Apex: Meeting the Peak of Typography

WINTER 2018 0 ISSUE 1

APEX

MEETING THE PEAK OF TYPOGRAPHY

COLOR LESS IS THE NEW COLOR FUL

TYPE

ON THE GO

Type Safari

Type Around the World

Illuminating the art of neon signage and how the colorless element Neon lights up the Big Apple with vibrant, glowing colors

Tracking down the Philippine jeepney and its eye-catching exterior that demonstrates typography’s extensive impact in different cultures

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FROM THE EDITOR

FROM THE EDITOR I first discovered my love for typography when I

it interlinks “two strokes” in my life, which are my

moved to Colorado back in 2013. As a means to fulfill

passion and my cultural background. It is these two

an art elective as a high school graduation require-

things that have most importantly shaped me into

ment, I wanted to try something new and decided to

not just the designer I am, but most importantly, the

take an introductory graphic design class. There, I dev-

person I am today. I also feature the typography-ori-

eloped a deeper appreciation and understanding for

ented neon signs of New York City, the place where

not only typography, but digital design. As I went on

I am currently furthering and practicing my knowl-

to take the three advanced computer design classes

edge and skills on typography and graphic design,

offered at my high school, one being a class that gave

and the typography-covered jeepneys of the Philip-

students the opportunity to design for local non-

pines, the place where I grew up and lived in for 13

profit businesses, I eventually and truly learned the

years of my life.

impact design has on our everyday lives, and how it has the capacity to improve them.

Apex magazine emulates the personal impact typography and design has left on my life, how some-

This magazine, Apex, honors my roots as a designer.

thing that simply began as a means to graduate high

Apex is a typographic term, which is the point where

school became a path I would be following and

two strokes mean at the top of a letterform. However,

embarking a journey upon to lead me to a bright

apex also means the highest point of something,

future. To me, typography and design have played

which makes me think of the mountains of Colorado,

roles in my life just as important as my cultural

where I found my passion for design. Apex maga-

upbringing and personal experiences have—they are

zine embodies the typographic meaning of apex, as

the apexes of my life.

Yours, Danni Go 01

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CON TENTS 3

Notable Sources

4

Type History The Metalanguage

10 Type Safari Colorless is the New Colorful

18 Typographer Portrait Color-blind Leading the Blind 02

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Type Around the World: the Philippines Type on the Go

26 28

Type Glossary

Apex App and Website

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NOTABLE SOURCES

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NOTABLE Links

Books

Fonts In Use

Detail in Typography

https://fontsinuse.com/

Written by Jost Hochuli

Fonts In Use is a public archive of typography

‘Detail in Typography’ considers all the elements that

indexed by typeface, format, and industry. We docu-

constitute a column of text letters, words, the line,

ment and examine graphic design with the goal of

and the space around them, and discusses what is

improving typographic literacy and appreciation.

essential for the legibility of text.

Paul Shaw Letter Design http://www.paulshawletterdesign.com/

Texts on Type: Critical Writings on Typography

Paul Shaw Letter Design consists of award-winning.

Written by Steven Heller, Philip B. Meggs

designer and design historian Paul Shaw’s research

Students and teachers of graphic design will enrich

and personal work, including commissioned writings, and tours and events Shaw is engaged in. Shaw also shares his typographic discoveries and knowledge, and recommends sources of his own.

their understanding of 20th century type design and typography with this unique anthology. Contained in this volume are more than 50 important, known and rare texts by critics, historians, and type designers about the history, aesthetics, and practice of type

FontShop

design and typography.

https://www.fontshop.com/ FontShop features an extensive online collection

Grid Systems

of typefaces, designers and foundries, a regular

Written by Josef Müller-Brockmann

e-newsletter, blogs (FontFeed, Fontblog, FontShop

A grid system is a rigid framework that is supposed

Blog, FontShop Aktuell, etc.) and several social media channels.

to help graphic designers in the meaningful, logical and consistent organization of information on a page. This volume provides guidelines and rules for the function and use for grid systems from 8 to 32 grid fields. Exact directions for using all of the grid systems possible are given to the user.

