Visible Language


An independent scholarly journal published continuously since 1967.

Search all abstracts (1967–present)

Independent, interdisciplinary, international scholarship in visible language—this is what characterizes the journal Visible Language.
So what is visible language?

It is the typefaces, glyphs, word-image equations, signs, color codes, emoticons, websites, books, diagrams, concrete poetry, icons, movie trailers, letterforms, punctuation, grids, navigation, search and find (or not), television graphics, word art, symbols, notations systems, texts and visible patterns that inform our lives.

What is a landscape without visible language?
Nature and material artifacts with only spoken words.

Our Mission

Work toward a balance between artfulness and science,
between innovation and respect for human patterns of use,
between research backed by evidence and intuitive exploration,
between technology and its cultural implications for communication.

Explore past issues and abstracts or find out more about us.

current issue

Volume 46.3

October 2012

Describing the Design of Children’s Books: An analytical approach
Sue Walker

How My Brain Stopped Reading
Sofie Beier

Emotions in Typographic Design: An empirical examination
Beth E. Koch

Composition Methodology of Optical Illusion Design
Regina W. Y. Wang , Chiung-Fen Wang

Documents as ‘Critical Incidents’ in Organization to Consumer Communication
Alison Black , Karen L. Stanbridge

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