I really liked this chapter as an introduction to typefaces and how we can use them for different purposes. Spiekermann starts off by discussing general typefaces used for reading and how the process of reading hasn’t changed much. I thought his point about how more recent books have adopted trying to cram more text into a smaller amount of space by using smaller margins and line spacing was very interesting – I actually haven’t read a physical book in a long time, so I’m not sure if I agree or disagree with him on that point. I wonder if the digitization of books will change reading typefaces in the future.

I liked Spiekermann’s comparison between typefaces and shoes later in the reading, particularly the line “Not all of us want to be seen wearing the same shoes as everybody else” – I think this explains a lot more about why visual designers try new things. I think the typography puzzle fit in really well with the section after this on how different typefaces have different personalities. I think some of the typefaces really matched up well/instantaneously for me, but some others are less obvious to me.

Near the end, he discusses pixels. I like the idea of how limitations of display have actually led to human association and new design practices. For example, on older gaming screens, typefaces consisted of bitmaps. This has actually led to new indie games adopting this trend and designers purposefully using this design even without the original restraint in order the emulate the “vibe” of the previous work.