Advanced Practical Typography: A Review of Walter B. Gress’s Contribution (2)

Carl Shank • August 9, 2026

Harmony, Balance, Tone & Contrast

As mentioned in Part 1 of this series, Walter B. Gress was associated with the American printing trade during the era when letterpress printing, hot-metal composition, and mechanized presses dominated commercial printing. Rather than introducing new typefaces or typographic theories, Gress focused on practical craftsmanship, emphasizing accuracy, efficiency, and standardized production methods.

 

Gress was most interested in the professional ideals of American commercial printing in the early twentieth century, consisting of legibility over ornament, consistency in composition, careful spacing and alignment, correct use of type families, high standards of proofreading, and the efficient workflow in the composing room. His work and teaching occurred during a transitional period in printing history, where hand composition still existed alongside mechanical typesetting. Linotype and Monotype systems were becoming standard. Commercial printing was expanding rapidly. Trade schools increasingly required instructional texts.

 

Our overview will consider topics from his practical textbook, Advanced Typography, Instructor in Typography, Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Member, American Institute of Graphic Arts (United Typothetae of America, Washington, D.C., 1931). He was most interested in type choices, harmony of type, balance in typographic composition, tone and contrast, legibility and proportionality. Display type should be applied sparingly. His advice covered detailed book composition, and in display work, everything from business cards, envelopes, letterheads, billheads and statements, receipts, banking forms, rule forms, tags and labels, tickets, blotters, announcements, and handbills, to window cards and posters.

 

Gress worked during the age of metal type, hand composition and offset presses. His advice is somewhat dated, but highly advisable for do-it-yourself-printing and desktop publishing.

Harmony of Type

“Harmony means the adaptation and the combination into a pleasing composition of things that are similar or related in certain respects. A picture of a horse and a teaspoon would almost certainly be ridiculous. A picture of a horse and a cart might conceivably have real artistic merit. A picture of a teaspoon, combined with a teacup, sugarbowl, and pitcher, might be a work of art.”(86)


Gress broke harmony of type into four categories — harmony of typographic treatment and subject matter, harmony of the different types, harmony of types and decorative material, and harmony of types and illustrations. Harmony refers to the application of typographic style that is most appropriate to the spirit and intent of the text matter. “Herein lies the only possibility of making the reading matter and the appearance of the printed page work together to produce one effect. If this kind of harmony is lacking, the best copy and the best typography will pull in opposite directions and neutralize what might otherwise be a strong, definite effect.” (87)


Gress was insistent that only one style of type be used in any job. So, combining oldstyle type with modern type means losing any unified feeling of daintiness and delicacy. Different iterations of a type family, of course, can and should be used for proper emphasis and legibility. “Initial letter treatments, depth of paragraph indentions, and many other minor features that are so important to the finished effect of the job must be different with each style of type.”


Parfum 1

Parfum 2

Suppose you were to typeset an advertisement for perfume — “brilliant, inspiring, caressing, ever new with the “varying individualities of its users bringing out its loveliest nuances.” Gress gives several bad examples, what he calls inharmonious relationships and one good harmonious example. Which one would you choose for type harmony? (ILLS)


If you chose Parfume 1, Gress would note that the border used and the type is good, but the classic traditions behind the border used makes it inharmonious — “But the classic traditions behind this border as well as its significance make it really inappropriate to the kind of copy which it surrounds. Copy such as this demands a border that is purely decorative. An ornamental border of formalized flowers would probably be appropriate.”


Parfume 4 displays regularity, formality and good looks, but misses the spirit and style of the perfume. Parfume 3 uses inharmonious type, with oldstyle Caslon and modern Bodoni together. He believes Parfume 2 expresses the spirit of the client’s intentions. In today’s advertising world, even in print advertising, we might say “Really?!!”


