Arcane Magazine

Typography Existing In The Moment | Š

Interviewed: Tobias Frere-Jones The Quintessential Type Designer

H&FJ New Sans Serif Has A Cult Following:

GOTHAM

FUTURE OF WEB TYPOGRAPHY? We Examine Some Of The Best Proposed Solutions

Arcane issue # 1 | fall 2009 | Savannah, Georgia | usa $8.50 | canada $12.75

Typography Existing In The Moment | Š Editor In-Cheif:

Sorces for Info–

Steven Edward Zimmerman

The information in this magazine was ob-

Creative Director:

tained from several sources. Arcane would

Prof. Joseph DiGoia

Art Director/Designer: Steven Edward Zimmerman

Contributors: Savannah College of Art & Design, Flickr, Getty Images, Adobe CS4, Print Magazine, Ars Technica, The TypeKit Blog, Hoefler &

like to thank the following.

Interview With Tobias: Hoefler & Frere-Jones | Interviewed For Print Magazine | AIGA

Gotham Article: Hoefler & Frere-Jones | Gotham, What Letter Look Like | Carleen Borsella

Frere-Jones, AIGA, FontHaus

Future of Web Typography:

Arcane Is...

Ars Technica | The Hazy Future of Web Typog-

a magazine designed for further education on

raphy | By Chris Foresman

typography. Because type is such an immense

Book Review:

subject matter Arcane will focus on the state

Mantex | Twentieth Century Type, New &

or typography now. There are many interesting

Revised | Johnathan Simkins

things happening with type today. The world of

Note from Steven E. Zimmerman:

the web as well as digital type are creating new challenges to the world of type design. Arcane looks to present its information in a fresh and interesting way.

Arcane Magazine was produced in a classroom setting. Concept, development, layout and production were produced by Steven E. Zimmerman during Typography II at The Savannah College of Art & Design.

Arcane Magazine | Issue: Fall 2009 | Number: 1 | 541 Nicoll Street Savannah,GA

TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 Interview:

TOBIAS FRERE-JONES

The Quintessential Type Designer

Frere-Jones is perhaps best known as the designer of Interstate, a sans serif typeface with industrial roots. First released in 1994, Interstate was based loosely on the font family Highway Gothic, used by the United States Federal Highway Administration for road signs.

H&FJ Answers Back At Subway Signage With Their New Sans Serif:

GOTHAM

5

Every designer has admired the no-nonsense lettering of the American vernacular, those letters of paint, plaster, neon, glass and steel that figure so prominently in the urban landscape. From these humble beginnings comes Gotham, a hard-working typeface for the ages.

9

FUTURE OF WEB TYPOGRAPHY? We Examine Some Of The Best Proposed Solutions

Current technology can break Web type free from the Georgia/Verdana prison, but getting all the stakeholders, Web designers, type designers, font vendors, and browser vendors, to agree on a standard may be a bigger challenge than the technology.

New Book Review of: 20th Century Type, New and Revised Edition Reproduced in large sizes and beautiful color, 20th Century Type presents typography in its various guises, from typeface design to type in use to hand lettered type, in a visually extensive manner providing an in-depth glimpse into the evolution of typography.

ARCANE presents an in-depth look into the mind of influential type designer:

Talks about typography from an interesting stand point. His development of the now famous face, Gotham, and how he views typography today. Where does Tobias see type going? and where has all his inspiration come from?

