The transliteration of Turkish writing from Arabic letters to Latin letters is often cited as a triumph of early 20th-century modernism. While this change was largely motivated by ideology, the presence and depth of Greek and Armenian learning cultures, a multi-script reading environment, and the slow adoption of the printing press for Ottoman Turkish writing all contributed. This talk will take a look at how print technology, the graphic/lettering landscape, and literacy all contributed to, and were not just derivative of, the cultural ideas that were carried forward.

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Juliette Cezzar is assistant professor of communication design at The New School’s Parsons School of Design where she was director of the BFA Communication Design and Design & Technology programs from 2011–2014. She served as president of AIGA New York’s board of directors from 2014–16.