The Diversity of Pictorial Typography in Publishing Press Graphics of the 1940s in Iran and the Study of Its Two Rhetorical & Emotional Levels

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Assistant professor, Visual Communication Department, Isfahan University of Arts, Isfahan, Iran.

Abstract

Introduction: Pictorial typography is one of the branches of typography that is produced by intelligently combining text and images in different ways. In "pictorial typography", the visual dimension takes precedence over legibility; that is before reading the text, viewers notices and engages with its visual-representative qualities and starts reading it after understanding the visual aspects. The meaning of "representation" in this article is the display of natural or conventional visual elements that are related to the physiology and geometry of the surrounding world, and the designer incorporates these elements in a clear and recognizable way in the form and structure of letters. By including representative visual elements in letters, the designer design can create a distinctive and memorable visual identity for the written content while adding a specific communicative layerto convey the message. This graphic technique, by adding an additional visual and expressive layer to the writing, can affect the semantic aspect of the word and strengthen, modifyor tone it and even change its emotional and semantic impact.
The 1940s can be considered the beginning of the emergence of pictorial typography in the history of modern Iranian publishing. A decade in which publishers within the new political openness (caused by the abdication and exileof Reza Shah from Iran) and under foreign military occupation (Allied Front) produced markedlydifferent works compared to the previous two decades The works acquired strong emotional and self-expressive qualitiesreflecting the hope created by the collapse of the suppression and censorship system and the anger provoked by the occupation of the homeland; These values appeared in the graphic designof certain publications and specifically in the form of pictorial typography during that decade.
It should be noted that the 1940s was roughlya decade before the establishment of graphic arts department in Iranian universities; Moreover, this decade was about one and a half decades before the entry of Iranian designers into the field of typeface design and around two decades before graphic design became a specialized profession and before the emergenc eof the "Saqakhaneh movement" in Iran. Therefore, it can be arguedthat the most accomplished examples of publishing and press graphics in the 1940s, especially the limited visual typography works in this decade, resulted from the experimental and stylistic efforts of Iranian authors, publishing managers, and press illustratorsand, on the other hand, reflected a dual form of imitation of the mentioned people of traditional book layouts and of Western imported publications. These works, although text-based, could create a greater or deeper impact on their audience due to additional visual values.
Purposes & Questions: This article, aiming to study the early diversity of pictorial typography works in Iran’s modern publishing and press graphics of the 1940s
and examining their functional dimensions, addresses two key questions: 1. What are the variations of pictorial typography in 1940s Iranian publishing and press graphics? 2. What is the impact of these pictorial typography works on two semantic (rhetorical) and emotional dimensions?
Methods: The research method is descriptive-analytical and is based on the "Dual Coding" theory (derived from Paivio, Clark and Sadoski's theories) and the functional aspects of typography as discussed by researchers in the field of type design (such as Stöckl, Lupton and Leeuwen). Data were collected through library research andand relevant images were reviewed and selected; This study purposefully selected 10 visual typography examples from the titles on book covers and logotypes of 1940s publications; And analyzed  their diversity and its production methods, and then, followed bysemiotic analyses based on explicit and implicit meanings, it examines its two "rhetorical" and "emotional" dimensions (i.e. "conceptualization" and "emotionalization").
Findings & Results: From the results of this research, five pictorial typography design methods in Iran in the 1940s can be identified as: "Creating an image by altering the arrangement and formsof letters", " Forming a phrase through edited images", " Omitting some letters or words and replacing them with an image", "Representing certain visual features of an image within letters" and " Positioning the image next to or over the letters". Moreover, the study found that the semantic-emotional dimensions of pictorial typographies examined were assessed to be coordinated and compatible with the subject and content of the respective works and the intent, tone and other emotional characteristics of the authors.

Keywords

References

 
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Negareh Journal
Volume 20, Issue 76
January 2026
Pages 206-229

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History

  • Receive Date: 26 May 2025
  • Revise Date: 13 September 2025
  • Accept Date: 28 September 2025

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