Gerrit Noordzij: The Stroke

Originally published in Dutch in 1985, this is 2019 English-language edition of the theory of writing by the teacher and type designer Gerrit Noordzij who directed the course at the Royal Academy of Arts in The Hague from 1970 to 1990.

Noordzij’s short and analytical text, illustrated with his own diagrams and examples, presents a genuine theory of writing done with any tool and clarifies the relationship between the written and typographic letters.

The books starts with basic concepts of forms and space around forms, and explains in details technique an quality of writing. Thee idea are applicable not only to calligraphy but to all available technology including the digital media.