I'm surprised that no one has reviewed this book before now. I bought a copy soon after it was published in 1990 and I've dipped into ever since, if only to appreciated the great book design by Kit Hinrichs and look at some knockout typography in the reproduced printed pieces. The 160 pages are split into three sections: first Hinrichs expresses his thoughts on design and typography in a Q & A format, followed by another Q & A format but this time dealing with the everyday practical problems any designer faces in communicating ideas. Both these sections keep the focus on typography. The rest of the book uses actual printed examples (designed mostly by Pentagram) to backup the ideas in the front. The sixty case study examples cover most commercial work though I should say they are big corporations that obviously went to Pentagram because of their impressive creative reputation. All of the examples are strong on typography and you'll see covers and inside pages, packaging, logos, a newspaper, annual reports, books and more. What is missing from the selection is advertising and magazines. Pentagram is neither an ad agency or a publisher, the nearest they get to this is Dave Hillman's redesign of the London 'Guardian' newspaper in 1988. 'Type Wise' is certainly worth getting. It presents some basic design and typographic assumptions in a fascinating visual way. ***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.
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