Task 2 Summarise what it says about typography and the role of the typographer in the text 'Design writing research', Ellen Lupton and Abbott Miller.
The typographer ensures that the reader isn't aware that they are reading whilst at the same time a page of text is designed so that the reader reads in the order that they are told by the way in which something is laid out. In a sense it could be said that the typographer should be invisible as so that the reader isn't aware that they are reading but the designer or typographers ideas couldn't be more obvious in a piece of text. The fact that most typography now is standardised one doesn't tend to question how it should be read. Although text is now set in a standard format it doesn't mean that each individual reader doesn't interpret the meaning of the text in a different way to someone else. From printing books which took over handwritten documents the internet now allows the reader to download texts online which they can reformat giving them control of how they would like to read the text. Derrida claimed that spacing and punctuation in text is just as important as the words themselves, saying that they are 'seen but not heard'. The reader acknowledges the spacing and punctuation but doesn't question how much of an integral part it plays in the overall text.
The design and type now commonly overrides what is written by the author, the reader now has more importance than the writer to be able to create meaning. Barthe claimed that reading is a performance of the written word. Typography has become a mode of interpretation. The difference between how a text is read according to whether it is in print format or screen based determines how the reader defines the meaning of the text. A quote from Jakob Nielsen 'Web uses don't like to read.... They want to keep moving and clicking' emphasises this.
These examples of the Ray Gun magazine show how Carson broke the rules of layout within typography. The reader is actually forced to read as the type isn't displayed in any sort of structured way in which people are used to reading. This allows the individual to create their own perception of the text. In the example on the left the use of type and image works really well, the images seem to be integrated within the text rather than being separate elements on the page.
Above, work by designer Ed Fella. He's well known for his work with typography and these 2 pieces of work look at how he used deconstruction within his work. Like the work of David Carson the reader of the work is forced to read what is written rather than having to simply avoid reading all together. Unlike Carson Fella focuses on having simple background to his work so that the type is the focus point, on the other hand Carsons work always focuses on a variety of mixed media. There is a simplicity in the aesthetics of the work but the actual message is hard to obtain as the reader has to work out what is being communicated.
Above, work by designer Ed Fella. He's well known for his work with typography and these 2 pieces of work look at how he used deconstruction within his work. Like the work of David Carson the reader of the work is forced to read what is written rather than having to simply avoid reading all together. Unlike Carson Fella focuses on having simple background to his work so that the type is the focus point, on the other hand Carsons work always focuses on a variety of mixed media. There is a simplicity in the aesthetics of the work but the actual message is hard to obtain as the reader has to work out what is being communicated.
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