Woven language
The word “textura” is derived from the Latin verb “texere,” meaning “to weave.” The texture of a paragraph is carefully built by a typeface designer out of relationships between the positive forms and negative counterforms, both horizontally and vertically, which sit in an intricate system of interdependent parts, repeating and reconfiguring to express a texture: a typographic color. The weaving process creates a fabric of a woven “ground” in a manner that resembles this structure. The “warp” threads sits as a vertical grid, through which the “weft” yarn travels back and forth from side to side to create a woven structure. This paper presents the results of a investigation which considers the conceptual, functional, and semantic value of texture in communication. Engaging with the work and writings of Anni Albers, both with respect to the creation of symbolic pattern languages and the nature and role of the medium, I will present a typeface and a weaving which were created in tandem and as a response to my interactions with Albers’ writings, and reflect on the contrasts and affordances of each process, positing the practice of typeface design as a form of speculative design and reflecting on weavings as embodied experiences.