Typographise: Issue 1, Spring 2021 by umobileart

UNIVERSITY OF MOBILE

Graphic Design // Issue 1 // Spring 2021

TYPO GRAP HISE

ISSN 2767-6404

9 772767

640003

MEGAN CARY DIRECTOR

BRYLEY CLEMMONS

MOIRA BUCK

Megan is an Associate Professor of Graphic Design at the University of Mobile where she teaches graphic design and studio art classes. She has a BFA in Graphic Design from The University of South Alabama and an MFA in Graphic Design from Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD.) She lives in Mobile with her husband, James, two dogs, three cats and a family of raccoons. In her free time she likes to watch Star Trek and pursue artistic hobbies like drawing, sewing, printmaking and more.

Bryley is a junior at the University of Mobile and is studying Studio Art. She is from Huntsville, Alabama and enjoys many different hobbies including anything art, music, or outdoors. She also loves to explore new countries and plans to travel more after college. Being around her favorite people, animals, and Jesus makes her happy. Bryley has a passion for art and Jesus and hopes to pursue her goals while staying completely true to herself and her beliefs.

Moira is a graphic design major at the University of Mobile. When not living on campus during the school year, she lives at home with her mom and grandparents. She spends most of her time studying and working with the people she considers to be her “second family” at Hobby Lobby. Moira likes to paint, draw, and binge watch reality TV shows in her free time. She likes to stay busy but can take the time to relax when needed.

TANNER DOHERTY

KAITLYN TERRY

SARAH KOEPPLINGER

Tanner has lived in Saraland, AL his entire life. Tanner was born premature and is studying Nursing with the goal of working with level-three premature babies at USA Children’s and Women’s Hospital in the future. His hobbies include videography, photography, and cars. He is currently rebuilding a 1990 Nissan 240SX with his dad. In fact, Tanner says his biggest inspiration is his dad, who motivates him to be a better person and to live for someone other than himself.

Kaitlyn is from Huntsville, Alabama and is studying Graphic Design. She says that when she is designing and creating she likes to listen to Hozier because his music inpsires her art. Kaitlyn says “my art tends to mimic life in the fact that I frequently, unintentionally, use my favorite colors in my work.” Some of those colors include sage green, tan, cream and forest green. She also plans to obtain her cosmetology license in the near future.

Sarah is a second year Graphic Design student at the University of Mobile. She spends her free time leading worship at Dayspring Baptist Church in Mobile, Alabama and playing tennis with her friends. She says that she would love to continue working in the church after college, but that she is also very interested in working in the secular design world.

2 // Contents & Contributors

Graphic Design is often defined as communicating messages visually. Typography is a subset of Graphic Design that deals with the “style, arrangement, or appearance of typeset matter (Merriam-Webster.) It is the art of arranging text and letterforms in a way that makes copy legible, understandable, and aesthetically appealing to the reader. But as you will see in this zine, legibility does not always equal communication.

contents 4 // Marian Bantjes 6 // David Carson

Typographise is a typography zine created by Graphic Design students at the University of Mobile and registered with the LIbrary of Congress. The articles published are written and designed by the students listed on these pages. Each article spread contains a unique layout inspired by the typographer or type foundry in the included article.

8 // Hermann Berthold

18 // House Industries

10 // Jessica Hische 12 // Erik Spiekermann 14 // Louise Fili 16 // Claude Garamond

PAYTON HUDSON

EMMA LEPERE

EMILY KEITH

Payton is a Indecisive college student, who has switched her major twice after figuring out she does not like STEM. Her free time includes drawing and picking up hobbies only to never do them again. Her bank account doesn’t like it but she thinks the two days is worth it. She lives in her home town of Mobile, Alabama with her mother. Her mother feels exactly how you think she would about the hobbies.

Emma is a Graphic Design major at the University of Mobile who enjoys playing the bass clarinet, photography, and spending time with her friends and large, crazy, and loud family. She was born in Rhode Island and has been living in Fairhope, Alabama since 2010. She recently designed a patch logo for the Army. Emma loves the color purple.

Emily is a Strategic Communication major and is also minoring in graphic design. She says, “my dream has always been to make an impact people.” Emily hopes to attend graduate school and be a communication professor in the future. She believes that Graphic Design has allowed her to be able to share ideas and thoughts with many people and to impact them in a very real way.

