Typography and graphic design go hand in hand. Graphic design is all about communicating a clear message, and what better way to do that than with writing? But what, exactly, is typography? Coming from the ancient Greek root words for "impression" and "writing," typography is the art of arranging letters and words in ways that are easy to read and nice to look at.

Typography is as old as civilization itself, with early examples of stamps and letter punches dating back over 5,000 years. But these ancient techniques weren't very good for writing large amounts of information, and it wasn't until paper and the printing press came along that typography really took off. Check out this slideshow for a quick look at the history of this art form.

Letter Punches The first typography came in the form of letter punches. Writers would carve a mark, symbol, or seal into a hard piece of metal, and hammer it into a surface such as clay, stone, or silver. This coin was made using a punch, and dates back over 2,500 years. Woodblock Printing In ancient China, artists used woodblocks to reproduces poems, drawings, and books. However, the woodblocks were extremely difficult to carve, and the wooden plates were easily damaged or warped. Movable Type Movable type, which allowed individual characters to be put together in new combinations for each printed page, was a huge step forward for printing and typography. This book, printed with movable type, was produced in China in 1490. The Printing Press Heralded as "one of the most influential events in the second millennium," the invention of the printing press brought the written word to the masses. A goldsmith named Johannes Gutenberg combined previous printing technology with his own original innovations to create a high-quality printing method that was fast, flexible, and affordable. Electronic Media Another revolution in printing came with the explosion of digital media at the end of the 20th century. Suddenly, people didn't need a large, expensive printing press to publish their ideas, and typographers could design new fonts in a drawing program instead of carving them out of metal or drafting them by hand.

For something that's been an essential part of human culture for so long, it's no wonder that we see typography everywhere we look. Here are some examples of typography in action.

In this lesson, we'll break down the different elements that make up a font, and learn what effect various font types and faces have on your design. You'll also create your own font, and use the meaning of a word to inspire a creative typographical illustration.