Ephemeral Typography by Amandine Alessandra

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Summary

An investigation into what happens to typographic form and meaning when writing isn’t for archiving knowledge or keeping track of events

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Ephemeral Typography by Amandine Alessandra

Writing is usually understood as a tool for sharing information across distance and time. While it may feel counter-intuitive to envisage writing systems that are not for archiving knowledge or keeping traces of events, a large scope of existing typographic practices plays with evanescent letterform.

This book examines these in a variety of contexts: traditional, vernacular, activism, art and as graphic design experimentation. What happens when letters and words are ephemeral? How does impermanence tint readers’ experience and understanding of the message? At a time when human activity has impacted the environment enough to form a distinct geological age, how can we design without systematically producing more things? We’ve been obsessed with leaving traces and testimonies of our presence on Earth, but can expression through writing find another purpose? How can typography specifically offer hyper contextual content and completely disappear a moment later?

Concrete examples explore how form is influenced by context of display, and how the fluctuant nature of materials (movement of the human body, drying moss, light-sensitive surfaces, crumbling sand…) enhances meaning and perception.

Drawing upon a variety of points of view issued from anthropology, sociology, history of art and graphic design, this book captures the interest of readers curious about typography, activism, performance, and design as a sustainable practice.

Amandine Alessandra is a designer, curator, and professor at the School of Design at the Université du Québec à Montréal, in Canada. Her practice-based research takes the form of textual messages set in multimedia collective performances taking place in cultural institutions (V&A Museum), environmental campaigns (WWF Berlin), or within local communities (primary schools).
SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9781350417526
ISBN 10 1350417521
Title Ephemeral Typography
Author Amandine Alessandra
Series Notes On Typography Ser
Condition Unavailable
Binding Type Hardback
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Year published 2026-10-01
Number of pages 176
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.