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The History of Typography, in Five Enjoyable Minutes

In the years since you graduated from design school, have the distinctions between transitional and modern fonts started to dim? Curious about the  contribution to typography of William Caslon’s grandson? Want an easy explanation of the difference between serif and sans serif you can direct your clients to? If your answer to any of these questions is yes, then check out The History of Typography, a charming stop-motion animation. Created by designer Ben Barrett-Forrest, the animation was a labor of love, requiring 140 hours of work incorporating 291 cut-paper letters and 2,454 photographs.

Ben heads the graphic design and media production firm, Forrest Media, working out of Hamilton, Ontario and Whitehorse, Yukon in Canada. The History of Typography isn’t his first animation. His website features another stop-motion animation of autumn leaves, and video documentaries of a magician and of the power of music.

Brought to our attention by @typedia.

History of Typography animation frames