G S LP I glyphics
ed benguiat: a man of letters
30 Under 30
a type house divided
Dutch Design Heroes: Wim Crouwel
edition one vol. 1 | 1
Wim Crouwel Dutch Design Heroes
Wim Crouwel Poster to Commemorate his Design Museum Exhibit
W
im Crouwel’s wife Judith invites me in, and on
pieces over many years, with the acquisition of each
entering their home, I’m immediately aware that
piece having it’s own story to tell.
they have impeccable taste. A quick survey of the living
At this point Wim Crouwel enters the room, surveying
room reads like a history lesson into some of the most
myself and Eva (our photographer for the day) for a
influential pieces of design furniture ever produced. A
few seconds, before warmly greeting us and offering us
Rietveld Red Blue chair sits in a corner beside a beautiful
coffee. We make a little introduction to him and are
Rennie Mackintosh Willow seat, whilst a Le Corbusier
soon ready to begin.
chaise longue nestles elegantly in the mid-distance close
And that is also difficult to give an answer to, because
to an Eileen Gray side table. Across the hall I pass the
it’s your life, it’s full of unexpected things. For me it was
most amazingly sculptural, Frank Gehry designed, bent
the beginning, that makes it interesting, this question,
plywood chair illuminated by a Poul Henningsen pendant
what makes you tick. When I finished art school, I didn’t
lamp. I take a moment to take this all in, and imagine
know what to do, absolutely not. I thought I would be a
that Wim and his wife have collected all these iconic
painter, because I made paintings and landscape paintings
2 | glypha
and portraits and that was the main thing we learnt at
I was immediately hired by the head of the company
art school. It was just, by great luck, that I met people
as he had a great belief in Dick Elffers. That was just
that directed me more or less in the direction that I
the beginning: being in a new environment with designers
was going. First of all, I decided to leave Groningen,
and exhibitions. I had never made an exhibition myself
because I thought by myself, if I stay in Groningen,
and knew nothing about it but immersed myself into
nothing will happen, so I have to go to Amsterdam. I’d
the whole thing. The same year there came a large
never been to Amsterdam, until we made an excursion
commission from the Marshall Plan, from Paris. They
with the school to the Rijksmuseum. Immediately after
asked the company to do exhibitions for two ships.
the end of art school I had to do military service, for
The commission came with two Swiss designers and the
more than two years. An awful period, absolutely awful.
Italian architect Lanfranco Bombelli. I will never forget
Lost time. When I came out of military service, I decided
that name. One graphic designer was Ernst Scheidegger
to settle myself in Amsterdam and just see what was
and the other Gerard Ifert— just coming from art
coming. I visited some designers I knew from that time,
school in Basel and the same age as me. They lived
including Dick Elffers, famous poster designers. They
in Amsterdam for two years and I became friends with
were very friendly and I was absolutely overwhelmed
them. They really introduced me into the Swiss way of
by what they told me about being a designer. It was a
thinking about design: Akzidenz Grotesk as a lettering,
complete new world.
Made for Design Museum in 2011
Made for Design Museum in 2011
vol. 1 | 3
Then in 1962, when we had the idea to start with Total Design, we went to Henrion. I remember he had a beautiful studio as an extension to his house that was designed by Richard Rogers. One of the first works of Richard Rogers was the studio of Henrion. If you are alone and working with one assistant and you become ill, everything stops. That is impossible for large companies. So you need a kind of structure in the office to handle large clients. So he steered this more or less into a good direction. We also met Fletcher Forbes Gill (that later became Pentagram) who started a year before us.
During a Lecture in 2007
They had a studio, each of them with their own clients, with three small units. That was a structure that
Wim Crouwel: Life
was interesting for us. So when we started Total Design
On November 21, 1928, in Groningen,
Amsterdam in 1964 I decided to create one grid for
Netherlands, he was born Willem Hendrik Crouwel and adapted the shortened version of his name Wim in his adulthood. He attended Academie Minerva in Groningen from 1946 to 1949, where he opted for Fine Arts. Later he was drafted into army and upon completion of his military service he began his professional career as an abstract painter. Then he went to Amsterdam where he enrolled himself at what is now the Gerrit Rietveld Academie (1952–53) and majored in Typography. While studying there he joined an exhibition design firm in 1952. Here he had the opportunity for the first time of experiencing the wide range of possibilities offered by graphic design. In 1954, he quit painting and hunted down work as a freelance designer, inspired by Swiss design.
