Back to Font: Behind the Typefaces You Thought You Knew

By Anitra Nottingham and Jason Phillips Warning: this book may cause you to rethink your default typeface settings. This chatty and opinionated, deeply nerdy history reveals how 16 of the most famous typefaces were made and why they look the way they do. Who were their "parents" and "family"? Where do they come from and how were they born? And what was happening in the world at the time that influenced their growth and use? What's pretty and interesting about them, and what isn't? How are the typefaces used (and abused), and where can we find them "in the wild"? Finally, and most importantly, Back to Font will help you decide whether to kiss, kill, or marry that typeface. Contents include Times New Roman, Gill Sans, Futura, Bodoni, Goudy, Baskerville, Akzidenz Grotesk, Mrs Eaves, Trajan, Novarese, Bell Centennial, Foundry Sterling, Transport, Zapf Dingbats, Univers, and Papyrus. Illustrated by Jason Phillips Designed by Roger Fawcett-Tang Published by Lawrence King Publishing, 2025 Softcover, 176 pages, color images, 7.31 × 7.74 inches ISBN: 978-1-52-943870-3