The ‘graphic’ in ‘typographic’: Picture theory applied to type through caricature

Abstract

‘Graphic design’ and ‘typography’ have become interchangeable terms to define the practice of deliberate visual communication, in spite of the first term implying a heavy emphasis on images absent in the second term. While graphic designers need also to deal with pictures the problem exists that theories on typography do not and cannot explain pictures. This paper sets out to explain that picture theory can apply to typography. I explain an approach taken to categorise pictures according to their level of fidelity. I will explain how the visual faculties of the cognitive system are concerned with categorizing and identifying elements of the visible world and how this leads to a means of picture making, namely, caricature. Applying visual caricature methods to typefaces is a novel method explained here to demonstrate that picture theory can be applied productively in typography.