Cursive Handwriting: Elementary Curriculum and Graphic Design

A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the Graphic Design department

in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the

Degree of Master of Fine Arts in Graphic Design

at

Savannah College of Art and Design

Mary Leiser

eLearning

© March 2015

Professor Zoran Belic, MFA, Committee Chair

Professor Stanley Conrad, MFA, Committee Member

Professor Sarah Adams, MFA, Committee Member

To Matt – without whom this thesis and the degree it represents would not have been completed.

Your love, support, and positivity enabled me to make it through.

To Ruby – for your mighty red pen. You brought order and sense to my writing.

Acknowledgments

An academic journey is not complete without the challenges posed by individuals to push you beyond what you believe to be your own capabilities. Because of the guidance and encouragement of the following individuals I have learned my own capabilities. Thank you for your support and belief in the story I had to tell.

Professor Trudy Abadie-Mendia

Professor Sarah L. Adams

Professor Zoran Belic

Professor W. Stanley Conrad

Table of Contents

List of Figures 1

Abstract 2

Introduction 3

Part 1: Cursive’s History/Background 5

Part 2: An Inability to Read Cursive Handwriting 9

Part 3: Designers Lose a Tool for Expressing Personality 14

Part 4: Designers Lose a Tool for Expressing Historical Character 22

Part 5: Conclusion 28

Part 6: Additional Considerations and Recommendations 30

Appendix A: Visual Presentation 33

Bibliography 45

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List of Figures

Figure 1.1 Spencerian Script 5

Figure 1.2 Manuscript Writing Worksheet 7

Figure 2.1 Brain Activation Patterns 10

Figure 3.1 Symbolism in Handwriting 15

Figure 3.2 Excerpt from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone 16

Figure 3.3 Audios Script and Sugar Pie typefaces 20

Figure 3.4 Starbucks ads by letterer Jessica Hische 20

Figure 4.1 Bickham Script in use “Believe” 23

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Abstract

Cursive Handwriting: Elementary Curriculum and Graphic Design

Mary Leiser

March 2015

Cursive handwriting instruction has been a part of American education for over one hundred years. That history and all that it represents is threatened by the new Common Core standards accepted by 43 states. Studies by leading psychologists have produced evidence that letterforms are difficult to recognize without prior practice through writing, and keyboarding is a poor substitute for the physical act of putting pencil to paper when it comes to learning letterforms. By eliminating cursive handwriting instruction from U.S. elementary education, the

American public, over time, will lose the ability to read the beautiful script handwriting of

America’s forefathers and typefaces based on such writing.

Handwritten type and script typefaces are used in graphic design to express personality, individuality, and emotion as well as historical qualities. For companies like Coca-Cola or

Johnson & Johnson, their originally handwritten logos are part of their personality as well as their history. Connections to the past enable script typefaces to convey more than the average sans-serif typeface; they carry values drawn from history and societal importance. Without the common ground established through the cursive handwriting education, generations to come may lose the ability to read these typefaces, and graphic designers will lose a valuable tool of expression. The field of graphic design may be facing its last revival of handwritten and script typefaces.

Keywords: Cursive, Common Core, Script Typefaces, Handwriting

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INTRODUCTION

“Oh, I don’t do cursive.” This was how an undergraduate student at the University of Illinois

responded when asked why she couldn’t read the clearly legible cursive handwriting of an art

critic from the Victorian era (Hotchkiss). An elementary cursive writing education, normally

taught in grades 2-4, presumably would have enabled this 18- to 22-year-old college student to

read this style of handwriting. For whatever reason, she felt ill prepared to take on the task of

reading this historic document.

Since 1870, cursive handwriting education has been present within the U.S. public school

system. Through drills and practice, a common style of writing was created that united

individuals who were educated all over the country. For centuries this commonality connected

generations. A little over thirty years ago, technological advances began to threaten this

connectivity. The personal computer put America on track for a set of educational standards that

include keyboarding and exclude cursive handwriting from the public school curriculum. By

adopting the Common Core standards, 43 states have agreed to remove cursive handwriting

instruction from elementary education. Students will no longer practice connecting letterforms in

a string of legible letters, but instead be taught how to locate letters on a keyboard. With the

exclusion of this subject from public education, newer generations in America will be unable to

read or connect with the cursive style of writing. The undergrad from Illinois will no longer be

an exception but the rule.

The elimination of cursive writing in education will also affect the field of graphic design.

Designers depend on typefaces that have been rendered from beautiful handwriting of the past to create emotional and historical connections with their audiences. By using a familiar hand- rendered script, designers can tell a story that is immediately personal to those who see it. For Leiser 4

example, the Coca-Cola logo used the traditional Spencerian script (Florey) to imbue the brand

symbol with qualities such as “classic” and “American.” Persons could identify with the logo

because it was designed in a handwriting style that one practiced; it immediately felt familiar and

personal. And because this style of American handwriting has been practiced for centuries, the

logo today connotes history, nobility, importance, and wealth. The use of script typefaces to

convey this kind of personal and historical significance will be lost as society loses touch with

cursive writing.

A brief history of cursive handwriting, instructional practices, and the new core

curriculum standards that threaten them both demonstrates how society depends on cursive

handwriting education to maintain cursive literacy in America. Leading psychological experts

Virginia Berninger, Alyssa Kersey, Miloš Kučera, and others have shown that the removal of

this curriculum standard will render future generations unable to read cursive handwriting and

the typefaces based upon these historical styles. Consequently, the development and use of script

typefaces will fade in the United States. With future generations of Americans unable to share in cursive handwriting and typefaces, graphic designers may lose one of their most powerful tools for conveying emotional, personal, and historical values and connotations.

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PART 1 – CURSIVE’S HISTORY/BACKGROUND

Handwriting, in its most basic form, is a series of marks or graphemes that act as a code for spoken language (Kučera 13). Unlike spoken language, which children spontaneously learn by copying sounds from parents and older siblings and following verbal and nonverbal cues, visual encoding of graphemes and handwriting styles must be systematically taught and practiced in order to be learned. As such, handwriting styles may be lost if they are not intentionally passed to the next generation.

