°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±¼Ç¼

°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±¼Ç¼ cookie policy

We use cookies on reading.ac.uk to improve your experience, monitor site performance and tailor content to you

Read our cookie policy to find out how to manage your cookie settings

Dr Christopher Burke

 Research and doctoral  supervision

Office

Typography & Graphic Communication, TOB2 (Building 21)

Building location

Whiteknights campus

Areas of interest

My areas of interest focus mainly on the history of typography and graphic design in the twentieth century. I am interested in examining the development of modernism in typography, and reflecting on its connections to other aspects of modern culture. These themes can be traced in the books I have written: about two pioneers of German New Typography, and , and about typeface designer . The last of these also deals with the technological revolution in type and typography during the twentieth century, and it intrigues me that this did not always entail ‘modern’ style but often resulted in revival and traditionalism. This continues a tendency that dates back to the invention of printing.

Currently, my research centres on the picture language of Isotype – its origins in Vienna of the 1920s and its adaptation to a British context. This is a story of the exile of modernism from Central  Europe and its subsequent accommodation to English-speaking culture. Due to the manifold interests of Isotype’s creators (in particular Otto Neurath), this research provides many connections with other disciplines that enrich the study of graphic design. A book I co-wrote with Wim Jansen, (2022) deals with the work of the Isotype Institute for the Ministry of Information during the Second World War.

Research projects

History and legacy of Isotype. Since 2019 I have been Research Fellow on the project ‘Isotype: origin, development, and legacy’, supported by the Austrian Science Fund, and directed by Günther Sandner at the University of Vienna. In addition to scholarly articles and conference presentations, we have written a book entitled History and legacy of Isotype, published in 2024. Based on original, archival research, it addresses aspects of Isotype history that were not specifically addressed in the book that I previously co-edited and co-wrote, (2013).

Otto Neurath in Britain. Together with Ádám Tamas Tuboly, I am co-writing a study of Otto Neurath’s years in Britain, 1940–5. Despite the brevity of this period, Neurath was extraordinarily active in many fields – philosophy, economics, planning, and not least information design with Isotype. Drawing on correspondence and other material from various archives, including the Otto and Marie Isotype Collection at the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±¼Ç¼, we aim to give a lively picture of this engaging polymath, whose thinking was ahead of its time in many respects.

Websites/blogs

Publications

Loading your publications ...