Rereading The Elements of Typographic Style

George Law, an exceptional graphic designer and typographer at Vassar College, said that Robert Bringhurst’s The Elements of Typographic Style is a book “to be read once a year.” I am taking his advice because Bringhurst packed so much useful information into this book that I discover something new every time I read it. Bringhurst is such a great writer that he makes words and letters “dance in their seats. Sometimes they rise and dance in the margins and aisles.” The Elements is not just for anyone who appreciates the art of typography, but also for anyone who appreciates the art of music and language. As he puts it: “Good typography is like bread: ready to be admired, appraised and dissected before it is consumed.”