Alphabet in Motion

　　打開任何編輯或設計軟體，甚至是電子郵件，都有大量的字型供你選擇。你是否曾經好奇，為什麼世界上會有這麼多不同風格的文字設計？

　　這部以英文字母與字體為主題的立體書，內含17個精巧的互動式機關，解析了形塑字體的技術和設計理念。讀者可以透過「照相排版」立體機關，藉由光影投射，體驗1960年代的迷幻字體；開啟或關閉「反鋸齒」效果，了解螢幕顯示技術對字體型態的影響；以及透過重組「Kombinations-Schrift」文字組合系統拼圖，感受模組化字體的美學。

　　字體歷史充滿技術性又高度視覺化，因此無論使用文字或圖示解釋，都充滿挑戰性。這部作品採用互動式的設計，提供對這一主題感興趣的讀者，一個了解字型演變史、探索字體如何傳遞觀點的豐富感官體驗。

　　隨書附128頁延伸文集，內容包含對於每一個立體機關的解說。《Alphabet in Motion》引導讀者運用手、眼、心，感受字體的魅力及其背後意涵。只要仔細觀察，你將發現看似微小的文字裡，蘊藏著人類歷史的縮影。(文/博客來編譯)

With an interactive cover, 17 pop-ups and hands-on activities throughout, Alphabet in Motion is an immersive introduction unlike any other to the history of typography and letter shapes

Ever wonder how we ended up with so many different styles of letters? Open any text editor, email client or design app and you will immediately be bombarded with a buffet of typographic choices. Serif or sans serif? Display or text? Classical or contemporary? Formal or casual?
Featuring 17 stunning interactive pop-ups, this ABC pop-up book explains--as well as demonstrates--the technologies and philosophies that have shaped letterforms through the ages. Readers will learn about ’60s psychedelic type by projecting light through a phototypesetting pop-up; how screen technology shaped letterforms by turning on and off anti-aliasing; or the aesthetics of typographic modularity by reconfiguring the puzzle pieces of Josef Albers’ Kombinations-Schrift.
Type history is often technical and always visual. It is therefore challenging to fully explain in text or in diagrams alone. The book’s interactive features provide a sensory inroad for curious general readers to grasp how typography has transformed through history (and how lettering can convey a point of view or philosophical stance). A 128-page companion essay section includes an essay further contextualizing each pop-up. Alphabet in Motion puts the reader’s hands, eyes and minds in touch with the meanings behind the typography that surrounds us in our homes, on our screens and on our streets. If you look carefully, you can see the history of the world--from the Bronze Age to the Information Age--in the microcosm of type.
Kelli Anderson is a graphic designer, paper engineer, educator and author who uses design magic to connect people with the hidden talents of everyday things. Her previous publications include This Book Is a Camera (MoMA, 2015)--which transforms into a working camera--and This Book Is a Planetarium (Chronicle, 2017)--which houses paper devices (including a planetarium) and has sold more than 100,000 copies.