Handwriting in America: A brief history

Prior to the nineteenth century, reading and cursive handwriting were not taught together.

Reading was seen as a necessity, while writing was a privilege available only to social classes with status and means to seek out this specialized skill. Persons learned through instructional masters or educational courses taught from handbooks such as George Bickham’s The Universal

Penman or Benjamin Franklin’s The American Instructor (Florey 41-44). A well-formed letter gave individuals a status of being well educated and privileged. Individuals who possessed this skill were sought out to write certificates and important legal documents, and were also hired for jobs within business. Stylized writing offered individuals a means of economic support and socioeconomic status.

One such individual was Platt Rogers Spencer, also known as “The Father of American Handwriting”

(Florey 64). Spencer created what came to be known as Spencerian Script (figure 1.1), a writing style Figure 1.1 Di Piazza, Laura. Spencerian Script; Accessed famous for its whole-arm movement approach Jan. 25, 2015 from lauradipiazza.com. Leiser 6 described as the “use of the whole arm from the shoulder, the elbow being raised slightly from the desk, and the hand sliding on the nails of the third and fourth fingers” (Spencer 7). In business schools this style of writing was practiced for six to twelve hours a day. The Spencerian style soon became the standard for “most public and private schools across America” in the late

1800s (Florey 72).

At the turn of the nineteenth century, education in America drastically shifted. The

Education Act of 1870 created a nationwide network of elementary education. Educators also recognized the importance of teaching writing and reading together, and “henceforth any child who attended primary school could not only decipher a text but also hold a pen and write at least a few words” (240). Educators finally realized that by combining the visual and auditory education of reading symbols with the kinesthetic experience of creating graphemes, individuals would more efficiently learn how to both read and write. The achieved cognitive effect demonstrates the dependence of “identical or similar knowledge representations, cognitive processes, and context and contextual constraints (Fitzgerald and Shanahan 40). How one learns to read is similar to how one learns to write, and therefore the two skills should parallel each other so that knowledge of one complements the learning of the other. When educators changed the way these two skills were taught, they were, in effect, assisting students to learn in a more efficient and supportive way.

What the Spencerian style lacked was the ability to compose quickly. A.N. Palmer addressed this when he invented the Palmer method, which valued legibility, consistency, and most importantly, speed. His method first gained popularity in business and then later was adopted by three-quarters of the schools in America. “More than 25 million people had been

Palmerized” by 1927 (Florey 80). Unlike Spencer’s 6 to 12 hours per day of practice, proficiency Leiser 7

in Palmer’s method could be accomplished in half an hour per day. Much of the overt curls that

make up the Spencerian method were removed in favor of cleaner, more concise letters that

increased writing speed. This method became a sharp contrast to the Spencerian penmanship

style full of ornamentation and flourishes.

As discussed in The Golden Thread by Ewan Clayton, speed has been the impetus for changes in handwriting style throughout the centuries. This was evident during and after the

Industrial Revolution, when a speed-based writing system (shorthand) grew out of the need to keep up with production in an industrialized country, followed by the Palmer method.

Until 1920 the only style of handwriting taught in school was cursive. In 1922, Marjorie

Wise, an educator from England, came to America to teach manuscript writing at Columbia

University Teachers College. “Within a year, twenty-seven schools had adopted manuscript writing into their penmanship curriculum…leveling off toward the end of the 1920s at 152”

(Thornton 171). The change in curriculum was suggested from a belief that the motor skills necessary to make the whole-arm movement writing style are not fully developed in small children. The work required by the muscles of the arm, hand, eyes, and mind was too difficult, leaving the child unable to create the beauty of cursive script handwriting. The manuscript method (Figure 1.2) “consisting of simple and discrete letterforms, … could be mastered by any child without such intensive practice”

(Hawkins 308). Because cursive required so much practice, first with common shapes, then with letters, and finally with connected words, it Figure 1.2 Stratton, Andrew. Manuscript Writing Worksheets; Accessed Jan. 25, 2015 from was said that the time required to become http://elors.net/manuscript-writing-worksheets Leiser 8

proficient hindered children’s ability to become self-expressive through creative writing. Schools that were early adopters of manuscript writing considered it the “life-long” hand of the individuals. In the 1930s and 40s, the manuscript writing style became part of the public school education as a “temporary measure, one to be discarded once students were physiologically ready to learn ‘real [cursive]’ writing” (Thornton 174). A society that once espoused the importance of elegant cursive and valued the master penmen shifted towards education for all children in two styles of writing—first, that of manuscript or print-script for fast writing and, when ready, a connected, beautiful writing.

What started with the pedagogical value of manuscript as a tool to enable children to write expressively earlier, before mastering cursive, turned into an educational movement of educators in the 1980s. Writing began to be defined not as an instructional process aimed towards idealized graphemes and written product, but as “focusing on writing as a process”

(Hawkins 312). Defined by today’s terminology, writing instructions have nothing to do with learning a particular style of handwriting. Writing has everything to do with recording ideas through the formation of sentences, paragraphs, stories, and compositions. Cursive handwriting education is no longer deemed an important part of the writing process or a necessary writing skill.

Common Core State Standards

Within the public education system today, the average amount of time spent on handwriting instruction is 10 to 15 minutes a few times a week (Vi Supon 3). Second-graders begin their cursive writing instruction late in the year and complete this education in the third grade. In 2010, the U.S. government released a new standard for public education to follow, which would further Leiser 9

limit the amount of cursive handwriting education students receive. The Common Core State

Standards, which by 2014 had been adopted by 43 states, eliminate cursive handwriting

education from the curriculum in favor of keyboarding skills. “Although the terms penmanship,

handwriting, and legibility are missing from this document, elementary students are expected to

‘demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills”’ (Hawkins 315). As in the 1980s,

writing as a process is still important to the public education curriculum, but handwriting will

only be taught in the manuscript style. The pace that the connected cursive letterforms provided

has been replaced by the speedier keyboard typing.

