David Berlow Typography is part of a larger human system of communication: thought becomes language, language becomes speech, and speech is captured in symbols so that meaning can travel from one mind to another. Throughout history, humans have devised remarkable ways to make this possible, creating writing systems that continually evolve in response to new technologies and new ways of thinking.
Hidden within the history of digital typography is another story: the technologies and formats that make writing possible in each age do more than preserve it—they shape what writing can become. By sampling this continuum, from the earliest scripts to contemporary font technologies, we can begin to imagine what lies beyond the present: the future evolution of existing systems and the invention of entirely new forms of written communication.