F

rere-Jones is perhaps best known as the designer of

inspire them and creates type that resonates with life outside

Interstate, another sans serif typeface with industrial

of typography and graphic design.

roots. First released in 1994, Interstate was based loosely

A native New Yorker, Frere-Jones’s work is as connected to

on the font family Highway Gothic, used by the United States

his hometown as the name of his latest design. In fact, he has

Federal Highway Administration for road signs. Despite the

undertaken the task of ‘documenting anything extant and

specificity of its origins, Interstate was embraced universally

noteworthy’ in Manhattan. Gotham was inspired by a variety

by graphic designers and has been used on most everything,

of unassuming, often derelict signs originally carved, painted,

including the 2000 U.S. Census. It is the most prominent result

rendered in neon, and cast in steel or bronze on the facades of

of the designer’s continuing interest in what he calls work-

buildings throughout New York. It took an intimate knowledge

ing class lettering. This interest began while he was a student

of the city to see the formal and historical connections between

at the Rhode Island School of Design where he designed the

these varied letterforms, but also a humble respect for metro-

typeface Garage Gothic based on the typography of parking

politan history to focus on such an unglamorous aspect of New

garage tickets. After graduating, Frere-Jones joined the digital

York. By focusing on the mundane – even decrepit – corners

type-foundry Font Bureau who had already released Garage

of his environment with Gotham, Frere-Jones has created a

Gothic. There he designed typefaces in every style, but contin-

typeface that carries with it the disorienting bustle of a walk in

ued his exploration of vernacular lettering with Interstate and

the city – the sense of being engulfed by a history that remains

another typeface, Pilsner, based on a French beer label. With

just out of reach.

these typefaces Frere-Jones preserves the humble letters that

3 | Arcane Magazine

INTERVIEWED At what point in the process did the inspiration for Gotham assert itself? Do you study the source material only initially or is it a constant resource?

q&A

How did the process of designing Gotham relate to some of the other projects HFJ has done related to New York City?

How would you approach creating a typeface based on typography and graphic design of the recent past – say the mid-1990’s?

Given how quickly Interstate gained currency with designers, I’m really not sure how I’d handle that. My first thought is that it would be like trying to call myself on the telephone: ‘What?

How come I always get a busy signal?

Who could I possibly be talking to?

Music (or sound, generally) is definitely the largest activity aside from design. It gets sidelined by work now and then, but I like to stay close to that way of thinking.

The projects for Grand Central and Lever House had what we sometimes call a ‘ forensic’ aspect, in that they called for the reconstruction of something lost, or the completion of something partial. In these cases, we used historical photos and records to suss out the original motives we’d need to follow. (Not unlike those serial killer profilers, but without all the, you know, killing and stuff.) Jonathan’s work for the Guggenheim and for Radio City certainly started with existing forms, but weren’t quite as obligated to them, as their new application had to go well past the original. The typefaces for The Wall Street Journal and The Whitney Museum were outright new constructions, but both meant to acknowledge what had existed before them.

What piece of music most closely resembles the process of type design?

How does designing a typeface that is self-initiated differ from designing one that is commissioned?

Yow. Hm. While I’m not sure I could pick out a single piece, I think most anything by Autechre would come pretty close, as those guys seem to work on very large and very small scales simultaneously. And even their most startling and disorienting pieces sound deliberate and carefully planned. I could also have an unfair bias, as I listen to them quite often while drawing.

Two of the designs that I’m most pleased with – Whitney and Gotham – wouldn’t have happened if somebody hadn’t asked for them. Those parts of the spectrum – the humanist and the geometric – had already been thoroughly staked out and developed by past designers. I didn’t think that anything new could have been found there, but luckily for me (and the client), I was mistaken. The best custom jobs will push me to take on a problem that I hadn’t considered before, or to reexamine what I had regarded as the final word for a given motif.

It was always close by, and required a lot of legwork as we moved through the character set. We were pretty well informed about the caps, needed to search around to understand the figures, and went searching for lowercase sources. This was the start of the photo excursions that I make almost every weekend now.

What sort of creative or research projects do you work on outside of type design?

Why did you choose to focus on such a blue-collar form of New York lettering?

