With ‘Type Something For Me,’ Joyce Shi lets us into her years-long meditation on typography

Joyce Shi’s project ‘Type Something For Me’ is the culmination of her exploration of typography, pushing the boundaries of design and perception through three distinct perspectives – type as an enigma, type as a way of seeing, and type as reflection. Here, the NYC-based designer and art director offers a thought-provoking meditation on the power of typography, inviting readers to reconsider the role of design in shaping our understanding of language and culture. Shi’s meticulous process seamlessly blends research, writing and design, creating a multi-faceted publication that invites readers to engage with typography in innovative ways. Beginning as a personal inquiry into the nature of design, Shi’s project evolved into a comprehensive capstone that documents her journey through typography. Her approach is both introspective and expansive, drawing from a library of reflections and poster designs she curated over time. “Part of the contents of this book came before this project was officially established, and some of them can be traced back to personal interests started years ago,” she explains. “I often practise researching and writing down my reflections on the idea of design or anything I read, which eventually becomes a growing library of ideas, sparks and unsolved questions.” Following a revisit of El Lissitzky’s manifesto, ‘Topography of Typography,’ Shi was inspired to use her accumulation of ideas and visuals, ultimately leading to the creation of a book that is as much about the process of discovery as it is about the final product. “The three perspectives take on not only the three areas of my research and design, but also the different ways and processes of making this book,” she explains, guiding us through the three sections – type as an enigma, type as a way of seeing, and type as reflection – and how the content guided the form. “Type as an enigma highlights the role of punctuation in languages. Through a series of writings and poems in Chinese – and the structure through which readers only see the punctuations at first, and where they can only reveal the full contents after flipping through the pages – I ask an ambiguous question about what emotional topography those punctuations carry, especially in the visual world. The second section, type as a way of seeing, depicts typography as visual languages by showcasing the poster design series that I started back in 2022. For the last part, type as reflection, a more editorial approach is embedded to show some of my articles published and written from the past years. While I was designing the third part, I was also writing and editing the content, so the editorial design shaped up as the book led itself to its format.”