Revolutionary People's Fonts

Jesse Walker | January 9, 2008

Virginia Postrel on the typefont revolution:

Beginning in the mid-'80s and accelerating in the 1990s, type design weathered the sort of radical, technology-driven transformation that other creative industries, including music, publishing, and movies, now face. Old business models and intermediaries disappeared seemingly overnight. Software replaced industrial processes. Tangible products--metal, film, computer disks--dissolved into bits and bytes sold over the Internet. Prices plummeted. Consumers started buying directly. From their kitchen tables, independent designers could undertake experiments that had once required bet- the-company investments. "Having an idea for a typeface used to be like having an idea for a new-model car," says [Michael] Bierut. Now the distance between idea and execution, designer and user, has contracted.

Though still a tiny number--maybe a couple hundred worldwide--more people than ever are making a living designing type. Many others, mostly graphic designers, have turned type design into a profitable sideline. And more people than ever are buying fonts.

For the rest, including how "the profusion of fonts appeals to a culture that celebrates expressive individualism," go here.