The Stroke

The stroke is the most concise and powerful statement of Gerrit Noordzij’s theory of writing. First published in Dutch in 1985, it appears here for the first time in English. The book puts forward a genuine theory of all writing, done with any kind of generating tool. Noordzij starts with fundamentals – the space within and between letters – and proceeds in stages towards a full account of how the strokes of writing can be formed, and an analysis of the qualities of letters. Along the way, there are reflections on history and culture, and remarks on method. Noordzij’s theory serves to repair the split that grew up, with the invention of printing, between written and typographic letters. He shows us the underlying ‘written’ quality of all letters, with whatever technology they have been formed. Just by virtue of its strong theory, The stroke has practical consequences that transcend any simple ‘how to do it’ approach.

Gerrit Noordzij is one of the eminent Dutch graphic designers and (in all senses) writers. He has also been a path-breaking teacher at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague, where from 1970 to 1990 he directed the course in letter design. Among the students from his classes are some of the most distinguished Dutch type and graphic designers. As a writer of essays and books, his works include the bulletin Letterletter (reissued in book form in 2000) and De handen van de zeven zusters (2000).