Invisible text

Isherwood, T

Abstract

Typography, specifically typefaces themselves, are an ever present in our society, a vital tool in our means of communication, and a seemingly invisible partner in conveying and understanding written texts.
All typefaces are designed to have a unique set of characteristics that define a context, and give it its personality. These definitions are subtle, but create myriad contrasting outcomes, effecting how a reader appreciates a text. This consideration presents a strategy employed by typeface and graphic designers alike, in demonstrating the superiority of texts through appropriate selection and use in order to present the reader with the most compatible interpretation of the text.
This paper documents aspects of collaborative work created by the author and visual text poet Judy Kendall, both practitioners contributing to a discourse on the creation and visualization of text, considering the visibility of language and the impact typeface creation has on the written word, in this case, four word poems written for the purpose. The author will outline his approach to creating a specific typographic treatment that encompasses global positioning satellite technology as a drawing tool to create large scale physical letterforms by invisibly tracing the words across an urban environment, creating a series of performative responses to the given text. The paper will examine the semantics of the works production, whilst considering, amongst others, Debord’s Situationist and Le Maitre’s Lettrist concepts of psychogeography and hypergraphy, which regard the synthesis of writing with other modalities.
This paper intends to question the superiority of text within visual communication, typography as visual artefact, and the interface between these two aspects, whilst drawing responses from the visual presentation of the work, seeking analysis of the reader/viewer and their experience of the context of reading/viewing.

Citation

Isherwood, T. (2016, July). Invisible text. Presented at XXI Congress - International Comparative Literature Association, University of Vienna, Austria

• Presentation Conference Type: Other
• Conference Name: XXI Congress - International Comparative Literature Association
• Conference Location: University of Vienna, Austria
• Start Date: Jul 21, 2016
• End Date: Jul 27, 2016
• Publication Date: Jul 27, 2016
• Deposit Date: Mar 28, 2019
• Additional Information: Additional Information : This paper builds on work discussed and presented in a previous paper entitled Mapping the Text: A Practice-Led Analysis of the Creative Interfaces between Typography and Text - 2014; Event Type : Conference