| Rudolf Koch's Font Design Papers | |
|---|---|
|
Origin |
Rudolf Koch |
|
Type |
Font Design Sheets |
|
Effects |
Changes text to become highly gothic stylized |
|
Downsides |
Translates all texts to German |
|
Activation |
Contact |
|
Collected by |
Warehouse 13 |
|
Section |
|
|
Date of Collection |
May 5, 1983 |
| [Source] | |
Origin[]
Rudolf Koch (20 November 1876 – 9 April 1934) was a German type designer, professor, and a master of lettering, calligraphy, typography and illustration. Commonly known for his typefaces created for the Klingspor Type Foundry, his most widely used typefaces include Neuland and Kabel. Many of Koch's blackletter typefaces, such as Kochschrift and Willhelm Klingspor Gotisch, were greatly influenced by hand-written manuscripts and Gothic letterforms, a style that originated in Germany.
The teachings of the Arts and Crafts Movement are evident in Koch's use of hand-lettering and wood-cutting techniques. At the same time, his book illustrations are evocative of Art Nouveau. Koch prized craftsmanship in his type design and printing methods, a principle deeply rooted in the Arts and Crafts Movement. Yet Koch was working in a period of rapid development in print technology, which saw the invention of the Linotype machine in 1886, the Monotype System in 1887, and the offset press in 1907, all of which were antithetical to his artisanal ethos.
Fraktur is a calligraphic hand of the Latin alphabet and any of several blackletter typefaces derived from this hand. It is designed such that the beginnings and ends of the individual strokes that make up each letter will be clearly visible, and often emphasized; in this way it is often contrasted with the curves of the Antiqua (common) typefaces where the letters are designed to flow and strokes connect together in a continuous fashion. Fraktur was often characterized as "the German typeface", as it remained popular in Germany and much of Eastern Europe far longer than elsewhere.
Effects[]
Turns all affected text into a font reminiscent of Gothic-medieval styles, with large font and sometimes little separation between individual letters. Many texts appear of greater importance with the formalized script, although those that read them are often thrown for a loop by the sometimes mundane or light-hearted content. Especially if they are unable to read the now German translation.