I suppose there’s a hidden personal agenda in the design, to preserve those pieces of New York that could be wiped out before they’re appreciated. Having grown up here, I was always fond of the ‘old’ (or just older) New York and its lettering. After watching one of the most distinctive features of the city being destroyed last fall, it seemed more urgent to protect the original ‘character’ of the city, both in the sense of letters and personality. After collecting material for Gotham, I set myself the task of walking every last block of Manhattan with a camera, and recording anything extant and noteworthy.

Tobias Frere-Jones |

4

GOTHAM IS WHAT LETTERS SHOULD LOOK LIKE

Every designer has admired the no-nonsense lettering of the American vernacular, those letters of paint, plaster, neon, glass and steel that figure so prominently in the urban landscape. From these humble beginnings comes Gotham, a hard-working typeface for the ages.

Gotham | Is What Letters Should Look Like Long before the emergence of a pro-

gineers or draftsmen, most of whom

any sort of stylistic agenda although

fession called “graphic design,” there

worked outside of the typographic

inevitably, even the draftsman’s vi-

tieth century, the job of providing ar-

ing was often determined by the prac-

influenced by the prevailing style of

was signage. Up until the mid-twenchitectural lettering often fell to en-

G

tradition. The shape of facade lettertical business of legibility, rather than

sion of “basic building lettering” was

the time.

otham celebrates the attractive and unassuming lettering of

although designers have lived with them for half a century, they

the city. Public spaces are teeming with handmade sans ser-

remarkably went unrevived until 2000, when Hoefler & Frere-

ifs that share the same underlying structure, an engineer’s

Jones introduced Gotham.

idea of “basic lettering” that transcends both the characteristics of

Gotham is that rarest of designs, the new typeface that some-

their materials and the mannerisms of their craftsmen. These are the

how feels familiar. From the lettering that inspired it, Gotham

cast bronze numbers outside office buildings that speak with authority,

inherited an honest tone that’s assertive but never imposing,

and the engravings on cornerstones whose neutral and equable style

friendly but never folksy, confident but never aloof. The inclu-

defies the passage of time. They’re the matter-of-fact neon signs that

sion of so many original ingredients — a lowercase, italics, and

announce liquor stores and pharmacies, and the proprietors’ names

a comprehensive range of weights — enhances these forms’

painted majestically on the sides of trucks.

plainspokenness with a welcome sophistication, and brings a

These letters are straightforward and non-negotiable, yet

broad range of expressive voices to the Gotham family.

possessed of great personality, and always expertly made. And

7 | Arcane Magazine

Like most American cities, New York is host to a number of mundane buildings whose facades exhibit a distinctively American form of sans serif. This kind of lettering occurs in many media: the same office buildings whose numbers are rendered in this style, in steel or cast bronze, often use this form of lettering for their engraved cornerstones as well. Cast iron plaques regularly feature this kind of lettering, as do countless painted signs and lithographed posters, many dating back as far as the Work Projects Administration of the 1930s. (And judging by how often it appears in signs for car parks and liquor stores, this might well be the natural form once followed by neon-lit aluminum channel letters.) Although there is nothing to suggest that the makers of these different kinds of signs ever consciously followed the same models, the consistency with which this style of letter appears in the American urban landscape suggests that these forms were once considered in some way elemental. But with the arrival of mechanical sign making in the 1960s, these letters died out, completely vanishing from production.

During the first months of their collaboration, Hoefler and Frere-Jones discovered their mutual affection for this disappearing species of lettering. In 2000, a commission to design a signature sans serif for GQ afforded them the chance to explore the style, for which Frere-Jones undertook a massive study of building lettering in New York, starting with a charming but rarely examined sign for the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Though Frere-Jones wanted his drawings to exhibit the

Gotham is that rarest of designs, the new typeface that somehow feels familiar “mathematical reasoning of a draftsman” rather than the instincts of a type designer, he allowed Gotham to escape the grid wherever necessary, giving the design an affability usually missing from ‘geometric’ faces.

Unlike the signage upon which it was based, Gotham includes a lowercase, an italic, a full range of weights, and an extended range of widths: a Narrow, an Extra Narrow, and a Condensed.

