From Metal
to Digital:
A Typographic
Journey
A Century of Typography
the typographic collection
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-
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Timeline
Bauhaus & Modernism
The Rise of
Desktop Publishing
Phototypesetting
Revolution
Helvetica Takes Over
The Web Needs
New Fonts
Digital Fonts Emerge
1925
1984
1960s
1957
1990s
1957
The Bauhaus School in Germany revolutionizes typography by embracing geometric simplicity and functional design. Influenced by Constructivism and De Stijl, designers like Herbert Bayer advocate for sans-serif typefaces, rejecting ornamentation in favor of clarity and readability. This movement paves the way for future typefaces such as Futura (1927, Paul Renner) and Universal Type (Bayer, 1925). The Bauhaus philosophy continues to influence minimalist and grid-based typographic design.
The Bauhaus School in Germany revolutionizes typography by embracing geometric simplicity and functional design. Influenced by Constructivism and De Stijl, designers like Herbert Bayer advocate for sans-serif typefaces, rejecting ornamentation in favor of clarity and readability. This movement paves the way for future typefaces such as Futura (1927, Paul Renner) and Universal Type (Bayer, 1925). The Bauhaus philosophy continues to influence minimalist and grid-based typographic design.
The transition from metal type (letterpress printing) to phototypesetting allows for greater flexibility in typography. This method projects characters onto film or paper using light, freeing designers from physical type blocks. It enables tighter kerning, varied weights, and more fluid layouts, which were difficult to achieve with traditional lead type. Companies like Letraset introduce dry transfer type (rub-on lettering), making custom typography more accessible to designers.
Swiss designers Max Miedinger and Eduard Hoffmann introduce Helvetica (originally Neue Haas Grotesk), which quickly becomes a global standard for corporate branding, signage, and editorial design. Helvetica’s neutral, clean, and versatile appearance aligns with the International Typographic Style (Swiss Style). Companies and governments widely adopt it, making it one of the most recognizable typefaces of all time.
With the invention of bitmap fonts and early computer typography, digital type begins to replace analog methods. The first personal computers, such as the Apple II (1977), lay the foundation for digital typography. In 1981, Adobe is founded by John Warnock and Charles Geschke, eventually leading to the development of PostScript (1984), which allows fonts to be scalable and resolution-independent, marking a pivotal moment for digital type design.
Geometry & function redefine typography.
The Mac makes typography accessible to all.
Typography breaks free from metal type.
The birth of the world’s most iconic sans-serif.
Screen-friendly typefaces reshape digital design.
The shift from print to pixels begins.
Step Into the Bauhaus Revolution
Witness the Birth of Digital Design
See How Type Broke Free
Experience Helvetica’s Lasting Influence
Discover the Dawn of Digital Type
1925
1984
1960s
1957
1957
1977