Dictionary of the Illegible

Synopsis

Dictionary of the Illegible explores the limits of language, from humanity’s earliest marks to the dissolution of modern alphabets in contemporary visual culture. Laurenz Brunner brings together more than 400 examples of illegibility drawn from Indigenous cultures, contemporary art, science fiction, politics, architecture, technology, and imagined future civilizations.

Works by Albrecht Dürer, Hilma af Klint, Roland Barthes, Bruno Munari, Max Ernst, and Paul Klee appear alongside puzzling images from popular culture, including Family Guy, Jeopardy!, Doctor Who, The Simpsons, and Star Trek. Each entry examines forms that resist conventional readability, proposing illegibility not simply as a failure to communicate but as a way of navigating a world increasingly governed by visibility, efficiency, and surveillance.

About the Author

Laurenz Brunner is a Swiss designer whose independent practice focuses on editorial and communication design, visual identities, and type design. In 2022, he launched Source Type, a platform for typographic research and visual literacy. He has twice received the Swiss Federal Design Award.

Publisher

Source Type

Publication Date

June 16, 2026

Format

Hardcover

Pages

480

Subjects

Art & Ideas · Typography · Graphic Design · Visual Culture · Contemporary Art · Language · Art History

ISBN

9798986918716