The typographic sensorium: a cross-modal reading of letterforms (original) (raw)

2022, Embodiment and the Arts: Views from South Africa

The perceived function of typography, and specifically letter form, has, since it’s first mechanical implementation in the fifteenth century vacillated tremendously. Whether viewed as a purely semantic/linguistic device; graphic imprints of a particular zeitgeist; as defining geographic and spatial bounds; patriotic and nationalistic insignia or as badges of technical proficiency, letterforms have played a crucial role in most forms of communication design. However, not until the 1970s and 1980s with the onset of New Wave and Deconstructionist design ideology, had a ‘more’ visceral aspect of letter forms been investigated (and rigorously so) in terms of design practice, philosophy and discourse. In reaction to the notion of transcendental universality in typeface design held by Modernist typographers, and at the height of a tech-boom, Postmodern designers sought to exploit the complexity of letterforms by manipulating its tactile and textural qualities. Central to this chapter is a focus on a relatively recent (since roughly 2016) (re)turn to what I refer to as ‘the typographic sensorium.’ Following Ong’s concept of ‘the sensorium’ – that our sensory instruments; sight, sound, touch (including kinaesthesia), smell and taste overlie each other – I investigate notable uptake in a sensory approach to the analysis and design of letter forms. In doing so, I analyse noteworthy letterform experiments that explore the interplay and communicative value of specific sense-based letterforms. That is, I am interested in the sounds, taste, texture, movement and smell of letterforms.