Why do we write?
To communicate.
To transmit information, ideas, a point of view.
As the invention of the printing press and typography in the 15th century made it possible to print multiple copies of documents, information could be disseminated to more people. Average citizens could be educated and become more involved members of their community and of society in general. People could hear ideas from someone other than the church. (In today’s internet-society, anyone with a computer can put their ideas or viewpoints out there for the masses to see and read..sometimes to disastrous or hilarious effect.)
To communicate effectively, everyone in the community must agree on meaning; there must be a collective understanding of what is being communicated. As that pertains to typography, there must be some sort of standardization of letters and letterforms. Timothy Samara, in his book DESIGN ELEMENTS: A GRAPHIC STYLE MANUAL, states that “Rules exist...as guidelines. As such, rules always come with exceptions and can be broken at any time, but not without consequence.” (2:9) He states later in his book, “make it legible, readable, or whatever you want to call it. It should go without saying that type that can’t be read has no purpose.” (2:19). Today, there are hundreds of examples of creative font design that bend the rules, but don’t quite break them. Examples of these, from my computer’s font book, include Beyond Wonderland, Ghouly Caps, and Patterns & Dots.
As an aside, although in American schools we’re all taught how to print the same way, as we get older we all become creative with our handwriting, and most people follow Samara’s caveat to bend the rules, but not quite break them. Most people’s handwriting is different from another’s, but as they don’t break the rules, most can be read by everyone. (Unless it’s in cursive; then my 21-year-old daughter and her friends can’t read it as they only had one year of instruction in the third grade.) In a real world example, in my work as a nurse, I work with many doctors and their indecipherable handwriting. They’re rebel rule breakers! The purpose of doctors writing their orders or a prescription is so that they can communicate to a nurse or pharmacist what they want done for the patient. Their horrible writing has a very real chance of being misread and this can have catastrophic results. There have been many cases of patients getting the wrong drug, or the wrong dose of a medication.
I find this the height of arrogance, as if they are too busy and too lofty to take the time to write clearly. That’s one reason why many hospitals are trying to convert to paperless, or computer, charting.
Legibility is only one issue relating to typography and its purpose of communication. Another issue is design. Samara, in his book TYPOGRAPHY WORKBOOK, states “typography as a communicative form holds the potential for deeply meaningful and emotional expression.” (3:6) The choice of both type and layout can affect how well something is communicated to the reader. It must be pleasing to the eye. If something is too closely spaced or laid out in an unappealing manner, you run the risk of people not bothering to look at it or read it, and you’ve lost the opportunity to communicate your message. One example of that are the timelines in our textbook, MEGGS’ HISTORY OF GRAPHIC DESIGN, I find they are laid out in such a way that they are difficult to read, so I don’t read them. (1: 2-3, 62-63,132-133, 246-247, and 354-355)
Certain type or design can convey a mood or an emotion. Things can be perceived as cold, stark, inviting, interesting, eye-catching, or romantic. Personally, I can have a visceral reaction to certain type or layout. If I don’t like it, again, I won’t take the time to read it. Or, in the case of a product, I won’t buy it. If the type or design is pleasing, I’ll take the time to read, observe or purchase. Such is the power of typography and graphic design!
Sources cited:
1. Meggs, Philip B. and Alston W. Purvis. “Meggs’ History of Graphic Design, Fourth Edition.” Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2006: pp. 2-3, 62-63,132-133, 246-247, and 354-355.
2. Samara, Timothy. “Design Elements: A Graphic Style Manual.” Beverly, MA: Rockport Publishers, 2007: pp. 9, 19.
3. Samara, Timothy. “Typography Workbook.” Beverly, MA: Rockport Publishers, 2004: p. 6.
