Essay plan

Theme: typography as a visual art or serving a functional purpose?

Title: The visibility of typography (undecided as of yet)? Or: Typography – a slave to content, or a visual artist?

I plan to begin my essay with a brief introduction, wherein I outline the points that I intend to cover – introducing the topic and the question as to what extent typography can be viewed as a visual art. I will then begin by exploring the concept of typography serving a functional purpose; looking at Beatrice Warde’s viewpoint that type should be “invisible” and unobtrusive to the written content, and how legibility and function should be superior to appearance. I will also make reference to the Modernist point of view of “form follows function” (Louis Sullivan), which ties in with the idea of typography serving a purpose. The Wall Street Journal is an example of how type is used provide information in an efficient and appropriate way, and I will look at the related quotation from Peter Kann (1999): “text is content, visuals are entertainment”.

Secondly, I will look into the concept of typography acting more as a visual art, rather than merely serving a functional purpose. The experimental approaches of the early 20^th century are something that I will explore (Dadaism, Bauhaus, Futurism), and I plan to pay particular attention to the pioneer of Futurist typography, Marinetti; in the ways that he redefined typography, began to break traditional rules of legibility, etc., and generally began a typographic revolution based on the ‘setting free’ of type (as a reaction to the chaos and massacre of the First World War) – “The Futurist will begin by brutally destroying the syntax of speech” (Marinetti, 1913 manifesto).

Continuing this exploration into the visual developments of typography, I plan to look at developments within the discipline after the 1984 release of the Apple Mac, which introduced a whole new focus on the creative potential open to typography. I plan to examine the typographic works of Wolfgang Weingart, as an alternative approach to the Swiss Style – focusing on his emphasis of the visual importance of type, rather than the issues of functionality and legibility (as focused on by Beatrice Warde – “Graphic designers may be the greatest culprits in the obscuring of Warde’s goblet”; G.Swanson). Furthermore, I will look at the works and attitudes of David Carson (particularly ‘Ray Gun’ magazine), and his emphasis on the notion of “deconstruction” to create his work - focusing on typography as a visual element, rather than solely functional.

A further aspect of this theme that I plan to discuss is the relationship between calligraphy and modern typography. I will look at the extent to which calligraphy can be seen as more of a visual art, and as a form of “writing that values its own formal and expressionistic traits but not necessarily legibility” (Steven Skagg). This will also raise the question as to whether time and culture can change our perception of whether type is functional or decorative (“It seems curious that blackletter typestyles, which we find illegible today, were actually preferred over more humanistic designs during the eleventh and fifteenth centuries. Similarly, typestyles that we perceive as illegible today may well become tomorrow’s classic choices”, Z.Licko, 1990). This is something that I plan to mention in the final conclusions of my essay; as well as drawing other ideas from different aspects that I have covered.

Mini Bibliography:

Warde, B. 1955. The Crystal Goblet or Printing Should be Invisible - The Crystal Goblet, Sixteen Essays on Typography. Cleveland.

Swanson, G. 2000. Graphic Design and Reading: explorations of an uneasy relationship. Canada, Allworth Press.

Bartram, A. 2005. Futurist typography and the liberated text. London, The British Library.

Skaggs, S. The New Calligraphy Renaissance.

Spencer, H. 1982. Pioneers of Modern Typography. USA, MIT Press Paperback.

Weingart, W. 2000. My Way to Typography. Lars Muller Publishers.

Deconstruction of type

I have recently been exploring the attitudes and work of F.M.Marinetti - an artist who is often seen to be the pioneer of Futurist typography. His work acts as a reaction to the slaughter and chaos of the First World War; and he focuses on the idea of 'deconstructing' the traditional printed page, and then reconstructing it, in a way that emphasises the 'setting free' of type. Marinetti uses the letterforms in a highly visual way - placing their visual impact as much more important than their legibility on the page. The Futurist attitude towards typography was to revolutionize it, and break traditional rules - this can be clearly seen in the above piece by Marinetti; in the way that he arranges the letterforms and words in a way that creates a visual impact on the viewer; he uses different techniques to speak the message, but by more than simply the physical written words.

Legibility of type

I've recently been looking at some of David Carson's typographical work; to investigate the changes that took place in terms of attitudes towards the discipline - particularly after the release of the Apple Mac in 1984, which introduced the concept of combining creativity with the computer. Carson can be seen as one of the most influential graphic designers of the 1990s; he is best known for his magazine designs (he was the art director of the magazine, 'Ray Gun'), and his experimental typography work.

Carson's work appeals to me, as he was one of the first designers to begin to look past the idea of readability and legibility being the most important qualities of text. His work uses the process of 'deconstructing'; breaking down the printed page to its fundamental parts, and then putting them together again in new, experimental ways. This produces visually exciting printed pages; wherein the type is used in a much more decorative and illustrative way than previously known.

Initial essay thoughts

Calligraphy vs. typography?

After reading an extract by Beatrice Warde ("The Crystal Goblet"/"Printing Should Be Invisible"), it got me thinking about how calligraphy and typography differ. To be honest, I had always 'grouped' the two together in a sense, but Warde made the point that "Calligraphy can almost be considered a fine art nowadays, because its primary economic and educational purpose has been taken away". The fine arts allow for the individual's experience of the art to be unimpeded by their reasoning faculties, and to simply rely on their aesthetic ones. The purpose of printing, however, is not purely aesthetic at all - but is to engage with the reasoning faculties of the reader.

As Warde points out; "Type well used is invisible type" - which reminds me of the phrase "form follows function" (relating to 20th century design). Type serves the primary aim of 'doing something', whereas calligraphy can be considered to be more of a fine art, and thus is more interested in existing as "an expression of beauty" instead.

Reaching the public through type

Over recent years, and with the growth of typography as a discipline for communication, type has been used more and more as a 'stand-alone' way to send messages to the public. Words, it seems, can just as much impact, and in some cases an even greater impact, than the use of images in order to make a message reach the public. Type can be used to make bold statements in a clear-cut manner; getting straight to the point, something which images cannot always do in such a way.

The contemporary American artist, Jenny Holzer, uses typography in sites of public display to convey messages to a wide audience. In some of her early work, she used projections of text on large-scale buildings; with words from various poets, or some of her own work. These texts often had deep meaning to the artist, and aimed to make the reader think about the text. Her statements were often controversial and/or daring in some cases - which, in my opinion, is highlighted by her sole use of type standing alone as the display. Her later works involve the use of LED light displays, which adds a contemporary feel to the work, yet still allows the text to say everything it needs to.

This use of typography to reach a large audience demonstrates the power of words and type, and the impact it can have when applied correctly. Many advertising campaigns also focus on the sole use of type; as it is often a more powerful way of conveying a message; 'to-the-point' and harsher when it needs to be.

Paul Elliman - a world of typography

If you look carefully, you can find letterforms in everyday objects and environments. This is the approach that the typographer, Paul Elliman, took when designing his font entitled "Bits" (an ongoing piece of work). This 'font' is made up from a collection of simple, everyday items that Elliman sees as representing different letterforms by their shapes. It's an original take on typography, and emphasises the idea that it's everywhere, all around us, and affects everyone in one way or another. Communication is fundamental in human civilization and societies - and the symbols we use to communicate can be found everywhere.

Another example of Elliman's work that conveys this same concept of human relationship with language and type is his font 'Alphabet'; which involved him asking 26 friends to 'act out' a certain letter of the alphabet, using their bodies and within the limitations of the passport photobooth they were in. It's interesting to see how different people responded to these instructions, and how they interpreted their designated letter - showing how individuals' relationships with the alphabet differ greatly.