(Un)Encoding communications

A couple of days ago I came across this article describing the concept behind Sang Mun's typeface ZXX.  Fascinated by this designer's work, I downloaded the font at z-x-x.org and experimented with it a while.

Above is the result of the experimentation session.  Some of the phrases are sarcastic, corny or just plain assumptions, but the way that the variants of the typeface are used make certain words in thoses phrases harder to read, in some cases almost illegible without paying close attention.

As I was working on this sample, I caught myself wanting decoding verbal communication to be as easy. Anyone with the font could quickly make sense of any words that at first seem beyond comprehention. The enfasis that each of the variants; sans, sans bold, camo, noise, false and xed, place on each individual word changes the way the whole phrase is interpreted.

Similarly, when engaged in conversation, there are several signal cues that indicate the authenticity, sincerity, heartfeltness and honesty (or lack thereof) of a speaker´s words; intonation, volume, posture, hand gestures and gaze to name just a few, which depending on the solidity and longevity of the relationship between the people makes a big difference when interpreting the message.

In any case, the only defense we have against being taken advantage of or manipulated by mere lip service, politic speak, or economic jargon, is to pay more attention not only to what is being said and how it is being said, but the context in which it is being said. Why we make communication this complicated is part of the problem we´re all facing as we transition towards a new way of coordinating the way we humans organize ourselves on the planet. Simply put, we´d all be better off with a little more transparency and honesty.