Reflections on Germany

After visiting Mainz I realized that the predisposed ideas I had about German type were somewhat right, but incomplete it seems. As I expected, you see lots of Helvetica and Akzidenz Grotesk....but where don't you? I noticed quite a few examples of the kind of bold, fixed-width cursive script I'd seen in old WWI movies and have grown to associate with Germany as well as Textura and other Blackletter faces. All of these are to be expected, but what I found most interesting was the juxtaposition of the dramatically different styles all over the city. All very different, but all very German. The common cultural ties between them is enough to make them sort of harmonious together...I think that's interesting.

On a slightly different note, I think one of my favorite places we visited in Germany was the Linotype Museum. Beyond the mechanical genius that I have a hard time wrapping my head around, the way these machines changed printing is insane to think about. It reminded me a prior conversation about how desktop publishing changed the industry. Mastery and craftsmanship like that surrounding movable type becoming somewhat obsolete is a shame, however, it's unavoidable and has allowed for efficiency and availability of type to the masses so there's a definite up side. I think that I utilize digital technology far too much in my own life to take such a stance, but it's still sad don't you think? I do.