Virtual Typography

6.1

6

Job:01212 Title: Basics typography (AVA)

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The signifi cance of ambiguity: 6.1 The medium and the message

6.2 Time-based ambiguity

The medium and the message

As it mediates the written word, typography may be

considered to be a medium in its own right. At the same

time typography requires other media to be delivered.

Media always contain other media and at the outset we

have words that refl ect people’s inner thoughts. When

writing we translate words into codes following the rules

given by the language system in which we choose to

express ourselves. Such linguistic rules can be seen as

formulae, without which written information can neither

be created nor understood. Typographic information

consists of letters or digits, which remain meaningless

data when seen individually. Only by structuring

information in accordance with the applicable formula

can meaning be transported successfully. If we simplify

the scenario radically we could imagine the message

to be like a room, and the code a lock that prevents

access. The key is like the formula that provides access

to the room. If the lock is changed, the key needs to be

changed as well.

Signals, signs and systems

Meaning can be built around existing signals (or data)

that do not derive from human thought. Stars, for

example, do not carry any meaning. But meaning can

be attributed to their correlative position, as well as

their apparent motion over time. Once a system had

been established to determine constellations (signs),

stars provided vital information about the location of a

ship at sea at night. Such systematic analysis of signals

follows a formula that describes the relationship between

its components (information units). By defi ning the

constellations of stars, meaning is attributed to patterns

‘...the “content” of any

medium is another medium.’

Marshall McLuhan

Codes

We have to bear in mind that

the terms ‘information’ and

‘meaning’ are by no means

interchangeable. Information

appears only meaningful to

those who understand the

formula(e) involved. The

understanding of a formula

rests in the knowledge of a

coding structure. Codes are

combinations of information

units, the orderly structure of

which carries meaning.

Job:01212 Title: Basics typography (AVA)

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