Parfum 3

Parfum 4

Later typographers, including John McWade and other graphic designers and typographers, highlighted in his now out-of-print Before & After Magazine (1990s), will also talk about harmony, composition, proportion, tone and contrast and legibility, only updated for computer typesetting and digital reproduction. One designer, Laura Lamar, provides some design theory based on Gestalt theory, which attempts to explain human behavior in terms of pattern seeking. Such theory explains how the eye organizes visual experiences and how the brain interprets them. Lamar says that “knowing the visual principles of Gestalt will give you a valuable design toolbox.” (Before & After Magazine, Vol. 3, No. 6, 1993, 3) 


Gress’s harmony idea in typography uses the Gestalt principle of equilibrium, which addresses the stability we seek in everything we see. The grouping of elements on a common axis in Gress’s advertisements is an example of good equilibrium. However, the principle of similarity, where we use one font for body copy and another for headings which is dissimilar to the body copy, such as bold sans-serif headers, often used to highlight this principle, is beyond Gress’s practical typographic advice. The printing principle he advises is for one type family per job and the lack of sans-serif headers, which are beyond his time, results in a bland advertisement, which only early twentieth century people might read. Even the ornamentation borders he suggests would fail to sell perfume today.


Isomorphic correspondence means humans respond to meaning, that we interpret visual objects based on our own experiences and memories. The most effective graphic images are those to which we can relate in real life. Advertisers rely on isomorphic correspondence to pull our emotional triggers, even to sell perfume!  McWade would strongly suggest an ad “makeover” for perfume here. What is missing in Gress’s ads is not so much harmonious relationships as Gestalt meaning theories applied to type. Take a look at a few modern perfume ads, designed by CARE Typography with the help of Adobe’s Express.


Balance

Like a balanced teeter-totter board, balance is essential to the printed page. The printed page must have “stability and repose in order to please the eye and make reading easy. If a page is out of balance the heaviest part continually attracts the eye, and the whole thing looks as though it were about to skid off into space.”(100) The Gestalt design theory here is called “continuation,” the eye’s instinctive tendency to follow a path, which can be literal or imagined. 


Gress notes that balance is secured “by the correct placing of all parts according to their weight and size. In this connection it should be definitely understood that white space has weight value as well as type.” Typesetting needs both horizontal and vertical or perpendicular balance. Easy horizontal balance occurs when all lines of type and illustrations are centered on the width of the type page. Perpendicular balance is not so easy to obtain. Gress would rely on a planned system of type and white space on a page.


However, in the illustration “Prime Video Terms 1” below, Gress would say that this format is “balanced.” But it is terribly boring and mostly unread by the public. The suggested makeover in “Prime Video Terms 2” not merely shows creativity but a more inviting balance of type and design, using white space admirably.


Tone & Contrast

Gress says “while there is an aesthetic consideration involved in maintaining uniform tones in typography, the utility factor is of far greater importance, since legibility should always be the prime consideration in any piece of printing.” He says that “inharmonious tones exert a disturbing influence, and cause additional eye readjustments in which there is a material increase of mental fatigue in the mind of the reader. Unnecessary eye-strain induces early fatigue, and fatigue creates a lack of interest, which inevitably results in little or no retention of the printed message.


Since the primary object of any printed thing is to be read, and in the case of advertising messages particularly, is intended to attract attention, create interest. develop desire, and tonally to induce action, important to realize the need of harmonious tones in typography.”


Consequently, “Bold-face types should not be combined too freely with light-face types.

Neither should heavy ornament be used with types of a lighter tone, although the printer sometimes obtains uniformity of tone between type and ornament by printing heavy spots of decoration in a lighter color.” We have moved far beyond Gress in today’s typography and printing. We most always use bold face type, like my favorite, Formata Bold, or Helvetica Bold or another well designed bold, to highlight and set off regular reading text in an ad, a business card, an announcement or a book.


