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Introduction

The Typography and Graphic Design Thesaurus (TGDT) is a new information retrieval

thesaurus constructed for scholars, students, and practitioners of typography, graphic de-

sign, and related fields. The core of the TGDT is a list of approximately 1,900 preferred

terms that have been selected and arranged for use in indexing, cataloging, classification,

and other applications; an additional 600 terms are provided as access points leading to

their preferred alternatives.

Scope and aims

The TGDT is comprised primarily of terminology on typography and graphic design,

and secondarily on Web design and the book arts – printing, binding, and paper. Particu-

lar emphasis is placed on terms that relate to practice, but terms of historical or theoreti-

cal significance are included as well.

The TGDT is intended first and foremost as a tool for the indexing and cataloging of

works that are about typography and graphic design, not of the products of typography

and graphic design – though it may prove to be suitable for the latter.

About thesauri

An information retrieval thesaurus is much more than a simple list of synonyms; it is a

structured, carefully chosen set of interrelated terms. The primary purpose of such a the-

saurus is to promote the consistent use of terms in describing and retrieving information

objects; this is accomplished by giving a preferred status to terms with commonly under-

stood, unambiguous meanings.

Thesauri such as the TGDT have several advantages over unstructured vocabulary

lists:

¶ They limit synonym sets to a single preferred member, in order to promote consis-

tency and improve the likelihood that terms used by a searcher will match those used in

indexing.

¶ They include non-preferred synonyms as cross-referenced entry points, to promote

ease of use.

¶ They impose a hierarchical ordering of terms, facilitating the discovery of concepts

the user might not otherwise have considered and providing an overview of the full scope