Gotham Is What Letters Should Look Like | 8

FUTURE OF WEB

TYPOGRAPHY

The Problems As They Currently Are And What The Solution May Be No. 1

Typography, TypeKit, sIFR, @font-face

Web designers have over a decade of experience using CSS to specify what fonts should be used when displaying a webpage. While a designer can specify any font by name, there’s no guarantee that the viewer has that particular font installed.

Thankfully, CSS allows designers to specify fallback fonts, and the browser will es-

from being scaled. Another involves

sentially go through the list specified in the stylesheet until a match is found among

converting type into small Flash files in

the installed fonts. CSS even allows a generic fallback such as “serif” or “fixed-width,”

a method known as sIFR.

and the browser will use whatever fonts are specified in its preferences for each of

These methods share some drawbacks,

these generic classes.

however. Usability can be compromised,

Microsoft also decided to help by creating a set of fonts that it hoped would be widely

especially for those that rely on screen

distributed with operating systems. Known as the core “Web fonts,” these are included

reading software. Users that either can’t

with Windows and Mac OS X, and they are freely downloadable for Linux. These

or don’t have Flash installed won’t be able

typefaces were specifically designed for screen use, and have since become the most

to view all of the content as intended. As

commonly used type on the Web.

a result, the use of these methods is gen-

The collection includes 10 typefaces: the popular Verdana and Georgia, reworked

erally limited to headlines and banners,

versions of Times and Courier, Trebuchet MS, Andale Mono, Impact, the Helvetica-

while the bulk of the text uses one of the

esque Arial, the Webdings dingbat font, and the generally-reviled Comic Sans. While

common Web fonts.

the collection is certainly serviceable—especially Verdana and Georgia—it doesn’t

More recently, a method known as Cufón

leave a whole lot of room for creativity and variety.

text replacement has been implemented.

Designers can specify other fonts if the target audience can be reasonably expected

This uses only HTML and JavaScript, dis-

to have those fonts installed. For instance, a blog about using Adobe Creative Suite

plays type in whatever font a designer de-

software might reasonably assume that readers have Myriad Pro installed, since it

sires, and is still accessible to those with

comes with most Adobe design software. A Mac-centric website might specify Lucida

visual impairments. It works with most

Grande, Zapfino, or Helvetica, since those fonts are included with Mac OS X. As long

browsers, but it does require fonts to be

as fallback fonts are defined, the page can be displayed on any computer, though it

converted to a special format, and the

may lose some of the flair that the designer intended.

JavaScript is more complex than simply

Designers have also developed a number of workarounds that allow them to design

specifying a typeface. The rendering is

with whatever fonts they want. The simplest is to simply convert the type into static

also much slower than that of the brows-

graphics—though that method can quickly eat up bandwidth, and prevents the type

er’s built-in text handling.

9 | Arcane Magazine

Latest method: @font-face No. 2

Typography, @font-face, Solution

Fonts which specifically allow @font-face embedding: Graublau Sans Web, Junction,

The most flexible method would be a way for a designer to link to a specific font file,

Sniglet, Chunk, Blackout, Aniv-

have the browser download it once, and then use it as needed. The great thing is that

ers, Delicious, Fontin (sans), Fer-

this capacity already exists: the @font-face rule. This was originally part of the CSS2

tigo, Tallys, Diavlo, Pykes Peak

spec, and Internet Explorer and Netscape initially supported it. However, both browsers used differing, proprietary font formats, so it was not widely adopted, and ended up being dropped from CSS2.1.

The @font-face rule is still a part of the expanded type specifications for CSS3, and Safari and Firefox have recently added support for @font-face use with standard TrueType and OpenType fonts. It’s relatively trivial for designers to take advantage of @font-face—all that’s needed is to host the font file on a Web server and add a link to it in a style sheet. Two Tokyo-based designers were commissioned to design a webpage that shows off Firefox 3.5’s support for the feature, but you can also see @font-face in action for yourself if you have a recent version of Safari or the latest beta of Opera.

