Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
VERBAL/VISUAL EQUATIONS
As a dynamic representation of verbal language, typography
must communicate. This functional role is fulfilled when the
receiver of a typographic message clearly and accurately understands
what is in the mind of the transmitter. This objective, however, is not
always accomplished. With a proliferation of typographic messages
littering the environment, most are missed or ignored. The messages
that are noted, possessing effective qualities relating to form and
content, are appropriate to the needs of both message transmitter and
message receiver.
The impact of an effective typographic message cannot be easily
measured. Some may assume that since printed and broadcast messages
are ephemeral, they have little impact upon their audience. This
assumption is false. Because typographic ephemera are rhetorical, they
often have a long-range effect upon a message receiver, influencing the
context of social, political, and economic events. The symbol of the
solidarity expressed by Polish workers (Fig.
6-7
), the social statements
made with graffiti in urban environments, and the typography on
billboards aimed at passing motorists all operate as purposeful messages
directed toward a predetermined audience within a specific context.
Language, in any of its many forms, is a self-contained system of
interactive signs that communicate ideas. Just as elocution and
diction enhance and clarify the meaning of our spoken words,
typographic signs can be manipulated by a designer to achieve more
lucid and expressive typographic communication.
Signs operate in two dimensions: syntactic and semantic. When
the mind is concerned with the form of a sign, it is involved with
typographic syntax. When it associates a particular meaning with a
sign, it is operating in the semantic dimension.
All objects in the environment can potentially function as signs,
representing any number of concepts: a smog-filled city signifying
pollution, a beached whale representing extinction, and confetti
implying celebration—each functions as a sign relating a specific
concept.
Signs may exist at various levels of abstraction. A simple
example will illustrate this point. Let us consider something as
elemental as a red dot. It is a sign only if it carries a particular
meaning. It can represent any number of things: balloon, ball, or
Japanese flag. The red dot becomes a cherry, for example, as the
mind is cued by forms more familiar to its experience (Fig.
6-8
).
The particular syntactic qualities associated with typographic
signs determine a specific meaning. A series of repeated letters,
for example, may signify motion or speed, while a small letter in a
large void may signify isolation. These qualities, derived from the
operating principles of visual hierarchy and ABA form, function
as cues, permitting the mind to form concepts. Simple syntactic
manipulations, such as the repetition of letters or the weight change
of certain letters, enable words to visually mimic verbal meaning
(Fig.
6-9
). In another example, the letter
E
has been visually altered,
relating it to the meaning of specific descriptive words (Fig.
6-10
).
6-7
Solidarity logotype.
(Designer: Jerzy
Janiszewski)
Effective typographic messages result from the combination of
logic and intuitive judgment. Only the neophyte approaches this
process in a strictly intuitive manner; a purely logical or mechanical
procedure undermines human expression. Keeping these two
extremes in balance requires the use of a functional verbal/visual
vocabulary capable of addressing a broad spectrum of typographic
communication.
6-8
Signs exist at
various levels of
abstraction. A form
is a sign, however,
only when it carries
a message. As the
mind is cued by forms
familiar to experience,
information is
conveyed.
