The Visible Invisibility of Words — Jean François Porchez
Channel: TypeCon
Date: 2019-07-13

Recorded during TypeCon2018: Xx in Portland, Oregon

When it comes to exhibition design in North America — especially in the fields of science, history, and culture — there’s usually a lot of text involved. Printed, stuck on or, if you’re fancy, silkscreened. On title walls, on side walls, on artifact labels. Key to exhibit narrative, it needs to be visible, engaging, and clear. It needs to work hard, but also look good.

I knew little about this entering the industry as a graphic designer and typographer a few years ago. I didn’t realize you might not have much else to show beyond the text, or to use beyond vinyl; and curator working with you might be more experienced in writing for text books than for attention span of a vacationer walking by.

How is designing, typesetting, and making typography for exhibitions different from working on screens or paper? Does a good artifact label bring you any closer to beautifully designed experience? Why sometimes your text is too big? And how to balance between legibility and accessibility and designer cool?