An insight into the history of type in this weeks lecture initiated a greater understanding of type as an influential component of visual language. The very process of reading relies on type as it controls what language looks like. As noted by Robert Bringhurst; 'Typography is the craft of endowing human language with a durable visual form', it offers speech a tangibility. Language here controls words and ideas, but type controls impact and interpretation.
The evolution of letters provides an interesting topic for discussion. Through Greek and Latin alphabets there is a clear development from Phoenician and hieroglyphic imagery. This consistent aesthetic quality within the letters exemplifies the idea that for language to exist, a shared understanding of one thing meaning another must be in play. I then wonder how easy it would be to interpret other languages by process of decoding these visual symbols.
EDUCATION AND READING
In light of the 1870 Elementary Education Act, I am interested to consider the place of type in Children's books. The need for type to visually document words and speech demands an ability to read. It would be interesting to research how different typefaces have paved the way of education and how this relates to the typefaces that children are faced with in books in the present day. The art of hand type seems to be prominent in many illustrated books and I wonder how important a typeface is in the development of a child's ability to read. Within the context of my practice it may be relevant to consider the visual clues provided by typefaces in a narrative sense and the efficiency they have in making a page understood.
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