Foreword

What would knowledge and culture itself be, without the alphabet? Мі'ыfmmafourPart

Think, for a moment, of a world identical to the one we live in, but Г/*1"І,

Operating Solely On the basis Of verbal Communication... Buenos Aires. Argentina.

Writing and its formal expression, typography, drive the elementary
functions of society. Like air, like water, like knowledge and ideas,
typography is a social asset that equalizes opportunities among people—
a real heritage of humanldnd.

Thus expressed, as a supreme legacy, we must bear in mind that
this vital assets only protection lies in the hands of those who take on
the task of optimizing the structural details of letters: the type designer.
He works on the intimacy of characters, aspects of which have been
explored by so many typographers before him. He searches for the
alchemy, the secret of the form, which, through the vehicle of letters,
will retell man's discourse.

Although its worth first lies in how and for what it was conceived,
and the reasons that contributed to its generation, in the final instance,
the value of typography lies in its form. But its worth also lies in how it
is used.

Linked to the chain of responsibilities entrusted to those who
persevere to achieve the optimum quality of a text is the participation
of other actors. The actions and intent of those who employ typefaces
in their daily work, who choose the letterforms that will convey their
messages, take on immeasurable importance.

It is there that the qualitative leap is needed. When knowledge of
typography becomes widespread, a significant advance in design and in
the quality of the message will have taken place. Knowledge, acquired
and universal, creates a heritage that will undoubtedly reinterpret the
medium and the culture of each environment.

It does not seem apropos in this case to call on the over-hyped
"globalization." What we are talking about is the preservation of cultural
habits as a fundamental means to interpret messages—to understand.
Nevertheless, we do propose the socialization of this vast and historic
knowledge; a search for variations of what we know, and, through
learning, a discovery of what we do not know.

With letters, we learn to read; then we can understand what we
read. The correct use of letters follows naturally from the primary goal:
achieving literacy. In this dialogue between content and form, the letter
is the vehicle that will socialize the message, and help us enhance the
function of the word.

We must advance in our knowledge of typography. The optimization
of the use of letters is a tool that will enable a seldom-measured level
of development, that of human communications and the dissemination
of information.

As members of a society perpetually in a state of crisis, it is essential
that we broaden our field of knowledge. We must learn better.
- Rubén Fontana