Towards an Anthropology of Typography

Akseli Huhtanen

What is typography?!

OXFORD DICTIONARY: !The art or procedure of arranging type or processing data and printing from it.

G. NOORDZIJ: !Typography is writing with prefabricated letters.

Which brand / organization?!

Which brand / organization?!

Which brand / organization?!

Which brand / organization?!

Which brand / organization?!

3 famous typefaces!

TRIVIA: !— A typeface: all sizes, weights and cases,

includes several fonts — A font: a single case, such as Caslon

italics 48 pt. — Concepts of typeface and font mixed

more or less.

Caslon Caslon

— Caslon: A serif (antiqua) typeface used commonly in book layouts

— Example: Body text of this presentation, any book

— Its italic font regarded very beautiful by experts, some of my friends find it ugly

— From 1722

Helvetica Helvetica!

— A famous sans serif typeface used for instruction purposes

— Example: Subway signs or airports, headlines in this presentation

— Created 1957 — Gary Hustwit’s 2007 documentary Helvetica

Comic Sans Comic Sans

— A sans serif display typeface — Created by Microsoft in 1994

— Examples: Birthday invitations, “funny” posters, memos, books, everything.

— Much criticized, become infamous

”Typography is the efficient means to an essentially utilitarian and only accidentally aesthetic end.”

STANLEY MORRISON

”The medium is the message.” MARSHALL MACLUHAN

First approach: production!

— Visible or invisible typography? — How is it produced?

— Who produces it? — How do the typographers identify themselves? —  ”Field work” among typographers at Reykjavík

Letterpress.

Second approach: reception!

— Are we aware of it? — Do we like or dislike it?

— Do we participate in the practice of typography? — Is it something aesthetically valuable? — Does it matter to us?

What do you think?!

— Do you have agency regarding typography? — Do the forms of letters matter to you?

— Are there typefaces that always signify certain feature?