'A casual glance at Karl Kempton's typoglyphs reveals several important characteristics. They are carefully designed and impeccably rendered. They suggest virtuoso command of a typewriter. They tend to be elegant, graceful, and symmetrical. Nonetheless, they sometimes produce kinetic effects such as figure/ground reversal or changes in perspective or other suggestions of depth that give them a lively, vibrant quality. They are sometimes based in visual pun, paradox, and example. Some are humorous or satirical. Some use words; many do not. Many could be understood by people who don't read English, or could be understood by them with the gloss of a word or two. Many suggest archetypes, but, at the same time, most call forth all sorts of associations from the viewer's subconscious that are highly individualized.' (from the introduction by Karl Young)