A book, a day: Designing Type by Karen Cheng

One of Parachute's top ten recommended typography books of all time, Designing Type by Karen Cheng is being revised with a brand new, lavishly illustrated, edition.

A comprehensive guide to type design, Designing Type provides an in-depth discussion of the creative processes behind developing typefaces and the basic issues that need to be taken into consideration, such as visual principles and letter construction, optical compensation and legibility, and the relationships between letters and shapes in a font. 

This new, refreshed edition includes more contemporary typefaces alongside classic examples and more explanatory diagrams, and a closer connection between text and corresponding image.

An invaluable reference for both experienced professionals and novice designers which is often hailed as a 'must-have' for typographers, graphic designers, and students alike, Designing Type is published by Laurence King in October 2020. 

Since its initial publication in 2006, Designing Type has been translated into German, Spanish, French, Chinese, and Korean, and it has been ranked #14 on a list of "Top 50 Typography Books of the Last 50 Years" in the journal Visible Language.

Karen Cheng is a professor in the Visual Communication Design program at the University of Washington in Seattle where she teaches type design and typography. She is a professional designer and her work has been published in Communication Arts, Print, and ID Journal. 

As a professional designer, Cheng is the co-creator of the award-winning Smart Bins interactive waste receptacles that encourage recycling and composting. She is collaborating with the UW startup EvoEco to commercialize this invention.

As a researcher, Cheng has investigated how scientists can collaborate with designers to aid public and interdisciplinary communication. She organizes the Design Help Desk, a tutoring center where students, faculty, and staff receive assistance with visual design from design students. She is co-author of the popular "A Brief Guide to Designing Effective Figures for the Scientific Paper" and recently published a study on the positive impact of visual design on scientific communication in the Information Design Journal.

Cheng has her Master’s Degree in Design from the University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Washington in 1997, she worked in Brand Management at the Procter & Gamble Company. She has an Honors Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Penn State. A general presentation of her work may be viewed here.

Buy your own copy of Designing Type by Karen Cheng, the revised edition, here.