Roughly 84 percent of American students will be educated under the new Common Core

standards (“Digest of Education Statistics, 2013”), although since adopting the standards, seven

states have elected to put cursive handwriting back into their curriculum for 1st through 5th grade

(Morones).

PART 2: AN INABILITY TO READ CURSIVE HANDWRITING

Eliminating cursive writing has its consequences, as those seven states that returned it to their elementary curriculum have realized. Teaching students how to write cursive letters also teaches them how to read cursive letters. Without this important instruction, a large portion of American children will no longer be able to recognize words written in what could soon become a forgotten writing system.

The educators of the early nineteenth century correctly realized that children are able to learn to read and write more effectively when taught the grapheme and the phoneme together.

The multisensory or kinesthetic exercise fires all the cognitive memory tools that enable the graphic symbol to be read and processed as an actual language (Fitzgerald and Shanahan 40). Leiser 10

With the introduction of manuscript writing by Marjorie Wise in 1922, children’s first

introduction to creating graphemes by hand was through manuscript writing, which could be

understood quickly and did not require as much muscular development as was needed for the

cursive hand. It was understood that children would later move to “grown-up” handwriting,

another learned skill which takes practice and patience to master. As stated in the 2013

psychological study by Alyssa J. Kersey and Karin H. James of the Department of Psychological

and Brain Sciences at Indiana University Bloomington, “learning cursive letters involves

matching a new visual form to, and integrating a new motor plan into, the representation for its

hand-printed counterpart” (2). This study cites evidence that “greater motor activation in the left

primary motor cortex and supplementary motor area during the perception of handwritten cursive

letters compared to the perception of hand-printed letters.” The multiple studies that this

statement is drawn from show that individuals must train their brain to recognize alternative

letterforms. In addition to understanding the brain activation that happens, Kersey and James

also were investigating whether writing was required for letter perception or if observation was

enough. Using the Zaner-Bloser cursive script (Figure 2.1), each child in the study was taught

one group (of eight letters) actively, one group

passively, and a third group was not taught at all.

The results indicated that children could only

read “56% of the cursive letters” (13) prior to

being taught how to write within the context of

this study. The letters taught through written

production “led to the recruitment of a sensory-

Figure 2.1 Kersey, Alyssa J., and Karin Harman James. motor network known to also be active during “Brain Activation Patterns Resulting from Learning Letter Forms through Active Self-Production and Passive Observation in Young Children.” Cognitive Science 4 (2013): 567. Frontiers. Web. 25 Sept. 2014.

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letter perception and reading, however, passive observation of a letter being formed did not”

(13). The physical practice of writing the letter helped to create the network in the brain to allow

perception and recognition. Additionally, in a well-documented case published in the journal

NeuroImage, researchers studied the brain activity as it deciphers handwritten text. They found

that strings of letters were able to be identified through the “ventral visual stream, the visual

word form system,” which is trained over many years of practice and reading (Qiao 1786). It is

through this training and practice that one learns to read and understand cursive letters as one

relates to their manuscript counterpart and phoneme.

Keyboarding vs. handwriting’s impact on learning letterforms

To further understand how reading cursive handwriting is tied to understanding how to write it,

an additional study was performed on adults trying to learn new characters. The point of this

2008 study was to comprehend if writing had an effect on the ability to recognize and remember

characters. Adults were taught how to produce unknown characters by “traditional pen-and-paper writing or with a computer keyboard” (Longcamp 802). Subjects were given two distinct sets of

10 unknown characters that were written or typed 20 times per training session. Following this session, the subjects returned three times over the course of five weeks to test their memory of what had been practiced. At times during testing, subjects were shown mirror images of the characters and asked if the character was normal or reversed. The researchers discovered there was “more accurate recognition of new characters that had been written by hand than those that had been typed” (808). As in the study previously mentioned by Qiao, certain areas of the brain are activated by writing. The Broca region, which was primarily thought to be exclusive to speech production, appears to also be activated for the “motor-related function” of writing. Leiser 12

Instruction through a kinesthetic activity, in this case writing, combined with visual observation

enabled the subjects to retain more information than by using one style of learning at a time.

“[T]hrough handwriting learning, the characters are categorized similarly as letters and acquire a

‘linguistic’ status” (812). The final conclusion confirmed previous studies and said that

“handwriting memory facilitates the discrimination between characters and their mirror images

for longer periods than typewriting memory” (813). By the process of creating forms and

movement memorization, individuals had a longer-lasting visual recognition of the graphic

shapes. Mixed-mode learning is more effective than learning through a single mode such as visual or auditory (Low and Sweller), and as Longcamp and Qiao have shown, writing

(kinesthetic learning) is a key component in effective multimodal reading instruction (227–244).

Not only does Longchamp’s study support the inclusion of handwriting for letterform

memorization—it disproves the validity of keyboarding as a suitable alternative. In some of her

earlier research projects from 2005 and 2006, Longchamp discusses a child’s knowledge of the

layout of the keyboard as the skill taught through typing—a skill that does not necessarily build

memory of the letterforms themselves. A pointing motion is required to reach each letter, a

movement that has very little to do with the shapes of the characters (803). The children are

simply building a “cognitive map of the keyboard rather than gaining extensive knowledge about

the letters that they learn” (Kersey and James 1). Longchamp’s 2005 and 2006 studies and the

Kersey-James study of 2009 have the same findings: letters learned through typing were less

recognized than those written by hand. The act of creating letters by hand teaches and reinforces

knowledge of the letterforms, while the act of typing teaches the position of the letters on the

keyboard.

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Society’s view of cursive

Limited interaction with the graphic form of cursive handwriting in early education results in

individuals being unable to read cursive handwriting at all. Valerie Hotchkiss, the director of the

Rare Book and Manuscript Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, was startled when an undergraduate (quoted at the beginning of this paper) was unable to decipher a cursive-written article within the library’s collection. It prompted her to take an informal poll of other institutions to see if this was an isolated incident or common among college students. What she discovered was similar to her own experience. “Research on manuscripts from the 17th and

20th century is no longer possible for most undergraduates at American colleges,” she writes.

