Computer, letters and typography in the twenty first century: antecedent, trend and expectations

Abstract

The computer is doubtlessly a device considered indispensible in the contemporary global information and communication order. Its widespread application in carrying out sundry functions in virtually all facets of human life has revolutionized the ways individuals and societies perceive, respond and relate in a manner that enabled the imbibing of new values, development of new attitudes and emergence of new societal cultures. The results have been some basic fundamental changes in the operational paradigm of professions like mass communication, which requires graphic designs in the production of print media. Observation has, however, revealed that the ease with which the computer can be operated makes it prone to abuse by inexperienced or non-professional graphic artists who use it to design books, newspapers, magazines, brochures/catalogues, other literatures as well as posters and handbills that are printed on paper. Consequently, this category of designers selects and applies fonts, which they combine with other design elements like lines, colours and shapes inappropriately because they lack appropriate typographical knowledge. This article is, therefore, a discourse on the problems inherent in the designs created with computer by designers without knowledge of typography and its implications for graphic design. It commences by executing a brief historical survey of the evolution of writing, the development of alphabets and lettering. In doing this, it focuses on letters, lettering, typefaces/fonts and typography within the ambit of graphic design and their implication for information dissemination as components of channels of mass communication. The article concludes by proffering suggestions on how typographical problems that could be encountered as challenges in using computer as a means for graphic designing can be surmounted.