The Case for Legibility by Ryder, John (1979) Hardcover

First edition. In an age of computer typesetting and lightning-fast printing, and of continuous efforts to hold down ever-soaring costs, the risk of eroding the legibility of the printed work increases every day. But does legibility matter? John Ryder believes that since it is self-evidently of paramount importance to the reader, legibility must also be the guiding principle of the typographer. His own work over many years is a convincing demonstration that legibility and elegance go hand in hand. In this book Ryder makes a strong plea for the recognition and maintenance of this central principle and discusses its application to the whole process of designing a book, from the choice of an alphabet for the text setting to such finishing touches as margins, headlines and folios. He illustrates his points with visual examples. This book is a fascinating personal statement of great sincerity and conviction by a distinguished practitioner of the art. 77+ 1 pages. cloth, dust jacket.. tall 12mo..