On the Language of Composition

"On the Language of Composition" is a collection of essays by the renowned graphic artist, type designer, and illustrator Yuri Gordon. Decades of design practice have led him to the thought that almost all areas of human activity are subject to unified compositional laws. Within this theory, unusual terms such as the interface of the Sistine Chapel, power points of movie posters, and the depth of font development are possible. However, the author is not writing a textbook, and therefore does not worry too much about the strictness of definitions. According to his own words, he operates through descriptions and metaphors. The head of Nefertiti, Velázquez's paintings, the golden ratio, text cut-off, and figures on a poster all fall within his scope. Through numerous examples, he demonstrates how composition "works." The conclusions will undoubtedly seem subjective, and many will be unexpected or controversial. And indeed, there were debates about them when the book existed in the form of a series of articles on the author's blog. From the blog, the collection inherited the most important comments from the first readers.