The History of Typography
Typography has a long history dating back to ancient times. From the first hieroglyphics through to what we now see as modern, contemporary art.
The alphabet which is used today was created during Roman Times. This creation began a journey of design, to create words in more of a visual art form. As a result it makes writing more a craft, rather than reading something written simply on a piece of paper.
Throughout the years, typography has evolved, but the main understanding has remained the same. Typographers manipulate type to communicate a message and evoke an emotion from the viewer. Typography artists and designers experiment and explore fonts, size, colour, material and textures to tell a story with their words.
Typography is the relationship between the look of the text and what it says. Therefore you may see images and drawings mixed with text and this enhances the power of the written word.
Why Typography
It isn’t just the written word that can conjure up feelings and emotions. The font, appearance and structure of the words can create an impression on people and arouse different feelings.
Typography is the arrangement of text in any way, enabling basic, simple text to be more eye-catching. Typography helps to hold the reader or viewers’ attention for a longer period of time than usual. Artists and designers manipulate not just the lettering but also the alignment meaning they can use negative space in a design to increase the impact of their creation.
An impact on a wide audience can be achieved through typography. This draws me to the art of typography and the need to base my art around the subject. The medium of typography is so flexible and varied and when creating I am able to draw inspiration from all different aspects of the world. I experiment with lettering and illustrations to take the viewer on a personal journey. By using typography you give them a recognisable starting point.
I believe one statement or word can impact everyone in a different way. The viewer can be transported to when they hear the song for the first time by taking a look at the song lyric prints. Remembering who introduced them to the song or memories of that period in their life. The response to typography artworks can be completely personal and encourage a very reflective moment.
My Inspiration
There are many artists and designers whose work I love and take inspiration from. Here are two creatives I really admire.
Paul Peter Piech was an American artist who ended up living and working in South Wales. The work is mainly lino-cuts inspired by politics and current events.
This is a piece of work completed by Piech I really admire.
Another creative I like, is the designer Timothy Goodman, who is based in NYC. The hand-created wall murals and illustrations are so eye-catching and thought provoking.
This is a piece of art by Goodman I have taken inspiration from.
Sketchbook Design and Typography
Sketchbook Design was created to produce engaging artwork, which is contemporary and inspired by popular culture. The designs focus on subjects important in the current world. Allowing people to remember about things from their past, the here and now, or have an image to represent what they want to focus on for the future.
All of my designs are inspired by people, places, culture, music, sports and cities. Each design I create is hand drawn before it moves to the final printing stage.
My style has evolved over the past 15 years of being an artist. A poignant period of time was during 2017 when I embarked on a year-long project to discover as much as I could about the subject of typography. I experimented with different materials, sizes and ideas. Focusing on current affairs from around the world and pushing boundaries to enhance my ability and allow this to show in the work I was creating.
These are some of the images produced, but take a look at the full blog here too:
The journey through typography is endless, there are no boundaries and there is so much more to discover on my own personal journey.
I look forward to the future, to understand and experience how my style will evolve and develop over the coming years.
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