The urban and natural environment, and visual language play a significant role in how we perceive the world. The current social experiences, cultural perception of print-based materials, the use and influences of typography build relationships with our environment. Typography in print-based materials, such as a book, travels through time connecting past and present, as well as through geographical areas, and therefore build relationships with different environments. This research suggests an ‘Ecology of Semantics’, discussing the relationships—entanglements—between Dutch contemporary typographic discourse and place. Specifically, an Ecology of Semantics represent interconnected and relational aspects of place that provide an understanding of the social and cultural interactions and processes of place, and reveal how these different aspects impact current contemporary typographic discourse in the Netherlands.

This practice-led research is using a multi-method approach through dialogical modes to reveal relationships between typography and place. Through a design-led prompt for six semi-structured interviews and graphic design practice as a method for analysis on the printed page, the research considers epistemologies to provide perspectives about the relationships between typography and place. Materiality and [inter]textuality are phenomena that enable to focus on how meanings of place are conveyed through typographic discourse. The research proposes ways to develop and critically evaluate relationships that inform critical debates and start a dialogue about our cultural perception to encourage a state of awareness through visual language.

This research is building upon cultural geographer Doreen Massey’s philosophical and theoretical notions of ‘place as process’ – the [social] interactions within and beyond place. Additionally, the research is drawing from theorists Tim Cresswell, Donna Haraway, Tim Ingold, Ewan Lentjes and Gerard Unger. Looking specifically at the form of the book as print-based material, to understand the social and cultural structures and processes. This provides perspectives to inform and understand alternative modes of knowledge production. The research synthesises theoretical and philosophical concepts of place, taking into consideration a geographic location, locale and sense of place to connects discursive means of Dutch contemporary typography and meaning through the medium of print. The concept of place is used conceptually through the design practice, book as place, as well as place-based conversations with participants based in different locations in the Netherlands.

The aim of the research is to make visible entanglements of place, through a design practice to propose ways of entering into an understanding of how a Dutch typographic discourse communicates cultural aspects on the printed page and is influenced by different aspects of place. These entanglements make a contribution to understanding and create awareness of the relational aspects of place that are always in process.

Keywords: typography, dialogue, place, ecology, relationality