The printer Aldus Manutius worked in the busy commercial city of Venice at the turn of the fifteenth century. Early typefaces were based on handwriting styles, each with different purposes and properties. During the first century of metal type, roman and italic flourished as separate dialects, unbound by any binary relationship.
This opposition has not always existed in typography. The unmarked category is the neutral default (roman), while the marked category stands out as an exception (italic). In semiotics (the theory of signs), this kind of relationship is called marked and unmarked. In Western typography, italic type styles are typically viewed as secondary to the roman norm. All the while, alternative modes of expression have challenged strict polarities.Ĭonsider the opposition of roman and italic. Typography – a tool and medium for these world-changing developments – quickly adopted binary structures. The rapid spread of typography coincided with the age of Western colonial conquest and techno-scientific exploitation of the Earth’s resources. Mechanised letters hastened changes in religion, science, literature, law, and commerce. Invented in Germany in the fifteenth century, printing with metal type became the first form of mass production. But what is the role of binary thinking in Western typography? Environmentalists are unravelling oppositions such as nature/culture and human/animal, which justify human domination and destruction of the planet. LGBTQIA+ activists are dismantling the male/female polarity, which enforces gender norms and compulsory heterosexuality. Advocates for racial justice have challenged racial binaries, which marginalise people of colour while enshrining white supremacy. You can purchase Extra Bold, published by Princeton Architectural Press, here. Written by Ellen Lupton and Jennifer Tobias, Extra Bold: A Feminist, Inclusive, Anti‑Racist, Nonbinary Field Guide for Graphic Designers, is “part textbook and part comic book, zine, manifesto, survival guide, and self-help manual” for creatives.
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