Birkvig thewordaspicture lores

xxxdanishxschoolxofxmediaxandxjournalismxhenrikxbirkvigxhbi@dmjx.dkxbiadx2011xthexwordxasxpictures

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Ralph du Carrois
via @spiekermann
on Twitter sunday.


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typographics/
typograms:
the word
as picture
Henrik Birkvig
Some research and investigations


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partitio
• 1. Background
• 2. Empirical objects (the collection)
• 3. Research
• 4. Definition
• 5. Analysis 1
• 6. Analysis 2
• 7. Theorizing and analyzing
• 8. onclusion
C
• 9. Perspective


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1. background
How it began:

• Graduated 1982, started teaching 1984/85


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1. background
How it began:

• Creative process display typography


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1. background
How it began:

• Assignment:

make some
‘typographics’!
(the student
as graphic
designer
as author
(Are we gonna
come up
with the words
ourselves?)


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1. background
How it began:

• Assignment: make some ‘typographics’ (did not know better)
• Still on my list of assignments today


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1. background
How it began:

• Assignment: make some ‘typographics’ (did not know better)
• Still on my list of assignments today
• Collecting (more) examples from 2005


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2. empirical objects
• 192 examples collected from 2005 til now

A variety of sources:
screendumps from the internet,
scan from prints,
photographs,
digital files …


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3. ongoing research
• Litterature (typographic textbooks)
• Internet search (Google, Encyclopedia Brittanica)
• Network inquiries (three typo experts)


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3. research
• Litterature (textbooks: looking for definitions)

Some of ‘The usual suspects’


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3. research
• Netsearch: typographics (too much general typography)


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3. research
• Netsearch: typogram (typography, calligram)


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3. research
• Netsearch (encyclopedia: looking for definitions)


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3. research
• Netsearch (google: looking for definitions)


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3. research
• Typographics?
• Typograms?


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3. research
• Back to the books: more litterature studies


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3. research
• Back to the books: more litterature studies

Karl Gerstner in ‘Kompendium für Alphabeten’: Typogram
(“Der Terminus für visualisierte Begriffe: Typogramme”).

Aaron Burns in ‘Typography’: Typographic illustration.

David Consuegra in ‘American Type’: Typogram

Massin in ‘Letter and Image’: [lots of different examples]

Emil Ruder in ‘Typography’ : [examples]


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3. research
Roger Ferriter in ‘Typerformance’: Typographic performances

Per Mollerup in ‘Marks of Excellence’: Letter marks

Gavin Ambrose Paul Harris in
‘The Visual Dictionary of Typography’: Typogram

(“The deliberate use of typography to express an idea visually,
but by incorporating something more than just the letters that
constitute the word.”)


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4. definition

The deliberate use of typography
to express an idea visually, contradic
tion!

but by incorporating something more
than just the letters that constitute the word.

[← fits my collection well]


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4. definition

Typographics:
a concept used specifically in New York
from the late fifties (Brownjohn, Lubalin, ITC et al) →

A subclass under typogram?


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4. definition

Ulc, June 1975.


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5. nalysis 1:
a
the collection


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5. geography
• Western World
• No counting: How many from which countries?
• The internet / cyberworld


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5. statistics


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5. method: looking


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a. execution
1. Replacement
One or more letters replaced

2. Manipulation
Changed lettershape og fill

3. Pure type (‘typographic’)
Space, placement, mirror, etc.

4. Addition
Illustration added to wordshape


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a. execution
1. Replacement
One or more letters replaced Addition
Pure 27/192
2. Manipulation type
11/192
Changed lettershape og fill
Replacement
Manipulation 118/192
3. Pure type 36/192
Space, placement, mirror, etc.

4. Addition
Illustration added to wordshape


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b. number of words
One word

Two words

Three words

Three words


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b. number of words
Three
words
12/192
One word
Three
words
19/192
Two words

Two words One word
Three words 49/192 112/192

Three words


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c. quality of design
Good

Medium

Bad


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c. quality of design
Good

Medium
Bad Good
70/192 71/192

Bad

Medium
51/192


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d. function: brands!
Brand
Company, product etc. Other
24/192

Other
Signs, headline, statement, graffiti

Brands
168/192


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e. typefaces Incised
2/192

Serif Slab
serif
Incised Script, 16/192
lettering
19/192
Slab serif
Serif
Sans serif
23/192
132/192
Sans serif

Script, lettering etc.


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f. the letter ‘o’ 80
y?
s to wh
Letter “o” ions a
Any s uggest
70 79 instances
Mystery:
Letter 60

frequency 50
of the
letter ‘o’ 40

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20
Letter “i”
20 instances Letter “a”
10 17 instances

0


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6. nalysis 2:
a
the words
as arguments
– or the relationship between the word and the illustration


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6. rgument
a
Niels Heie: “One image can provide data for many claims.”

Stephen Toulmins theory in “The Uses of Argument”.

data claim

warrant


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6. rgument
a

data claim

”This is a rose“.
(Naming is
warrant a claim).

