Graphic Design: New Unit Editions book celebrates type as graphic solution

Any new release from Unit Editions (Tony Brook and Adrian Shaughnessy’s design publishing powerhouse) is always cause for celebration here at It’s Nice That towers, but their newest offering has got us particularly excited. Type Only does what it says on the tin (cover) – celebrating the design trend for using typography unaccompanied by illustration or photography.

As the publishers say: “Type Only explores the communicative and emotive power of type when used in isolation. The book identifies this use of type as a growing and influential contemporary trend, but it also looks at the historical antecedents of this sort of work.”

So ranging from the Dadaists and Futurists through modernism, post-modernism and right up to contemporary trends, the book showcases visually arresting manifestations of this desire to let type speak for itself.

The book takes as its starting point the bold assertion by British design group 8vo that type “could be the core ingredient of a graphic solution” and sets about backing it up with a host of brilliant, beautiful and well-chosen examples. Design geeks of all stripes will probably want to pre-order this one right away…