Typography

History

Art and design education has a long history of developing in a variety of units at the University of Michigan. It began in 1910 as the Department of Fine Arts in the College of LSA. In 1931, the College of Architecture was created. Then in 1938, it expanded to include design. As of 1954, it was called the College of Architecture and Art. This new department of art was a distinct unit in the College, with its own administration, faculty, and staff, but with shared deans.

In 1974, art and design education was separated from the College of Architecture and Urban Planning to form the newly named School of Art. The new name was accompanied by a move to north campus, a new building, and a new dean, George Bayliss. He had a vision for a curriculum that would explore new media and employ community outreach programs, use exhibitions and lecture to disseminate knowledge, and emphasize interdisciplinary education.

Amid a national recession in the 1980s, the Board of Regents sought to cut spending and proposed to cut the school's budget by 25%, a cut that would be a "massive blow resulting in a 40% reduction of faculty, a significant reduction in undergraduate enrollment, and an insurmountable hurdle to resourcing students with the facilities needed to create strong work"¹ Ted Ramsey, a notable professor, organized a series highly visual protests. On March 7, 1984 "over 300 School of Art students convened for the first in a series of protests."¹ They dressed in all black with the word “ART” on their chests. They marched slowly and silently, clapped in unison. All in order to show "deep discipline, dignity, and commitment" for supporting the art school" and its intellectual value in the university. ¹

¹ “The 1983 School of Art Protests: How A Visual Community Fights Back | Stories | Creative Work.” In 1996 it was renamed the School of Art and Design. Finally, the current name of Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design was deemed in 2012 because of a $32.5 million gift from 1966 alumna Penny Stamps.

Art students marching. John Collier for The Detroit Free Press. ¹

Art students gather in the Diag for the March 9 protest. ¹

Typography Futura PT is a geometric san serif typeface with sharp, crisp AA edges, and long ascenders; it is functional and beautiful. This rigid structure speaks to unseen elements in the architecture. This typeface compliments the history of Stamp's Bauhaus inspired curriculum. It embodies their ideology of the importance of function and lack of decoration. While designed in German by Paul Renner in 1927, it was uniquely modern and contrary to the Nazi’s highly decorative old typeface style. Futura quickly transcended beyond Germany, to others nations, and to becoming the first typeface on the moon. It became an international symbol of the future and international, something Stamps curriculum champions. Futura PT Book ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789 ! ? @ # $ % ^ & * () {} [] + -|\ / ‘ " Futura PT Book Futura PT Book Oblique Futura PT Medium Futura PT Medium Oblique Futura PT Demi Futura PT Demi Oblique Futura PT Heavy Futura PT Heavy Oblique Futura PT Book 400pt Futura PT Heavy 500pt