Arcade Game Typography by Toshi Omigari

Arcade Game Typography

The Art of Pixel Type

Toshi Omigari

WW Norton · Print & ebook · November 5, 2019

The definitive survey of ’70s, ’80s, and early ’90s arcade video game pixel typography.

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Who it’s for
Gamers interested in arcade-game nostalgia
Themes
Arcade-game pixel typography, Creative design under technical limits, Typography history
Genres
Typography, Video Game Art, Design History

About this book

The definitive survey of ’70s, ’80s, and early ’90s arcade video game pixel typography. Arcade Game Typography presents readers with a fascinating new world of typography: the pixel typeface. Video game designers of the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s faced color and resolution limitations that stimulated incredible creativity. With each letter having to exist in a small pixel grid, artists began to use clever techniques to create elegant character sets within a tiny canvas.

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This book presents typefaces on a dynamic and decorative grid, taking reference from high-end type specimens while adding a suitably playful twist. Arcade Game Typography recreates that visual aesthetic, fizzing with life and color. Featuring pixel typefaces carefully selected from the first decades of arcade video games, Arcade Game Typography presents a completist survey of a previously undocumented outsider typography movement, accompanied by insightful commentary from author Toshi Omagari, a Monotype typeface designer himself. Gathering an eclectic range of typography, from hit games such as Super Sprint, Marble Madness, and Space Harrier to countless lesser-known gems, Arcade Game Typography is a vivid nostalgia trip for gamers, designers, and illustrators alike.

Who it’s for

  • Gamers interested in arcade-game nostalgia
  • Designers and illustrators interested in pixel typography

Where it sits

Typography92%
Video Game Art59%
Design History30%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Digital Art
  • Video Game Art
  • Typography
Authors
Toshi Omigari
Publisher
WW Norton
Published
November 5, 2019
Format
Print & ebook
Theme
Arcade-game pixel typography · Creative design under technical limits · Typography history
Reading lane
Digital Art