Deconstruction in graphic design.

After reading the piece of text 'thinking with type' there is a few obvious points noticeable that have been made about type. One of the main points is that type is designed to help readers avoid reading. This means that the reader can skim quickly over text and pick out certain parts or words and still understand the content. It makes the whole reading process less intense. 


Typography sealed the idea of 'the text' being original work and gave ideas an essential form to be produced in. This was another point made in the text, and it also then goes on to talk about how print established authors as the owners of their texts which meant copyright laws were written in the 18th century to protect authors rights. These laws are still disputed today but have shaped the texts we read. 


In the section 'linearity' the difference between a 'text' and 'work' is disputed. This is disputed by a critic named Roland Barthes, he states that a work is 'tidy, neatly packaged, proofread and copyrighted' and text is 'impossible to contain and consists of received ideas'. However, the traditional text page has been supported by features of the book. Features include, page numbers, headings and an index. These things could only come about because the typographic book is a fixed sequence of pages. This section states that due to the 'rules' of typography we were able to create rules for books which work across all areas. 


Barthes description of the text being open and simply ideas means that the reader is more important than the author in creating meaning. This means that depending on how the text reads, each reader may gather different ideas and interpret the text differently. Graphic designers embraced these ideas using typography as a model of interpretation and exploring the difference between seeing and reading. They would challenge readers to produce their own meaning. Overall, typography doesn't necessarily create meaning itself but helps the reader create meaning due to all the factors discussed in this summary I've written. 

David Carson; www.davidcarsondesign.com

Deconstructionist work breaks all the rules of typography and completely leaves the 'reader' to interpret the work in their own way. Instead of avoiding reading the 'reader' has to look closely at this piece I have chosen and possibly even try and interpret what it says. There isn't necessarily a message here which can be interpreted because of the layout and style of the piece. The style of the work is copyrighted to the artist in a way because this style can be found throughout Carson's collection. Deconstructionist graphic design has no rules other than to break the rules themselves. Typography in deconstructionism could be described as 'there to be seen' as design is but graphic design is also there to communicate so the piece above has a message. The one characteristic of typography that deconstructionism does follow is the fact that the audience is more important than the 'author' in creating meaning as each person will take something different away from the above piece. This piece hints at the fact its about the rules of something, maybe graphic design, and the rest is then left to the 'reader'.