Type Tells Tales

An extensive collection of typographic compositions that celebrate the ability of letterforms to express narratives and voice. Type Tells Tales focuses on typography that is integral to the message or story it is expressing. This is type that speaks - that is literally the voice of the narrator. And the narrator is the typographer. This can be quite literal, for example when letters come from the mouth of a person or thing, as in a comics balloon. It can be hand lettering, drawn with its own distinctive peculiarities that convey personality and mood. Precedents for contemporary work might be in Apollinaires calligram Il pleut or Kurt Schwitters childrens picture book The Scarecrow, or in Concrete Poetry, Futurist Words in Freedom or Dadaist collage. Seeking out examples in the furthest reaches of graphic design, Steven Heller and Gail Anderson uncover work that reveals how type can be used to render a particular voice or multiple conversations, how letters can be used in various shapes and sizes to create ...