Do You See What I'm Saying?

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While graphic design rarely intersects with the field of linguistics, a culturally pivotal relationship with great potential for investigation exists between the two. In this thesis, graphic design is used as a medium to explore the arbitrary nature of written signs and draws attention to this importance in visual communication. A theoretical and historical investigation informs the production of visual artifacts: a book specimen relating speech to written form, as well as a typeface that investigates the arbitrary design of letterforms while also demonstrating existing multiple connotative implications within letterforms. This thesis demonstrates that similar to letterforms having multiple speech sound associations, a typeface can have multiple connotative associations.