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Series:   Elements in Publishing and Book Culture

Space as Language

The Properties of Typographic Space

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 August 2023

Will Hill
Will Hill
Affiliation:
Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge

Summary

This Element examines the function and significance of typographic space. It considers in turn the space within letters, the space between letters, the space between lines, and the margin space surrounding the text-block, to develop the hypothesis that viewed collectively these constitute a 'metalanguage' complementary to the text. Drawing upon critical perspectives from printing, typeface design, typography, avant-garde artistic practice and design history, the Element examines the connotative values and philosophies embodied in the form and disposition of space. These include the values attributed to symmetry and asymmetry, the role of 'active' space in the development of modernist typography, the debated relationship between type and writing, the divergent ideologies of the printing industry and the letter arts, and the impact of successive technologies upon both the organisation and the perception of typographic space.
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Keywords

typographylayoutprintingfontsdesign
Type
Element
Information
Series: Elements in Publishing and Book Culture
Online ISBN: 9781009265447
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication: 24 August 2023

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Space as Language
  • Will Hill, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge
  • Online ISBN: 9781009265447
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Space as Language
  • Will Hill, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge
  • Online ISBN: 9781009265447
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Space as Language
  • Will Hill, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge
  • Online ISBN: 9781009265447
Available formats
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