: a living and critical account of the developments in typography over the centuries, it is enriched by representative examples, rarely shown before, and offers an opening for further investigations.