S

ensory

Typography
Essay by Maddy Russell

We as humans navigate our way through life using typography. It keeps us

safe, guides us to and from different places, informs us and triggers a spectrum of different emotions. Different shapes, sizes, styles and fonts trigger
associations in our minds before we have even read the word. We encounter
and interact with different typefaces unknowingly as we go about our everyday lives. Often mundane, day-to-day tasks require us to look and interact
with different types. As a representation of language, type is inseparable from
the spoken word; it is a form of communication that is meant to be expressed
through sound as well as through the written word.
There has been extensive research into the field of sensory typography; for
example, the project tested on humans looks as the psychology of typefaces
from the consumers point of view and how these types trigger different emotions and associations. There have also been projects such as Type Tastings,
which were originally inspired by wine tastings and clearly focus on taste
out of the five senses. The type tastings explore multisensory typography and
communication in the real world. From my research of current sensory type
projects, I decided to focus my research into a different one of the senses:
touch.

The concept of typography appealing to the touch sense dated back to 1824 when Louis
Braille created the writing system of braille which allowed the visually impaired or blind to
experience type by using their other senses. Derived from the Latin alphabet, braille involves
different numbers of raised dots being arranged in different orders to represent individual
letters which in turn allows the visually impaired to have a haptic relationship with type.
Considering the effect of individual fonts on our emotions rather than just type itself, it
became clear to me that there is no way for the visually impaired to experience fonts as we
know them and for them to experience the same emotions and associations triggered by
these fonts. For example, Times New Roman can be seen to trigger associations with books
and literature, where as Chalkboard may evoke memories of childhood school days of writing on a blackboard. I do not see that limitations of sight should inhibit peoples experience
of different fonts and their associations, therefore a development in technology needs to be
made in order that everyone may experience different type.
There is a particular importance of experiencing type and its associations for children as to
not inhibit their development and understanding of words and their meanings. This area has
been somewhat explored in the development of childrens picture and pop-up books, which
often have textured words that link and have some kind of association; for example, the word
cat may be textured with fur.
Creating fonts that are accessible to the visually impaired may be achievable through the
process of Thermography, which allows for selected areas of printing to be raised. This happens through the use of slow-drying inks that do not contain dryers or hardeners. The ink is
then dried after it has been raised through a heating process. An alternative method to thermography would be engraving, which instead raises the paper surface, while thermography
raises the type above the level of the paper. These methods are sometimes used in the braille
printing process so; in theory should be an accessible way for people to experience typography through touch rather than sight.