SOURCES 03

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THE METALANGUAGE

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THE METALANGUAGE

THE META LANG UAGE

How a font once rejected by the German Post

Office defined the digital age, Herman Miller,

previous decade by Erik Spiekermann, and introduced

by Herman Miller’s then-Vice President of Creative

and type titan Erik Spiekermann

Design, Steve Frykholm. Prior to FF Meta’s adoption, Hel-

Companies use typefaces to embody their personali-

decades of the Swiss typeface, Frykholm proposed a

vetica had been the firm’s principal font, but after three

ties, or as marketing departments are wont to say, their

change: “We explored serif, sans serif, and script fonts,”

“brand values.” It is often noted that pet owners come

he says, “but in the end we settled on Erik’s Meta. It was

to resemble their pets, but can it ever be claimed that a

computer-friendly, and I also liked Erik. I’ll admit it was

typeface resembles an organization? Surely it’s asking

a rather subjective choice.”

too much of 26 letterforms and a few punctuation marks to embody a corporate entity?

There’s an irony here: Frykholm dumped Helvetica for a typeface that came to be known in typographic

Take the font FF Meta. Does it exhibit the Herman Miller

circles—thanks to its intense popularity at the begin-

persona? The company has used the typeface as its

ning of the digital era—as the “Helvetica of the 90s.”

corporate font since the late 1990s. You’re reading it

Now, FF Meta looks nothing like Helvetica. Yet just

right now, come to think of it. It was designed in the

as Helvetica defined its era (roughly speaking, the late 1950s to mid-60s), FF Meta also defined its own. In

1. Erik Spiekermann on letterpressing. “The thing about letterpress is that you get a slight impression into the papers, and it has a certain warm feel to it… It’s physical, it’s haptic.

Whereas with digital, there’s no touch anywhere. There’s ink on the surface, but it’s not quite the same,” he says.

the 1990s, electronic communication fast became as important as printed communications, and a new typographic syntax that worked on screens as well as

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THE METALANGUAGE

2. the printed page was required. The open apertures

man of digital agency Eden-Spiekermann). He is

of FF Meta’s letterforms, one of the font’s defining

one of a handful of designers widely known to both

qualities, makes it suitable for both print and

the design and business communities, and his impre-

electronic applications. But can we discern something about Herman Miller’s molecular structure in FF Meta? Who better to ask than the man, Erik

Düsseldorf Airport, Bosch, Volkswagen,

3.

Spiekermann, himself?

A luminous presence in the world of graphic design and typography, Spiekermann combines his personal love for traditional printing techniques (he runs a hand press in Berlin), with a deep understanding of digital design technology (until recently he was chair2. This was one of the first sketches that set the foundation of what was to become FF Meta. They developed a beta version of the typeface and made first fonts for testing and presentation, then continued to work on how and where to improve it in detail.

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ssive list of clients includes Berlin Transit, The Economist, and Nokia. His writings (and tweets) on design, typography and his numerous showstopping design conference appearances have made him known to nearly everyone working in design. A big chunky book on Spiekermann’s life and work, Hello, I am Erik, was published in 2014. Now in his seventies, he exudes the physical energy and intellectual vim of someone half his age.

3. Erik Spiekermann finds pleasure in working analog: “I’ve designed, typed, and cut in large wood, but it’s sort of fun to work with my hands again.”

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He is witty, argumentative, and bursting with opinions

So thorough was Spiekermann’s process that he

on most subjects. “Meta was made by hand and has

arranged to have his new letterforms tested for

that human touch. And I’ve always liked Herman Miller

legibility by perception scientists at Braunschweig

furniture. It doesn’t look like it comes from a factory.

University of Technology. “There was a guy there who

The stuff always had a more humane quality than a

looked at it, and in his view, there was a little too much

lot of other furniture—especially German-engineered

‘noise,’ which you can see in my early drawings. So,

furniture. Herman Miller furniture always impressed me

I toned down the contrast. There were a couple of

as being approachable, and I think Meta is very app-

numerals that he said were a little too in love with

roachable,” Spiekermann said.

themselves—mannered, in other words.”

It’s a view shared by Frykholm:

For the presentation of his new typeface to Deutsche Bundespost, Spiekermann borrowed an early Macin-

“I find Meta and all its variations very easy to work with. It’s like a friend or a good collaborator.”

