I took a walk last night along a creek. During the walk, I saw a dog.
Stop for a second and think about that last sentence. You probably had no issue when you read it but what kind of dog was it? Since it's only the second sentence, and this is not a blog about dogs, you probably didn't need or want more information. For the context, an abstract consideration of a dog was enough. Maybe it was a mean dog. Maybe it caused fear for you because you hate dogs—or great joy because you're very fond of dogs.
My point is simply this, the richness of our thoughts cannot be conveyed through language, including writing—and that is okay. While writing is arguably the second greatest human invention—following speech—it does have significant limitations. Think of times where you have said or heard "Words cannot express…" In those situations—like death of a loved one or a truly romantic moment—we find words truly cannot express the complexity or depth of our feelings.
At the same time, we are all familiar with moments entire nations have been moved by a speech. "Four score and seven years ago…" "I have a dream" "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."
Have you ever watched a movie made from a book you read and thought something like, "That character doesn't look like that!" or "That's not how that place looks."? If you look back at the book, chances are much of the description you are so certain of is not in the book. You have taken the little bit of description provided by the author and allowed it to take shape in your mind based on the context of the writing and your personal experiences and preferences.
This is going to happen no matter how extensive or brief the text. As the writer, you cannot guarantee how the audience will interpret the text you give them. This means you need to be aware of the context of text especially how the audience may view the text.
The Boston Bomb Scare from 2007 is an example of failing to understand the context of the audience. Famous examples of breakdowns in audience understanding often reflect graphics but they can also be caused by text breakdowns as well.
As you work with text, you should understand it is ultimately a visual element. DOG is just lines and curves. There is no meaning to the lines and curves in many languages. English readers have agreed to understand the arrangement to convey an idea, an idea which itself is often kept quite abstract. To use text wisely in writing and design requires understanding how the audience will understand the text and your ability and limitations in shaping that understanding.
