* Typography the design of letters is at the heart of visual communication and graphic design. No design is successful without successful typography.

* An artful craft since the days of moveable type, todays digital designers have an unimaginable array of possibilities when it comes to choosing typefaces. Whether on paper, screen or in e-ink, legibility and expression are paramount.

* Where do the best contemporary fonts come from, and who designed them? Fortunately for us, typography for most designers is an obsession, one of the purest forms of design, one that can always be improved and refined.

* Selected by the worlds most knowledgable and well-connected graphic-design commentator, Steven Heller, this survey gets into the minds of designers who create typefaces, word-images and logos through their private sketchbooks.

* This collection of typographic explorations, arranged by designer intimately reveals how over 90 of worlds leading designers and typographers continually strive to find new and exciting ways of communicating through letters and words. Established designer and up-and-coming talents include Ivan Chermayeff, Carlos Segura, Milton Glaser, Maira Kalman, Bob Aulfudish, Matthew Carter (US), Javier Mariscal and Patrick Thomas (Spain), Erik Spiekermann, Viktor N?bel (Germany), Peter Bilak and Enkeling (the Netherlands), Jean Baptiste Lev?e (France).

* The result of these wide-ranging typographic musings provide fascinating insights into the expressive quality of letters and words. Aimed at all those who use type, whether by hand or on screen, this pleasing compendium stresses the importance of good typography at a time when reading habits are changing and celebrates a craft that has endured for centuries.