“When the ability to read cursive disappears, our connection to history—and even to our own

past—is lost” (Hotchkiss).

Perhaps separate from deciphering handwriting styles that have not been practiced in

centuries is the 2013 case of Trayvon Martin. A witness, Rachel Jeantel, when asked to read a handwritten portion of her testimony, was unable to read aloud any of the words on the page because it was written in cursive handwriting. As a result, she was ridiculed in the news and in social media, and her intelligence was attacked by the prosecution in order to undermine her testimony (Peters).

Older Americans hold the ability to write and read cursive in high esteem, even as the younger generations are losing this ability. According to a 2013 survey of 2,021 U.S. adults (age

18+) conducted on behalf of the USA Gold Pencils, 89 percent of the participants said that cursive writing is a necessary skill that is still important to teach, and 70 percent agreed that it is a “skill that workers should still possess” (Urist). Even in the digital age, a handwritten Leiser 14

application, thank-you note, or signature on a letter of acceptance can indicate to a potential

employer the unspoken skills and personality of the applicant.

The studies by Berninger, Fitzgerlad, Shanahan, Kersey, Kučera, Longchamp,

Low, Nørgaard, and Qiao, have demonstrated that physical act of writing improves one’s ability

to perceive and recognize letterforms, helps build more cognitive connections within the brain,

and enables individuals to process more quickly. To become familiar with the unique graphic

shapes that represent cursive letters, students must first learn and practice writing cursive. Thus,

if cursive handwriting is eliminated from public elementary education, eventually a majority of

Americans will be unable to read cursive handwriting or the typefaces that have been created to

emulate cursive handwriting styles.

PART 3: DESIGNERS LOSE A TOOL FOR EXPRESSING PERSONALITY

Making it personal

Technology has given society a way to connect with one another quickly and easily. Striking

keys on a phone will instantly let someone across the country know another person is thinking of

them. What is lost in this communication style is the personality that comes through in a

handwritten note or letter. Each individual who is taught to write in cursive eventually breaks

free from the specified letterforms and creates their own unique style. An individual’s

handwriting gives them an “opportunity to directly express thoughts and feelings but also

provides a medium for indirect personal expression” (Poizner 113). This very act of expression,

both indirectly and directly, is what designers use to visually communicate in a personal way. By

using hand-rendered type, or the glyphs of a cursive typeface, the connection and arrangement of letterforms becomes unique to that particular item, giving it a personality unlike any other. It Leiser 15

becomes a signature on its own, specific to that item. It gives the text its character. If cursive

handwriting ceases to be part of the visual culture, designers will lose this powerful tool for

creating a sense of personal connection.

Graphology, or the study of graphic elements within handwriting, is used to glean

information about an individual’s personality and character. Although graphology has grown in

popularity and dissension over the centuries, it demonstrates further why

such personal expression can be derived from connected letterforms. Annette

Poizner, whose background is in education and counseling psychology, wrote

Figure 3.1 Poizner, in a recent issue of Semiotica that “Graphologists assert that signatures, Annette. “Symbolism in Handwriting.” specifically, and handwriting, more generally, reveal the writer’s inner Semiotica 2011.185 (2011): 113–122. EBSCOhost. Web. 18 nature” (114). One example shows that an individual has “heightened interest Oct. 2014.

in emotional connection by inadvertently shaping a heart when forming the diacritic” (118) over the letter i (Figure 3.1). This individual was actively involved in community life, professionally and as a volunteer. Unique symbols, created through handwriting and

connected letterforms, enable designers to embed personality within designed material.

This expression of personality can further be seen in the biography of a homeless man

named Stuart Shorter, written by Alexander Masters, entitled Stuart: A Life Backwards. Masters’

multimodal text includes drawings, newspaper clippings, and copies of diary entries to build the

story of Stuart. By the inclusion of all of these pieces, Stuart’s existence is validated, and his

personality comes through in his handwritten diary. His handwriting stands as a signifier of the

actual person. Additionally the readers can see the gradual disintegration of his writing, which

adds “an additional layer of iconic meaning [that] seems to develop from the indexical meaning

described above, signifying a possible iconic similarity between the disintegration of Stuart’s Leiser 16 handwriting and of his state of mind” (Nørgaard 148). The handwriting represents a personality that infuses the text with an identity that can only be achieved through the lettering style created by an individual.

An example of how this same effect is approached in typography is seen through the books of J.K. Rowling. In Harry Potter and

The Sorcerers Stone, the book designers have given personality to the character Albus

Dumbledore through an alternate typeface

(figure 3.2) described as “narrow” and “loopy”

(Rowling) whenever a handwritten note of Figure 3.2 Rowling, J. K. Excerpt from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Early edition. Scholastic, 1998. the character shows up within the text. The Print. connected, cursive letter style of Freestyle Script, with its extensive collection of alternate ligatures “ensuring a fluid, brush-rendered effect” (“Freestyle Script”), gives the character a quality that is utterly unique to that specific character. Just as a typeface can achieve this quality in a book, so too can the cursive handwriting of an individual express the personality of the specific writer.

By choosing certain styles of handwriting or typefaces, a graphic designer can endear a consumer to a product or service or ideology through the implied personality in the writing.

Graphologists further describe how specific characteristics and personality are “betrayed in the angle of the pen stroke of the way a loop is closed” (Crowley). Items that are examined are the slope of the letters, line slope, flow, and pressure. Letter slope direction indicates friendliness; right slope is outgoing, left is shy, and straight is independent. Slope of the line shows the individuals’ mood at the time of writing; rising is optimistic, falling is worried, and straight is Leiser 17

self-controlled and reliable. The flow is the connection between the letters, which indicates whether the writer is rational and logical (all connected), imaginative and intuitive (some connected), or impractical (few connected) (Crowley). All of these small details within a handwriting or typeface speak to individuality, uniqueness. As one becomes proficient in crafting each grapheme, the writer eventually develops their unique loops, slopes, and flow.

