Thinking With Type by Ellen Lupton was a very interesting and easy read. I've found that thus far in Dr. Wolff's class, there are a fair amount of texts that make us, the reader, think critically about pieces and parts of technology, and everyday life for that matter, that we otherwise wouldn't pay very close attention to. Metaphors We Live By is one great example of this, as is Maps of the Imagination and Beautiful Evidence. Thinking With Type is the latest book to make me examine a simple concept, and see the importance and power of it.
The first part of the text, called Letter, threw me off a bit. Not that I didn't understand it, but the format of sections like Size, Families, etc took some getting used to. Initially, I felt like I had a mild case of ADD, as my eyes kept darting around the page scanning a variety of points and sentences, and constatnly feeling disorganized. I suppose this fits into the thrust of the book, as it is an exercise in examining not only typography, but "how the texts used are becoming more important than what they mean," (pg 73) as well as the idea that reading is "a performance of the written word" (pg 73).
Once I was asccustomed to the style of this portion of the book, I actually found it fun to read, and was shocked at how quickly I was making my way through each section.
I must admit that a lot of the information presented felt familiar, especially when I hit the Text section. This is due in large part to the "Publication Layout and Design" class that I took a year or two ago. The concepts of alignments, hierarchy, and even web accessibility were all things that I had been exposed to beforehand. But I felt that reading about them again now was a great advantage because Lupton gives such in-depth explanations and examples of the ideas and information, that I found myself gaining a much better understanding to the importance of properly executed type, text, and layout.
I especially liked the Grid section. The example shown on page 123 is one that looks very familiar and is in use in magazines, newsletters, and even brochures. It's very important to understand these grid layouts at be able to put them to use, especially now with websites. Lupton acknowledges that "users of websites have different expectations than users of print; they expect to feel productive not contemplative." Therefore, these layout grids are essential to giving web readers what they are seeking when they click around online.
I found it interesting that our old friend Edward Tufte was mentioned in the text. While discussing "white space" on page 75, Lupton references his ideas by saying that, "Edward Tufte, a fierce advocate of visual density, argues for maximizing the amount of data conveyed on a single page or screen. In order to help readers make connections and comparisons as well as to find information quickly, a single surface packed with well-organized information is sometimes better than multiple pages with a lot of blank space." The key word, in my opinion, is sometimes. I think that Tufte's concepts on the idea of relaying data cannot always directly correlate to type. As I mentioned eariler, the introductory sections of this book packed a lot of information into each page, and sometimes it became a bit overwhelming and, at times, disorienting. I feel that with type, it is important to be mindful of strategically placed white space, as it in itself can be just as powerful as the written word.
Overall, I really enjoyed Thinking With Type, and found it to be informative, and will no doubt be a useful handbook in the near future. It got me to think very differently about the type I see on a regular basis. Already, I'm looking at this page with a newly acquired critical eye.