While Gress admits that the “law of contrast is a fundamental law on which the entire universe is based,” “a slight touch of contrast is sufficient to give the printed job a necessary amount of interest to attract the reader.” His early twentieth century conservatism is badly showing through his comments. Laura Lamar says that contrast is a designer’s most powerful communication tool — “It can attract the eye, create visual priorities, establish landmarks, control movement, lead, label, emphasize and define. I’ll go so far as to call it the design secret of the universe!” (Before & After Magazine, Vol. 2, No. 4, 1992, 12ff) 


In the business cards below, we have more than a “slight touch of contrast” to make these cards stand out among the plain and uninviting cards Gress would recommend. “We use the tools of contrast to emphasize the meaning of the design, to change the tone and personality of the words from quiet and subtle to bold and confident, from formal and businesslike to casual and friendly.” (Lamar, 13) Different kinds of contrast make different relative impact. While legibility would be the name of the game to Gress, impact and what the reader needs to see first would be today’s name of the game.


Diagnostic tools of contrast include value, contrasting light and dark, negative and positive, solid and tint, colors with black and white, weight, contrasting bold with light, mass with line, thick with thin, form, contrasting caps and lowercase, roman and italic type, elaborate with simple and square/round. Placement contrasts high and low, centered versus left or right, together or apart. Gress gets this in his practical typography advice.


Quantity contrasts many with few, single elements with groupings, often with seldom. Texture contrasts tight with loose, airy with dense, smooth with rough, shiny with matte finish. Scale contrasts large with small, tall with short and broad with narrow. (Lamar, 12)


What we gain from Walter Gress is an appreciation for typography that has stood the test of time for ages. His legibility advice, though dated, shows his understanding of what the typed page is all about for the reader. Gress helped summarize the typographic past and prepared typographers, designers and printers for a refined and balanced typographic future.

Successful Layout & Design

Type Trends 2026 Analysis

By Carl Shank • October 13, 2026
Type Trends 2026 Analysis Tiffany Wardle, The Type Founders copy and design service editor, has offered her perspectives on the state of type in 2026 (SEE https://bit.ly/4s5fgNV ) She offers the summary that “no single style has defined 2026.” She, instead, offers that “variety” is the defining feature of 2026 — “traditional and unconventional approaches, maximalism beside restraint, and pairings without an obvious connection that still suit their context.” She notes that familiar or bookish type is found in unexpected roles and scales, that “expressive type is paired with pragmatic type, and that character-rich typefaces used as logotypes with broader use of variable fonts for creativity and performance.” Instead of the traditional typeface advice of carefully selecting faces that harmonize with one another, and the classic sans-serif headlines with serif text, she notes that type in 2026 emphasizes contradiction — “Contradiction gives much current typography its appeal. A bold, mannered display face can sit beside a practical sans serif; the two need no obvious formal connection. Their contrast creates energy. These ideas are not new. Typography has always adapted and recombined earlier approaches for new purposes. What matters now is the particular mix—and the wide range of methods that can feel contemporary at once.” The age-old sage advice, that I posted in 2021, notes this about how to use and combine typefaces — "Robert Bringhurst wisely says — “The best type for a book about bicycle racing will be, first of all, an inherently good type. Second, it will be a good type for books, which is to say, a good type for comfortable long-distance reading. Third, it will be a type sympathetic to the theme. It will probably be lean, strong and swift; perhaps it will also be Italian. But it is unlikely to be carrying excess ornament or freight, and unlikely to be indulging in a masquerade.” ( The Elements of Typographic Style , 91). Jan White echoes this sentiment about choosing type in How To Spec Type — “There is no such thing as 'right' or 'correct' use of type. There is only vivid and eloquent effectiveness, or numbing and misleading ineffectiveness.” (10) Consequently, a math textbook will use a different typeface than a slogan on a can of soda or a bottle of wine. White suggests the following questions for the would-be use of a typeface in any context — [1] Does the way the type is handled in a specific circumstance fulfill its purpose? [2] Is it doing the job efficiently? [3] Is the message coming through clearly and vividly? is the message jumping off the page into the reader's mind crispy and memorably? (10) He goes on to say that “good typography is transparent, like blister-packaging — exposing the content inside and letting it speak for itself.” He agrees with Bringhurst about the use of type ornaments — “too often typography is used like gift wrapping, in the hope that cosmetic prettification will make the package seem more desirable.” (10) So then, “good typography links the verbal with the visual to produce arresting results. Good typography clarifies. It articulates. It elucidates. It expresses meaning.” (11) Many would-be editors and writers and office personnel try too hard when it comes to setting type. With the thousands of possible typefaces that are on the market today, produced by would-be typographers, playing with digital type producing programs, many people can get overwhelmed and confused and frustrated by what typeface to use.”(SEE my blog “How To Choose the Right Type for the Right Job,” March 29, 2021, www.caretypography.com ) This age-old and wise advice has been supplanted, I would suggest, by a post-modern theoretical, indeed theological, cast. Like Dutch De Stijl (See Reference ), or Dadaism (See Reference ), or Psychedelic (See Reference ) or Punk (See Reference ), or Grunge type (See Reference ), the cultural context of rebellion against any typography rules of readability and legibility and well-defined type go out the window in favor of whatever gives “energy” to an ad or a poster or a book that wins the day. Wardle goes on to say about 2026 type combinations — “Unexpected roles. Bookish, text-oriented, or familiar type appears at surprising scales or in applications not usually associated with it. Contrasting character. Maximalist or highly expressive type sits beside pragmatic type, with the overall composition mattering more than obvious stylistic harmony.” She says these contrasts “invite closer attention to the content and reasoning behind each choice.” Post-modernism rejects absolutes and what I would call “common-sense” order and structure. Everyone makes up their own rules, their own agendas, their own type combinations, ignoring centuries of time-tested typography. This is what “feeling contemporary” means. If I am correct, then the 2026 typeface choices and patterns will likewise disappear from regular use. Using what has been called display type for “normal” use betrays one of White’s criticisms — “too often typography is used like gift wrapping, in the hope that cosmetic prettification will make the package seem more desirable.” What is important is what is on the inside of the package, not the audacious gift wrapping.  I would imagine that Wardle would point to White’s other typography notes that say “good typography links the verbal with the visual to produce arresting results. Good typography clarifies. It articulates. It elucidates. It expresses meaning.” She might point out the “energy” aspect of 2026 type choices and combinations and maintain that they accomplish the same thing as White suggests. I am not at all sure about that. Some of Fonts In Use samples below are what Wardle highlights (SEE https://fontsinuse.com ). You make the judgment call.

