Type - Production and Distribution Part 2

Type - Production and Distribution Part 2

Shelley Gruendler - "Since typography is a communication method that utilizes a gathering of related subjects and methodologies that includes sociology, linguistic, psychology, aesthetics and so much more..."

Type is language based. In the modern day it has moved from oral tradition to visual as it is a representation of what language looks like.

The Bauhaus was the first time in which many different creative backgrounds worked together on type. It developed the relationship between form and function. It was discovered that the most important element when working with type is that less is more and this is still relevant today. This was the first time that the industrial age had a visual and so commerce started to drive design, production in bulk is graphic design as we now it being born.
These ideas are elements that have stayed within graphic design, nothing ever goes away, it gets looked at again and added to.

1957 was the next point in time in which something of significance happened, Max Miedinger created the typeface helvetica. Helvetica was created as the dearest, most concise font that had stripped away anything unnecessary. This therefore was using the element that less is more and that form follows function. Helvetica being designed was a benchmark of modernist type and was proven by trade and commerce. After this event we have now gained type designers.

In 1990 Steve Jobs introduced the first Apple Mac to sell for less than US $1000. This shifted typography and design became democratised. This changed type and design to as we know it now.

Ellen Lupton - "By making itself evident, type can illuminate the constructon and identity of a page, screen, place or product"

In 1994 Vincent Connare created comic sans ms. This was the first casual script typeface that was a sans serif design.

In 1990, Tim Berners Lee created the www (world wide web) and gave it to the world for free.

Bill Gates in 1995 created Internet explorer. This developed the foundations of layout design/ template based on browser design for the next 18 years.

Type was used world wide and many different designers began to incorporate type into their work. In 1977 Jamie Read created culture surrounding punk, an example is the sex pistols. Post punk went back to the idea of the Bauhaus. In 1979 Barbara Kruger used type and language to look at the modernist view of communication.

In 1992 David Carson who was a modernist redesigned typography. He looked at design based on heritage and took it back to the idea of the Bauhaus. It was the beginning of the aesthetic evolution, a different way of thinking and designing.

History of Type - Production and Distribution

History of Type

Visual Literacy states that all that is necessary for any language to exist is an agreement among a group of people that one thing will stand for another.

Type can be defined as what language looks like. It is the visualisation of language.

There are three historical definitions of type:
1. The art and technique of printing with movable type.
2. Composition of printed material from movable type.
3. Arrangement and appearance of printed matter.

These definitions now are seen to be extremely dated. The most modern definition of typography is that type is the craft of endowing human language in a visual form. A quote by Neil Postman describes type as "The written word endures... ...the spoken word disappears."

7000BC is when language became physically represented by people, an example of this is Egyptian hieroglyphics. Another example is the Ancient Hebrew alphabet demonstrating that type is speech made visible.

Mesopotamia was were it all started in 3200BC. The Occidental view point changed after the discovery of the Rosetta Stone (196BC - 1799). This is the point at which language could be translated across different countries. There was finally an agreement across different cultures that one thing stood for another.
Type developed from hieroglyphics into the alphabet, the first true alphabet being Greek which was adapted from Phoenician. The greek alphabet was the last step before latin.

A letterform can be interpreted by anyone as long as it posses the basic shape. The production process makes changes to the way it looks. In 1450 the first type press was made on mass production. Joannes Gutenberg's work on the printing press began and type could then be classified.

In 1870 on the 17th of February, William Foster introduced Elementary education to the UK for children between the ages of 5 and 12. Everyone was to learn the ability to read so therefore production methods changed and mass production surfaced.

In 1919 - 1933 Walter Gropius introduced The Bauhaus. The Bauhaus is how we rebuilt after World War One. Industrial technologies were brought together for the first time for the Industrialisation of design. This is when typography was born.

"Since typography is a communication method that utilises a gathering of related subjects and methodologies that included sociology, linguistics, psychology, aesthetics, and so much more...", Shelley Gruendler.

A 20,000 year non-linear history of the image

12.10.16

This lecture explored the power of imagery over time. It compared the link between the work of  aborigines and the work of conceptual artists. 

