“Transitional” Typefaces: The History of a Typefounding Classification

Craig Eliason earned a PhD in art history from Rutgers University in 2002, and proceeded to teach at the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where he is now an associate professor. His research focuses on the history of type design, and particularly on the history of type classification and its associated nomenclature. He curated “Face the Nation,” a 2008 exhibition on type design and national identity held at Minnesota Center for Book Arts. He also founded a digital typefoundry, Teeline Fonts, and invented the “Ambicase” types that have been featured in Codex: The Journal of Typography.