When I think of “experimental typography,” visions of dancing, distressed, and often illegible letterforms leap to mind. But in 1960, when the Composing Room (directed by Dr. Robert Leslie), one of New York’s most influential type shops-cum-graphic design showcases, invoked the term, clarity was the goal—somewhat. This was the moment when hot-metal typesetting was at the tipping point. Photo type was nudging the old methods into the shadows. Expression was replacing neutralit
