How Do You Know What's Your Type?
How do you make someone see a word as if it’s for the first time? How do you maximise legibility even as you peddle individuality? Ask Apple, universally acknowledged as the king of design and innovation. The company launched a new typeface along with a new phone and its first smart watch last week.
When you utter it, a word is just a word; a number, just another number. But put it down in print, and typography immediately gets involved—sending out subliminal messages about the word and its generator, through the choice of typeface. To the untrained eye, one typeface could be indistinguishable from another. To a designer, chalk and cheese would be more similar. For a page-maker, choosing the right typeface for a book or screen is as crucial as finding the perfect necklace to go with a bride’s wedding saree. Nothing can be lost in translation.
Typography matters because it helps grab reader attention. It’s not rocket science. When a fashion designer sends out a model on the catwalk, he togs her out in the most eye-catching ensemble he has. A typeface does the same work for the page-maker. It amplifies the message contained in the words, and imbues the text (or, in Apple’s case, the numbers on its watch face) with new meaning.
But one size, or style, doesn’t fit all. Just like a writer needs to ‘knows his audience’ before he starts churning out the words, a typeface needs to know what vehicle it will be riding. Typographic choices that work for one text won’t necessarily work for another. A newspaper, for instance, needs to convey information in a quick, clean and businesslike manner, which is why a san serif typeface—devoid of flourishes and curlicues—gets the job done best. A wedding invitation, on the other hand, can be as flamboyant and elaborate as it likes; indeed, it would look inappropriate in stark, simple print. Apple’s new typeface, much like those used in road signs, is meant to be readable from long distances, at odd angles, and under variable lighting and weather conditions. At first glance, it passes the road test.
Filmmaker Satyajit Ray was known for his interest in typography. In his mid-20s, while putting together collections of modern Bengali poetry, he couldn’t find typefaces that he thought captured the mood of the poems. So he created his own, with brush calligraphy. He went on to create many new Bengali typefaces. Some of these were architectural and hence, replicable; the others, calligraphic and non-replicable. The director was also commissioned by an American type foundry in the mid-60s to design a series of new fonts (which is what you use to create a typeface), resulting in the Daphnis, Bizarre, Holiday Script and the eminently usable Ray Roman.
Not that everyone measures good typography on a utilitarian yardstick. Graphic studio Non Format has just created a new typography for musician Amy Kohn’s album cover with disjointed letters. The cover features a work of art and letters running amok. Neither designer nor musician is perturbed by the fact that the words are only marginally legible. In explanation, graphic artist Jon Forss says, “If the brain has to work a little, it’s more likely to stick with you.”
However design-heavy its products, Apple clearly does not subscribe to that story. Let’s see if it’s typeface tick-talks to all.
shampa@newindianexpress.com