Making Typography Expressive

Typography becomes art when it stops being invisible and starts being expressive. Bringhurst's chapter reveals how mathematical relationships create visual harmony, but today you'll use that knowledge to intentionally create tension and energy. The Kerntype game trains your eye to see micro-adjustments that separate amateur from professional work.

For your poster exercise, choose a single word that has personal meaning - maybe "breakthrough," "chaos," or "delicate." Using only one font family (different weights/styles allowed), create a composition where the typography itself embodies the word's meaning. If your word is "shatter," perhaps the letters literally break apart. If it's "whisper," maybe the text becomes progressively transparent.

Study how Shantell Martin uses text as drawing, where letters become gestural marks rather than just information containers. Notice how she integrates words into flowing compositions where meaning and form unite. Your goal isn't readability - it's emotional communication through typographic form. Save your best experiment; you'll reference this approach throughout the course.