The typeface is on this, I said. They looked at me, and

FF Meta was not designed with Herman Miller in mind,

As far as they knew, type was heavy and came in

however. It was designed for the GermanPost Office

drawers. They thought I’d gone bonkers.”

(Deutsche Bundespost), which hired Spiekermann to rethink the entire graphic design system for the organization—everything from order forms to the once ubiquitous telephone directories. Deutsch Bundespost’s previous font? Like Herman Miller, it was Helvetica. With typical forthrightness, the then 38-yearold Spiekermann urged them to drop it, announcing that it was “unfit for purpose” and “overused.”

tosh computer (it was 1985, the year after the Mac was launched): “I put the computer on a desk in front of them and took a diskette out of my shirt pocket. then at each other, and thought, he’s stark raving mad.

The Font FF Meta is a humanist sans-serif typeface family Spiekermann released in 1991 through his FontFont library. According to him, FF Meta was intended to be a “complete antithesis of Helvetica”, which he found “boring and bland”. It originated from an unused commission for the Deutsche Bundespost.

Spiekermann recognized that it was the Bundespost’s phone books that offered the greatest potential to benefit from a new typeface, and so he set about designing FF Meta (then called PT55), a process that involved meticulous research into the proportions of classic letterforms and analysis of developments in printing technology. “We have a great German word, ‘Kopfgeburt’—it means something that springs from your brain. The design of Meta wasn’t like that at all.

The process was very theoretical. It wasn’t emotional.

This was because at that time I had no experience and couldn’t rely on talent or practice. Everything had to be deducted.”

ABCDEF GHIJKL MNOPQ RSTUV WXYZ

“With just a change of typeface, you could save a million trees and be a hero.”

— ERIK SPIEKERMANN

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FF Meta has been adopted by numerous corporations

potentially poor paper stock, the brief called for

and other organizations as a corporate typeface, for sig-

a very legible, neutral, space-saving, and distingu-

nage or in their logo. These include Imperial College

ishable (in regards to weight) typeface with

London, The Weather Channel, Free Tibet, Herman

special attention to producing unmistakable

Miller, Zimmer Holdings, Mozilla Corporation, Mozilla

characters. Whereas traditionally, typefaces

Foundation, Schaeffler Group and Fort Wayne Interna-

are designed to be viewed beautifully large, the

tional Airport. The University of Hull uses FF Meta Serif

goal with this particular typeface was to

alongside FF Meta.

produce a typeface that worked well for its

Donald Trump used FF Meta initially as his primary campaign typeface before choosing Mike Pence as his

primary application.

Taking into account research done on six font families

vice presidential running mate. After Pence was chosen,

and the constraints of the brief, the characteristics of

Trump switched to Montserrat, a free typeface that is

what would become FF Meta began to take shape.

part of the Google Fonts library.

The typeface would be a sans-serif to match the

Characteristics

Lowercase: • Round dot over the letter i and j • Ends of the letter s are nearly horizontal • Curved bottom of l, making it clearly different to a 1 or uppercase i • Double-storey a with a very open aperture at the top • Not fully closed bottom loop in binocular g • Bend to the left at the top of the letters b, h, k, l • Bend to the right at the top of the letter d • A very distinctive y where the two strokes do not join smoothly.

Uppercase: • Angled letter M, more resembling Futura or an upturned W than Helvetica or Gill Sans • Slanted upper terminal on the top right of E, T and F. E and T are not symmetrical.

client, narrow (but not condensed) to save space, feature strokes thick enough to withstand uneven printing but also light so that individual characters do not run together, contain clearly distinguishable glyphs for similarly shaped characters, versatile capitals and figures that are clear but not obtrusive, and curves, indentations, flares, and open joins to combat poor definition, optical illusions, and over-inking. In addition to these demands, to meet Bundespost’s needs, the family would also contain regular, regular italic, and bold.

The typeface is particularly similar to Syntax, one of Spiekermann’s typefaces.

After completing and digitizing the font, mockups were generated for Bundespost’s new forms and publication. However, despite positive interest from the German Minister of Telecommunications among others, Bundespost decided not to implement the new exclusive typeface for fear it would

A general feature of FF Meta is relatively open aper- “cause unrest”. Bundespost, despite funding the tures, in contrast to the more folded-up appearance project, continued instead to use a variety of differof Helvetica. This is believed to promote legibility and make the letterforms more clearly different

ent versions of Helvetica (before changing them to

Frutiger). Spiekermann wrote an article on the aban-

from one another.

doned design for Baseline magazine in 1986. At this

Development

PT75 (bold).

Development began in February 1985 when Deutsche Bundespost approached Sedley Place Design, where Spiekermann was working at the time, and commissioned a comprehensive corporate design program As the typeface would be used repeatedly in small sizes, for identification (rather than copy), require two different weights, and printed quickly on

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time Meta was called PT55 (for the regular weight) and Years later, realizing that Bundespost and Sedley Place Design would never utilize the typeface, Spiekermann with his company MetaDesign decided to continue work on the typeface and eventually published it—along with other orphaned typefaces—under his newly formed publishing label FontFont resulting in the release of FF Meta

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THE METALANGUAGE

of the Arts Bremen and Art Center College of Design.

Spiekermann studied art history at Berlin’s Free University, funding himself by running a letterpress printing press in the basement of his house.

Between 1972 and 1979, he worked as a freelance graphic designer in London before returning to Berlin and founding MetaDesign with two partners.

In 1989, he and his then-wife Joan Spiekermann started FontShop, the first mail-order distributor for digital fonts. FontShop International followed and now publishes the FontFont range of typefaces. MetaDesign combined clean, teutonic-looking information design and complex corporate design systems for clients like BVG (Berlin Transit), Düsseldorf Airport, Audi, Volkswagen and Heidelberg Printing, and others.

In 2001, Spiekermann left MetaDesign over policy disagreements and started United Designers Network, with offices in Berlin, London, and San Francisco.

In April 2006, the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena awarded Spiekermann an Honorary Doctorship for his contribution to design. His family of typefaces for Deutsche Bahn (German Railways), designed with Christian Schwartz, received a Gold Medal at the German Federal Design Prize in 2006, the highest such award in Germany. In May 2007, he was the first designer to be elected into the European Design Awards Hall of Fame.

In January 2007, UDN was renamed SpiekermannPartners, merging with Dutch design agency Eden Design

4.

4. Erik Spiekermann enjoys working for himself: “Here I can do it at my own pace. Doing something analog takes a long time, but it takes a long time in a refreshing way; it’s a long time, but it’s my time, nobody else’s time.”

in 1991. This version of FF Meta was created by re-digitizing the original outlines and digitizing them in Fontographer on a Macintosh, work which was done by Spiekermann’s interns Just van Rossum and Erik van Blokland between 1988-1989.

& Communication in January 2009 and continuing its operations under “Edenspiekermann”. Edenspiekermann currently run offices in Amsterdam, Berlin, Singapore, San Francisco and LA. Spiekermann is considered a very influential personality in the field of typeface design and information design. He often attends international meetings, and has been giving a substantial contribution in several fields, such as app development and public wayfinding.

The Designer Erik Spiekermann is a German typographer, designer and writer. He is an honorary professor at the University

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COLORLESS IS THE NEW COLORFUL

COLOR LESS IS THE NEW COLOR FUL How the colorless element Neon makes New York the “City That Never Sleeps” 1. Room For Tea Pop-Up Event (37 1 Broadway, New York, NY 10013)

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1.

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2.

It is true when they say that New York is the “City That Never Sleeps�. Whether it be three in the afternoon or three in the morning, regardless of the time of day, you can count on the streets to be lit up, no assistance from the sun needed.

However, in this city especially, the typical street lamps are not the main source of light. Street lamps are practically nonexistent, as they are amply outshined by none other than the neon signage that grace every street you walk through and every corner you turn. In a city like the Big Apple, it is not hard to come across these light sources. With a luminance so bright, the intention to light up a storefront could be enough to light up the whole block.

Typically used in high-voltage neon advertising signs, the chemical element Neon is a colorless, odorless noble gas. Despite being colorless, it is known to naturally give off a reddish-orange glow. With this, it can be said that the red signs we come across are the only ones that actually contain pure neon. The colorful neon ones, on the other hand, contain different gases in order to to give off different colors.

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2. La Esquina — SoHo (114 Kenmare St, New York, NY 10012) 3. Pasquale Jones (187 Mulberry St, New York, NY 10012) 4. Spring Lounge (48 Spring St, New York, NY 10012) 5. Spring Natural (98 Kenmare, New York, NY 10012)

3.

5.

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Wildfang (252 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10012

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Neon signs are made using electrified, lustrous tube lights, but the process begins with the craft of glass bending. The tube is heated in sections using several types of burners that are selected according to the amount of glass to be heated for each bend. After bending, the interior of the tubes may be coated with a thin phosphorescent powder coating. The color of the light emitted by the tube may be just that coming from the gas, or the light from the phosphor layer.Different phosphor-coated tubing sections may be welded together using glass working torches to form a single tube of varying colors, for effects such as a sign where each letter displays a different color letter within a single word.

What makes neon signs interesting and great mediums for advertising is not just their incandescence, or their capacity to come in a variety of colors, but the intricacy behind bend in the glass tubing to create beautiful, eye-catching typography.

The only way for these glass tubes of neon to (literally) shine and serve its purpose as advertising is for it to be carefully and mindfully manipulated and bent into lettering.

Just like any other advertisement, the intention behind typographic

6.

6. Milk Bar East Village (251 E 13th St, New York, NY 10003) 7. Lou & Grey (138 5th Ave, New York NY 10011)

decisions when creating neon signage must be executed thoroughly and efficiently in order for it to fulfill its main purpose of selling the message. Through such signs, typography comes alive.

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COLOR-BLIND LEADING THE BLIND

COLOR BLIND LEADING THE BLIND 1. Of his over 100 entries in the AIGA Design Archives, there are several examples of how Herb Lubalin worked around his color-blindness. Many of the works he art directed are either one or two color, usually red and green or red and blue. When working with illustrators and photographers, he entrusted them with full-color images, but his own work is generally reductive.

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1.

How visual creative Herb Lubalin enriched and impacted the world of graphic design with his unique vision.

Herbert F. “Herb” Lubalin (March 17, 1918 – May 24, 1981) was an American graphic designer. He collaborated with Ralph Ginzburg on three of Ginzburg’s magazines: Eros, Fact, and Avant Garde, and was responsible for the creative visual beauty of these publications. He designed a typeface, ITC Avant Garde, for the last of these; this font could be described as a reproduction of artdeco, and is seen in logos created in the 1990s and 2000s.

Something that not a lot of people know is that Lubalin was colorblind. An inability to distinguish colors is a severe handicap for a graphic designer, yet he seems to have negotiated professional life without being greatly hampered by this inability. In fact, it could

2.

2. “Typography” is not a word Lubalin thought should be applied to his work. “What I do is not really typography, which I think of as an essentially mechanical means of putting characters down on a page. It’s designing with letters… and since you’ve got to put a name on things to make them memorable, ‘Typographics’ is as good a name for what I do as any.”

as a communicative implement.

land at Reiss Advertising, and later

Gertrude Snyder notes that during

worked for Sudler & Hennessey,

incisive black and white imagery.

this period Lubalin was particularly

where he practiced his consider-

Education and early career

struck by the differences in interpre-

able skills and attracted an array

tation one could possibly impose

of design, both typographic and

by changing from one typeface to

photographic talent that included

another, always “fascinated by the

George Lois, Art Kane and John

look and sound of words (as he)

Pistilli. Pistilli Roman was Lubalin’s

expanded their message with typo-

first typeface (1964), later compris-

graphic impact.” After graduating

ing the logos of Lincoln Center, the

in 1939, Lubalin had a difficult time

Met and New York Philharmonic.

finding work; he was fired from his

Lubalin served with Sudler for nine-

job at a display design firm after

teen years before starting his own

requesting a two dollar raise on his

firm, Herb Lubalin, Inc., in 1964.

be argued that his color-blindness contributed to his genius for

Herb Lubalin entered Cooper Union at the age of seventeen, and quickly became entranced by the possibilities presented by typography

weekly salary, up from a paltry eight (around USD100 in 2006 currency). Lubalin would eventually

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Private practice

everything nice; Fact has had the spice all to itself.

