Typography's Role in Art

Great videos, everyone! I think this brings up an issue of whether or not typography is a medium used to disseminate information or whether it is an art form in and of itself. Many of you may recall reading Beatrice Warde's essay, The Crystal Goblet, or Why Printing Should be Invisible. In her essay, Warde contends that the most important purpose of printing is that "it conveys thought, ideas, images, from one mind to other minds." Warde tells us that the fine arts will stimulate our aesthetic sensibilities, but that is not the purpose of printing--that printing, first and foremost, should do something (i.e. transmit ideas). Moreover, Warde believes that the type which has "arbitrary warping of design or excess of 'color' gets in the way of the mental picture to be conveyed, is a bad type."

What do you think? Do you agree with Warde? Having wrote this essay in 1930, I wonder if Warde would feel differently now. It might be taking the easy way out, but like a typical Libra, I see both sides of the argument. In addition to serving the purpose to transmit ideas, Typography/Graphic Design is an art form if the product design was designed solely for the purpose of art. For example, I have a large "S" in the shape of a pancake framed and hanging in my kitchen--while it includes typography and transmits an idea, it is clear that this piece was designed, and should be thought of, as art.

Here's an image of the syrupy "S" poster I own: