How did we end up with so many different types of letters? This ABC pop-up book, developed with research from the stacks of graphic design archives, explains — as well as demonstrates — the technologies and philosophies that have shaped letterform through the ages. The premise of the book centers around the idea that 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.

Type in the context of history is often technical — and always visual — and is challenging to trace in text or in diagrams alone. Through the book’s interactive features, I provide an opportunity for the reader to experience how typography transforms through history by sensitizing our perception. In both its nuance and its long lineage, typography can tune our sensitivities into our understanding of the world around us, expanding our innate superpowers of human sensory intuition. With this book, I want to put the reader’s hands, eyes, and minds in touch with the depth accessible through typography that surrounds us in our homes, on our screens, and on our streets.