Question: The typographic relationship between form and function within the fashion industry
I am intrigued by the contemporary rise in custom typography as viewers have a better knowledge of type than ever before. One of the foremost questions that I aim to answer is ‘has our relationship with legibility and therefore the function of letterforms changed?’ If everyone’s comprehension of typographic techniques is improving then do we ‘read’ a logotype, for example, increasingly via its forms or still in a traditional sense entirely by its linguistic connotations. The positioning of the question within the fashion industry incorporates my main passion outside of Graphic Design and provides a wealth of branding, advertising, publication and wearable typography to analyse and reference throughout. The first consideration of my practice has been typography for some time now but this project will allow me to explore its application to fashion and hopefully gain some insight into the way in which the two industries interact.
Contextually my study will be situated between social, aesthetic and cultural fields of research. The social aspect comes from the existing preconceptions of written language within our society, any exploration of the tools by which we communicate must be in some capacity social due to their applications. If social context represents the functional side of the discussion then the aesthetic context simplistically covers the form side. The relationship between these two elements is the backbone of the research. Finally and very much so linked to the social aspects there must be some regard for the cultural context. This will be an ethical and practical consideration throughout as it is a given that my outlook upon typography is biased towards a western Latin alphabet. However, if form is becoming increasingly important within typography then are the cultural boundaries of script comprehension becoming less important?
The first and more general theoretical approach that I shall incorporate is the Gestalt Theory. Although primarily a psychological theory Gestalt can easily be applied to art and design and has been within many prominent sources. Based on similarity, proximity, continuity, closer and figure + groud, the Gestalt concept works on the principle of perceiving reality holistically in its simplest form. This segues perfectly into the form side of my research as it gives depth and scientific understanding behind the aesthetic qualities.
Of course, the essay will include a wide range of secondary methods of research, a large part of which will inevitably be discourse analysis. How we communicate via typographic forms is a central part of the research. Discourse analysis covers both the broad medium of our communication and is then split down into semiotic analysis covering the form side of my question. The functional element is then found within textual analysis and content analysis as I attempt to establish patterns in visual communication. Theorisation will inevitably also be encountered as psychological theories are related to a graphic context.
With regard to primary research, there will be an emphasis on industry insight both from the graphic design and fashion perspective. This will be implemented via email, phone calls and personal meetings as part of the practical. Some primary opinions from a focus group of the target audience would also be very useful to assess the validity of the outcomes.
The physical outcome of the essay would be a client-based brief producing a type family for Emanuele Piarulli, a 2019 fashion graduate from the university. The idea would be to produce a family of approximately 5 typefaces that both compliment his practice and explore the relationship from form to function, artistic and illegible to highly usable. These could be applied to his promotional material and accompany his existing aesthetic and logo. The working relationship needs to start with a meeting in person this month and then progress to a point where our visions coincide. Of course, completing a client brief presents problems within this context due to the potential loss of freedom and expression of the themes of the essay. However, the collaboration has formed from a place of mutual respect and Emanuele hadn’t put thought into having a custom family until I suggested leaving more freedom than you would normally find.
I will need to access a range of resources but predominantly books from the library or sourced online and a range of online articles and studies.
Books I have been and will be reading:
Rudolf Arnheim - Art and Visual Perception + Entropy and Art
Bruno Munari - Design as Art
Jason Tselentis - TYPE form & function
Jose Teunissen - Graphique Couture
I shall continue to develop my contextual understanding and work out a detailed essay plan by the 15th of October, including topics of discussion and a range of quotations to back up each topic. By the 1st of November, I intend to have a first draft of the essay completed. By November the 15th the second draft should be reformulated and a check on the relevance to the practical work conducted via a peer review. 1st of December essay check and rechecked and completed ready for hand in.
With regards to practical, a meeting with Emanuele Piarulli to take place before the 20th of October will give a full understanding of the brief and its ability to coincide with the essay. Sketches of type and initial ideas reviewed until the end of the month. November 15th check relevance to essay and work out how conclusions of both pieces can fit better with each other. December 1st type family finished hopefully by mutual agreement between me and the client, allowing time for design boards before hand-in.
