Preface

Script is one of the oldest cultural assets. The first attempts at written
expressions date back more than 5,000 years ago. From the Sumerians
cuneiform writing to the invention of the Gutenberg printing press in
Medieval Germany up to today՚s modern desktop publishing it՚s been a
long way that has left its impact on the current use and practice of
typography.

Even though we neither cut nor set metal types any longer we still use
terms like uppercase and lowercase letters referring to drawers in which
types were kept or – in German – use expressions like Schriftschnitt (English
= typeface) which refers to the cutting of individual types. On the other
hand, most of the people who deal with typography in their daily lives,
whether they are graphic or web designers have no special training for this
independent craft.

The implications of desktop publishing have led to a flood of poorly
designed brochures, flyers and web pages. In web design especially illegible
text, incorrect use of punctuation marks and inappropriate font
combinations or use of line widths are frequent. The new techniques that
web fonts offer – much hailed by some and dreaded by others – might
bring about even worse examples of ugly and illegible web typography.

In order to avoid this, we have put together Smashing Magazine՚s best
articles on web typography with one additional article series and glossary
in e-book form for you as reference work and inspiration. Have fun creating
even better Web sites with beautiful and readable rich web typography!

— Manuela Müller, Smashing eBook Editor