Typography as Design?

Faces of type are like men’s faces. They have their own expression; their complexion and peculiar twists and turns of line identify them immediately to friends, to whom each is full of identity.

— J.L. Frazier

Okay, so I know I'm a WOMAN in technology and the above quote is very male-centric. It's not my quote, but it does present an interesting view of typography. Have you ever really looked at the fonts used in the printed materials you look at?

As a technical writer, I typically look at typography only in terms of selecting fonts for my documentation. Obviously, in choosing fonts for printed material, I look for something easy to read and pleasing to the eye with a nice balance of white space and text.

But from a designer's point of view, typography can be so much more. Take, for example, this short YouTube video entitled Typography Animation - Il Segno Animato by Simonetti. He takes typography and really does make it look like "men's faces," as J. L. Frazier so accurately phrased it. How does he do it? We'll discuss some of the design elements Simonetti uses after you view the video.

One of the first things that struck me after I watched this video was Simonetti's frequent use of rhythm and space to make you notice not so much the type but the empty space created by the type. Rhythm as a design element is defined as the alternating occurrence of form and space that causes your eye to move and focus on different parts of the visual, and space is defined as any area that is activated by visual elements, whether as a form or empty space.

Let's think about Simonetti's use of the letter A in the video. When it first appears, your eye immediately sees a large, bold A that fills the screen. However, as the hand starts pouring wine from the bottle into the empty space, suddenly your eyes focus on that space instead of the letter. Through the effective use of rhythm and space, Simonetti causes you to stop seeing the letter A and instead see a wine glass full of red wine.

Simonetti also makes effective use of variety by using vivid contrasts - bright colors, movement, and elements all composed of letters but representing images instead of words. Similarly, he frequently uses texture in his backgrounds to make the type elements really stand out. Although the music adds to the viewing experience, even with the sound muted this video is a fascinating exploration of using type as a design element without having it actually act as text.