Experimental typography through modernism

Experimental typography is usually thought to be done by postmodern, ugly designers. However there are examples of modernist typography that bend the principles.

Wim Crouwel's New Alphabet is an example of how its design has been influenced through the platform's limitations. The typeface was designed out of the early adoption of cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors, where images were rendered in fairly large pixels, making it difficult for curves to be properly represented. Therefore Crouwel designed New Alphabet using only horizontal and vertical lines. The unconventional letterforms inevitably limit its with Crouwel stating that it was "over-the-top and never meant to be really used."

New Alphabet can be considered to be an ugly form of design as its rationale severely impairs the legibility of the typeface, rendering it unusable for commercial applications. The low legibility forces the reader to invest more time into understanding what the typeface is communicating. From a modernist point of view this is an undesired quality however for ugly designers, creating design that invites more involvement from the reader can be desirable given the appropriate concept and context.

Jurrian Schrofer is regarded to be the most defining but least recognised designers in Europe in the 195s-70s. Schrofer is most often remembered by his experimental typography that was created in a period where Modernism was ubiquitous. His experiments led to more pictorial representations of typography rather than achieving the purpose of communicating.

"With each new ex­per­i­ment, the let­ters be­come less and less legible, but that does not both­er him. 'At a cer­tain stage of in­quiry it doesn’t mat­ter at all if you do things that are use­less. It’s a mat­ter of search­ing for sym­bols that are flex­ible, that can eas­ily be dis­tor­ted,' he adds." Schrofer's approach to his designs can be described as intentionally geometric, modular and minimalist. However his application of the typeface offsets the minimalistic qualities. 

Furthermore, the extent of his typeface designs are limited. "His typefaces do not have a full character set and often even capitals. As a rule, they do not go beyond the set of letters he neede to carry out a specific design task," Alexey Murashko explains.

In ugly design, typography doesn't solely communicate its intended message, it is routinely manipulated to convey an idea or concept behind the design. This results in typography taking on multiple roles, superficial and functional. Schrofer's experimental type is more decorative than functional, with examples of its use for headline text rather than long lines of copy.