Wish list: Explorations in Typography / Mastering the Art of Fine Typesetting

This beautiful typographic reference book with its yellow gilded edges looks like an absolute must-have.

With Explorations in Typography Carolina de Bartolo guides the reader through 24 chapters each exploring different typesetting techniques. Read Patrick Barber’s review for a more thorough account of what to expect from the book.

Carolina took two years to complete the book, but what makes it all the more impressive is that this San Francisco based lecturer went the DIY route and published it herself. After finding that the idea was a hard sell for traditional publishers, she had to figure things out as she went along and eventually founded her own publishing company.

Explorations in Typography’s website is certainly worth a visit too. Using a range of web fonts from Typekit, the home page offers an interactive experience in exploring typesetting techniques, each with annotations explaining the merits of the resulting layout.