Typography as Semiotic Resource

>The typography of written language not only serves as a conduit of verbal narrative, it serves as a visual element and semiotic resource with its own meaning potentials. In conjunction with an analysis of selected contemporary picturebooks, a framework for considering how typography adds to the meaning potential in contemporary picturebooks is presented. Beginning with a brief discussion of the concept of multimodality, picturebooks as multimodal texts, and an overview of the use of typography in picturebooks, this article presents a framework for analyzing and interpreting typographical elements in contemporary picturebooks.