• Subjects: Typographic Culture
• Number of pages: 228 pages
• Format: 22 x 22 cm

From thinking to speaking and writing, the road is long and bumpy. Initially the prerogative of power and an instrument of government, writing, as it spread, became the ideal medium for sharing knowledge and learning. The invention of the alphabet by the nomadic peoples of the Middle East was the first act of a Mediterranean humanism.

In classical times, each culture had "its" writing that reflected its image. Today, due to the "popularization" of computer technology, an unprecedented proliferation of typographical characters is flooding the world market. This is disrupting the minds of consumers. In this context of uncontrolled unconditional freedom, the author wonders about the "reason for writing" in all its diversity. Before entering the labyrinth of the "how", he questions the process of creation in general, the "why" of new writing, as well as the "why", i.e. the particular viewpoint of the reader-recipient.

For Ladislas Mandel, writing in all its forms is eminently a language in its own right, a creation of the mind. Thus, through his multiple questions, he tries, by rediscovering the virtues of his original vocation, to give the word back to writing.

In the last chapter, the author explains the main relevant formal characteristics necessary for the creation of characters, particularly those resulting from optical distortions.

Anne Zali, Chief Curator at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, in charge of Educational Action, wrote the foreword.

- Very numerous illustrations.

- Intended for: students and professionals in the graphic arts and communication, and any cultured public.