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we used the structure of Fletcher Forbes Gill and the philosophy of Henrion.� When I started to work for the Stedelijk Museum in all the catalogues and posters and to choose for one typeface for everything. I also decided to make it a magazine for the museum instead of different catalogues for the painters and the sculptors that were on show. My idea was the Stedelijk Museum was what I had to communicate first of all and not the artist on show. And the director of the museum agreed with me. So I set for myself a set of rules and regulations that I wanted to follow. It worked like this and I absolutely wanted this. I did it for twenty years. But there were many moments that I thought if I had given myself some more freedom I could do better work. So that was a very strange feeling I had every now and then. Even with the discussion with the director of the museum, who understood my problems. But he always followed me. He was a great client and my best friend. The greatest client I ever had. First in the Van Abbe Museum I wanted to follow. It worked like this and I absolutely wanted this. I did it for twenty years. But there were many moments that I thought if I had given myself some more freedom I could do better work. So that was a very strange feeling
“What makes you tick? Why are you interested in the things you are doing?” I had every now and then. Even with the discussion with the director of the museum, who understood my problems. But he always followed me. He was a great client and my best friend. The greatest client I ever had. First in the Van Abbe Museum he was a director in the fifties and than later on in the Stedelijk, until he finished and retired in 1985. It was always a struggle, between functionalism and my aesthetic feelings and
Made for Amsterdam Stedelijk Museum
he understood it quite well.” We were the first company in Holland to have the Aesthedes. It was a very large computer with three screens. One for lettering, one for colour and one for the drawing. We were not allowed to use it ourselves as designers, but we had operators. We bought one of these machines on good conditions, we were lucky, because Jelle van der Toorn, who was one of the designers from Total Design, helped the company of the Aesthedes to develop that machine for design purposes. So he got one for a low price. But they were a million you know, they were enormous and so my first meeting was with that machine. But before that time, in the fifties and sixties, I worked for IBM. That was a very good client of me. So I happened to know computers from my work for IBM. I was highly influenced by the whole idea of thinking and that’s why in 1967 I designed my New Alphabet. It was my reaction on the development of the computers.”
Made for Amsterdam Stedelijk Museum
article: https://medium.com/inside-vbat/creative-conversations-1-wim-crouwel-149e8b2956e8 vol. 1 | 5
13 Typographic Faux Pas Avoid bad punctuation and type-crimes at your new job, who needs that type of attention?
1. Avoid failing to kern DISPLAY type 2. Avoid
vertically scaled type
3. Avoid negative letterspacing
4. Avoid rivers in justified text 5. Avoid two spaces
between sentences
6. Avoid ‘‘Dumb Quotes’’
7. Avoid horizontally scaled type 8. Avoid using
on letterforms
9. AVOID LARGE PIECES OF BODY COPY IN CAPS 10. Avoid indenting the first paragraph 11. Avoid failing to correct bad rags 12. Avoid stacking lowercase letters
13. Avoid indenting a paragraph to far Type Tips 6 | glypha
vol. 1 | 7
Ed Benguiat A Man of Letters
Herman, but preferred the New York gigs on 52nd Street, particularly at The Three Deuces. “It kept me in town; going on the road with big bands was a drag, and tough.” During that time a Metronome magazine poll picked Ed as the number three sideman/drummer in America. At the School of Visual Arts—where about thirty years ago Silas Rhodes gave him a job—Ed compares graphic design and typography to the rhythm and balance of a musical composition. While playing on 52nd Street, Ed made use of the G.I. Bill and enrolled at the Workshop School of Advertising Art. He wanted to draw nudes like some of the well-known illustrators. His drawing teacher advised him to quit. Benguiat persisted. His first job as an illustrator was as a cleavage retoucher for a movie magazine. “You
Biography:
might think I was adding to the bust. No way! I was taking the cleavage away,” he said, indicating the
Ed received the usual education. During World War
reaction of the motion picture industry to the crackdown
II, he wasn’t old enough to enter the armed service,
on obscenity in movies. It was obvious that Ed couldn’t
so with a forged photostat of his birth certificate, he
draw too well, so he went in the direction of layout,
enlisted in the Army. After his stint in the Air Corps
design, typography, and calligraphy. He became Paul
he traded his airplane control stick for drumsticks and
Standard’s prodigy. Once out of school, Ed established
continued the burgeoning percussionist career he had
an impressive career as a designer and art director at
started before the war.
a number of large and small publishing houses, studios,
Ed became established as a talented progressive Jazz
and ad agencies. Opening his own firm did not take too
musician under the name Eddie Benart, and played with
long. Enter Photo-Lettering Inc. and Ed Ronthaler. They
numerous big bands such as Stan Kenton, Claude
Heroes 8 | glypha
Thornhill
and
Woody
saved Ed’s life financially by making him art director. One way or another, just about everyone in the graphic community has had some contact with Ed. He’s a
TYPEFACES America’s most prolific typographer and lettering artist. Benguit has crafted over 600 typeface designs, here are just a few of his gems...
