The History of Typography by Ben Barrett-Forrest
Hundreds of cut-out paper letters tell the history of typefaces in this stop-motion animation by Canadian graphic designer Ben Barrett-Forrest.
![The History of Typography by Ben Barrett-Forrest The History of Typography by Ben Barrett-Forrest](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2013/05/dezeen_The-History-of-Typography-by-Ben-Barrett-Forrest_9.jpg)
Starting in the fifteenth century with Johannes Gutenberg's Blackletter font, The History of Typography charts the major innovations in font design up to the present day.
![The History of Typography by Ben Barrett-Forrest The History of Typography by Ben Barrett-Forrest](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2013/05/dezeen_The-History-of-Typography-by-Ben-Barrett-Forrest_10.jpg)
Barrett-Forrest explains the variations between early serif fonts such as Caslon and Baskerville and how they evolved into modern sans serif fonts such as Futura and Helvetica.
![The History of Typography by Ben Barrett-Forrest The History of Typography by Ben Barrett-Forrest](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2013/05/dezeen_The-History-of-Typography-by-Ben-Barrett-Forrest_3.jpg)
Cutting out and animating the letters took Barrett-Forrest around 140 hours over a period of two months, on top of dozens of hours of research and post-production.
![The History of Typography by Ben Barrett-Forrest The History of Typography by Ben Barrett-Forrest](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2013/05/dezeen_The-History-of-Typography-by-Ben-Barrett-Forrest_4.jpg)
"It was fairly tedious cutting out almost 300 paper letters, especially the serif typefaces with their tiny spikes, but it soon became almost meditative," says Barrett-Forrest.
![The History of Typography by Ben Barrett-Forrest The History of Typography by Ben Barrett-Forrest](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2013/05/dezeen_The-History-of-Typography-by-Ben-Barrett-Forrest_5.jpg)
"I feel that I have a much closer connection with each of the typefaces that I addressed, now that I have laboured to create each one."
![The History of Typography by Ben Barrett-Forrest The History of Typography by Ben Barrett-Forrest](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2013/05/dezeen_The-History-of-Typography-by-Ben-Barrett-Forrest_6.jpg)
Originally from Whitehorse in the northern Canadian territory of Yukon, Barrett-Forrest is currently studying multimedia at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. He also runs Forrest Media, a graphic design and media production company.
![The History of Typography by Ben Barrett-Forrest The History of Typography by Ben Barrett-Forrest](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2013/05/dezeen_The-History-of-Typography-by-Ben-Barrett-Forrest_7.jpg)
Other fonts on Dezeen include a typeface of impossible shapes inspired by artist M.C. Escher and graphic designer Neville Brody's reworking of the Royal College of Art's house font – see all fonts.
![The History of Typography by Ben Barrett-Forrest The History of Typography by Ben Barrett-Forrest](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2013/05/dezeen_The-History-of-Typography-by-Ben-Barrett-Forrest_8.jpg)
We recently featured an animation of the best-known buildings of 26 architects, one for each letter of the alphabet – see all animations.