Unfortunately, there are two problems with @font-face.

The first is that support for standard font formats isn’t included in Internet Explorer, which still command a large percentage of the desktop browser market. Second, fonts are software, and software generally comes with licenses. While some fonts are freely licensed for Web use (for instance, the Open Font Library), many font distributors expressly forbid putting fonts on a Web server. Mozilla had to license the fonts used in its @font-face example specifically for that page alone.

One proposal involves standardizing Microsoft’s EOT format, though you can be sure none of the browser vendors except for Microsoft are too keen on that idea. Another solution from The Font Bureau’s David Berlow amounts to including a table of permissions within the metadata of a font file that could control their use on the Web. Font vendor Ascender has even proposed creating yet another format specifically for fonts to be used on the Web.

Zero, CA BND Bold WEB, Axel Fonts with an OpenFont License: Gentium, Doulos SIL, Charis SIL, Andika Design Review, Linux Libertine, Century Catalogue, Inconsolata, Old Standard Covers, Briep, CM Unicode, Heuristica (based on Adobe Utopia), Titillium Fonts with a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Licence: Tagesschrift, Kaffesatz, Vollkorn-Brotschrift

The Future or Web Typography | 10

The TypeKit Option No. 3

Typography, TypeKit, Solution

The latest idea is from a company called Small Batch, which has developed a tool

one of the reasons we use Javascript to

called TypeKit. TypeKit relies on fonts that it hosts itself, and designers use the fonts

load fonts, it provides a powerful level of

by adding some JavaScript to their code. It’s designed to abstract all the hard stuff

control to designers. We recently rolled

away from the developer, and even uses Cufón or sIFR as fall backs for browsers that

out an upgrade to that Javascript which

don’t support @font-face. Small Batch is working with foundries to develop a Web-

improved compatibility, rendering per-

specific license for the fonts it hosts, and the company has recently secured a round

ception and reduced the file size tenfold.

of funding from venture capital firms and several new media luminaries.

There’s more to come, for example, we’re

So far these solutions have generated a lot of debate, but very little consensus. Design-

adding hooks which tell you when the

ers aren’t really keen on new font

fonts have loaded.

formats. Adding support for @

As designers start ex-

font-face using standard TTF and

perimenting with CSS

OTF fonts is appealing to browser

web fonts, the pros-

vendors, since they can simply tie

pects look exciting.

into an OS’s built-in font handling.

We’ve already seen

And type designers and font

folks grab a few free

foundries are left worrying that

fonts and start experi-

their creative work will end up be-

menting, with great

ing given away. (Although anyone

results. Those initial

who would go through the trouble

forays have inspired

of finding a font file in a browser’s

lots of posts that out-

cache or pulling the URL out of a

line the technical and

CSS file isn’t likely the sort to care

qualitative limitations

much for a font’s EULA in the first place.) TypeKit seems to show the most promise,

of some free fonts, but not a lot of infor-

but designers might not want to rely on a third party’s servers to make sure the fonts

mation on the legal limitations.

they specified actually display for an end user.

The Typekit team has been running ex-

You can be sure designers will continue to push the envelope by using @font-face for

periments with web fonts, so we’ve spent

browsers that support it and other solutions like Cufón for those that don’t. Until

a few days reading through End User Li-

there is one solution that everyone can agree on—whatever it is—expect to still see

cense Agreements (EULAs), and we’ve

lots of Verdana, Georgia, and Arial on the Web. For now, it seems, we’re just left with

been surprised at how inconsistent they

the promise of better, more varied typography.

are. In fact, they’re all over the map. The

The first step is to get the fonts to the browser as quickly as possible. To do this, Ty-

main thing we’ve discovered is that free

pekit has servers on each continent, ensuring that all users have the fastest possible

isn’t always free, there are often all kinds

connection to our fonts. This gives our service a consistent starting point, it then

of restrictions on what you may and may

comes down to an individual user’s geography, internet connection, browser, and

not do with “free fonts.”

operation system to determine their final experience.