1. ITC Avant Garde Gothic 2. ITC Barcelona Std. Bold 3. ITC Bauhaus 4. ITC Benguiat Bold 5. ITC Century Handtooled 6. Ed Brush 7. Ed Gothic 8. Ed Interlock 9. Ed Script
10. Korinna Bold
neighborhood guy. Admittedly, most know him as the guy who sat in his cramped, cluttered office on 45th Street that had just enough room to swing his pen or brush. Benguiat’s impact on the type community involves more than just design. He played a critical role in establishing The International Typeface Corporation, the first independent licensing company for type designers. Ed and ITC jump-started the type industry in the late ’60s and early ’70s. Founded in 1971 by designers Herb Lubalin, Aaron
Ed Benguiat: A Brief History Born in Brooklyn, New York, Edward Benguiat got acquainted with design and showcard lettering when he was nine years old. His father was display
Burns, and Ed Ronthaler, ITC was formed to market type
director at Bloomingdale’s and he had
to the industry. Lubalin and Burns contacted Benguiat,
all the drawing tools a little boy could
whose first ITC project was working on Souvenir. Originally
want. Edward would play with his fa-
a singleweight face designed by Morris Fuller Benton in
ther’s pens, brushes, and drafting sets,
the 1920s, Now, Souvenir is the face everybody loves to
and learned about sign painting, show-
hate. It was lTC’s best seller, and Ed did a beautiful job.
card and speedball lettering.
It’s not his fault it’s become a cliché.
vol. 1 | 9
He is also known for his designs or redesigns of the logotypes for Esquire, The New York Times, McCall’s, Reader’s Digest, Photography, Look, Sports Illustrated, The Star Ledger, The San Diego Tribune, Garamond AT&T, A&E, Estée Lauder, U&lc…the list goes on and on. You name it, he’s done it. Benguiat has a beef. It’s that too many young designers substitute technology for talent. “Too many people think that they’ve got a Mac and they can draw a logo or a typeface. You have to learn to draw first. The computer won’t do it for you”. Although he laments that student designers show more interest in learning the computer than mastering the art of designing letterforms, Benguiat is growing optimistic about the technology behind computer-assisted type design. Ed became a partner with Lubalin in the development
Professor Benguiat is a member of the Alliance
of U&lc, lTC’s award-winning magazine, and the creation
Graphique Internationale and a past president of the
of new typefaces such as Tiffany, Benguiat, Benguiat
Type Directors Club. In 1990, he received the gold
Gothic, Korinna, Panache, Modern No. 216, Bookman,
medal for excellence from the New York Type Directors
Caslon No. 225, Barcelona, Avant Garde Condensed,
Club, and won the prestigious Fredric W. Goudy Award.
and many more. This added to the more than 400
Benguiat continues a busy lecture and exhibit circuit
faces he’d already created for Photo-Lettering. With
that takes him to Paris, Berlin, Brazil, Slovenia, London,
Herb Lubalin Ed eventually became vice president of
Chicago, Washington, and New York, where he is an
ITC until its sale to Esselte Ltd. Ed continues to design
instructor at The School of Visual Arts. In 1995, SVA
faces for lTC, including, most recently, Edwardian Script.
honored him with Teacher of the Year.
Benguiat’s revision of The New York Times logo
Heroes 10 | glypha
vol. 1 | 11
30 Under 30
Top Young Graphic Designers to Watch For
Derek Gerhard: Derek Gerhard has been making top notch design work his favorite is illustration. Derek recieves a great deal for many years. His work has been seen by millions of inspiration from other illustrators around the world. of people all around the world. He has worked for the
Derek has created more then 100 designs for different
biggest of agency and wants to further his career by companies throughout his career. He has worked with becoming a Creative Director at the Pentagram Design many people to ensure the design that is outputted is Firm. Pentagram is one of the biggest design agencies perfect for the company and consumer. Here are a few in the world and Derek is looking for a job as Creative of is greatest works: Director. Derek has excelled in every area of design but
if “ youain’t
first, you’re
last ” last” Ricky Bobby
““ ““
CHip ,
I’m gonna Come at
YOU Like A
SPidermonkey ““““ - Texas Ranger
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vol. 1 | 13
Typefaces or Fonts? Some New Designs with an Old Twist
Monospaced Font: A monospaced font, also called a fxed-pitch width or non-proportional font, is a font whose letters and characters each occupy the same amount of horizontal space. This contrasts to
variable-width fonts, where the letters differ in size to one another. The frst monospaced typefaces were designed for typewriters, which could only move the same distance forward
Sauce...bold Ab cd e f g h i jklmnop q r s tuvw xyz 0 1 2 3 4 56789. ! ? MY MONOSPACE UNICASE TYPEFACE Designed by Derek Gerhard
New Type 14 | glypha
Derek Gerhard Typography 2
vol. 1 | 15
Unicase Font:
A unicase font is one that has no case, the glyps from upper and lower case are combined to form one alphabet. It is believed that all alphabets were once unicase. Bradbury Thompson’s plan for simplifying and improving
our alphabet was, to combine upper one consistent set of the lowercases,
“Alphabet 26”, his project and lowercase letters into of letters, eradicated most except for a, e, m and n.
Lena Demasi Typography 2
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by alex frendo
my monospaced unicase typeface and font
Alex Frendo Typography 2
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vol. 1 | 17