A series of typographically interpretive posters based on a famous political speech.
☞ typography
☞ student project
Context
Typography, the craft of arranging type, functions as the visual component of the written word. Expressive typography, then, fully embraces type as a means of visual communication beyond everyday, utilitarian functions. Pushed further, typographic form has the capacity to communicate concepts and meaning beyond the language it represents.
Process
Interpretation of the intrinsic character and quality of type and texts formed the initial point of departure for this poster project. Using a political speech as typographic material, each poster elucidates a defined linguistic, typographic, metaphysical, or conceptual principle. To generate ideas suitable to my text, I conducted research into typographic expression both online and in the library.
Concept
The series encompasses a set of 15 posters visualizing the victory speech that started off Barack Obama’s historic presidency. Each interpretation focused on demonstrating a formal type principle, type mechanic, or conceptual understanding of the speech's political content.
My explorations assumed a broad range of ideas and forms: from type as building blocks for iconic American images, to type as texture to represent ideas like topography or moral corruption, to examinations of linguistic transcription, word frequency, and emoji equivalencies. My boldest interpretations, however, were founded on rich historical references, such as the work of Robert Massin and the constructivist aesthetic.