A Typographic Quest, Number Five, ‘Typographic Contrast' – Westvaco, Carl Dair, 1967

On this cover Dair uses five elements to clearly demonstrate contrast in typography. The ‘5’ is Cloister Old Style Italic, the sub-title that overprints the ‘5’ is Original Janson Italic, the photo of the metal type is Caslon Old Style, ‘graphic’ is set in Caslon Italic and ‘contrast’ is Eurostile.

Dair uses clippings from various sources to illustrate texture in typography, which he describes as, “the rich and endless varieties of textures which can be created from the types in everyday use. Like threads in cloth, types form the fabric of our daily communication.”

Dair explores how the language of music can be applied to the visual medium of typography. On this spread he demonstrates how the ‘interrupted rhythm’ of early jazz musicians can be applied to design. Note the deliberate, irregular line endings in the column of text.