Design and Type

words are pictures too

As a graphic designer and typography fan, I thoroughly appreciated Will Eisner's comic book layout and his incorporation of type, not only as a medium for communicating his story verbally, but as an element of design in itself. Comics are characteristic stories that use images, drawn pictures, to make up their narrative. The words are (not always present) there to help the narrative, not necessarily as a visual element (although it becomes one by default). Also, they are known for their "comic strip" layout, with the sequential artwork laid out within straight panels. Although the panels are indeed used as elements of design, and have a significant impact on the movement of the story, I have come to see them as a motionless grid that keeps me from exploring the page. 

The works of Will Eisner that I looked at this week, step away from this grid and play with beautiful composition that makes each page have a life of its own. 

One work in particular, Contract with God, is a masterpiece in itself. It does not only break the grid, but incorporates typography into the narrative as a visual element. In this work, Will Eisner is not only a comic book artist and writer, but a graphic designer. As one, I greatly appreciate the care that Eisner places into his work. The separation of thought/word bubbles and images in traditional comics is slightly irksome to my designer eye, and Eisner raises the bar incorporating the text into the compiles images without a grid.