Forensic science also shows that handwriting is unique to each individual. In an article published in The Library: The Transactions of the Bibliographical Society, Tom Davis discusses the ways in which handwriting can be identified to a specific individual. “The most valuable idiographic items for the purpose of identification of the writer are those that are not entirely under his or her conscious control; this makes them difficult to forge, and difficult to disguise”

(Davis 255).

As graphology and forensic science demonstrate, personality is expressed through the handwriting of an individual and can be interpreted as an index of that individual. This personality and individuality is what graphic designers try to emulate using cursive typefaces and hand-rendered cursive letters. The designer’s choice of typeface leads the audience to interpret the idiosyncrasies of the renderings to mean something specific about the item it represents.

Cursive typefaces create a sense of personality, whether real or fictional. As the public loses touch with this style of handwriting, having never learned to write cursive letters or develop their own cursive writing identity, designers will need to find new ways of connecting on a personal level with viewers through typefaces. Individuality conveyed through the slope of a line or the connecting of ligatures will be lost.

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Feeling the way

In 1994 when Ronald Reagan revealed that he had Alzheimer’s disease, he hand-wrote a farewell letter to the country. Edmund Morris wrote a piece for the New Yorker to express what the letter meant to him as a critic of Reagan.

“After nine years of studying him with objective coldness, I confess that I, too, cried at the letter with its crabbed script and enormous margin (so evocative of the whitening of his mind).’ Had it ‘been keyboarded to the world,’ the letter would have lost half its poignancy” (Thornton 191).

The physical handwritten note expressed personality and character and brought forth a visceral emotion. It was not through images, music, or the timbre of a voice, but through handwritten words alone.

The reaction that Morris had is the type of reaction designers try to achieve by using script typefaces and hand-rendered type in visual communication. In an article that appeared in

Eye magazine, the authors Paul Shaw and Abby Goldstein express a love for script typefaces and what they do for graphic design.

“Scripts are malleable. Most importantly, they are personal. They encompass a variety of styles and they suggest a plethora of emotions. Scripts are human. As the digital world takes over more and more and more of our lives, they provide a link to the physical and tangible world we are leaving behind” (67).

Script typefaces, like their handwritten counterparts, give the audience a picture of the person who wrote that text. There is an immediate emotional connection that is hard to duplicate in serif or sans-serif typefaces.

The emotion comes through the physicality of putting pen to paper. In celebration of

National Handwriting Day (January 23), a day set apart to express oneself through writing with something other than a keyboard, the Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association website encourages people to “Express yourself through handwriting.” It goes on to say that Leiser 19

“Handwriting allows us to be artists and individuals during a time when we often use computers, faxes and e-mail to communicate. Typefaces and their fonts are the same no matter what computer one uses or how one uses it. Fonts lack a personal touch. Handwriting can add intimacy to a letter and reveal details about the writer’s personality. Throughout history, handwritten documents have sparked love affairs, started wars, established peace, freed slaves, created movements and declared independence (WIMA).”

What is lacking in the keyboard is the emotion of the person as words are written. Through the stroke, the angle, and length of the words, the emotions of the individual come out with each line put to paper.

The revival of handwriting in design

As in times past, the field of graphic design is experiencing an aesthetic revival. Designers are dumping the modern style made popular by individuals like Lester Beal and Paul Rand who were at the height of their popularity during the time when typefaces like Helvetica and Univers ruled the typographic landscape. Just as history repeats itself, designers are rebelling against the “less-

is-more philosophy of Modernism” (Shaw and Goldstein 67) and embracing the styles of the

Renaissance and the Victorian era. The old is made new again, and script typefaces, hand-

rendered letters, and the skills of calligraphers are in high demand.

According to calligraphers Jake Wiedmann and Seb Lester the driving force behind this

revival is “authenticity” (Dennen 50-57). The hand-rendered scripts are not attainable for all and

thus the large and growing collection of script typefaces to bring authenticity for all designers. In

2009, FontHaus and Veer reported that script faces were their bestsellers and had been for

several years (“The Typefaces of the Year”). Alejandro Paul has become a well-known typeface

designer because of his expressive typefaces like Sugar Pie (Figure 3.3) and Adios Script (that

also made the 2009 list), which take on the hand-creation styling that is reminiscent of brush and Leiser 20

Figure 3.3 Paul, Alejandro. Adios Script and Sugar Pie typefaces. Accessed Jan 25, 2015 from sudtipos.com/fonts/111. nib calligraphy. What has made this revival of hand-rendered and script typefaces possible is a group of artisans that are still old enough to have studied cursive writing and are able to read and appreciate these styles and what is represented. The young designers and calligraphers, such as

29-year old Weidmann, were taught under the curriculum standards that still instructed cursive handwriting in the classroom. Once the children affected by Common Core standards enter the design field and the marketplace revivals like this may not be possible.

The work of today’s graphic artists is reminiscent of another time period. Jessica Hische is one of the more recognizable individuals on the hand-lettering scene because of her blog, the

Daily Drop Cap. She created all different kinds of styles to, as she says, “prettify the internet and

beautify your blog posts” (“About

| Daily Drop Cap”). Her “little pet

project” launched her career, and

she has been featured in dozens of

magazines and worked for top-

notch clients. In 2013, she created

a series of ads for Starbucks

(Figure 3.4) that used her cursive

Figure 3.4 Hische, Jessica. Starbucks ads; accessed Jan 25, 2015 from jessicahische.is/secretlyintofancylattes Leiser 21

hand-rendered typefaces to create a persona for some edible art. Each advertisement concludes

with the individual who ordered the drink. The type Hische created supports the imagery and

gives each ad a uniqueness that is created through the connected and not-so-connected letters.

Her website is filled with examples of cursive, hand-rendered typefaces for clients such as

Nieman Marcus, The Smithsonian, Penguin books, and President Obama. Each piece is unique,

just like the handwriting of a friend. Through her carefully connected letters, a personal and

emotional connection is formed.

Other individuals who have a similar skill set as Hische are storming the design field. Seb

Lester is a London-based designer that specializes in calligraphy and has been hired by Apple,

Faber & Faber and O magazine. Mary Kate McDevitt, a letterer and illustrator from New York,

has worked for Nike, Puffin Books, Chronicle Books and Target. Hand-letterer Sean McCabe

launched a hand-lettering course and grossed “six figures in three days” (Sean McCabe).

Through these few examples it is apparent that hand-lettering and what it expresses has exploded, from the large range of clients that have published hand-lettered items, to designers flocking for more information on how to hand-letter. Design is crazy for the personal touch, something that appears unique and created by hand.

In a quick search for calligraphy on the DYI website Etsy, almost 48 thousand entries come up. A search for hand-lettering brings up an additional 12 thousand entries. What Esty has created is a place for customers to add personality to their homes through artwork that is as unique as the individual who made it. Cursive handwriting, lettering, and calligraphy all have used connected letters to create personality for items, take on a less than orderly customization, and bring boring quotes, artwork, advertisement, and other products to new life. Leiser 22

In this disconnected, technological world, objects that feel unique, personal, and

handmade are exciting to consumers and designers. The loss of cursive writing education from

America’s visual culture would make another revival of this style unlikely.

PART 4: DESIGNERS LOSE A TOOL FOR EXPRESSING HISTORICAL CHARACTER

In addition to expressing the personality of individuals, handwriting and cursive typefaces may

express the character and qualities of various periods and places in time. Throughout history,

cursive and hand-rendered letters become associated with a particular culture, and “Designers must therefore assume that users of their typefaces will recognize ‘where these signs come from’, and users, in turn, will have to assume the same for their readers or viewers” (Leeuwen 139). What designers must consider as the next generations come of age, with a possible inability to read cursive writing, is that the historic connection for certain cursive typefaces will be broken.

Designers will have to find other ways to evoke historical connotations that will connect with audiences.

Drawing from history

In the journal Visual Communication, professor of language and communication Theo Van

Leeuwen states that an association is made through a “domain into which the signs are imported”

(140). Typefaces that emulate a handwritten style of a certain time and place become signs within the domain of a historical period, evoking the character—or the audience’s impressions— of the historical style represented.

In the eighteenth century, the European handwriting style of the day was Chancery Script.

In America the Puritans turned it into a less elaborate script called English Roundhand. Its most Leiser 23

well known application is the Declaration of Independence (Florey 40–45). Because of this,

English Roundhand serves as sign of early American history. Typefaces that have been created

out of this time period—Bickham Script, Snell Roundhand, American Scribe, and many others— create an association to the period in which they were formed.

Figure 4.1 Simonson, Mark. Bickham Script in use “Believe”. Accessed Feb 9, 2015 from fontsinuse.com/typefaces/3792/bickham-script Since 2008, Macy’s Christmas “Believe” campaign (Figure 4.1) has been using Bickham

Script for its signature design. The collaboration between Macy’s and the Make-A-Wish foundation is based on a letter written in 1897 to the editor of the Sun Times. In the editor’s reply he answers the author’s question with a resounding “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.” The use of Bickham script for this campaign draws upon the Victorian era to give the campaign historical significance. The viewer decodes the Bickham Script “Believe” as nostalgic and historical. Both the word and its connected cursive style of typeface encourage the viewer to associate the history of the script with the last time they believed. Happy memories of childhood wash over them. By setting this single word in a typeface that is rooted in history the viewer quickly receives multiple impressions: First, it is a part of the Christmas tradition. Although only six years old, this campaign seems to be synonymous with Macy’s Christmas, as if it has always been a part of the company since its first store opening. Second, it gives the campaign value. Just Leiser 24

as jewelry and antiques often have a higher value because of age, so do typefaces based in

history. The age suggested by the typeface makes it feel more valuable and elegant to the

audience and emphasizes the importance of the campaign. Script typefaces, used for so many

historical documents, carry a weight of significance, reflecting the value of a foundation that

carries out the wishes of terminally ill children.

As with the “Believe” campaign, many other logos have been created with type style

derived from Spencerian script (Ball glass, Budweiser, and Coca-Cola being among the most famous). Johnson & Johnson’s logo was also created from the personal handwriting of one of the three founding Johnson brothers, James Wood Johnson (“The Johnson Brothers”). His personalized Spencerian script handwriting-turned-logo has been used by the company as part of its formal brand since 1886. Their identifiable script was so valuable to the brand that Johnson &

Johnson hired type designer Jill Bell (Adobe) to extend the logo into an entire alphabet.

Matching the style and stroke of the logo’s original creator, Bell created a typeface that can now be used as headlines and titles to further enhance the brand identity. For over 125 years individuals have trusted this company for their health care needs. It is this age and trust that the script style logo emulates without words. According to Bridget Williams, a 2013 graphic design student at Syracuse University, the script typeface “reminds the consumer that they are an old and well established company” (“Ferrari and Johnson & Johnson Wordmark | GRA 217 Section

5 Group 2”). For any company, especially a pharmaceutical company, having age and longevity is a valuable asset that is impossible to replicate. The script style of this logo emphasizes that fact and acts as a reminder of the long history of the company.

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Cursive creates value

What has enabled graphic designers to create historical reference has also been used to produce a

sense of nobility, value, and significance. A simple search on MyFonts.com will bring up almost

four hundred fonts listed under the tags of “wedding” and “cursive.” For an event as valuable

and important as a wedding, cursive typefaces are often a designer’s first choice. This value

stems not only from the connection to the past but also the significance society historically has

placed on the handwritten item.

In the Middle Ages, nobility would hire scribes to create masterful works of art to

commemorate a significant event. Perhaps the earliest known reference is from 781 when

Charles, of the Carolingian Dynasty, and his wife commissioned a manuscript to “celebrate the

baptism of their son, Pippin, at Easter” (Clayton 57). Nobles such as Charles had the means to

express their wealth through hand-rendered documents, an expense that most of society could not

afford, thus ensuring their status.

The value of this type of work has been cultivated through centuries of importance placed

on the handwritten work by nobility and society. According to Tamara Plakins Thornton, the

“notion [of the wealthy being able to afford the luxury of individuality] is reflected and

reinforced by the commercial use of script in general, however generated, to indicate status and wealth. Invitations to social functions, for example, if they have any pretense to elegance and class, must be in script. …Clearly, script functions as a sign of both status and individuality”

(183). Thornton goes on to compare the logos of the department store Lord and Taylor with that

of K-Mart (or today’s version of an all-in-one store, Wal-Mart). The former is written in a cursive script, a signifier to the store’s clientele of its importance and individuality. K-Mart’s Leiser 26

logo, on the other hand, is a block-letter mass that expresses the bargain prices for the masses

within.

The most recognizable script logo has a heritage in handwriting. The logo for Coca-Cola

was written by Frank Robinson, a bookkeeper for the company, in Spencerian Script in 1886

(Florey 75). The aesthetic achieved was one of value and importance, which made it a product that individuals wanted to have.

By today’s standards the script typeface still stands for what it did in the past, elegance, class, nobility, prominence, and importance. College diplomas, though no longer handwritten, are set in a typeface that is reminiscent of Blackletter and script typefaces reminiscent of English

Roundhand to detail the graduate’s significant accomplishments. Wedding certificates and legal documents carry similar characteristics to those seen on diplomas. Covered in elegant typefaces that are meant to bring up historical connotations of a time period in which the handwritten version would have been a sign of wealth and extravagance. Designers rely on these kinds of inherited cues to communicate value or capture the qualities of a particular time period.

As cursive handwriting instruction is removed from elementary education, these cues may be lost. If one looks at the writings of early Americans, the ability to decipher their elegant hand (which was once commonplace) has greatly diminished. In her book, Handwriting in

America, Thornton describes the degradation of the ability to read colonial script as an act of decoding.

“As many a historian will tell you, reading the handwriting of the colonial era is no straightforward proposition. …. There is a deeper sense, however, in which colonial handwriting is illegible to the modern reader. Quite apart from the meaning of the particular text is the significance of the handwriting itself, intuitively apprehended by contemporaries but lost to us now. It disappeared in part because handwriting existed within a historically specific and culturally defined system of literacy that is no longer in existence. Reading and writing were not two aspects of one skill but entirely distinct accomplishments, which were Leiser 27

taught separately to different groups of people in different pedagogical settings for different purposes” (40-41).

Since moving towards an educational system that combined the skills of handwriting and reading into one educational goal, the specialized skill of cursive handwriting has diminished.

Since 1870, when the aforementioned changes took place, the value of clear, legible handwriting has diminished further and further, consisting now of a mere 10 to 15 minutes a week. It took a little over a hundred years for society to reach this diminished capacity to read what was handwritten by the founding fathers of America. It took less than thirty years for technology to gain a hold on society and change the education mentality in which society currently lives. The impact that these changes have made will, as they did 150 years ago, impact Americans’ ability to decipher texts written by persons educated in cursive handwriting.

Modern day dilemma for designers

At the fingertips of any graphic designer is a huge library of script typefaces that, when used appropriately, can create items with implied historical character or value. However, the use of

cursive typefaces to draw upon historical associations takes for granted that the audience can

read cursive writing.

Type designer Zuzana Licko “has a popular theory that you read best what you read most”

(Garfield 53). As individuals spend most of their time typing and reading the scannable sans- serif typefaces and fonts typical of websites and less time reading and writing cursive, graphic designers will face a public that is not accustomed to typefaces reminiscent of historical writing styles. Designers may lose a valuable tool to evoke the qualities and values of the past.

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PART 5: CONCLUSION

Graphic designers as well as their American audiences are unknowingly dependent on cursive

writing and reading education, as cursive handwriting instruction has been a part of the

educational landscape for over one hundred years. Technology has changed the way

communication happens, but no matter the age, a cursive handwritten note continues to bind the

generations together, conveying personality, emotion, and history.

As each decade has passed, cursive writing education has diminished in importance, with

educators favoring the instruction of writing solely as a process rather than a combination of

process and the style of a created script. Because of the adoption of the Common Core standards,

over 84 percent of American students will no longer be taught cursive writing. Evidence from

studies by Kersey and James and other researchers indicates that as this instruction is removed

from the U.S. public education curriculum, children will no longer be able to read this style of

writing. Growing up without the bond that is made when the personality of the writer can be

interpreted through each carefully crafted cursive letter. They may grow up disconnected from

prior generations who have relied on cursive handwriting for centuries.

As children no longer learn how to write and read cursive, their ability to read the

typefaces based on cursive handwriting may also vanish. Graphic designers will be forced to find

new ways to communicate personality and history without the use of script typefaces. Although

not used as frequently as sans-serif typeface through the 20th century, script letterforms have allowed graphic designers to create personalities or evoke emotions with their design solutions and represent the qualities and significance of handwriting from past eras. Often used for display type, these connected letter typefaces have embodied individuality, personality, emotion, value, and history. Through the use of extended libraries of ligatures, each designer who uses the same Leiser 29

off-the-shelf typeface can create a unique voice unlike any other. The options within cursive

script are endless, offering personality that is fun, flirty, royal, and even frightening. The cursive

letters give away a personal secret, creating an instant connection to the product or item being

represented.

Additionally, historical references made through cursive typefaces will no longer be a

viable way to create a connection to the past. Through history of letterforms, today’s design

solutions can have an antique, older appearance, carry significant value, and encourage an

impression of the past to resurface. Each graphic/artistic movement and style has defined a

generation’s vision through unique letterforms. Typefaces can represent a particular era. When

script typefaces are no longer available for use by graphic designers, a new common graphic

stylization of letterforms will have to be discovered and/or created to allow history to be

represented.

Unless changes are made to the U.S. public education, it is only a matter of time before

designers will have to adjust to the outcomes of the Common Core standards. The 43 states

following the new standards will determine just how great the loss of cursive handwriting is for

society and the field of graphic design. As today’s Common Core-educated children grow up and

become the majority, the field of graphic design must evolve to find new ways to create and communicate personal, emotional, and historical values to an American public that cannot recognize cursive graphemes. This may mean finding ways to give the sans-serif and serif typefaces unique character qualities, and relying more on color, images, and texture to connect with next generations. This new challenge could spur the next era of graphic design. The current revival of the hand-created letterforms may be replaced again with the ideals of modernism and all characteristics that the hand-rendered and cursive typeface gives to a piece may be replaced Leiser 30 with the clean, crisp style of modernity. Like the rotary dial phone, cursive may slowly slip away into history.

PART 6: ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

A number of states have realized the importance of cursive handwriting to a child’s development and have pursued its inclusion in the curriculum of elementary grade levels. Tennessee, Florida,

South Carolina, California, Idaho, Massachusetts, and North Carolina have listened to psychologists like Steven Graham, and implemented further handwriting instruction. Graham, a professor at Arizona State University in the Division of Educational Leadership and Innovation, has centered his research around writing development and difficulties. In a 2012 article, Graham stated,

“When handwriting is not taught, reader comprehension may suffer. Not practicing the motor skills associated with writing also makes it more difficult for people to communicate their ideas.” He also stated that if “handwriting skills aren’t automatic ‘it interfered with the whole writing process’” (Zubrzycki).

To ignore the importance of handwriting practice in elementary education and beyond will be a disservice to children. The value of handwriting in education is also supported by the findings of psychologist, Virginia Berninger, a professor of educational psychology, who states that

“Despite advances in computer technology, research supports the argument that today’s students still need instruction in handwriting for two primary reasons. First, learning to form letters by hand improves perception of letters and contributes to better reading and spelling. Second automatic letter writing promotes better composing—both amount written and quality of writing” ("Strengthening the Mind's Eye" 31).

As Graham and Berninger have stated, handwriting is still important to a child’s development. In order to support the composition of written text, a student must first be able to quickly and efficiently write words. Leiser 31

Although some states have decided to revert their curricular decisions and, in order to assist children better, included cursive handwriting instructions in their elementary education programs, the majority—43 states to be exact—are sticking to the Common Core standards and eliminating it from the curriculum. With the already full schedule of today’s classroom, the easiest thing to cut seemed to be the handwriting instruction. In response, parents have sought out ways to teach what Americans view as a crucial skill to their children. After-school programs, individualized instructions from private tutors, and iPad applications demonstrate that cursive handwriting is not dead yet; however, roughly 84 percent of American students will not be exposed to cursive handwriting instruction at school. Since most of the cursive handwriting education currently available will require additional funding from parents, this writing style could become a mark of the wealthy. Unattainable for the lower and middle class, the cursive style could become once again what it used to be—a status symbol for individuals with means.

Graphic designers should be aware of the potential alienation that the use of cursive script lettering could bring to the nation in the future. Finding ways to continue its use and further the development of new educational models that will include it alongside other important educational goals is imperative.

What is going unnoticed in all of this is the originality that is fostered when an individual develops his/her own style of writing. Handwriting may not be the first designed item for an aspiring designer, but it may be an important part of the creative development process. Since so much of design is dependent upon type and the interaction of letters to convey individuality, a future graphic designer may begin designing when first learning to write and stylizing letterforms by hand. Leiser 32

Graphic designers need to be aware of what is being taken from elementary education

and consider the impact changes may have on the future of the field. Is the public school system

under the current Common Core standards good enough, or should alternatives that embody

cultural ideals inform educational programs? Only time will tell how broad changes in elementary education will affect society, but graphic designers and educators should be aware of how the current elementary classroom changes are shaping future visual culture, consumers, and graphic designers. Leiser 33

Appendix A: Visual Presentation

Through personal contacts I was able to secure presentation time at the largest elementary grade

school in district 58 of Downers Grove, IL. This district was an early adopter of one-to-one iPad technology and currently teaches over 450 students with common core state standards. I invited the teachers to the presentation in two ways: first through an electronic invitation, which caused some interest, then through 40 personalized invitation with handwritten notes and envelopes, which caused quite a bit more buzz and excitement. This personal touch increased the attendance from twelve to over 32.

Three days prior to the event, I installed a “writing board” in the teachers lounge to prepare the teaching staff for the presentation, to get them thinking hard about the subject matter, and finally to create more buzz about the upcoming event. Throughout the week I was informed that many conversations were happening surrounding the invitations and writing board questions.

On February 26, 2015 at 3pm I gave a presentation to over 30 teachers and support staff.

Following the presentation, I facilitated small group discussion on the key topics discussed during the presentation. Each group shared their final thoughts on the presentation. Teachers and staff realized the implication of removing cursive and recognized cursive writing should be kept as part of the curriculum. Points made during the presentation that caused this shift were the higher ACT/SAT score statistic, handwriting notes for increased memory resulting in higher test scores, employers still see the value of cursive handwriting for employees, and the impact of its removal on society as a whole.

Each individual was given a booklet, a personalized thank you note, two blank note cards to send a handwritten note to a loved one, and two pencils. The event was a success and the next Leiser 34

day, staff were still talking about the topic in the lounge. Following are some of the comments

received via email that a teacher at the school forwarded on to me:

“I was sharing some of the findings and info [with my husband Tim] which led to us

practice handwriting what we remembered about cursive. I got more out of her 45 minute

presentation than the 4 hour training [about Differentiated Visual Tools for Teaching Common

Core Language Arts Standards Across Curriculum].” – Kathy

“After I left, it made me really think a lot about cursive, letter writing and how much I

miss the cards I used to get from my grandma.” – Colleen

“After I got home last night, I talked with my husband about cursive handwriting for 45 minutes.”

-Sandy

“Presentation was informative and engaging.” - Laura

“I hadn't really really given cursive much thought, but now I keep thinking about it.” —Meghan

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Paper Invitation Leiser 36

Giveaway packet (Information booklet, 2 pencils, 2 notecards) Leiser 37

Information Booklet Interior Spreads

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Information Booklet Interior Spreads

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Information Booklet Interior Spread

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Center Piece Prize Giveaway

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Writing Board Day 1 Leiser 43

Writing Board Day 3

Writing Board Day 2

Writing Board Day 4

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Presentation Beginning Presentation

Group Facilitation

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