Postmodern Typography- An act of rebellion against Sans-serifs

What is Typography?

Typography is the art and technique of arranging type (or font) to make written language legible, readable, and appealing when displayed.

Typography in Modern and Post-modern eras

Modern Typography:

Modern typography was a reaction against the perceived cultural decline of typography and design of the late 19th century. Modern typography is mostly associated with the works of Jan Tschihold and Bauhaus typographers Herbert Bayer, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, El Lissitzky, and others.

Modern Typography reflected a universal method of communication in its design concept, which assumes passive, almost automatic subconscious visual experience. It relies on the rationality of the graphic designer of the message as well as the person on the receiving end who is reading the message. The simple act of seeing is the only act of perception that is involved.

Its trademark font is the sans-serif. It is a very simple and basic font that justifies the design concept of modern typography. The reason given by the typographists for choosing this font is “Because of its simplicity, the even weight of its lines, and its nicely balanced proportions, sans serif forms pleasing and easily distinguished word patterns- one of the most important element in legibility and easy reading.”

Post-Modern Typography:

Postmodern typography was born out of rejection of the modernist idea of typography and its basic and simplistic design concept. According to Gail Davidson, a curator at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, the prevailing philosophy of typography in the modern era was to present letters in their most pure form.

Rather than strictly adhering to the clear-cut rules and regulations, the post-modern designers began experimenting with typeface in a non-spatial, and nonlinear process which abandoned the thoughts of a grid. The main focus was on the viewer’s perception, their emotions, and also on their ability to comprehend the given message through typography. David Carson, a graphic designer known for experimental typography noted: “Don’t mistake legibility for communication.”

How are Postmodern and Modern Typography different?

Typography in the Modernist period, generally followed the parameters of International Typographical Style. Its predominant font was sans-serif and the rules like functionality, minimalism, and logic adhered to. This was the case even in the most creative and unique instances of graphic design in the modernist period. The omission of upper-case letters was also an occasional feature of the typeface in these creations.

Postmodernist Typography is typically associated with the 1970s New Wave in design and contradicted the modernist ways and traditions in different ways, particularly within the field of design. At the center of this movement was the belief that type could be expressive and can refrain from the demands of minimalism, and focus on ostentation for this purpose. Text may be set using many fonts in many arrangements, neat or ragged, orderly or chaotic. Individual letters could represent the artist’s creativity and against the straightness and regularity of sans serif, curvature, jagged edges and inconsistent sizing are some of the features that are vividly displayed in notable instances of postmodern graphic design.

By the late 1970s, as computers became popular, they played a large part in postmodernist typographic movements as well, by aiding the process of design as well as providing new media and market for typography to be implemented in it, like videogames, where the designers get the opportunity to play around with different fonts and styles.

History of Postmodern Typography:

Through the early 1960s, before digital technology was introduced in the typography scene, typographers used metal type, often using hand drawing on graph paper and using photocopiers or ink transfers to create typefaces. From the end of World War-I until the end of 1960s the sans-serif fonts ruled the typography scene. Sans-serifs epitomized the “form follows function” approach which was the main characteristic of modernism. Clean, crisp, and to the point, they let the information do all the talking.

-First step towards New Typography:

By the mid-1960s, a small group of typographers who were not happy with the modernist ideology, started a new movement that was kind of the entire opposite of modernist typography. Along with this stylistic break, major advancements in technology were also on the scene now. At the forefront of the movement was a Dutch designer Wim Crouwel with his 1969 “Visuele Communicate Nederland, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam”, one of the five posters featured in Cooper Hewitt’s installation. At that time, computer imaging was in its early phases and used a dotted matrix to create images. The question that raised was “How computers could represent the sharp edges of certain fonts?”. Crouwel’s poster clears this doubt through lettering comprised of fluorescent pink dots. Each letter had rounded edges, set off against a barcode-like grid, which gave Crouwel his reported nickname, “gridnik”. The lettering was a departure from the modernist code and was a step towards what we know as Postmodern Typography.

-Digital Typography:

With the emergence of the Apple Macintosh in the mid-1980s, the first computer design software- Adobe Illustrator (1986-87) and a few others- entered the picture. One of the first journals created on Macintosh computers was the San Francisco-based Émigré magazine published by Rudy Vanderlans and his wife, art director Zuzana Licko.

Gail Davidson believes that no matter what, “Typography conveys meaning. The kinds of letters that you use say something about what you’re trying to project. They can portray hipness, authority, playfulness, and power”.

She says today's digital typography is a response to the mistaken belief of objective design. At its core, the movement aided by the world of possibilities that digital technology affords, celebrates rather than restricts the designer.

Examples of Postmodern Fonts:

Winter Miracle

Black Rocker

Capsule

Conclusion:

Overall, the post-modernist movement was a large influence for typography. Through rebellion, technology advances and new art styles, new typefaces were created, ideas from the post-modernist movement were non-traditional, rebellious, and abstract. In the end, through technologies and art innovations, new typefaces were bold, innovative and for the first time, digital. Thanks to the post-modernist movement.

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