Eros Magazine and Fact Magazine

”Rather than follow with a shocking design tem-

Lubalin’s private studio gave him the freedom to take

plate for the publication, Lubalin chose an elegant

on any number of wide-ranging projects, from poster

minimalist palette consisting of dynamic serifed

and magazine design to packaging and identity

typography balanced by high-quality illustrations.

solutions. It was here that the designer became best

The magazine was printed on a budget, so Lubalin

known, particularly for his work with a succession of

stuck with black and white printing on uncoa-

magazines published by Ralph Ginzburg: Eros, Fact,

ted paper, as well as limiting himself to one or two

and Avant Garde. Eros, (Spring 1962 to issue four

typefaces and paying a single artist to handle all

1963) which devoted itself to the beauty of the

illustrations at bulk rate rather than dealing with

rising sense of sexuality and experimentation,

multiple creators. The end result was one of dyna-

particularly in the burgeoning counterculture, it was

mic minimalism that emphasized the underlying

a quality production with no advertising and the

sentiment of the magazine better than “the scruffy

large format (13 by 10 inches made it look like a

homemade look of the underground press (or the)

book rather than a quarterly magazine. It was

screaming typography of sensationalist tabloids”

printed on different papers and the editorial des-

ever could. Fact itself folded in controversy as

ign was some the greatest that Lubalin ever did.

Eros before it, after being sued for several years by

It quickly folded after an obscenity case brought by

Barry Goldwater, a Republican presidential candi-

the US Postal Service. Ginzburg and Lubalin fol-

date about whom Fact wrote an article entitled

lowed with Fact, largely founded in response to

“The Unconscious of a Conservative: A special Issue

the treatment Eros received. This magazine’s inhe-

on the Mind of Barry Goldwater.” Goldwater was

rent anti-establishment sentiment lent itself to

awarded a total of $90,000, effectively putting Fact

outsider writers who could not be published in

out of business.

mainstream media; Fact managing editor Warren Boroson noted that “most American magazine, emulating the Reader’s Digest, wallow in sugar and

3.

Avant Garde Magazine

Lubalin and Ginzburg again turned one magazine’s demise into the creation of another, releasing Avant Garde six months later. The creation of the magazine’s logogram proved difficult, largely due to the inherent difficulties presented by the incompatible letterform combinations in the title. Lubalin’s solution, one which sought to meet Ginzburg’s hope for an expression of “the advanced, the innovative, the creative,” consisted of tight-fitting letterform combinations to create a futuristic, instantly recognizable identity. The demand for a complete typesetting of the logo was extreme in the design community, so Lubalin released ITC Avant Garde from his International Typeface Corporation in 1970.

Unfortunately, Lubalin quickly realized that Avant Garde was widely misunderstood and misused in poorly thought-out solutions, eventually becoming a stereotypical 1970s font due to overuse. Steven Heller, one of Lubalin’s fellow AIGA medalists, notes that the “excessive number of ligatures were misused by designers who had no understanding of how to employ these typographic forms,” further commenting that “Avant Garde was Lubalin’s

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signature, and in his hands it had character; in others’

5.

it was a flawed Futura-esque face.” Regardless of ITC Avant Garde’s future uses, Lubalin’s original magazine logo was and remains highly influential in typographic design.

Avant Garde (January 1968 to issue 14 summer 1971) also provided Lubalin with a large format of wide typographic experimentation; the page format was an almost square 11.25 by 10.75 inches bound in a cardboard cover, a physical quality that, coupled with Lubalin’s layouts, caught the attention of many in the New York design scene. Often, the magazine would employ full-page typographic titles, which at the time was a largely new idea; in recent times, Rolling Stone art director Fred Woodward has used this method in his publication. Ginzburg, who had experience as a photographer, gave Lubalin total control over the magazine’s look: “Herb brought a graphic impact.

I never tried to overrule him, and almost never disagreed with him.” Other issues included Picasso’s oft-neglected erotic engravings, which Lubalin willingly combined with his own aesthetic, printing them in a variety of colors, in reverse, or on disconcerting backgrounds. Unfortunately, Avant Garde caught the eye of censors after an issue featuring an alphabet spelled out by nude models; Ralph Ginzburg was sent to prison, and publication ceased with a still-growing circulation of 250,000.

