Dictionary compilers and designers use punctuation to structure and clarify entries and to encode information. Dictionaries with a relatively simple structure can have simple typography and simple punctuation; as dictionaries grew more complex, and encountered the space constraints of the printed page, complex encoding systems were developed,…

Using typography as its exemplar with its lack of clear performance criteria, this article questions what is good design and how to measure a designer's accountability. Evaluation criteria are teased out from various perspectives: credibility, ease of use, stakeholder inclusion in the design process, respect for cultural dimensions and whether it…

Little historic context is generally provided regarding design phenomena; ideas, names, events and relationships are disregarded in design's typical superficial coverage; it is as though design exists in a vacuum. This paper seeks to put Helvetica, the face, the font and the movie into context by exploring its relationship to Swiss Design…

States that in "The New Typography," Jan Tschichold explicates a functionalist and information-based theory of typographic design and demonstrates its application in numerous typographic examples of varied genres. Outlines Tschichold's typographic position; analyzes his style of visual communication; and considers subsequent developments…

Presents a system to refine typographic fit in digitally composed documents. Describes strategies for paragraph-fit, page-fit, chapter-fit, and one-page-fit. Concludes that these new uses of microtypography increase speed and quality of document production and make reading easier. (PA)

Describes five experiments that explored preferences for pages of instructional text that varied in terms of their layout, their wording, or both of these features. (HOD)

Argues for a multilevel format of written communication that presents ideas in a typographical format allowing the reader to easily choose alternative paths through the material. (HOD)

States that articles dealing with documents on demand tend to presume a static digital format such as a scanned page. Discusses a flexible document format subject to user specification based on particular reading needs or habits. Argues for digitally created masters which ensure access to old, rare, and out-of-print texts. (PA)

Reviews the various design decisions made during an experimental project in which a scholarly journal was presented on a CRT screen instead of on paper. (FL)

Argues for the analyzing, studying, and describing of text pages as configurations of columns and lines and as constallations of alphabets. (FL)

This research evaluates websites from 200 "non-deviant" and 200 "deviant" non-profit organizations to better understand the relationship between the type of advocacy group and the visual imagery used for self-representation. Seventeen of 21 variables measured for this study found no difference between non-deviant and deviant non-profit…

Notes changes in the visual organization of correspondence brought about by the typewriter. Discusses the development of these changes, drawing examples both from the prescriptions for and the practice of commercial correspondence. (FL)

Reviews research investigations that relate the design of a form to the difficulties people have in completing the form. (HOD)

Proposes a new taxonomy for classifying the graphic cues commonly used in visually informative text. Subsumes spatial and mark cueing (lines such as dividers, guidelines, network links, and visual tags) under a new concept called diagraphic cueing. Surveys various forms of graphic cues. (RS)

Compares three linguistically motivated algorithms for assigning between-word space sizes for their impact on text readability. Finds that the readability of text can be improved with the aid of a rudimentary automatic parser. (PRA)