Digital typographic fonts: between verbal and graphic-visual logics

Abstract

Historically, typography has been having the function of making visible verbal language. However, fonts have another functions besides this one - they can also represent visual qualities. The aim of this article is to analyze the sign functioning of digital typographic fonts to show how some of them emphasize the typography’s visual/graphic logic, placing their verbal relations on second plan. Using Charles S. Peirce semiotic method of analysis, we examine how verbal and visual languages are used in different levels on digital fonts and we propose a classification of digital fonts based on their significant potential.