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When viewing the typography employed in many of today's design
solutions, one must remember the many influences that have driven these typographic
innovations. First, there is clearly a reference to historical motifs leading to
renewed typographic experimentation. The “New” New Typography has it roots
in the turn of the century avant-garde. It is important to realize that there are
these historical precedents inherent in the “New” New Typography.
Understanding that nothing happens in a vacuum, the “New” New Typography
came about as a reaction to the communication credos of Modernism which called for
design to be the timeless, minimal, geometric,and a self-referential carrier of our
messages. In our post-modern society, designers need to be more conscious of the
content, expanding problem solving across new territories. Second, not unlike previous
typographic expansion, technology is a major contributor to the “New” New
Typography. The advent of computer technology and the ease in which it has made the
drawing of letterforms has spurred on many of these new typographic forms. |
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The Macintosh has broken down the barriers between designer and
typographer and placed typography firmly back in the hands of the designer. The
typography of the digital era is no longer privy to the schooled typographer or printer
but is in reach of anyone who has access to the software. This increases the
democratization of typography which, in the long run, can only be beneficial to the
proliferation of graphic design. Typography has taken on a new, significant, role in
this proliferation of graphic form. Lastly, the expansion of what is the duty of our
alphabetic coding system has lead some to challenge our sensibilities and our role as
viewer in the communication process. In a society where most of the information
received comes from the television, and other digital sources, our old “rules”
concerning communication and legibility are in need of re-thinking. It is clear that
these “rules” are outdated. Those who continue to harp on the supposed
illegibility of many of today's typographic forms refuse to see the unavoidable
effects that changes in culture have had on our ability to comprehend these new
letterforms. In this post-modern society “typography is to be seen as well as
read”.32 |
