Reviving Type: From Manuscript to 3D-Printed Type

In typography and particularly in type design looking backwards is a rewarding exercise. Nowadays besides being a practice totally inserted in the digital context, type design has its own manual and centenary roots. That past can be even more relevant if appropriate to promote something new through innovation. A type revival seeks to develop new faces, to today’s needs, usually from a historical reference. Considering the past this study aims to explore the developing process of a type revival from a manuscript source to a digital font, and considering innovation, it also addresses the process of modelling a digital font to a 3D-printed letterpress type. This study begun with a visual research, document analysis and literature review about typography and type design specificities. Simultaneously, a critical analysis was made, and the developing process of the type revival and of the 3D-printed type is presented. Finally, this study aims to contribute to inspire future research on type revivals, in practical and historical strands, as well as on new ways to ensure and expand letterpress in the post-digital era.