Typographise // Spring 2021 // 3

Marian Bantjes is a well-known artist, who specializes in typography, illustration, graphic design, and writing. Bantjes was born in March of 1963, and grew up in Saskatchewan, Canada. Having established an affection for art and design at an early age, she started off her career as a book typesetter for Hartley & Marks Publishers in Vancouver. Her career took a turn when she was swayed by the influence of Paul Rand. She then co-founded a graphic design studio in Vancouver named Digitopolis, which she continued to manage until 2003. There, she developed skills that would lead her to find her style and passion. This transition from corporate book typography work to co-founding her own design studio was

with her other designs. This helps her to create work that is the best quality for her client and herself. Bantjes once said, “Where my work as a graphic designer was to follow strategy, my work now follows my heart, and my interests with the guidance of my ego to create work that is mutually beneficial for myself and a client” (Bantjes, 00:01:50-00:02:08). This way of creating has allowed her to create more freely and explore new ideas which also benefit others in the process. By staying true to the image, she has developed throughout her career, she has blossomed in the niche she has chosen. Bantjes is also known for her exploration of many complex concepts and her ability to execute her ideas with excellence and

for Hartley & Marks Publishers. This transition jump started her professional design portfolio. Bantjes also went on to inspire many others in this field with her ability to effectively communicate what she has learned over the years. Elyse Neufeld from the BCLA says, “For inspiration, [Bantjes] looked to religion’s use of highly detailed, ornate art, such as elaborate patterns and drawings in the margins of religious texts” (Neufeld, 2014). This goes to show that she found inspiration in everyday experiences and by seeing other people’s work, even the work of those outside of the design field. In regard to this notion, Bantjes did a TEDtalk in 2010 and during her speech she explains that “Inspiration is cross-

monumental for Bantjes, because it led her down a path to become one of the greatest graphic artists of her time, as well as an internationally known artist. Bantjes’ work is eye-catching, and her unique practices in design have caught the attention of many influential graphic

precision in mind. Given her great ability to conceive and deliver on difficult design requests, it would be impossible to believe that she did not complete a college education. She began studying at Emily Carr College of the Arts but dropped out early on, because she felt that she was not

designers around the world. Her work is appealing because she has established a style that is unique to her. Clients come to her trusting that she will design something they will love because they are familiar

getting the knowledge that could only be found through experience. In pursuing her goals apart from a college education, she discovered in herself a passion for typography leading her to apply to work

pollinating” (Bantjes, 00.14.47-00.14.51). She said this meaning that someone else may have inspired her work and her work could go on to inspire others. For example, she may have been inspired by the work of a philanthropist and her work could go on to inspire a young pianist; this could cause a chain reaction of inspiration. This portion of her TEDtalk is one of her most popular quotes because it goes to show how far the impact of your art can go. Even the quote in and of itself, brought about inspiration to many artists listening. One unique thing about Bantjes is that she loves sending out valentines to the people she loves. She would often create a universal valentine and then make several copies to send out. However, in 2007 she decided to create a completely unique valentine for 150 loved ones that included a hand-drawn heart design with their name incorporated into them. The recipients seemed to notice the extra

MARIAN

4 // Marian Bantjes

level of care given that the response she received was much higher than that of the previous years, when she sent the same design to everyone. Continuing her tradition of creating beautiful valentines, she has continued to create new and intricate designs each year for valentine’s day. These cards are one of her most popular art endeavors because people have become infatuated with the heart-felt designs she has come to be recognized for. Bantjes has many books written about her and has written a few herself. The one she put her heart and soul into is I Wonder, she says, “This book is my masterpiece. I spent 15 months between 2009–2010 writing, illustrating and designing it” (Bantjes, 2015). Filled with love, this book has the text surrounded by her ornate creations like a thick border. It is eclectic and every page is unmatched. Alissa Walker from Fast Company says, “It’s a readable collection of smart, visuallyintense short stories, and a design book that will likely never leave your coffee table” (Walker, 2018). I Wonder contains her history, a compilation of various ideas

second font, Restraint. With this font, a series of curls and twist combinations create the letters within the text. The design for this font began as a thought experiment in connected lettering. It is beautifully constructed but takes time to understand. She has to include a guide on how to use her font with the purchase of it.

attributes. This allows her to display her individuality, whilst setting the perfect design out for her client. Bantjes is a typographer, illustrator, graphic designer, and writer whose artworks and ideas will forever be filled and fill others with wonder. Her work is well known all over, prized, and

Marian Bantjes’ art goes way beyond the digital world. She enjoys finding things around her that spark imagination and using them creatively to make something entirely new. Bantjes travels often and collects sand or dirt from the places she has been in hopes to design something

recognized by many art critics and will continue to be. As long as she continues to pursue herself and dive into her most wild conceptual ideas, she will be a success. Her inspiration, projects, books, fonts, sarcasm and Valentine’s day cards are iconic and have changed the way people see the world

BANTJES and of course, her witty sense of humor, making this a project that is very personal to her. Bantjes has two fonts that she has created including Bernice and Restraint. Both of these fonts are intricate and completely out of the ordinary. With her Bernice font, it may take some prior knowledge to be able to understand what you are seeing, but it comes together to create beautiful patterning. This font is more of a patterned design creation than a readable text. Although she never enters for awards, she has still won awards for her

with it in the future. She used the sand and dirt to carefully craft a poster on coexistence. The poster contained many components that made up the design. Bantjes said, “It works on two levels because it speaks to the international element of it, that all of the dirt and sand is from different regions from around the world but also our relationship with the planet and with nature” (Bantjes, 00:02:17-00:02:32). In this way Bantjes has used substances that represent the unity of the world and pulls together her own

of typography. Marian Bantjes has been on a long and difficult journey leading her to become a legend whose endeavors in the art world will stand the test of time; authenticity and excellence will always be relevant.

