Design for reading
The Typography & Graphic Communication Research Division describes its research as the history, theory and practice of ‘design for reading’, including typeface design, information design, graphic design and printing.
Our information design research is concerned with making complex information clear – in words and in pictures – with the needs of users in mind. We value collaboration with domain experts, such as doctors and public health specialists, educationists, lawyers, and meteorologists.
Our research in type design has global relevance and contributes to the development of resources that enable computer-based texts for diverse communities. Whether Arabic newspapers, scholarly Greek or Indian scripts on mobile devices, these applications have stemmed from our close study of historic letterforms and long-standing collaborations with industry.
We are recognised as a centre of excellence for research in letterform and type design history, graphic design, and the history of printing processes, including lithography and stencilling. Our co-directorship of the Centre for Book Cultures and Publishing, one of Reading’s interdisciplinary research centres, extends the reach of this work.
Much of our research is underpinned by our world-leading Lettering, Printing and Graphic Design Collections. The Centre for Ephemera Studies houses the Maurice Rickards Collection and thousands of examples of printed ephemera.
