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Harry LewisHarry Lewis is earning his degree in the Masters in Technical and Professional Communication program at Auburn University. His interests include visual rhetoric, typography, and the intersections of marketing and tech comm. Before attending Auburn, he received his BA from Saginaw Valley State University (MI). He is currently searching for jobs in marketing or UX, and enjoys dogs, hockey, and bad jokes. ContentsThe State of Location in Composition Typography as Rhetorical Argumentation |
Design PerspectiveIn creating a typeface representative of Auburn, I had to analyze the University in a way that inspires rhetorical design choices that effectively encompass the lived, perceived, and imagined space of the institution, while still being strong, intelligent, professional, and approachable. To do this, I had to represent both the materiality of the campus, as well as the aura of student life and its spirit. My methodology and inspiration for this design exercise centered around Michel de Certeau’s (1988) perspective and analysis of Manhattan in the 1980s. From high atop the World Trade Center, de Certeau observed Manhattan in The Practice of Everyday Life. While looming above the city streets, de Certeau noticed the ways in which observation from drastically different vantage points can yield contrasting perspectives of the same place. (De Certeau, 1988). This bifurcation – or division of something into two parts – of New York was represented in the way 110 stories of separation from the streets below render physical identifiers of an individual lost, resulting in an unidentifiable speck navigating the cityscape’s material layout, which is consequently emphasized. To replicate de Certeau’s experiment, I ascended to the Eagle’s Nest atop the Haley Center (the highest accessible point at Auburn University), to observe the topology constituting campus. While the New York skyline offered an expansive horizon of skyscrapers undulating into the distance, my view was much more contained and manageable for observation. Auburn’s campus sprawls out over more than 1,800 acres, and harbors a legacy more than 150 years in the making. Iconic landmarks, like the Toomer’s Oaks on the Northeast corner of campus that become wreathed with toilet paper after a home football win, are out of sight. The most recognizable building on campus, Samford Hall, features a signature tower standing tall amongst the buildings surrounding it, with clock faces on all four sides inviting comparison to Foucault’s panopticon. Nearby, a big, red construction crane looms over both the library and an administration building built in 1910. The sights and sounds, skin tones and genders, personal identifiers of the students below are rendered indistinguishable, lost amid my voyeuristic vantage point. From above, black and grey rooftops draw focus away from a vibrant campus community awash with spirit and tradition. But from ground level, the student body, the ornate pillars and arches, the ambiance of southern prosperity brings the campus to life.
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Harry LewisHarry Lewis is earning his degree in the Masters in Technical and Professional Communication program at Auburn University. His interests include visual rhetoric, typography, and the intersections of marketing and tech comm. Before attending Auburn, he received his BA from Saginaw Valley State University (MI). He is currently searching for jobs in marketing or UX, and enjoys dogs, hockey, and bad jokes. ContentsThe State of Location in Composition Typography as Rhetorical Argumentation |
Design Inspiration & MethodologyAuburn is defined by more than what it is now; the school is inextricably linked to the Civil War, to athletic achievement, and to the legacies of prominent figures who have come and gone. As a university is ever-changing to accommodate the needs of the current student body, as well as to attract those who will represent the next, the tradition of the space acts upon the students travelling through the institution, just as the students act upon it (Drew, 2001). This transient student body, inviting new ideologies to the Auburn Family, is a clear representation of Lefebvre’s conceptualization of place as somewhere that’s constantly changing and therefore cannot be cemented. From atop the Eagle’s Nest, the organic, human beauty of the campus is diminished, and emphasis is placed on four construction projects surrounding the Haley Center (Fig. 1). One is an addition to the library, to benefit the College of Education; another is a new Engineering building, directly across from a face-lifting project for the chemistry building; at the edge of campus, a large white crane looms over a half-developed future apartment complex. This perspective of Auburn delivers a promise of progress and growth. The campus is building for the next generation of Tigers – the student body of the University – even though it detracts from the beauty experienced by the generation currently occupying the site.  Figure 1 Understanding a space and observing Auburn means to recognize the ways in which different factors of spatiality inhabit the same place. To observe Auburn means to understand how the material space exists and interacts with those who inhabit it; the representational nature of space and how it’s perceived; and, the experienced and lived nature of the space as done by those who have come and gone, per Lefebvre. As inspiration for typographic design, I must blend representations of both the materiality and spirit of Auburn. Much as de Certeau observed Manhattan from two perspectives to produce different representations of the city that were still one, my typeface must graft both perspectives of campus into one attractive and representative artifact. My representation and perception of Auburn will vary drastically as a result of my upbringing and prior education. Auburn is roughly three and a half times the size of my prior university, and the culture I am accustomed to from childhood largely stems from Detroit pride, the Big 3 Automakers’ influence, and the various ups and downs of the city’s economy and reputation over the last few decades. Designing the TypefaceTypography offers a designer the unique opportunity to form a narrative through letter design, however, a simulacrum of a university with such a storied past, and so many cherished traditions is no small feat. Things to consider during my design process included the materiality of the campus, which includes the columns and arches; the design language of current, past, and future buildings; as well as staple spots. The emphasized places are the locations you just have to get a picture of while you’re here – such as the University sign in front of Samford Hall, Toomer’s Drug Store at the junction of campus and downtown Auburn, and Jordan-Hare Stadium, the epicenter for Auburn athletic achievement. "Auburn the institution" and "Auburn the town," while separate entities in theory, coexist essentially as one, with the academic and non-academic communities blending together as one. Because of the two entities’ reciprocal nature, there’s no clear demarcation of the two locations. Equally important to consider, if not moreso, is the organic side of Auburn: the people, the history, the toilet paper. This side is a little harder to capture, as the people who come through Auburn are travelers on their journeys through life, and although their time on campus may be brief, they take the spirit of the University with them, as part of the Auburn Family. My task was to create a typeface that was both strong, intelligent, and professional, yet approachable and inviting. It had to be strong, fit to stand the test of time while remaining an icon of excellence; it also had to flow, be visually appealing, and not look out-of-place if ever placed within the campus setting. As with Eva Brumberger’s (2003) lesson on persona inherent in typographic design, I strived to create something that was strong like the brick and mortar materiality of Auburn, while also meshing it together with a flowing, organic representation of the spirit of the student body and the University’s traditions. |