COP Lecture Series: The History of Type - Production and Distribution: Part 2

The Bauhaus (1919-1933)
The idea that form follows function - the function of something forms how we design, for example for decorative or promotional purposes. The design of something must follow a common visual language, as commerce is at the start of design (the first written language was based on trade - acts as a receipt).

1957
Max Miedinger and Eduard Hoffmann.
Designers of Helvetica.
Wanted to fit in with the modernist idea of type.
Their aim for this design was to create a clean and neutral typeface that had clarity, no intrinsic meaning in its form, and could be used on a wide variety of signage. (Less is more - the function of the typeface).

1982
Arial was released by Microsoft exactly 25 years after the release of Helvetica - the maximum time that a design is protected by intellectual property before it lapses. For this reason, Microsoft barely modified Helvetica.

1990
Steve Jobs.
The first Mac for under $1,000 was introduced.
This meant that for the first time creatives had their own computer to use for design. However, in this sense, type was seen as being democratised - anybody could use it to create their own typefaces or designs.
"By making itself evident, typography can illuminate the construction and identity of a page, screen, place or product" - Ellen Lupton, Thinking with Type.
This year, Tim Berners-Lee also created the world wide web and released it for free. This shows a complete democratisation of type distribution, as it became easier to distribute material over the web rather than having to physically print any material.

1995
Bill Gates created internet explorer - the first globally adopted browser. This meant the way in which typography could be used was changed, for example, in terms of layout. It also established the windows font set as a global standard for browsers, which included Arial and Comic Sans.

"We realise now that long documents do not work on the web.We should never have thought otherwise, but all those short documents we’re reading instead are poisoning our ability to read long documents" - John Clark.
This quote suggests how the introduction of the internet has affected the ways in which we read, for example, we've stopped speaking and started typing through the development of instagram, facebook and various other social media.

Further from this, the development of emojis have started to replace written language with pictures and symbols, which has provided a global language for which we communicate. However, this also suggests we have gone back in history, for example similar to the development of the Greek Alphabet, where words and concepts are replaced by image.
"Typography fostered the modern idea of individuality, but it destroyed the medieval sense of community and integration" - Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death - the idea of a community now being online.

1977 - Jamie Reid
Produced designs for the Sex Pistols.
1992 - David Carson
Produced his first publication for Ray Gun magazine.
- both went back to the Bauhaus idea.
- undermining meaning in terms of scrapping grid layouts, etc.
- aesthetic reinvention.

"Design is both a political and cultural force for change, although most designers choose not to think about the power it has" - Jonathon Barnbrook.

In conclusion, there is no single approach to typography. Context helps to shape it's culture and interpretations.