This was a very interesting read into how kinetic typography developed as a language and became a new type of semiotics. Kinetic typography began with filmmaker experiments before being formalized and made widely available, and includes moving logos, digital communications, motion graphics, etc. It allows for text to become closer to voice and speech, matching tone and expressiveness that can usually only be conveyed through spoken voice.

Kinetic typography is driven by broader cultural trends, not necessity, and involves the concepts of pictorialization, informalization, emotivization, and dynamicization. Pictorialization was the concept that seemed most similar to what we’ve discussed in class recently, though all of them share similar elements. Pictorialization is the mingling of pictures with writing, and the authors’ description reminded me of the McCloud Understanding Comics readings. Some examples include emoticons and letters/icons in logos. Informalization seemed to relate to how we can give text the same modes of expression as speech, such as inflection, tone, and speed. Emotivation matches the shift from formal/impersonal text to writing that will appeal to our emotions – this reminded me of how we’ve seen art shift to realism before going back to more abstract work, which I think was discussed in an earlier reading.

I found the description of what a lexese is pretty interesting, as well as the example with odors of how base components can be composed into a language, but I didn’t fully understand the section on what exactly composes the language of kinetic typography.