Typeface Characteristics: Which Type Where?

By Carl Shank • September 9, 2026
Typeface characteristics are the visual and structural features that distinguish one typeface from another. They determine a typeface’s historical appearance, readability, personality, and appropriate use. Useful Ways to Analyze Any Typeface. When examining an unfamiliar typeface, ask these questions in order (provided by ChatGPT) — Does it have serifs? What kind of serifs? How much thick/thin contrast is present? What is the stress angle? What is the x-height? How wide or narrow are the letters? How are the counters constructed? What do the terminals look like? What are distinctive letters such as a, g, e, R, and Q doing? How does the typeface behave in a paragraph—open, dark, dense, airy, mechanical, or calligraphic? What historical or technological process does its construction suggest? What personality does the combination of these characteristics produce? There are a number of online sources to help identify typefaces ( See Feb. 6, 2022 Blog for more explanation and use.) Sources include — MyFonts ( www.myfonts.com/WhatTheFont ), FontSquirrel ( www.fontsquirrel.com/matcherator ) WhtFontIs ( www.whatfontis.com ) Identifont ( www.identifont.com ) is one of the best. Here are the questions it will ask you — Does it have feet (serifs) or not (sans-serifs)? What style is the tail on uppercase Q? What style is the ampersand (the &)? Is the numeral “4” open or closed? What style of vertical line does the Dollar sign ($) have? How high is the center vertex of the uppercase M? Sit on the line or not? What type of bar does the uppercase G have? How far below the baseline does the uppercase J extend? What about the uppercase R? How far does the center bar extend? Is there a gap with the vertical part of the letter? Does it meet or cross the vertical? What about the question mark (?) What shape is the dot at the bottom? Is it circular, square, triangular, rectangular or even missing? The important point is that a typeface should not be identified by a single characteristic. Its identity comes from the interaction of serifs, contrast, stress, proportions, counters, terminals, spacing, and letterform construction.
Show More