He is known as the inventor of the term graphic designer: William Addison Dwiggins first used the name in 1922 to describe design work produced for a specific purpose. Since then, graphic design has been the American umbrella term for typography and the design of books, packaging, job printing, posters and advertisements.



From 1927, the multitalented graphic artist Dwiggins (1880–1956) focused on type design. The geometric sans-serif fonts from Europe – Futura, Erbar, Kabel and so on – did not particularly appeal to him. His first response was Metroblack No. 2, which was released by Linotype in 1929 for use in titling and advertising. In the years that followed it was joined by Metromedium No. 2, Metrolite No. 2 and Metrothin No. 2, all produced under W. A. Dwiggins’ supervision. Metrothin has never been released in digitised form, unlike Dwiggins’ typefaces Electra, New Caledonia and Caravan.



A more detailed biography of W. A. Dwiggins, written by Paul Shaw, can be found on the Linotype website:  The Life and Work of William Addison Dwiggins