But, we’re working on some tricks to make the perceived delay less apparent. That’s

11 | Arcane Magazine

Book Review:

20th Century Type, New and Revised Edition

T

wentieth-Century Type sur-

edition this book is a testament to the im- to the as-yet-unlabeled late 90s. Likewise,

veys the significant issues that

portance of typography in the twentieth

the book is dense with information, pro-

century, not only for graphic designers

viding an equally stimulating view of the

have shaped the history and

evolution of typography and graphic

but for culture as well, as the author con- relevance of typography.

design, showing how current typo-

sistently places typography, and its most

The third edition literally picks up where

graphic trends are part of a con-

Remix ended — with J. Abbott

tinuously changing movement

Miller’s Dimensional Typography

that can be plotted through

project — and goes on to include

the decades. Generously illus-

the propagation of hand-scribbled

trated with over three hundred

typography by highlighting Kyle

examples—more than two hun-

Cooper’s titles for Seven, as well

dred of which are in color—the

as Stefan Sagmeister’s infamous

book charts significant topics

hand-carved poster for an AIGA

including the arrival of mass-

lecture. It also showcases the sim-

production; the birth of the art

plistic approaches taken by Bruce

director; the appearance of the

Mau and the return of Helvetica,

grid (and its subsequent rejec-

exemplifying the stylistic confu-

tion); the coming of non-print me-

arduous proponents, within the realm of

dia; and the launch of the Macintosh

world events, cultural shifts and techno- The additions to this third edition aren’t

computer and its ushering in of a new

logical advancements.

generation of designers enfranchised

Reproduced in large sizes and beau- the author and publisher better to wait

sion and differing duality of the late 90s. many and perhaps it would have served

by digital technology.

tiful color, 20th Century Type presents

another five years to make a more thor-

There are a handful of books that

typography in its various guises — from

ough addition to an already impressive

should be required to sit on designers’

typeface design to type in use to hand

compendium. In this instance, a literary

bookshelves from Robert Bringhurst’s

lettered type — in a visually extensive

upgrade does not seem warranted if you

The Elements of Typographic Style to

manner providing an in-depth glimpse

already own the second edition, but if

Philip B. Meggs A History of Graphic

into the evolution of typography from

20th Century Type is missing from your

Design and, undeniably, to Lewis Black-

the Arts and Crafts movement, to the

collection, this is a perfect excuse to make

well’s 20th Century Type. Now in its third

psychedelic 60s, to the postmodern 80s,

the addition.

Book Review |

12

ARCANE | Opinions

Obsessions What two web mad developers are book marking Devkick

GreenBox

is a source of ingenious thinking for developers seekng

is a smart, simple reeinvisioning of the common pizza

plug-ins and extensions to beautiful interfaces. DevKick

dilivery box for a less wasteful world. Each recyclable

contributors offer plug-ins such as a full screen Flickr gal-

box tears down into four square plates and a stor-

lery and iPod-like drill down menus. devkick.com

age container for leftovers. vimeo.com/3769370

Andre Michelle

Hiroyuki

has created a simple tool that illustrates the concepts behind

has created a utilitarian site documenting his scrips for Adobe

sequenced music. A flickering, lit grid becomes a song as squares

Illustrator. Scripts are available for simple operations that are

turn off and on. This supports basic ideas inside a related

missing for Illustrator, such as adjusting gaps and dashes in

product, the AudioTool- a synthesizer operating entirely within

lines, park12.wakwak.com/~shp/lc/et/en_aics_script.html

your browser window. lab.andre-michelle.com/tonematrix

We Love You So

Bldg Blog

is an intriguing blog that supports Spike Jonze’s film adapta-

a place to read about archetecture, hosts a look at the visual

tion of Maurice Sedak’s “Where The Wild Things Are.” The

language of the evil lair. In this post, author Geoff Manaugh

blog, which never refers directly to the movie, was created to

examines visions of bad guys’ hideouts. bldgblog.blogspot.

