Type in Motion: Writing Out Loud
By Matt Patin
Fact: Helvetica turned 50 this year. Yeah, people celebrated and everything. Okay, that may be an overstatement, but when there’s actually a feature film named after and about a font, there must be something interesting going on, right?
And there is. But it doesn’t really have to do with Helvetica—or even fonts, per se. No, it’s the entire study of and love affair with typography. And it’s nothing new: technology has effectively democratized the use and development of powerful, elegant, strange, and creative word design, but professional manipulators of text—each imbued with a vehement passion for how language is communicated—have existed since long before the computer and long before Gutenberg.
What can we learn from designers about writing and about communication? This: Visionary typographers understand one thing above all else—one thing that transcends the technicalities of kern, x-heights, serifs, and baselines. They understand that typography is writing out loud.
So when you’re writing, evaluate what you’ve developed, and imagine it in type. That is, imagine what it would look like if it were alive and animated. This may help you to choose better words, create better sentences, and establish better flow. Here’s an elementary example. Try to imagine how different both sentences would look.
She walked slowly. vs. She crept.
Can you see the difference? No? Still don’t know what I mean? It’s hard to explain. Check out these videos instead to get a better idea and to hopefully get inspired. And after the videos, there’s a list of great typography resources to visit.
A simple little introduction to typography:
Some animated text from Pulp Fiction dialogue. Warning: It’s Samuel L. Jackson, which means there’s cursing. A lot if it:
A classic Abbott and Costello moment:
Lowell Fulson’s “Tramp”:
Trainspotting dialogue:
Have a better idea yet? As promised, some further resources:
