Leaves Blown in The Wind: The Relationship of Typography and Ambiguity in Written Communication Media

This research aims to explore the relationship between typography and ambiguity through a semantic-pragmatic approach. Typography, which is supposed to bring clarity and present information attractively, can cause ambiguity, both intentionally and unintentionally. Intentionally, typography can be used to deceive, conceal, misuse, or satirize something or an event, while unintentionally it can cause a shift in referent, leading to misperception, misdirection, and harassment. With this potential, typographic relationships and ambiguity are like leaves in the wind that can be perceived this way and that. The research data were obtained at the end of 2022 using the tapping method, screenshot technique, and note-taking technique from various written sources in the form of memes from social media, conversations on WhatsApp (WA), commercial advertisements, business signboards, and flyers posted in a business place. After classification, the data was analyzed using the methods of comparison, introspection, and pragmatic pairing. After that, the data is presented using formal and informal methods in the form of narratives and pictures. By examining the perspective of meaning, it is hoped that this study can describe the impact of ambiguity that occurs and overcome the misperceptions caused by ambiguity so that the use of language used by the community becomes effective.