Transforming Type: New Directions in Kinetic Typography

By Barbara Brownie Transforming Type examines kinetic or moving type in a range of fields including film credits, television identities, interactive poetry and motion graphics. As the screen increasingly imitates the properties of real-life environments, typographic sequences are able to present letters that are active and reactive. These environments invite new discussions about the difference between motion and change, global and local transformation, and the relationship between word and image. In this illuminating study, design educator Barbara Brownie explores the ways in which letterforms transform on screen, and the consequences of such transformations. Drawing on examples including Kyle Cooper's title sequence design, kinetic poetry and MPC's identities for the UK's Channel 4, she differentiates motion from other kinds of kineticism, with particular emphasis on the transformation of letterforms into other forms and objects, through construction, parallax and metamorphosis. She proposes that each of these kinetic behaviours requires us to revisit existing assumptions about the nature of alphabetic forms and the spaces in which they are found. Includes bibliography and index Published by Bloomsbury, 2015 Softcover, 112 pages, mainly b&w with some full color images, 7.5 × 9.75 inches ISBN: 978-0-85-785633-3