Virtual Typography

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Job:01212 Title: Basics typography (AVA)

1st Proof Page:51

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‘That which is virtual does not

as such contradict that which

is real. It opposes that which

is “actually” there.’

Pierre Lévy

Modernism versus postmodernism

Typography is mostly aimed at making reading

easier. Modernist designers placed legibility high

on their agenda. Postmodernists rebelled against this

functionalist principle. It is striking that postmodern

typography became popular when digital technologies

were introduced to graphic design in the 1980s (we will

discuss this period in more depth later). It is important

to note that legibility was disputed in a particularly

intensive fashion during the 1980s, when computational

developments promoted the acceleration of information

transmission. Postmodernists, who argued against the

modernist emphasis on legibility, often failed to develop

a suffi cient rationale for their visual solutions. They often

took refuge in the notion of intuitive and therefore

inexplicable design practice. By examining the borderline

between text and image, this book will help to shed new

light on the postmodern principle of visual ambiguity.

Job:01212 Title: Basics typography (AVA)

1st Proof Page:51

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