Typographise // Spring 2021 // 5

Artists around the world have expressed emotions through their works for ages. Their use of creativity is limitless. But what exactly is creativity. “Creativity: the use of the imagination or original ideas, especially in the production of an artistic work”(Oxford). These works can be in the form of several different media. However, Graphic design is perhaps one of the most up and coming artistic forms of creativity known today. David Carson is a famous graphic designer well known for his emotional and visual communication through magazine design and his experimental use of typography design and layout. Much like most artists, Carson used his own life experiences in his work and r San Sabas o f tia designs. His success shows other s ter striving artists that creativity is from life experiences and not being afraid to show emotion through artwork, even if others judge the way it may look. rf Su

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6 // David Carson

As a child, David Carson moved around a lot. However, he spent a decent amount of time during his teen years in Florida. He later moved to California and worked in a small surf shop. We will later see how the places he grew up will affect his styles in design. He attended San Diego State University, graduating with a bachelor of arts in Sociology. Carson did not take an interest in graphic design early on in his life. Carson was 26 before he even heard of graphic design” (Meggs, 1). It was not until he entered a two week course at the University of Arizona, that he was ever exposed to graphic design. In such a short period of time, Carson became very interested. Meggs quotes Carson in her book, “At the end of the workshop, he recalls, “It really hit me: graphic design is what I wanted to do. The proverbial light bulb went off in my head” (Meggs, 1). He quit his job

teaching at a local high school, and he began to work for Transworld Skateboarding Magazine on the side. Because Carson had never taken any graphic design courses, this job was a huge gateway into his designing career. He became art director of the company and his work continued in the designs of the magazine even after the three years he spent there. Three years later, we see where David Carson started with little knowledge about graphic design. However, he was able to turn that experience into creating his own, well known style. Carson’s style is unique. It gives off a very grunge like feel. In fact, it is so abstract than most types and designs that David Carson had critiques against his work. At one of his seminars one critic asked, “Are you purposely contributing to the illiteracy of youth in America?” (Warren, 1). Carson takes these critiques with ease. In his mind, he is confident with his art because it is his art. His confidence shows through his design in magazines. One of the most known magazines he contributes to is the Ray Gun Magazine. Berger Warren describes in his periodical, “Ray Gun is no easy read: it demands patience, dedication and a fair amount of squinting. As he designs the magazine on his Macintosh computer, Mr. Carson manipulates text and images with willful abandon, so that a reader’s eyes are not sure where they’re supposed to go next on a page. He uses unorthodox typefaces, breaks up letters in words unexpectedly, overlaps text and pictures and digitally

riography artists such as Geof Kern, Marshall Arisman, Matt Mahurin and Henrik Drescher. He gave them the freedom to fill full pages with their ideas” (Heller, 2). It is so inspiring to see someone grasp onto the creativity of something like graphic design and run with it so far, that they are able to recognize other’s artistic ability and give them the freedom to show . their own creative styles. ine az ag

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His crazy, distracting, and never seen before designs became so known that Carson began his own design company, David Carson Design. Within his studio he worked on commissions from widely known companies that include: Pepsi Cola Ray Ban, sed son u or a C Nike, Levi Strauss Jeans, Toyota, avid w em ion, D es to sho and s Microsoft, Ray Ban, and so many u l c con hics ienc s, more known brands. His success In life exper sual grap magazine i v s s i i was starting to show. Later in life, h t in h as rough on th phy layou . There w ic i t one of David Carson’s magazine s a ph r k a g o typo s, and bo where gr ure. covers was named one of the “top t e e l c f artic t in his li in the pi e was 40 magazine covers of all time” by r h n e i , a po was nev ge of 26 tive the American Society of Magazine a n g e r i th f c ea des er, at world o aching v Editors. He published his own e w e te th Ho e y and at on book and sold over 200,000 sed to expo . Sociolog s passion ign n hi copies. It became one of the des desig ave been phic eart. He a r G h most read graphic design books may However, ll on his h uitting q u . worldwide. David Carson may not n i o p t tronger p of faith in is. s t p a have known that this is where his id h ea had uge l fully he d tyle has h a journey would lead him. However, es took . Thank ity grung b reativ designers around the world his jo stract and ion and c all t b s are thankful for his artistic His a d imagina designer orld. c e i k h e r p style and contributions. th w spa in gra over agine if Im er d nev he ha pursue to tried stic rti this a His story . dream cess was c u s tion and spira nd n i e a tru s then a ist to art certainly st it mo oday. t s still i vid Carson, O Da c D

