Speculative Characters for Visual Inflection — Mia Cinelli
Channel: TypeCon
Date: 2021-02-01

Recorded during TypeCon2019: “Nice” in Minneapolis, Minnesota

How could a new quotation mark convey annoyance, excitement, or worry? How might a heavy sigh, skeptical eyebrow, or elated shudder exist as a new letterform?

In the age of emojis, type and image work in tandem to bolster our typographic voices, conveying our wide range of emotions. What if, in lieu of relying on smiley-faces and eggplants to make our point, new punctuation could formally articulate the meaning of a message as conveyed through gesture and expression? Much like written music relies on specific symbols to designate key, volume, pacing and pauses, new letterforms — inspired by facial expressions, hand gestures, and metaphors — could better inform our visual inflection. Engaging with design as a medium for inquiry, I propose a new set of characters to supplement our existing typefaces, attempting to make the rich complexities of verbal conversation visible.

Introducing these characters while citing and celebrating their historic predecessors — including the manicule, emoticons, interrobang, happy mark, and sarcastic font — this presentation prompts a larger discussion: what is the role of speculative design in typography, and how do these pursuits advance communication?