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Introduction |
History | Technology |
Theory |
Legibility |
Graphic Design |
Conclusion |
| Never before have technological advances completely overtaken an industry, or for that matter a society, as rapidly as the computer has. It is hard, if not impossible, to avoid computer technology in today's society. Whether we are using the ATM at our bank or “surfing” the internet the computer has become an integral part of our daily lives. Digital technology has thrust itself upon typography and design, as well as, other industries such as music with it's conversion to compact disk technology, with breakneck speed. This close tie of technological advances to typographic advances is not uncommon. When there was an improvement in router technology in the mid-1800's there was also a proliferation of wood type. The invention of the Linotype and Monotype machines brought upon significant changes in the present society; allowing machine-set typography to be printed on machine- manufactured paper opening a new era of knowledge, education and again expanding literacy.17 | |||
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In the digital era, typography has limitless conceptual boundaries which until a few years were unthinkable. If one looks at the type designs of the Dutch typographers Just van Rossum and Erik van Blokland it is clear that they are no longer interested in duplicating the type of a past. They are using “the computer to expand the way people think about type”.18 Their 1990 type design Beowulf defies the idea that letterforms are identical every time they appear. By programming Beowulf's characters to change with every keystroke, the type crumbles on the screen. This begins to question the overstated smoothness and sharpness that has become the attainable ideal in printing They are more interested in the imperfections that are reminiscent in handwritten text. Contradicting the theory that new computer technology has lead to new typographic forms, British designer Phil Baines feels that much of the typography of the last 15 years is not the result of new technology, but a reaction against previous held creeds about communication. | ||
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