CART 345: Week 6

Bolter. “Seeing and Writing”, ch. 47, pp. 679 – 690 in the New Media Reader. [W]

In this particular passage, Bolter discusses the changes in typography, from analog to digital and the nostalgically toward printed books. He feels there is a strong difference between print and electronical text. The reader will not have the same reading experience thus altering what they get from the text. Bolter states that he sees a computer screen more like a medieval parchment in which text and and images intertwine. He also discusses the deception practitioners have to live though as they thought that digital text would bring something stable and of lasting value. Storing and displaying text in Bolter's opinion are inseparable but are being slowly but surly being torn apart because of technology. Technology is evolving and so is our perception for text, for letters, for different means of typography.

Vanderlans and Licko. "Ambition, Fear"

As technology is evolving and changing, skills required to be a type designer also changes. There is now no more need to be both creative and to be a skilled punch cutter. They can now do everything without outside help for different assets. Designers have control over all aspects of the creation, production, and the printing. As in the article it says, "It is now possible for one individual to take on all functions required in publishing, including writer, editor, designer, and illustrator, thus bringing together a variety of disciplines and consequently streamlining production." Computers have altered the way typography is being produced and designed. It has in fact advanced the state of graphic art. With computers, we have more control over the size, the spacing and even the colors being used. The huge question that remains un-answered is whether this technological advancement is beneficial for the viewers. Computers are now programmed to reproduce methods such as airbrushing or calligraphy. Today's artists have it easy in terms of reproducing but they must keep in mind the fundamental aspects of design. "Digital technology is a great big unknown, and after all, a mystery is the most stimulating force in unleashing the imagination."