shed light on the film’s many influences. weloveyouso.com

com/2009/05/evil-lair-on-architecture-of-enemy-in.html

— Patric King and SU

Type Applied:

Empire State Building Just as Trajan signifies the Roman Empire,

tous Broadway before asking Schwartzco

Broadway signifies Art Deco. The type-

Inc. to design a custom font for the iconic

face—designed by Morris Fuller Benton

skyscraper. The handsome result is a pair

for American Type Founders in 1927—is

of proprietary fonts derived from metal

authentic, but it has become a cliché, used

lettering used in the building’s lobby

by numerous landlords to tart up their

mural and in the Empire State Crafts-

Art Deco–era buildings. This mindless

manship Awards plaque down the hall

approach to signage is now being chal-

honoring the top worker in each of the

lenged. The Empire State Building is

various building trades.

undergoing a major renovation, and as

Christian Schwartz and Paul Barnes, the

part of that makeover, Broadway will exit

designers of the Empire State Building

stage left. Designer Laura Varacchi, of

font family, balanced a reverence for

the New York–based firm Two Twelve

history with an understanding of the

Associates, which is handling the signage

demands imposed on a face intended for

and wayfinding for the lobby renovation,

signage. They harmonized the Deco-style

searched for an alternative to the ubiqui-

sans-serif capitals of the plaque, concoct-

13 | Arcane Magazine

ed a complementary lowercase, and then, to accommodate long texts on signs, created a condensed variant. Not only does Empire State Building meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, but it has also been approved by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. A star is born.

— Paul Shaw, Print Mag

1932 Cover of the magazine Gioventu Fascista Cesare Gobbo

1966 Milton Glasher designs the Bob Dylan poster using Baby Teeth 2008 Michael Bierut’s logo for the Museum of Arts & Design in NYC

1993 Bebit, inspired by Baby Teeth, is designed at TypeMarket by Alexey Kustov

2008 Poster of halftone type experiments by Richard Parez

Baby Faces Milton Glaser called the typeface he de-

at the time, representing both speed and

contemporary designers revived it in var-

veloped for his 1966 Bob Dylan poster

the mechanistic aspects of modernity.

ious forms. The most recent high-profile

“Baby Teeth.” The stair-step—so-called

It was eventually exported to other

iteration is the logo designed by Michael

because of the setbacks in the E—was

countries: Glaser apparently first saw it

Bierut for the Museum of Arts and De-

an emblematic face during that period,

used on Art Moderne printed materials

sign in New York City, which, though not

but the alphabet actually derives from a

in Mexico. But when he adapted it to spell

exactly Baby Teeth (in fact, it mirrors the

Futurist typeface used in advertising and

out “Dylan” on the poster he designed for

Palladian arches of the building), sits firmly within the continuum.

propaganda in Fascist Italy during the

CBS Records, Baby Teeth took on a new

1920s and ’30s. It was sometimes labeled

life in the psychedelic era. It would have

“Futurist” or “Futuristic” in type catalogs

stayed in that period had not so many

­— Steven Heller, Print Mag

Opinions |

14

ARCANE MAGAZINE: was designed by Steven Edward Zimmerman using an Apple MacBook Pro running OSX. Adobe InDesign was used for page layout, Adobe Photoshop & Illustrtor were used to modify and create imagery throughout Arcane.

The body copy of this magazine was set in Warnock Pro at a size of 9.5 points with 15 points of leading. The headlines are set in Gotham in varing styles and sizes. ITC Tiffany was used as an accent typeface choice as well as for folio numbering.