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massages columns of type to form odd shapes, sometimes making his columns slant diagonally” (Warren, 1). Another scholarly journal, Typeout! states that, “Carson Is Best Known for His Work on the American Music Magazine Ray Gun, Where He Tore up the Rulebook, Followed His Instincts and Kicked Design into the Future” (Typeout, 1). Ray Gun was able to put Carson’s name out there. He was becoming a known graphic designer. “Carson’s quirky style began to surface not just in Ray Gun but also in other magazines, in advertisements, on book and record covers and on television screens” (Warren, 1). He also contributed to the designs in the magazine, Counter Beach Culture. Steven Heller writes in his review, “David Carson, Beach Culture’s designer, created a vehicle rooted in raucous typography and design tomfoolery that broke the same rules that Futurists and Dadaists had attacked in the teens and ’20s” (Heller, 1). He was not only a good designer, but also a good employer. Heller writes, “Carson was a connoisseur of striking photography and illustration and employed recognized histo-

Typographise // Spring 2021 // 7

Hermann Berthold

Sans serif type was very popular during the 20th century. One popular typographer, Hermann Berthold, made an impact during this time because of his use of Grotesque font styling. Grotesque was created as a name, due to its common rejection of the more elegant design elements of serif fonts. This era is where Berthold comes into view. Hermann Berthold was born in Berlin, Germany, in 1831. Berthold started out with an apprenticeship as a precisioninstrument maker, and in 1858, he founded the “Institute for Galvano Technology”, located in Berlin. There, he ended up making a striking discovery: he created a method of producing circular lines from brass instead of lead or zinc. 8 // Hermann Berthold

Due to his discovery, Germany got a hold of his printers and other countries wanted Berthold’s printer as well. In 1858, he founded his type foundry, H. Berthold Systeme AG (Also known as H. Berthold Messinglinienfabrik und Schriftgiesserei). His type foundry was the largest in the world by 1918 and had offices all in the Eastern part of the world. This allowed Berthold to produce amazingly fine and detailed work.

“As precise as Berthold Brass” Print trading coined a term describing Berthold’s methods by stating, “As precise as Berthold brass”. Another achievement that Berthold was able to be granted with, was the first ever generally binding system of typographic measurement; this system is still being used in the trade, today! Berthold’s foundry hosted a key role in the introduction of new fonts and was very successful in developing typesetting machines.

The foundry was the sole creator of a widely used font family by the name of Akzidenz-Grotesk, which was released in 1898. It was an early sans serif that eventually gave to the rise of the very popular Neo-grotesque typefaces, Helvetica being one of those. In 1950, type designer Gunter Gerhard Lange got to work with Berthold’s foundry in the creation of original typefaces, such as Concorde and Imago, and oversaw the foundry’s resuscitations of typefaces such as Garamond, Caslon, Bakersville, and Bodoni. - Tanner Doherty

Hermann Berthold was the head of the Berthold type foundry until 1888.

Berthold’s Foundry

Typographise // Spring 2021 // 9

J E S S I C A a lettering artist and author with a tendency to overshare and a penchant for procrastiworking.

Jessica Hische is a 37-year-old lettering artist and author from Charleston, South Carolina. She discovered her love for lettering after her idol gave her a work opportunity. She had been freelancing for one of her professors for six months before Louise Fili gave her a chance.

BOOKS: Tomorrow I’ll Be Kind

Tomorrow I’ll Be Brave

Brave,Kind, & Grateful

Written by Kaitlyn Terry

10 // Jessica Hische

When she first discovered lettering, Jessica was trying to save money in college. What she thought was creating new fonts, was actually lettering. She began to Incorporate lettering into her projects and into her portfolio. This is what eventually led her to work with Louise Fili and make the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. Jessica Hische is a unique part of the typography community because, while she does create fonts, she mainly focuses on lettering. She always start with pencil sketches and works her way up. Hische transfers the sketch into illustrator from memory, not tracing the initial sketch. Throughout this job position, Hische worked on freelance illustration that slowly incorporated more lettering. Overtime, the lettering took over the illustrations. Hische made a name for herself by lettering and was soon strictly hired on for her work with lettering. Jessica Hische was learning and working for someone who was the best in her field; yet she did not grow just by observing. Hische took the initiative to include bits of lettering into her portfolio. By including these pieces into all her works, Hische claims that she would not be the letterer she is today without taking those small steps.

Jessica Hische has led a successful career in typography, but she has also burst in the children’s literature scene. Hische has published two children’s books, Tomorrow I’ll Be Brave and Tomorrow I’ll Be Kind. Hische is the author and illustrator of both books. She, artfully, incorporates her lettering into the landscape of many of her pages by making the word into beautiful graffiti the character passes while playing outside with a friend or the strong sturdy branches of a tree. By using the different fonts in her lettering, she is able to convey the feeling of the word to the reader. For example, the word ‘gentle’ has long flowing lines that sweep across the page that are inlaid with delicate flowers as characters lay along the sweeps sniffing flowers and looking at butterflies. Each word has its own flow and designs added to it. While there may be some similarities, they are small. All the words convey a different meaning and it is evident through the page layout surrounding the lettering Hische choose.

