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Do designers show categorical perception of typefaces?

This paper describes original empirical work which applies a paradigm from psychology (categorical perception) to the perception of typefaces by designers, an approach which involves novel experiments within the field of typography. By drawing on examples of research in other areas of perception, i.e. faces, music, and speech, these studies explore how visual forms are perceived. As the application of categorical perception to typefaces is a new approach various methodological issues are explored. This paper is important within the design field by demonstrating a rigorous method investigating typographers' visual discriminations. The work is also part of a group of studies developed by Dyson which aim to characterise typographic expertise, see also Dyson (2012).