4.

U&lc magazine

Lubalin spent the last ten years of his life working on a variety of projects, notably his typographic journal U&lc and the newly founded International Typographic Corporation. U&lc (short for Upper and lower case) served as both an advertisement for Lubalin’s designs and a further plane of typographic experimentation; Steven Heller argues that U&lc was the first Emigre, or at least the template for its later successes, for this very combination of promotion and revolutionary change in type design. Heller further notes, “In U&lc, he tested just how far smashed and expressive lettering might be taken. Under Lubalin’s tutelage, eclectic typography was firmly entrenched.” Lubalin enjoyed the freedom his magazine provided him; he was quoted as saying,

3. Fact Magazine: Volume 2, Issue 1 (January—February 1965) 4. Avant Garde Magazine: Volume 1 (January 1968) 5. U&Ic Magazine: Vol. 5, No. 1 (March 1978)

“Right now, I have what every designer wants and few have the good fortune to achieve.

I’m my own client. Nobody tells me what to do.”

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TYPE ON THE GO

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TYPE

ON

THE GO How the Philippine jeepneys and their

Upon first glance, it is easy to tell how each jeep is

typography-covered exteriors deem this

personally customized. Each jeepney is designed by

particular form of public transportation as a symbol of Philippine culture and art The Philippine jeepney is not hard to miss. Besides its ubiquity, as it is the most popular form of transportation in the Philippines, the bold colors and striking handwritten typography that cover the vehicle’s exterior make a statement that undoubtedly catch the eye, attracting and grabbing the attention of likely passengers to come aboard. A jeepney’s

their owners. The first thing to easily notice are names of people, usually seen at the front of the jeep. These names are usually loved ones of the driver, such as the name of their wife, together with the names of their children, the name of someone in their life who has passed away, or a religious figure.Most often, being a country that is dominantly Catholic, jeeps have “God” written on the vehicle to symbolize His guidance throughout the journey. Through this, jeepneys serve as a (literal) vehicle for drivers to honor their family

exterior design, especially the typography, holds a

and religion.

special place in the driver’s heart and plays a role in

Besides these names, written on the outside of a

the overall transportation process.

1. Philippine jeepneys are usually seen covered in captivating colors and typography. (Photo from PopularMechanics.com)

jeepney are the names of the places that jeepney in particular will be going, since each jeepney varies from the next in terms of routes. With this, it is very

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important for the letters to be written legibly in order for passengers to be able to spot the jeep and know its whereabouts. To ensure passersby can see the jeep’s routes, it is not only written on every face of the vehicle, but it is also written on separate signs that usually hang on the front windshield. Other

ALABANG, BACLARAN, CUBAO, ERMITA, FAIRVIEW, katipunan, mall of asia, navotas, ortigas, philcoa, quiapo, ROXAS, SHAW, TIMOG, V. LUNA, ZAPOTE

instances, jeepney drivers appoint helpers to hold

Quiapo Free Regular in 18pt on 19pt leading

these signs up, having them hang onto the handles outside of the jeepney while verbally calling out the

Because of the distinct handwriting found on jeepneys,

routes to attract more people. If the jeepney were

a font named Quiapo Free was designed to emulate

stopped, these helpers would get off the jeepney,

the iconic typography. Designed by Filipino type des-

quickly scope the area for potential customers, and

igner Aaron Amar, Quiapo Free is inspired by the

run back in time before the jeep continues driving.

jeepney and how it has become a widespread cul-

However, even without these helpers, it is very easy

tural symbol in the Philippines. Found on Amar’s

for jeeps to be filled with passengers, especially

Behance profile, he describes the font as “a brush

when in Quiapo, a town in Manila known as the hub

typeface dedicated to the Filipino sign-makers, jeep-

for jeepneys.

ney drivers, and the daily commuters in the streets of Metro Manila and anywhere in the Philippines.

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APEX

TYPE ON THE GO

2.

