“Contextualizing Place as Type: Creating an Auburn Typeface”

by Harry Lewis | Xchanges 12.2/13.1

Typography as Expression

Brumberger (2003) agrees with the notion of technological advancement playing a significant role in the evolution of composition and publication. In her article “The Rhetoric of Typography,” she discusses the different personalities displayed or enacted through letterform creation, and how typographic design and a composer’s choice of typeface in written communication is a key facet to delivering a rhetorical message effectively. An author delivering an academic message in Times New Roman will be interpreted as more credible than if written in Comic Sans or Copperplate, for example.

Brumberger (2003) advocates for placing an analytical gaze on typography, calling on a need to “consciously identify visual components and their relationships to one another and to the verbal rhetoric of the document” (p. 207). Typefaces, Brumberger (2003) asserts, can never be truly free of rhetorical impact, even if the designer hopes to produce something totally devoid of historical and cultural association (p. 207). Typographic studies have concluded, for example, that serif typefaces, such as Times New Roman, are regarded as traditional or lively. Sans serif typefaces, such as Arial, are seen as more clinical and emotionless, due in part to their clean, squared edges (Brumberger, 2003, p. 208).

Design Process and Considerations

Much in the same way adherence to genre conventions and expectations in a document exemplify ethos and appeal visually to an audience, so too must a typeface design be instantly recognizable and inviting to its intended audience. Beatrice Warde (1955) states that, unconsciously, “…the mental eye focuses through type and not upon it” (p. 4). In my design process, I must first establish the context, audience, rhetorical arguments, and emotional responses that I seek to inspire in viewers. Stephen A. Bernhardt (1986), in Seeing the Text, states that “these multiple considerations of audience and purpose constrain the text, influencing its shape and structure” (p. 71).

Determining Context

Determining the context of my typeface means making a decision on the intended usage of the texts created through the letterforms. A typeface can serve a variety of purposes, however the main distinction is between being a “display” or “body” typeface. Display typefaces are “designed to be printed in large type, usually 16-point type or larger” (Mackiewicz and Moeller, 2004). By choosing a display typeface, I will be placing less of an emphasis on how the design affects reading time and comprehension, and concentrating on establishing ethos between the design and the intended audience.

The theorized context of my typeface will be designing for signage, marketing documentation, and university communications. Signage considerations vary between banners and flags, to building names and landmark signs (ex. “Auburn University est. 1856”).

Understanding Audience

To identify and label the dominant ideologies of an observable place means to recognize the powers contending for occupation, and to determine in what manners the victor influences a place (Dobrin, 2007). As Johnathon Mauk (2003) explains, a prospective student is recruited to a university through the idea of that place – an amalgam of factors that includes economy, geology, and geography, as well as the surrounding areas and neighborhoods (p. 368). Because of the continual refreshing of the student body, “as students enter into academic space, they must, at the same time, enter into its making” (p. 368).

The student population at Auburn is more than 27,000 as of 2017, factoring in both undergraduates and postgraduates. The idea of Auburn – or any school – is intrinsically linked to the understanding that the factors attracting prospective students to attend is a university-formulated message (Bacha, 2016, p. 268).

To synthesize the identity of Auburn, I turned to the Auburn Creed. Introduced in 1943 by George Petrie, a historian, professor, and the first Auburn football coach, the creed was intended to encapsulate the college’s spirit. The creed can be found, excerpted or in full, engraved in prominent places around campus, including on the side of Auburn Arena, the Auburn Memorial garden, and excerpted on the sidewalk at Toomer’s Corner. The creed states:

I believe that this is a practical world and that I can count only on what I earn. Therefore, I believe in work, hard work. I believe in education, which gives me the knowledge to work wisely and trains my mind and my hands to work skillfully. I believe in honesty and truthfulness, without which I cannot win the respect and confidence of my fellow men. I believe in a sound mind, in a sound body and a spirit that is not afraid, and in clean sports that develop these qualities. I believe in obedience to law because it protects the rights of all. I believe in the human touch, which cultivates sympathy with my fellow men and mutual helpfulness and brings happiness for all. I believe in my Country, because it is a land of freedom and because it is my own home, and that I can best serve that country by “doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with my God.” And because Auburn men and women believe in these things, I believe in Auburn and love it. (Auburn University)

From the creed, I’ve hand-picked a few words that stood out to me: hard work, knowledge, respect, obedience, sympathy, and helpfulness. Using these keywords, I can generalize the qualities an Auburn typeface must embody. It must be strong, intelligent, and professional, while remaining approachable and friendly.