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.
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Typographise // Spring 2021 // 15
