Italian Typographic Heritage: A Contribution to Its Recognition and Interpretation as Part of Design Heritage (original) (raw)

2020, Lessons to Learn? Past Design Experiences and Contemporary Design Practices Proceedings of the ICDHS

There is a renewed interest today, in Italy and abroad, towards forms of typography and publishing tightly linked to the revival of pre-digital tools and techniques (Bonini Lessing, Bulegato & Farias, 2019). Over the past thirty years, the instantaneous speed of mass production made possible by digital technologies has been accompanied , almost as a natural counterpoint, by the interest of producers , designers and users in rediscovering manual production and the material, aesthetic and sensory qualities of short-run or custom-printed artefacts. This 'rediscovery' was, to a great extent, motivated by an appreciation for craftsmanship, that is, for the skill required to make things by hand, but also for the imprecision inherent in the techniques used. It is also linked to the emergence of more selective and competent consumers, supporters of 'slow' consumption practices, custom-made goods, and of issues such as sustainability, ethics, and respect for tradition. As we will see, this revival was fuelled both by the interest of design historians and theorists in original or long-neglected forms and sources, and by the interest of designers and printers in collecting and reviving typefaces, presses and tools for typesetting by hand, papers and Print culture, typography, graphic memory In the early decades of the twenty-first century, parallel to digital technology developments and growing concern about sustainability, design literature recorded a renewed interest in early typographic practices, such as letterpress printing, handmade paper and binding, and short-run editions. This interest materialised in various ways: the digital revival of historical typefaces; 3d printing of physical type; 'independent' letterpress printers; and archives, collections and museums dedicated to type and typography. This state of affairs provided new perspectives and concerns for design as a field responsible, among other things, for the conception and production of printed artefacts. It also posed a call for new ways of capturing and describing the multiple aspects of typographic culture and history. One of the main sites where typography developed historically in Europe, is the city of Venice and the Veneto region, where pioneer letterpress printers and type designers, such as Aldo Manuzio and Francesco Griffo, as well as important binders, paper mills and ink manufacturers have worked since the fifteenth century. This article presents and discusses the results of a research project that examined how design studies and methods can contribute to a better understanding and to the preservation of typographic heritage in Italy.