MA Graphic Design course leader Dr Mike Harkins is set to release an innovative monograph next month.
The book, titled Contemporary Processes of Text Typeface, will be published by Routledge as part of its Research in Design Studies monographs and edited editions series, which focuses on "the study of design and its effects using analytical and practical methods of inquiry."
Dr Harkins' monograph is based on his PhD thesis – undertaken at Central Saint Martens in 2018 – and is the first book of its kind to explore expert knowledge of text typeface design processes.
Dr Harkins uses a grounded theory metholodogy (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) to form a theory comprising three core categories: trajectorising, homologising and attenuating. This trio identifies and explains text typeface design processes based upon subject-specific knowledge and evidence from expert practitioners, including Matthew Carter, Robin Nicholas, Erik Spiekermann and Gerard Unger.
A key impetus for this research is to benefit future works, practice and teaching in this subject area by establishing a research-based view of the design process. Explaining the process should help establish formal descriptions that will ultimately help professionalise specialist subject knowledge.
...[T]he research presents developed theories, based upon analysis of knowledge in relation to specifically conducted interviews with world-leading text typeface design experts. I can say that it’s very exciting and a huge honour to have a world-leading publisher such as Routledge produce a monograph from my PhD thesis.