MID-CENTURY TYPE

“Mid-Century Type” is a fascinating visual exploration of how, In the middle of the last century, the typographer became a contributor independent and influential in a world of technological communication in rapid development. At the end of World War II, designers were first recognised as having a vital role to play in rebuilding economies, infrastructure and morale population, but typography remained a vague and largely unknown. This perception changed radically between 1945 and 1965, a period of exceptional creativity. Photocomposition and offset lithography have merged to allow color reproduction, which had the effect to significantly increase sales of all printed materials, but especially books and magazines. Technological advances allow Title sequences of movies and TV shows become more longer and more sophisticated. As the possibilities for movement multiply, the design of highway and airport traffic signs has required typographic expertise. All this attracted typographers into newly established specialist areas in print media and the screen. Finally, the cultural value of the typographer's work could be assimilated to that of the artist, the poet, the author and the director of films. Mid-Century Type traces the meteoric rise of the typographer during of the first decades of the post-war period. Each chapter is devoted to a special design activity in which typography played a role important, whether it is character design, identity business, advertising, film or television. David's text Jury, accompanied by more than 500 illustrations, offers new insight into the innovative work by a large number of European and American typographers.