H I S C H E Jessica Hische has a successful career that has led her down many different avenues to spread her work around the world. Beginning as a simple freelance illustrator, she was able to incorporate her passion into her work that would build in degree overtime. Building the amount of lettering into her illustrations caught the attention of others. This led to her landing many job opportunities based only on her lettering. Job after job, she continued to work and hone her craft. Her proficiency and passion for her work brought her to the crossroads of literature. Here, she published two children’s books and a book on lettering called In Progress. Jessica Hische has made her mark on the typography world and is continuing to spread her work through the reach she has created over the years.

Quotes from Hische: “As a letterer, when I’m hired to draw the word “holiday” I don’t first draw the entire alphabet in the style I wish, then position the letters to spell out the word. I draw the word as a unique image. This means that in a lot of lettering, if you rearrange the letters it would look pretty crappy—it’s meant to be seen and used in that configuration and that configuration only.” “I strive to create beautiful and legible work with just enough personality and a high level of technical precision.”

Typographise // Spring 2021 // 11

“I open my eyes and I travel and I look. And I read everything.” “Typefaces are an essential resource employed by graphic designers...” (Lupton 2010). So what is a typeface? What makes them so important? Typefaces are very different from the earliest forms of lettering and writing. Calligraphy was created based off of bodily gestures and sounds. “Typefaces, however, are not bodily gestures—they are manufactured images designed for infinite repetition” (Lupton 2010).

“Typography, historically, demonstrates a tension or contrast between organic and geometric, hand and machine, and the body and abstract systems.” The first printed letters were created over five hundred years ago. Johannes Gutenberg revolutionized type when he created movable type. At the time, at least in Germanic languages, there was no longer a need for scribes to hand write entire books or documents. The establishment and invention of printing allowed for the mass production of books, documents, and letters. Many of the typefaces we commonly use today were inspired by fonts created by various printers in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. These historic typefaces are usually combined with a contemporary design in mind in order to create a new typeface that is compatible with the current technological advancements and different industry-standard programs (Lupton 2010). Today’s industry requires a certain level of uniformity and sharpness in each character within a typeface.

12 // Erik Spiekermann

“Renaissance artists sought standards of proportion in the idealized human body” (Lupton 2010). The anatomy of individual letters and the anatomy of the human body and closely related. This concept was the first instance of a grid system being used in typeface production. An entirely new world of fonts emerged with the rise of industrialization in the nineteenth century. Industrialization and mass consumption created a new demand for advertisement. Advertisement became the next big form of communication, hence the increased need for typography. During this time, monster fonts became the new face of typography and advertisement. Traditional typefaces were dehumanized and widely experimented with unlike ever before. This new demand for advertisement and typography would bring forth an entirely new group of individuals and designers who would take graphic design and typography into their own hands, leaving the world a completely different place than it was when they found it. Perhaps one of the most formative and experienced individuals in modern typeface and graphic design is Erik Spiekermann.

“Erik Spiekermann was born on May 30, 1947 in Stadthagen, Germany.” He lived in Stadthagen until he enrolled at Free University of Berlin. While he was at university, he payed for his education by running a printing press in the basement of the building he lived in at the time. After Spiekermann graduated from Free University of Berlin in the 1970s, he

moved to London, where he spent the first decade of his career working as a freelance graphic designer. During his freelance career, he also taught courses at the London College of Printing. Spiekermann’s interest in the technological side of design began after he lost all of his press equipment to a fire in 1977. He knew technology had progressed and decided it was time to catch up in the industry he had come to love. He was even one of the very first people to purchase a Macintosh computer in Germany. Spiekermann began working along side of two other graphic designers, and eventually they launched their first firm called MetaDesign out of Berlin in 1979 (tdc 2021). Over the years, MetaDesign has expanded and now also has locations in both London and San Francisco. MetaDesign has worked with several large name companies, such as Audi and Volkswagen. After founding MetaDesign, Spiekermann and his wife, Joan Spiekermann launched the FontShop in the late 1980s. This was the first producer and distributer of electronic fonts of its kind. An extension of the FontShop, called FontShop International became a hub for the publication of an extensive range of typefaces. Spiekermann has been honored for his contribution to typeface at several Universities across the world and holds a position on the board of the German Design Council. In 2002, he published his first book on typeface called Stop Stealing Sheep & Find Out How Type Works. The book was written for Adobe, and was published in English, German, Portuguese, and Russian. One of Erik Spiekermann’s most praised projects was the production and release of his font family for Nokia. Following Nokia, Spiekermann came

alongside Christian Schwartz as they collaborated on the design of a type family for German Railways. After leaving the MetaDesign firm in 2001, he founded a new firm called United Designers Networks. This second firm also has offices located in Berlin, San Francisco, and London. As of 2009, the firm was renamed and is now recognized as Edenspiekermann. (Adobe 2021). Having spent the last fifty years in the graphic design and typographic industry, Spiekermann has distinguished some of his type preferences and personal discoveries over the last five decades. His dream setup includes a balance of both analog and digital traditions and machinery.

