Wolfgang Weingart and Swiss Punk (14.02.13)

Wolfgang Weingart was the first person to question the modernist 'Swiss Style' that had slowly emerged and evolved since the early 20th Century and peaked in the 1950s and 60s. I feel that using Weingart as a main topic within an essay would be interesting. I could focus on the modernist rules and standards that the generic typographer believed in and how Weingart ripped them apart. The chaotic new 'punk' style that he established was about exploration and enjoyment of creating the text, the typographer was no longer a slave to the text, but the other way around. I feel that the contemporary and disorganised style of the newly named 'Swiss Punk' is similar to the way in which text is used in art. In the 1980's the legibility of the text became less important that the aesthetics and styles behind the piece as a whole and typography appeared almost like an art form. I could compare typography projects within the 1980's and 90's with artwork concerning text, and perhaps explore if there is an overlap between the two. I also think that it would be interesting to research and investigate the changes which occurred in typography following the initial advancements within digital design in 1984. The digital switch revolutionised typography, the typeface no longer had to be cast and sculpted, allowing more freedom and creativity within the text. The comparison and exploration of certain times in which typography changed dramatically could also be an interesting topic, I could focus on the digital revolution and the industrial revolution. Furthermore I could show how although typography has changed dramatically throughout the 20th Century, roots from the early 1900's can still be found within texts of the early 21st Century.