University of Lincoln - An A-Z of the first ABC

A typography expert has chronicled the emergence of the modern alphabet. Timothy Donaldson, a research fellow in the Lincoln School of Art and Design at the University of Lincoln, spent 15 years researching, writing and illustrating the book Shapes for Sounds. He even designed the typeface used in the book, which examines how today's letters evolved from spoken words and sounds, and speculates on how the alphabet might otherwise have developed. He said the book "is aimed at undergraduate and postgraduate graphic design students, but I hope it will appeal to the general public too, because everybody uses visible language to a greater or lesser degree."