Article written by: Sarah Koepplinger

spiekermann

He takes both into account when de signing a new font type. “From real life. I open my eyes and I travel and I look. And I read everything. I open my eyes and I travel and I look. And I read everything”, is the response Spiekermann gave when asked what inspires him while creating graphics and typefaces (Workspiration 2018). Erik Spiekermann currently has offices in Amsterdam, Berlin, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, and Singapore. Some of the typefaces he has designing throughout his career include: FF Meta, ITC Officina, FF Info, FF Unit, and FF Real. He has also designed several custom fonts for companies such as The Economist, Deutshe Bahn, Cisco, Bosch, Mozilla, and Autodesk. (Adobe 2021). Many believe Spiekermann played a large roll in the development and advancement of cultural communication and information sharing, certainly in Germany, but also on a global scale.

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“Spiekermann believes in the balance of the printing press and computers.”

Typographise // Spring 2021 // 13

Louise Fili I

BY PAYTON HUDSON

s there only one way to catch someone’s eye? Typography can vary from the loose variations to more strict limitations found in swiss style, but in the end, due to opinion, people tend to choose which they feel is correct. Some shy away from the classical style of type because they find it too basic while others cannot stand the sight of modern type. For Louise Fili, all forms are an inspiration. Through her personal background with type, love for cuisine, and impact on the art directing scene, Fili innovates past the barriers of ‘wrong design’ and leaves a trail of inspiration and achievement.

t the age of sixteen, Fili stepped off a plane and fell in love with type. After landing in Italy for the first time, Fili says, she saw a sign for Baci Perugina chocolates that was different from any other advertisement she had ever seen (Fili 9). From there she became enamored with type. Though she did not start experimenting with design until much later, Louise submerged herself in Italy’s style of design. In her book, The Signs of Italy, she speaks extensively about her love for various styles of type that can be found all over Italy. Fili collected pictures of Restaurant signs, advertisements, posters, wrappers, painted signs and everything else Italy had to offer. As technology got better, her research was able to be taken to new heights and her dedication to travel to new cities and photograph different areas grew even stronger. Fili states, she would sometimes have to wait for things to move just to get the perfect shot of a letterform tucked away in an alley (Fili

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above: A logo design for pearl oyster bar done by Louise Fili

9). Though the walking would seem like a bother, Fili’s love for Italy powers her work from her youth all the way to now. She speaks of the cities that she finds the most interesting such as Lucca, Bologna, and Turin, as if she can tell you every sign street by street. Her research does not stop there, though. In her book, Scripts: Elegant Lettering from Design’s Golden Age, Fili comprises some of her photography again, this time separating the styles of Scripts by country and giving some background research using her knowledge. Fili’s approach to research even

Food, design and all things italy - Louise Fili

at a young age, reflects the approach she has for her own work and the amount of styles present in them. ouise’s love for Italy can be found in her journey to food packaging in New York city. In her interview podcast with Logo Geek, she talks about her beginnings in the food packaging industry and all of the inspiration Italy has on her job decision. After working a bleak period as an art director and restaurant logo designer in New York, she decided to go into what she loves: Food, design, and all things Italy.

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s an Italian American, Fili grew up in a life centered around food. Moved by her childhood, she looked into the food packaging business. In order to pursue her passion in a more centered environment Fili established her own studio and directed her attention on turning the packaging industry into a beauty centered practice. Her impact in the world of restaurant reflects this belief as well. In the podcast, The Food Seen with Matteo Bologna and Douglas Riccardi, Fili talks in length about her experience with the restaurant industry in New York compared to Italy. Fili states that, in comparison, the logo business is almost nonexistent in Italy because

14 // Louise Fili

there is no need for logos due to the heavy focus of typeface and illuminated signs. She concludes that the business with Americans is more based on the newest restaurants while the restaurant industry in places like Italy and France are more centered on the old. Though she is currently still in New York, Louise’s love for Italy’s old practices still drives in how she creates her types and logos. Fili admitted to completely avoiding computers for almost all of her career. She instead uses a tracing pad to work out multiple logos and types. Regarding the overall climate of the food industry with clients and creative freedom Fili is very specific with who she works with and isn’t focused on money. Her passion is in the old fashion which makes it difficult to work with more enterprising businesses. Once they decide to move into a computer generated type Fili simply decides to cut ties. lthough Fili does not remember her experience at Pantheon completely positively, she attributes it to her current design voice. Pantheon is a company that designs book covers in the new york area. In the 1980s, the inspiration in the company was very centered on the loud and eye-catching. The marketing directors of the company had strict rules on how book covers should attract the reader and the idea of a ‘wrong design’ was still very prevalent (Heller 489) . For Fili’s first assignment, she was given Marguerite Duras’ The Lover. Duras was an unknown artist in the United States compared to her celebrity status in France (Logo Geek). The subject matter of the book, a young girl who is infatuated with a Chinese man in an olden age of societal differences, is seen to not be as promising in selling, which leads to the company giving Louise the book for her first solo proj-

