By Gerrit Noordzij

The Stroke is the most concise and powerful statement of Dutch graphic designer Gerrit Noordzij's theory of writing.

First published in Dutch in 1985 by Hyphen Press, The Stroke put forward a genuine theory of all writing, done with any kind of generating tool.

Noordzij starts with fundamentals of 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, 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.

Published by De Buitenkant, 2019

Softcover, 88 pages, in color and b&w, 4.9 × 8.3 inches

ISBN: 978-9-49-091390-8