Quiapo Free was inspired by most of the jeepney

Regular and Wide, and is designed to fill words or

signs hanged or displayed behind the windshield of

route/destination name in a rectangular space,

Jeepneys and other public transport vehicles, travel-

mostly paired with bright neon colors in black back-

ling around the Metro Manila and other cities within

ground for readability.� It is fonts like Quiapo Free

the country.� Amar also designed the font Cubao

and Cubao Free that bring light to the relationship

Free, its name inspired by the town Cubao, another

typography has with transportation, presenting the

jeepney hub in the Philippines, which he also ded-

extensive roles typography plays in different cultures

icates to Filipino sign-makers, jeepney drivers, and

and lifestyles around the world.

daily commuters. It comes in three widths: Narrow,

MALANDAY STA. CRUZ PIER SOUTH

2. In the Philippines, some jeepney drivers are part of the source of traffic congestion by loading and unloading passengers in the middle of the street, blocking traffic and risking the safety of some passengers. (Photo from Wayne S. Grazio on Flickr)

Cubao Free Regular in 36pt on 30pt leading WINTER 2018, ISSUE 1

APEX

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WINTER 2018, ISSUE 1

TYPE GLOSSARY

APEX

TYPE GLOSS ARY Apex

Bowl

Cap Height

Descender

Ear

The point at the top of a letterform where two strokes meet

The fully-closed rounded part of a letter

The height of a capital letter measured from the baseline

The parts of lowercase letters that extend below the baseline

The small stroke extending from the bowl of a lowercase ‘g’ or ‘r’

Flag

Gadzook

Head Serif

Italic

Joint/Juncture

The horizontal stroke on the figure 5

An embellishment in a ligature that is notoriginally part of either letter

The half serif at the top starting point of the letterform

A font style that slants to the right unlike roman typefaces which are upright

The point where a stroke joins a stem

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Kerning Adjustments to the space between pairs of letters; also known as letterspacing

�

Ligature

Midline

Neck

Overshoot

Two or more letters joined together to form one glyph

The invisible line resting on the body of the lowercase letters

The link that connects the top and bottom bowls of a lowercase g

When a round or pointed letter extends higher or lower than a flat letter to make it optically appear the same size

Serif

Tail

The small stroke at the beginning or end of main strokes of a letter

The descending stroke of the letter ‘Q’

‘’“”

Point

Quotation Marks

Reverse

The unit of measure corresponding 1/12 of a pica or 1 pixel

A set of punctuation marks used to mark the start and end of a quoted passage

Printing white or lightcolored text on a black or dark background for emphasis

Umlaut

Vertex

Weight

A mark used over a vowel to indicate a different vowel quality, usually fronting or rounding

The point where two strokes meet at the bottom of a character

The heaviness of a typeface, independent of its size; can refer to a style within a font family

X-Height

Yana

Zenon

The height of those lowercase letters such as “x”, which do not have ascenders or descenders

A serif font designed

by Laura Worthington; Yana Regular, Italic, and Bold 57pt on 47pt leading

A serif font designed

by Ricardo Olocco; Zenon Regular, Bold, and Black 40pt on 42pt leading

w

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WINTER 2018, ISSUE 1

APP AND WEBSITE

APEX

APEX MOBILE For the Apex app and website, the magazine’s title will appear in a bar at the top of the screen that comes with a Hamburger menu at the top left corner.

The menu would consist of the Home page (which will essentially be the landing page upon opening the app that would feature the latest magazine issue), an Issues page (which will contain all the issues of the magazine), a Blog (a space for magazine subscribers to interact with other readers and discuss the latest magazine issue), and a Contact page (for users to submit questions and/or concerns). The overall appearance of the app and website will consist of elements seen in the physical copy of the magazine, such as the Apex motifs at the background, the typefaces Big Caslon FB and Brother 1816, and the same color scheme.

When a specific issue of the magazine is opened, users will be able to navigate between sections by simply clicking on the name of section they are currently in—this will become a drop-down menu for users to choose which section to read next.

APP 29

WINTER 2018, ISSUE 1

APEX

APP AND WEBSITE

APEX WEBSITE www.apexmagazine.com/

The goal of both the app and the website is to ensure readers have a consistent reading experience of Apex, regardless of what medium they are accessing the magazine through. We want to make sure readers are able to digitally access the magazine, allowing them to read it wherever they go. Apex hopes to maintain not only the quality of their content, but the quality of reading the content.

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