OUGD405 - Study Task 03 - Blackletter Research

Blackletter was a script used throughout Western Europe up until the 17th Century. However, it's use was continued in the German language up until the 20th Century. This script was then banned in 1933 by Hitler, who declared that the 'new typography' was un-German and 'volk', meaning 'the people's font'.

There are four different types of blackletter: Textura, Rotunda, Fraktur and Schwabacher. These became very popular for use within books, especially Bibles, newspapers and other forms of printed material.

Fig 1. Variations of Blackletter.

The visual characteristics of blackletter include:

• sharp, straight and angular lines.
• a high degree of 'breaking' which refers to lines that do not touch, in particular, curved lines.
• high contrast in stroke widths.
• compression of letterforms, tall and narrow.
• sharp and ornamental finials - these are the terminal of the letter that has a tapered end, such as a swash or ornamental flourish.
• biting - when a letter with a bowl is followed by another letter with a bowl, these can overlap and the letters are joined by the same straight line.

Blackletter aesthetics can now be seen in many forms of contemporary design, such as identities for beer labels, heavy metal bands, and was even adopted by Disneyland.

Fig 2. Blackletter Aesthetics in Contemporary Design.