Shadow Type: Classic Three-Dimensional Lettering - Tapa dura

Designers often look to the past for ways to enliven their projects. Letters with relief and shadow have long been an effective way to add spectacle or intrigue to otherwise mundane words. Introduced in metal type as early as 1815, shadow typefaces were a form of early experimentation among type founders. In the late nineteenth century, the form was adopted in wood type for use in posters and has been embraced ever since by designers looking for ways to communicate a sense of monumentality, a feeling of confidence, or a simple impression of optimism. Shadow Type presents a broad spectrum of examples—advertising, shop signs, billboards, posters, type-specimen books—featuring the most popular, rare, and (nearly) forgotten dimensional letters from Europe and the United States. Compiled by the leading historian of graphic design Steven Heller and renowned graphic designer Louise Fili, this invaluable collection, packed full of typographic ideas, will inspire anyone aiming to give more depth to their design.

Steven Heller is cochair of the MFA Design Department at the School of Visual Arts and the author of numerous books, including our bestsellingTypography Sketchbooks.

Louise Fili is director of Louise Fili Ltd, a New York-based design studio specializing in logo, package, restaurant, and book design. Formerly senior designer for Herb Lubalin, Louise Fili was art director of Pantheon Books from 1978 to 1989, where she designed close to 2000 book jackets. Fili has taught and lectured on graphic design and typography, and her work is in the permanent collections of the Library of Congress, the Cooper Hewitt Museum, and the Bibliothèque Nationale. She is a member of the Art Directors Hall of Fame, and received the medal of lifetime achievement from the AIGA.

Fili is the author of Elegantissima, published by Princeton Architectural Press. She has also writtenThe Civilized Shopper's Guide to Florence and co-authored Italianissimo. With her husband, the design historian Steven Heller, she is co-author ofItalian Art Deco, British Modern, Dutch Moderne, Streamline,French Modern, Deco España, German Modern, Design Connoisseur,Counter Culture, Typology, Stylepedia, Euro Deco,Scripts, and Shadow Type.