The most interesting point that I feel was discussed in the lecture was an interesting comparison that was made discussing the similarities between going to art galleries and going to a church. Churches are full of architecture and imagery in the same way that an art gallery is. It was discussed as to whether this could explain the similarities in behaviour of people that is seen in these two environments. For example, Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa that is displayed in the Louvre could be compared to a religious  experience. Everyone queues to view the painting and worships it surrounded by others in a similar way to a church service. The Mona Lisa is a great example of the powerful impact that an image can have on people. However it does pose the question as to wether we behave in this way because we choose to or because we believe we should? Is it the institutions that create the power of visual communication rather than the actual imagery itself? It questions whether the painting actually has much importance or meaning or whether it has developed importance because it has been put in a posh gallery, behind bullet proof glass with a queue of people to see it.

Another type of imagery that was discussed in the lecture was the use of photography and how it impacts the power that imagery has. Photography has the power of being able to preserve life after death as they last for eternity. The power of imagery is about making things last forever. Being able to preserve memories of events, moments and people after death is one of the powerful impact that an image can have. 

The last point that was discussed which had an impact was the discussion of the Guerrilla Girls. The Guerrilla Girls demonstrate that visual communication can be about empowerment. They  questions the sexist reality that women have to be nude to get into the Met Museum. As you can see from their work in figure 1, it explains that less than 45 of the artists in the Met modern at sections are women but 76% of the nudes are of women. The imagery that they create has a huge political impact which is a powerful use of visual communication. 

Figure 1

Visual Literacy – The language of design

05.10.16

Figure 1

Visual communication consists of sending and receiving messages using type and imagery. It is based on the shared understanding of signs, symbols, gestures and objects. 

Visual Literacy is being able to construct meaning from image and type. It is the production of communicative images that portray a message effectively to an audience. It is also the ability to interpret images of the present, past and a range of cultures. 

There are many principles that are necessary for visual literacy to work as they have to be able to communicate to a range of different people universally. 

Principle one is the ability to interpret, negotiate and make meaning of an image, for example signs to the toilets. 

These signs need to be easily interpreted by people worldwide so that when visiting different countries and not being able to understand another language it is clear to everyone where to find the toilets as shown in figure 1.

Principle two is based on the idea that pictures can be read. It is vital that pictures can be interpreted universally to ensure that mistakes are not made when taking instructions.

Principle three states that visual literacy is a combination of universal and cultural symbols that can be interpreted in certain contexts. 

Figure 3

For example, figure 2 could have a variety of meaning however it is clear in figure 3 that the cross has a mathematical meaning. This meaning becomes clear due to the context that the cross has been put into in figure 3 and the other symbols that are surrounding it.

Figure 2

Principle four states that for a language to exist there must be an agreement among a large group of people stating that one thing will stand for another. 

Principle five proposes that visual literacy requires an awareness of the relationship between visual syntax and visual semantics. 

Principle six is visual syntax. Visual syntax is the pictorial structure and visual organisation of elements. It is the building blocks of an image which determine the way in which we read and interpret it.

Principle seven is visual semantics. This is the way that an image fits into a cultural process of communication. It is the relationship between form and meaning. For example, road signs fit into the surrounding of the roads and the meanings of them are clear to people who have learned to drive and studied the signs. 

Principle eight is semiotics. Semiotics is the study of signs and sign processes. It is related to the field of linguistics which is the study of the meaning and structure of language. It also studies non- linguistic language which is when words and phrases are not linked or associated with anything in particular. 

Semiotics is broken down into three categories, symbol, sign and signifier. Using the Apple logo as an example, the symbol is an apple which is recognised as the logo. The sign is apple products and the signifier is the quality, creativity and design which makes up the brand. 

Finally, principle nine is visual metaphor. This is the ability to transfer the meaning from one image to another. A metaphor gives an impression about something relatively unfamiliar comparing it with something familiar. It’s the relationship between a symbol and the link that is has to something we know and understand. For example, if we were to talk about the big apple most people would be able to interpret this as New York City.