(Me)


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6. rgument
a

data claim

”This is made
by a lion“.
warrant (index sign)

(The sender, the context:
an ad for a motion picture).


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6. rgument
a

data claim

”This is made
by a lion“.
warrant (index sign)

Inferens: a challenge.


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6. rgument
a

data claim

Eating potatoes
in stead of meat
warrant reduces the
emission
Inferens: a bigger challenge! of gasses …


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6. rgument
a


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7. heorizing
t
analysing 1*:
best of two
worlds
modalities?

*) unfinished work


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7. heorizing
t
analysing 1:
The picture
superiority effect
Allan Paivio, T.B. Rogers, and Padric C. Smythe, Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, Canada:
Why are pictures easier to recall than words?

“Pictures of objects were recalled significantly better
than their names on the first two of four free recall trials.”


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7. heorizing
t
analysing 2:
The right picture helps
a fast perception


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7. heorizing
t
analysing 2:
Pretest by
Niels Heie et. al.:
A A A
Testpersons should UV UV UV
guess a word
influenced by
A LT A LT A LT
looking at a de
constructed word
with and without En passende illustration gør det
irrelevant and
relevant
lettere at omsætte bogstaver til ord
illustrations.
Og en upassende gør det sværere. Sådan kan man tyde det første eyetrack-for-
søg udført på Den Grafiske Højskoles nyetablerede Nilpeter-Lab
The content of the
illustrations Af Niels Heie
influenced
the inference I de allerfleste produkter der skal læses, der ikke så meget om, det har vi mest på
process. formidles budskabet som en kombination fornemmelsen.
af sproglige og ikke-sproglige elementer, På Den Grafiske Højskole har vi fået
tekster og illustrationer. mulighed for at sætte os bedre ind i proble-


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7. heorizing
t
analysing 3:
• The illustration is good for remembering
• The word is good for identifying, clarifying, defining

and configuring the illustration
• The typogram has both word and illustration


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8. onclusion
c
• I have none yet (apart from the term being typogram)


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9. erspective
p
Possible further work:

• Database with tagged samples for easier analysis
• Kinetic and interactive typograms
• Commercial non commercial
• Samples from other parts of Europe and The World
• Semiotic analysis
• Historical studies of The New Yorker School
• Laboratory tests reg. perception, eyetracking etc.


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que?tions
Contact:
hbi@dmjx.dk

xxxdanishxschoolxofxmediaxandxjournalismxhenrikxbirkvigxhbi@dmjx.dkxatypix2010xseptemberxfontquality++
horizons
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the

ND ← An English-Danish typogram!

for listening.
↑ Kind of rebus
– not a typogram!


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References
books
Ambrose, Gavin Harris, Paul (2010). The Visual Dictionary of Typography. Lausanne: AVA Books.
Baines, Phil Haslam, Andrew (2002). Type and Typography. London: Laurence King.
Bringhurst, Robert (1999). The Elements of Typographic Style. Washington: Hartley Marks.
Burns, Aaron (1961). Typography. New York: Reinhold Company.
Consuegra, David (2004). American Type Design Designers. New York: Allworth Press.
Ferriter, Roger (1983). Typerformance. Palo Alto: Communication Arts Books.
Gerstner, Karl (1985). Kompendium für Alphabeten. Eine Systematik der Schrift. Teufen: Arthur Niggli.
Jury, David (2002). About Face. Reviving the Rules of Typography. Mies: RotoVision.
Massin (1970). Letter and Image. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company.
Mollerup, Per (1997). Marks of Excellence. London: Phaidon.
Rosch, Eleanor (1978). Principles of Categorization. In: Cognition and Categorization. P. 27-48. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Ass.
Ruder, Emil (1981). Typography. New York: Hastings House.
Snyder, Gertrude Peckolick, Alan (1985). Herb Lubalin. Art director, graphic designer and typographer. New York: American Showcase, Inc.
Spiekermann, Erik Ginger, E.M. (1993). Stop Stealing Sheep find out how type works. Mountain View: Adobe Press.
Willberg, Hans Peter (2001). Wegweiser Schrift. Erste Hilfe für den Umgang mit Schriften was passt – was wirkt – was stört.
Mainz: Verlag Hermann Schmidt.

web
www.aiga.org/content.cfm/medalist-herblubalin
http://electricink.posterous.com/what-is-a-typogram-0
http://blog.fonts.com/tag/ulc/

periodica
Spencer, Herbert (ed.) (1962). Typographica New Series No. 6. London: Lund Humphries.

articles
Heie, Niels (2010). One image can provide data for many claims. Copenhagen: Danish School of Media and Journalism.
(http://www.dmjx.dk/kontakt/medarbejdere.html - search Niels Heie)
Paivio, A., T.B. Rogers, Smythe, P.C. (1968). Why are pictures easier to recall than words? Psychonomic Science 1968; 11:137-138.

personal correspondance with type experts
Erik Spiekermann, Berlin, Germany. Paul Shaw, New York, USA. Jay Rutherford, Weimar, Germany.

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