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ect as an art director (Heller 487). To the company’s dismay, Fili’s interpretation of the book was not as flashy as the title would imply. In fact, she described it as a purposely contrasting form to the implications of the title’s contents. The font chosen by Fili was thin and straight across and the overall cover was a basic picture with a circle frame and fade. She jokingly remembers the words of a colleague “You are lucky. My editors have bad taste; yours have no taste.”(Heller 489). These types of comments did not bother Fili. Once the book was released it was a hit and took off better than the publication house had expected. When Fili speaks about it now it’s very playful. On the Food Seen podcast, she laughs when it is brought up, stating that she believes she proved her point. After The Lover, Fili went on to do over 2,000 book covers under Pantheon and inspire her colleagues around her to try new rules regarding what is marketable in the book cover world. ouise Fili lives her life based on doing what she loves. Despite her comedic and carefree attitude her experience and intellect backs up her experimental attitude and proves that there is no wrong way to market. Though she has a lot of rules for her employees, her core beliefs can always be found back at the root of her inspiration: Italy. Fili along with her husband, Steven Heller, have published over 3 books about graphic design, including her love letter to Italian cuisine. In her free time, Fili has also operated as a professor teaching graphic design students all she knows and passing the torch to future creators. She even has a Skillshare where she posts videos about getting creatively motivated and finding inspiration for design. For her contributions to the design world, Fili has won several medals and distinctions. Currently through her own studio, Louise Fili ltd., Louise Fili continues to fill our world with color, creativity, and the feeling of Italy.

Typographise // Spring 2021 // 15

Writing about famous typographer, Claude Garamond, Adrian Frutiger says “I am sure in some years from now you will see new posters with just white space and four lines in Garamond”. Claude Garamond was a typeface founder, pun cutter, and publisher in the sixteenth century. There are a quick a few things about Garamond that are very amusing, like his biography, famous typefaces, historical information, interesting facts are just some of the things to learn about Claude Garamond. The first thing to know about him is his background. Here is some basic information about Claude Garamond. He was born in 1480 in Paris, France and died in 156. “Starting out as an apprentice punch cutter Claude Garamond quickly made a name for himself in the typography industry” (Harrigan 6). Based on historical records, Garamond was a successor in his field of study. Were he alive today, he would have been financially secure. In his lifetime, Garamond was the first type founder to sell their punch cuts. He had one financial success during his life, but it was early on in his career, far before his death. “When he died, his widow was forced to sell his punches, and his typefaces were scattered throughout Europe” (Harrigian 8). His widow had no choice but to sell what punches and typefaces Garamond had left to help with the finances. Though his biography is quite fascinating, the information about his famous typefaces is remarkably interesting. Garamond created many typefaces during his career. In fact, he created so many that he was even-

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tually approached by a fellow member of the printing community, Robert Estienne. “In 1530 Garamond’s first type was used in an edition of a book by Erasmus… In 1530 Robert Estienne,… approached Garamond to order a roman font” (Ramano 1). Another font that Garamond created was the Grec Du Roi. King Françis I asked Garamond to invent a Greek-style cut font and, following the king’s instructions, the Grec Du Roi type was born. Grec du Roi was created for the king’s own personal use. King Francis I ended up using this font for printing small books that Estienne had written. Garamond created some amazing typefaces, and the historical facts behind each of them is a fascinating element to explore. There is little historical information to learn about Garamond. After his typefaces were left neglected for years, a nineteenth-century printing office longed to possess their own unique font and luckily stumbled across Garamond’s. Soon, several typeface creators began to make their own casts of Garamond fonts. “But it was only after the First World War that… really picked up… Suddenly every type foundry started producing its own version of Garamond” (Loxley 50). American Type Founders, Frederic Goudy, Monotype, and Linotype were just a few of the companies that created their own version of Garamond’s typeface. Out of all of those that

revived Garamond’s typeface, only one printing office refused to make any drastic changes to the typesetter’s original design. Goudy is the only artist to create a traditional, historically accurate form of Garamond’s font. It seems that Goudy’s revival of Garamond’s font was more popular than the other typesetters whose casts were so over the top that they no longer resembled the original. Though there are not many historical accounts about Garamond’s life, there are a few other miscellaneous bits of information that historians have been able to piece together in recent years. One fact that is particularly interesting is the knowledge of what Garamond’s typeface designs were based on. “Much of his typeface design was based on the lowercase handwriting of Angelo Vergecio,…” (PrintWeek). Who would have thought that Garamond’s famous typeface designs were based on someone else’s handwriting? “Garamond was one of the first to design an italic typeface… his designs were so important that they would later influence many other typefaces of that nature with the same characteristics” (Harrigan 7). It is just crazy how, after he decided to work independently, Garamond created a new typeface trend. Even with all of the information found here, it seems as though there is still a lot about Garamond that remains unknown.

