A)
4Job:01212 Title: Basics typography (AVA)
1st Proof Page:135001-184 01212.indd 135001-184 01212.indd 135 12/19/08 3:12:24 PM12/19/08 3:12:24 PMIf we understand virtual typography as information
that evolves gradually into typography instead of
relating the term to virtual environments from the
outset, then we may consider obscurity as one of its
inherent characteristics. Typography that cannot be
clearly categorised as such raises questions about
its linguistic nature. The media theorist Lev Manovich
describes the language of new media as a hybrid that
results from the fusion of diverse media within a digital
environment. Text and graphic images are used in
combination with photography and time-based imagery
to construct unprecedented kinds of visual aesthetics.
But aesthetics can only be understood in relation
to perception and we know rather little about the
innovative value of multimedia typography beyond the
process of production. As designers, we often assume
that if media content is generated in a different fashion,
and if it looks different, they will also be perceived in a
different manner. But what exactly causes the viewer’s
mode of perception to change? And in what way are
people’s senses being altered?
Wirefox – Alexander Tibus
This extraordinary font was part of Alexander Tibus’s degree
project. Tibus has worked as a freelance designer since he
graduated from the University of Applied Sciences in Berlin in- Wirefox examines the relationship between text and texture.
Usually, the closer you are to a piece of text, the more legible it
appears. Astonishingly, Wirefox reverses this relationship. The
greater the distance from which you are looking at the opposite
page, the clearer the text will appear. Wirefox comes in two
variations. Wirefox-Up uses an ascending line pattern, Wirefox-
Down a pattern of falling diagonals. Tibus designed this font with
great attention to detail. He corrected the length and width of
strokes in some areas to even out the visual appearance of letters.
Chapter 6 134—135
The signifi cance of ambiguity
Job:01212 Title: Basics typography (AVA)
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