By Mia Cinelli
224 pages, softcover, $34.95
Published by Bloomsbury Visual Arts
bloomsbury.com

Context matters. It makes all the difference when making meaning of any cultural artifact. In Giving Type Meaning, author Mia Cinelli illuminates how context is one of the most important aspects to understand type and typography. Without taking it into account, we might overlook a compelling story and fail to see typography as more than just letterforms.

Cinelli takes readers on an insightful journey, analyzing type in three main contexts: social, spatial and temporal. These pillars organize the book’s chapters that are filled with work by artists and designers from all around the world that draw from a range of historic and contemporary examples. From type specimens and calligraphy on a prayer niche to performances, time-based art and meme culture, Cinelli includes works both with a sense of permanency and ephemerality. She writes in a clear, thoughtful and precise manner, which makes the book both an accessible and enjoyable read. Care is provided when addressing sociocultural issues in typography, such as existing power structures and the difference between cultural appropriation versus appreciation.

For educators and students, I imagine this to be an essential and reliable text. Educational and culturally nuanced, the book covers key concepts like gestalt and linguistics while also introducing the author’s own terms like “visual inflection”—the idea that written text is influenced by its arrangement. Interviews serve as interludes to get into the brains of creators and see how they consider and navigate context in their projects. For seasoned professionals, this book offers a refresher and opportunity to reflect on one’s own practice. —Florence Fu ca