The fact that this is issue 25 of Baseline gives us cause to look over our shoulders at the development of or journal, and its contents. Contents which prove, time and time again, the many ways in which type, typography and the craft of lettering remain at the heart of the graphic arts.
This Baseline contains the breadth of subject matter typical of our previous issues. Opening with Stephen Banham’s health check on Australian typographics, we moved on to Iva Janákovás analysis, and celebration of the burgeoning Czech graphics scene, led by a new generation of thinking designers.
Regular contributor Margot Coatts discovers two emerging letterers, who provide more evidence of the continuing development of the craft, while architect Patrick O’Keeffe examines the use of lettering from a different angle: its use in the signing of buildings.
Seeing the remarkably detailed type mark-ups of leading advertising typographer David Wakefield reminds us of at least one area where technology is having an impact on traditional skills, while academic Gérard Mermoz’s article on de-constructed book typography, and Alice Twemlow’s description of the mass observation project, absorb us in the variety of approaches to typography.
Our lexicon concludes with sections T–Z, as our review pages are dedicated to an exceptionally worthy publication, Handlines.
So, the mix much as before, reminders of the breadth of our world of type, its values and its intricacies.