In memoriam: Hermann Zapf (1918-2015)
June 10, 2015
Few who daily read the printed word ever consider how those component letters came to be. Yet every single letter of our alphabet has been shaped by the constant effort to render its image suitable in purpose and beautiful in form. It is not only the designer of a type face who creates the form of its letters: many hands join in the common task to find the final and the best adaptation of the creative artist’s design. Rarely has there been an activity with consequences so manifold and far-reaching as those of the formation of a printing type. Those engaged in this work have thus incurred a great responsibility; they take satisfaction in knowing that their work may represent one of the most noble and progressive of all human activities.