THE LATE 20TH CENTURY 1960-1990
EMIGRE
MAGAZINE ZUZANA LICKO
RUDY VANDERLANS
EMIGRE
Born in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia in 1961, Zuzana Licko emigrated to the U.S. at 7 years old. Although she doesn’t remember much of her childhood before moving to the U.S. in 1968, Licko said her background has given her a different perspective and a tendency to question things. Licko entered the University of California at Berkeley as an architecture student, where she met her future husband, Rudy VanderLans, who was studying photography. After discovering an interest in typography, Licko changed her major to graphic design. Fascinated by the use of type as illustration but limited due to UC Berkeley’s lack of a type design program, Licko was not able to create typefaces, only use them. The Macintosh computer was released just before her graduation, and Licko still works primarily on screen.
VanderLans moved to California to study photography after working for a number of design studios in Holland for several years following his graphic design studies at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague.
In 1984, VanderLans – with two other Dutch artists – started Emigre, which began as a magazine that featured the work of artists who were influenced by travel or working abroad. After graduating with a degree in Graphic Communication, Licko joined VanderLans as co-founder of the magazine. Licko was not involved from an editorial standpoint, but started contributing as the magazine’s resident type designer. She used the first generation Macintosh computer to create her designs, despite the fact that most graphic designers of the time were rejecting the Mac. When Emigre turned its focus to graphic design, Licko began contributing more content, but was mostly involved with running the Emigre type foundry, the first digital type foundry, which introduced early dot-matrix fonts and, later, high-resolution typefaces.
“Sometimes I have to put a design away for months, even years before being able to see it with fresh eyes, which is sometimes required to solve a problem.” –Zuzana Licko
ABOVE: Emigre, an alternative-culture graphic design magazine, The foundry met many negative reactions was launched from modernists like Paul Rand, who by Rudy thought the new movement forgot beauty VanderLans and harmony. Massimo Vignelli said Licko’s and Zuzana designs were “garbage, lacking depth, Licko in 1984. refinement, elegance, or a sense of history.” (MoMA) Nevertheless, the foundry, magazine, Licko RIGHT: The and VanderLans met international fame and exposure of success. Zuzana Licko’s Emigre ran for 23 years, printing 69 issues typefaces sporadically until 2005, and provided a in Emigre forum for a growing community of digital designers. magazine The Museum of Modern Art said, together, led to the Licko and VanderLans “set the standard manufacture for digital typography and design” and of Emigre “established graphic design at the forefront fonts, which of contemporary art practice” with Emigre are now as the “testing ground for their digital distributed experimentation” and the “medium through worldwide. which they spread their enthusiasm for the (emigre.com) new technology.”
THE RISE OF DIGITAL COMMUNICATION Adobe PostScript ®
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For graphic arts professionals, it makes all the difference in the world (adobe.com)
“Adobe invented PostScript and made it the world’s leading page description language. It was the first company to offer deviceindependent color technology, film recorders, color laser printers, and professional digital proofing devices. And today, Adobe’s latest innovations not only assure you of the finest output, but also provide you with an integrated workflow that will help you work more efficiently than ever.” – Adobe Postscript brochure, 1997
THE EVOLUTION OF MAC
Founded in 1976 by college dropouts Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, Apple Computers, Inc. changed the way people viewed – and used – computers. The Apple II revolutionized the computer industry with the introduction of the first-ever color graphics. (macdaily.co)
NEVILLE BRODY
One of the best-known graphic designers of his generation, Neville Brody was born in London in 1957 and studied graphic design at the London College of Printing from 1976 to 1979. His record cover designs and involvement with the British independent music scene brought him into the public eye in the early 1980s. Brody has designed a number of very wellknown typefaces. In 1989, as art director of the English magazine “The Face,” Brody designed Industria, a condensed sans serif font with abbreviated, essential forms. Influenced by the New Typography of the Bauhaus, Brody also designed Insignia as a headline face for the “Arena” magazine. Insignia’s monoline, round-and-sharp forms reflect the Zeitgeist of that era, suggesting technology and progress. In 2011, when the Museum of Modern Art added the first digital typefaces to its permanent collection, Brody’s FF Blur was one of just 23 designs to be included. Brody developed the typeface in 1991 by blurring grayscale images of an existing grotesque and making vectors from the results. MoMA says FF Blur “resembles type that has been reproduced cheaply on a Xerox machine – degenerated through copying and recopying.” Today, Brody continues to create his unique and striking digital typefaces, and his work focuses largely on electronic communications design. TOP RIGHT: Neville Brody’s designs have received international recognition for their innovative style, reaching almost cult status. (linotype.com) RIGHT: Neville Brody is the founder of Brody Associates – a globally renowned, innovative, creative agency specializing in digital, typography and identity. Brody is internationally recognized as a pioneer in the fields of graphic design, art direction and brand strategy. (designboom.com)
LEFT: The letter forms of FF Blur – fuzzy around the edges like an out-offocus photograph – seem to celebrate their own imperfection, speaking to Neville Brody’s unique background. (MoMA)
PHILIPPE APELOIG A French graphic designer, Philippe Apeloig worked as an intern at Total Design in Amsterdam after studying art at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Appliqués and the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. After realizing the extent of his interest in typography and graphic design, Apeloig worked as a designer for Musée D’sorsay in Paris from 1985 to 1987. He left after receiving a grand from the French Foreign Ministry to work and study in Los Angeles. Later, he was honored with a research and residency grant by the French Academy of Art at the Villa Medici in Rome. Apeloig established his own studio after returning to Paris and from 1992 to 1999 taught at his alma mater, after which he taught as a professor of graphic design at the Cooper Union School of Art in New York City until 2002. Apeloig has produced many acclaimed poster designs for cultural events and institutions. (designboom.com)