Designing the Invisible. Can We Talk about the Design of the Letters?

Abstract

Until recently, it could be said that the discourse related to lettering did not go beyond the narrow framework of the theory of graphic design. It was reserved for experts in typography and rather unavailable to regular “letter users”. However, in recent years we have witnessed a phenomenon that could be called a typographic turn. It may be assumed that the typographic turn essentially manifests itself in two ways: the first is the popularization of knowledge concerning typography on the Internet, while the second is the transfer of discussion about letters from the hermetic circle of typography to other domains, such as sociology or cultural history. Thus, the question arises: who has the tools to speak competently about letters? As researchers of culture, we can easily see a design of various objects or its elements: packaging, streets, advertisements, applications or interfaces, depending on the medium we are particularly interested in. If we are specialists in the field of literature, we may notice book design, and in exceptional cases also its impact on the reception of literature (futurism in its various variants, or even more broadly understood avant-garde, concrete poetry and last but not least, liberature). But who among the researchers of culture, literature, language can notice the design of letters? The essay presents this problem from a broad perspective. The author refers to works on graphic design theory and confronts them with studies on culture and literature. This juxtaposition reveals some common ground, but also irreconcilable differences between the two discourses.