![]() ![]() This period also marked the first creation of a typeface called blackletter, which was later replaced by the more legible Roman Type. Guttenberg gave people a cheaper and faster way to create manuscripts as opposed to handwriting. However, evidence has shown a less popular approach was used earlier in Asia. Movable type printing, the forerunner to the printing press, was said to be invented by German Craftsman Johannes Gutenberg in the 1400s. This movement gave rise to calligraphy masters, and the ornamental form of writing was popularized in many cultures including East Asian, Persian, Islamic, and Western civilizations. This included the use of calligraphy, which means "beauty" and "handwriting" in Greek. The creations of the previous period gave rise to manuscripts characterized by elaborate handwriting and illustrations. The Romans created upper case letters based on the Greek alphabet, and are credited for innovations in hand lettering styles and formal scripts. The word alphabet itself was derived from "alpha" and "beta," the first two letters of the Greek alphabet. Later, the Greeks developed their own alphabet, too. Alphabetsīy 1000 B.C., the Phoenicians had created the first known alphabet. These symbols are called phonograms, and some are used today (e.g., % for "percentage). ![]() PhonogramsĪround 1600 B.C., a group of people living on the coast of the East Mediterranean (known as Phoenicians) began using symbols that represented actual spoken words. This created a need to improve communications across many complex topics.Įgyptians, well-known for their hieroglyphics, began using symbols in their writings as well as their art and architecture around 3100 B.C. Over the centuries, cultures around the world began developing and advancing. A cuneiform, which means "wedge-shaped," is a clay tablet containing standardized symbols that were engraved using a reed.Ĭuneiforms were used to record history, tell stories, and write letters in as many as 15 different languages over a period of 3000 years. Sumerians, people of ancient Mesopotamia (now the locations of Kuwait and Iraq), created cuneiforms. that the beginnings of formal writing were actually signified. Cave paintings dated from this era may be the earliest examples of recorded writings.Īlthough prehistoric cave paintings are seen as a type of communication, it wasn't until around 3500 B.C. Cave PaintingsĪs far back as 20,000 B.C., humans have been communicating with pictures by painting on the walls of caves. The history of fonts and typography spans multiple eras, from the hieroglyphics of ancient times and handwritten manuscripts to manual typewriting and the modern technology of today. You may not have thought much about it, but modern typography is rooted in a long history of the written word.
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