This is the first English-language edition of a major piece of thinking about writing (in its visual manifestation). Noordzij’s short and powerful text, illustrated with his own diagrams and examples, is the best exposition of a theory that is making a still growing impact on designers, and on those thinking about writing and letters.
| availability | in print |
| published | 2005.10.27 |
| extent | 88 pp |
| dimensions | 210 × 125 mm |
| illustrations | b&w pictures |
| binding | sewn paperback |
| ISBN | 0-907259-30-8 |
| ISBN13 | 978-0-907259-30-5 |
| £15.00 |
Anyone interested in visible language and in why our letters and our types look as they do should study these 86 pages. A single reading is not enough, because The stroke has consequences that extend far beyond what one finds in most handbooks.
Erik Spiekermann, Text [Heidelberg].
Letterletter, originally a one-man journal distributed mainly to ATypI members, is witty and rich in ideas, but too fragmented, polemical and tongue-in-cheek to function as an introduction to Noordzij’s thinking. The stroke, Peter Enneson’s long-awaited translation of De streek, is much better placed to take that role. Published in Dutch in 1985, The stroke stands out as the most concise and complete summary of Noordzij’s theories on type.
... This theory is the subject of the 70-odd pages of The stroke: an analysis of the construction of letterforms informed by historical study but firmly rooted in hands-on experience. In Noordzij’s words: ‘To be able to analyse writing I need to write, and to be able to write I need the analysis. This circle-game is not played in the study, but rather in the workshop.’
Jan Middendorp, Eye, no. 59, 2006