With incomplete knowledge of the bigger picture, Garamond’s life can only be surmised by basic information, facts about his typeface designs, ancient knowledge, and the engaging discoveries that are uncovered each day. Born in 1480 and passing away in 1561, Garamond lived and died in Paris. Garamond created many famous typefaces such as Estienne’s Roman style font and the king’s own Grec Du Roi. Though he was a successor in his field, the typefounder was not a financially sound. At the time of his death, his widow was forced to sell any typefaces and punch cuts that were left behind in order to gain the funds to survive. As a result of his widow’s actions, his fonts got popular many years later. Soon enough, every typeface designer was creating their own form of the Garamond font, but Goudy is the only artist that did not change the original concept. Garamond also created an italic font and subsequently began the trend of italicizing. Frutiger was correct about how from years that everyone would use Garamond on posters everywhere.

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“I am sure in some years from now you will see new posters with just white space and four lines in Garamond.” - Adrian Frutiger

Typographise // Spring 2021 // 17

“I’d come up with some crazy idea, and fortunately he’d buy into it, and we’d figure out a way to pull it off,’ says Cruz. This is more or less how House Industries is still run today” Designer Rich Roat and young Andy Cruz worked together to create a start-up company called Brand Design Co. which eventually turned into House Industries. Rich Roat was an avid cyclist who combined his two passions to create typefaces. Andy Cruz was an average kid who loved art. He was in different art programs all through high school. He eventually got a chance to help at a studio Miller Mauro Group which is where he met Rich. From there the two of them used their talent and skill and created the successful brand. Another unique aspect of House Industries is its market. While they do deal with type and typeface, they also create and sell products and merchandise which feature and display the type. “House Industries is a design studio that makes fonts, creates products, takes commissions and welcomes collaborations” The reason House Industries is successful is that they have used implemented each aspect of the market and used it to their advantage. It isn’t often that you can buy a piece of wood that showcases a type face.

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House industries partners not only with type artists, but many well know companies and brands including: Major League Baseball, ESPN, MTV, Nickelodeon, McDonald’s, Pepsi, Jimmy Kimmel, Survivor, Build-ABear, Adele, HBO, Wendy’s Dunkin’ Donut’s, Club Penguin, The Las Vegas logo and many more. House Industries has many different typefaces that it promotes. “They are best known for their electric and far-reaching creative fonts” These fonts range a broad Roat spectrum because House Industries is and focused on their brand as a whole. They are known for their Cruz selective choices in who they partner with because they are want the quality of their industry to stand. “Usable high talented design – that’s the House philosophy... unlike the modern artists. Roat mega-firm, House is not willing to devalue its designs by was an avid slapping them on made-in-China plastic or particleboard, cyclist who says Roat, whose company was nominated for a National combined his two Design Award this year”. An example of a typeface they passions, type and partner with is Eams Century Modern. This typeface bicycles. He through is “a beautiful typeface that blends two major House Industries genres of serif: the Clarendon and the Scotch”. crafted the innovative Another example is House Gothic family. “House Velo Serif font. It was a Industries’ graphic style is derived almost font that was robust and entirely from the “modern” graphic styles sophisticated to match the line of America in the late ’50s and early ’60s”. of bike that it was representing House Industries take and distribute This was how Roat was, he took different these different typefaces. his passions and ran with it creating Companies can contract with them beautiful typefaces and helping House and allow them to market their Industries become the success it is. designs. House Industries is best known for taking the typefaces they are entrusted with and House Industries does not rely on outsiders to creating unique designs out help keep House Industries afloat. They are able of them. “House Industries to be more cautious and focused when it comes does an excellent job to hiring other artists. “They are on the constant creating merchandise lookout for the forgotten font and the long-dead that makes good use style. The level of detail they bring to their font families of its expressive through research and story writing can be astonishing. typefaces”. House Industries are known for their selective choices in Jimmy Kimmel: “I’m not sure if we needed a new logo and thought of House, or if we needed a new logo because of house.” “Usable high design – that’s the House philosophy... unlike the modern mega-firm, House is not willing to devalue its designs by slapping them on made-in-China plastic or particleboard, says Roat, whose company was nominated for a National Design Award this year”

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Typographise: Issue 1, Spring 2021

Articles inside

Louise Fili

Jessica Hische

Marian Bantjes

Erik Spiekermann