Reading Response: Post PostScript please
In Post PostScript please, Lewis and Nadeau are presenting different experimentations that have been done to push away the inherent limits of PostScript formats. Their proposal to definitely get away from these limitations is to develop flexible types of fonts called ComplexType. With ComplexType, it would be possible to apply changes to the letterform itself and to define them over time.
According to the authors, even text created for the screen is trapped in the traditional print bias. The full potential of new medias is not used to create an experience of dynamic text.
ComplexType could become a way for typography to shift from an ocular centric paradigm resulting from the invention of the printing press to a more audile and tactile model. For artists and users, it would enable a more interactive experience. The act of reading would become much more than a linear action.
It is interesting to reflect on how the meaning of text can be interpreted, supplement or subvert when it gets away from the traditional print rules. The very action of transforming text over time on the screen can lead to more diverse interpretation that just following along a sentence on a printed page. It opens a whole new world of possibilities and experimentations that could influence the creative process of writers and artists.
