Visible Language

The transition from book to screen requires careful and analytical comparison. The structure of the book cannot be simply translated to the space of the screen without consideration of new spatial practices afforded by hypermedia architecture. Unlike the book which appears whole and physically delimited, hypermedia embraces a realm of disappearances where issues of form and navigation undergo redefinition. By asking what concepts are shared by digital and printed document alike we are led to an investigation of possible models for understanding their differences and exploring the implications of the digital document as a textscape.

In the early history of Greek typography, the famous Aldine Greeks all too soon superseded other interesting attempts at adapting the Greek alphabet to the new medium of movable type. Among the centers of printing Greek in Italy, Milan deserves particular attention. Here in 1476, the first book to be printed entirely in Greek initiated a series of typefaces that were both suitable for the new medium and genuinely Greek, since they were based on contemporary penmanship. So it is to be welcomed that a modern revival of one of these typefaces has been created under the name of “Milan Greek.”

Digital technology enables designers to physically create almost anything imaginable, yet students still need to critically consider and evaluate their communication design in the context of metaphoric, ethical, historical and paradigmatic perception. Students must engage in processes of critical analysis with regard to their work. They must be taught to evolve contextually based criteria regarding why they accept what they accept, and why they reject what they reject. Without this background, they are slaves to technology.

An example of a studio project designed to help students: 1) utilize the digital environment to organize typography and images that represent the socio-political context their solutions were required to identify, and 2) explore the empirical variables that help their readers to access and effectively contemplate the content presented by their text is disclosed.

Ads in simulated telephone directory pages were highlighted in red, green and blue colors, and presented to readers in order to be recalled and to be recognized among other ads. Stimulus material included both pages with one highlighted ad on the page and with five ads on the same page. Results indicate that red and green highlighting increase the recallability and recognizability whereas highlighting in blue decreases it. With more than one ad on a page to be recalled and recognized, the success of highlighting depends also on the position of the ad on the page. If there are more highlighted ads on the page, it is advisable to highlight it in a different color or not at all.