Legibility

"What's the use of being legible when nothing inspires you to take notice of it?"

Wolfgang Weingart.

This blog explores the contrary side to my previous blog on neutrality. Wolfgang Weingart was one of the first pioneers of modern typography, breaking away from modernism and the Swiss grid system. He respected the good qualities within Swiss type, yet claimed it to restrict his "playful, inquisitive, experimental temperament". He writes that typography should not be "dry, tightly ordered of rigid", but should maintain "hidden structure and visual order".

However, it was the introduction of the Apple Mac in 1984 that was the catalyst for completely changing, breaking and redefining the rules of typography. Type got a lot more experimental, loose and messy, breaking away from the strict structure of the Swiss grid, and the restrictions of letterpress.

The new forms of typography being produced were brash, conceptual, ornamented and followed no rules or restrictions. David Carson destroyed all rules of legibility in his magazine Ray Gun. Similarly magazines such as Emigre and Fuse by Neville Brody all experimented with post- Apple Mac typography constructing new digital typefaces. Typography was taken to the edge of communication, and explored in ways it never had been before.

I think the introduction of the Apple Mac was undoubtably a massive benefit for the world of typography, and has effectively changed the way we communicate today. I am also in complete agreeance with Weingart's quote. I think the way in which type is designed and set, definitely has a huge impact on how we take notice of it and read it. I think for more bold, and direct messages this is even more important, possibly more than ordinary passages of text. I think it takes something within typography, whether it is an ornamental asset or if it's simply more interesting and striking for us look at, to make us take notice of the text, contrary to the everyday default "invisible" typefaces. I'm not saying that making a typeface illegible is the only way to inspire us to look at it, however I agree that legibility is not the simple, single answer to effective typography.

http://www.jameskurtz.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/weingart-headshot.jpg

http://www.mkgraphic.com/weingartdq.html