“Typography as Discourse” 1988

Katherine McCoy and David Frej “Typography as Discourse” 1988 pgs 81-83 found in our main text Graphic Design Theory: Readings From the Field by Helen Armstrong.

Question & Prompts

  • Find 2 examples of the work of postmodern graphic designers from the 1980s.
  • Deconstruct the work. Explain which visual elements are associated with postmoderism of the 1980s and why.
  • What does the author mean by “Typography as discourse”?
  • What does the author mean when she states that “…no longer are there one-way statements from designers. The layering of content, as opposed to New Wave’s formal layering of collage elements, is the key to this exchange. Objective communication is enhanced by deferred meanings, hidden stories, and alternative interpretations”

Reading Response (Draft)

David Carson is dubbed “the Godfather of Grunge”. Take these three of David’s “Break the Rules” as an example. Some of the words in each word are illegible which make these artwork Postmodern. There are different Postmodern art styles and his examples are messy typography and his artwork doesn’t follow any standard rules. The artwork he created is usually for experimentation.

Another example is this cover of a female model. This example has some elements from the New Way style artwork and Punk style from the Postmodern era. The artwork here is trying to defame the female model making her look as punkier as possible. The artist tries to show this by gluing cut-outs and designing it in a way which no normal artwork would look like.

The term “Typography as Discourse” means rather than style, designers should focus on expression. There are no rules when designing Postmodern artwork. The artworks can be as messy and unconventional as they want. Many of these artworks are to mock someone or reject other conventional arts.


The following quote, “…no longer are there one-way statements from designers. The layering of content, as opposed to New Wave’s formal layering of collage elements, is the key to this exchange. Objective communication is enhanced by deferred meanings, hidden stories, and alternative interpretations”, is meant to make designers think and ask questions. When examining design, ask yourself some questions. What kind of meaning is behind the design? What are the designers trying to convey? Then, you can figure out the designer’s feeling in making this.

Hypothesis Annotation

  1. Katherine McCoy https://hyp.is/rwO6UkorEeyhSRM0l6kA6g/designopendata.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/graphicdesigntheory_helenarmstrong.pdf
  2. Vernacular https://hyp.is/Ll3LnkosEeytI4tRyHFyeQ/designopendata.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/graphicdesigntheory_helenarmstrong.pdf
  3. Quote https://hyp.is/FZty7kouEey2ems3OFNRWQ/designopendata.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/graphicdesigntheory_helenarmstrong.pdf