The Romans, after several years, used this Greek Alphabet and on the basis of the same, styled the Uppercase Alphabet, which is still used today. In fact, the word Alphabet is a combination of the first two Greek letters, Alpha and Beta. It is Phoenicians who are credited with creating the very first alphabet and around 1000 B.C.-the same alphabet was used by the Greeks. At present, we have a number of phonograms laced in the English alphabet such as % to represent “percentage” and # to represent “number” and so on and so forth. Phoenicians developed phonograms, or symbols used to represent spoken words. By 3100 B.C., the Egyptians began incorporating symbols or ideograms into their art, architecture and writings. However, formal writing is said to have been developed by the Sumerians at around 3,500 B.C.Īs civilizations advanced, the need to communicate complex concepts grew-hence the development of Egyptian hieroglyphics. are perhaps the very first recorded written communication. Ancient Era – Saying it with PicturesĪncient cave paintings that date back to 20,000 B.C. We will not delve fully into the rich history of typography (as it can go on endlessly) but cover some essentials that changed the course of typography. Let’s go through the evolution of typography briefly to gain a bit of insight. Sure enough, typeface designers need to have a thorough understanding of typography-especially its evolution over the centuries-in order to incorporate or revive older or even extinct typefaces, depending upon their requirements, and give the letters a modern touch. Typography has an “ illustrious” history and is obviously a crucial aspect of graphic design.

Used by ancient civilizations of the world to represent ideas, these images soon evolved into alphabets and phonographic writing, which led to the development of various typographic systems. Writing is one of the most fundamental forms of communication, and it traces its roots back to hieroglyphs or pictograms.

Typography illustration