Typography

This year at I have chosen to do Contemporary Typography as my elective and below are a few of the images from our first session. One key person we learnt about was Lou Dorfsman. He worked for CBS network in America as their director of design.



There is currently an exhibition on at the Kemistry Gallery featuring Dorfsmans work.

We also looked at Stefan Sagmeister.



Some questions which are key to typography..why am I doing this? What am I trying to say? Can you read it? How quick can I read it? Why have I chosen to say it in this way? The list could go on.

In the top image by Sagmeister, he actually carved the words into his own skin. Looking at the image and then reading through a few of the questions above shows that it's not necessarily about producing something thats easy and clear to read. Having the letters carved into his skin automatically makes it harder to read what is being said. The natural contours of the human body provide an uneven surface with shadows and different tones. The letters are various sizes, with some parts of the text portrait and some landscape which requires the viewer to turn their head to read it. All of this makes it much more complex than just reading a typed sentence of a blank piece of paper. However by making you concentrate more to read it, Sagmeister has also made it more likely that you will remember what he is saying, as you have had to make more of an effort. Type is all around us 24/7 and we are so used to reading and seeing our alphabet that we often read things without really taking them in.