BLOG 10 Don't mistake legibility for communication

This is a piece from David Carson. I used to find his style somewhat cluttered and difficult to parse. But as I explored more of his work, I find it more appealing and understandable. Just looking at images on Google, this one jumped out at me as representing his ideas on design. He uses type to evoke emotions.  He makes the viewer work for the message. In this composition, he overlaps various typefaces in a black mass.  Looking at the less dense areas, one can determine that he is stating his message (Don’t mistake legibility for communication) over and over again. On top of the mass of text, he obviously states his message using positive and negative text images. In the composition, the use of white space and the placement of his name in red at the upper left-hand corner is very appealing to me (using a 5 for the s in Carson). His name in red and the large separation from the main composition creates a dual focal point. Although, the font unifies his name with the rest of the piece. The typeface for his name, Don’t mistake and for communication is a serif font reminiscent of an old-time typewriter perhaps Courier - it looks like it is an mono-spaced typeface. The typeface for legibility is a san serif typeface with a fairly high x-height. The idea that communication and legibility are not mutually exclusive is one that I am just beginning to realize - the lines between text, art, and communication are blurred in our digital age.