I created a type specimen showcasing Wim Crouwel’s “New Alphabet”. For the piece, I brought in another functional digital type “OCR Std”, to contrast “New Alphabet”, and to also highlight the similarities between the two eras of functional digital type. I then created a site map of The Foundry’s website and all of its internal file assets within that domain using Processing. The Foundry is the only foundry I have found that digitized Wim Crouwel’s type. All of the files on this site are linked to each other ultimately by the single root node, “/”.
I am trying to communicate the parallel with Wim Crouwel and this root node. Virtually all of digital type that followed are connected to “New Alphabet” by some avenue or other. Just like the root directory, Wim Crouwel is the node that links all other functional digital type to each other, and all of them share the same concepts and approach in their design and function.
I used Processing to extrapolate the filenames and linkage properties to map out the connection between all of the files, I had to play with the layout a bit, but it was mostly done in Processing and Illustrator. Let me know what you think!
Hi guys! We’ve been asked by a lot of people in the past couple of day where was our Term 3 Infographic. We took a couple of days to refine it and it’s now online for your viewing pleasure. click on the thumbnail below to view the video and don’t hesitage to visit our blogs and leave comments.
It’s funny when they (faculty) tell you stuff like “Network, Network, join a forum, post your stuff on blogs…” well I just posted a link on the mograph forum yesterday and there you go, one day later, somebody writes an article about it! :D
Lovely title sequence from Digital Kitchen. Awesome composition out from everyday life. And the way it created uncomfortable feels out from these shots is what I love the most!
Enjoy! ^^
Some of you may have already seen the debate over Helvetica (the typeface and the movie) on the main blog. The debate begins with a stong comment by Dougal: “The film Helvetica was one of the most dangerous pieces of propaganda that has happened to typographic design in years. It may even have the power to set back the development of typography fifty years.”
I thought I would post my comment here, and I welcome further comments and discussion. Please note that while I don’t agree with Dougal’s assessment of the movie, I think he makes one good point. Too many young designers (and you know who you are!) crack the code of Modernist type and then don’t push it further. Every generation owes it to the next to experiment and challenge existing trends and standards in type.
My comment: “I had a different reaction than Dougal did. I think that by examining the Helvetica-era (that is, the period in which Helvetica, and the International Type Style, came to prominence) and its subsequent effect on typographic culture, the film actually places Helvetica, and Modernist typography in general, in a historical context. The effect is contrary to what I think Dougal fears. In this way, I find the film to be a very valuable teaching tool (or I hope it will be), because no matter what I say or do, I have students who see Modernist typography as modern (contemporary). I think the film is also valuable as an introduction to typography as a general practice for the general public. I think that’s great.
Some of the designers interviewed were pretty hostile to Helvetica, actually. Can anyone give a stronger condemnation of a typeface than to suggest it is responsible for war?! I do think the film was an affectionate look at Helvetica, which is as it should be. There is room in typography for a wide range of styles and approaches, and Swiss Style is solid. I would hate to see it thrown completely aside. I see it as something to build on. Contemporary type founderies have used Helvetica as a template for typographic excellence and innovation(such as Porchez’s Parisine), taking advantage of Helvetica’s legibility and simplicity. Understanding history is a very important part of contemporary design. It helps up develop solid theory instead of just being slaves to trend and commerce.
I personally love Helvetica, but I can count on one hand the number of times I have used it. The film didn’t change that, but it did make me laugh, and I think it inspires discussion and debate (evidently!) about typography.”
On Tuesday night Vancouver had its “Helvetica” premiere. There was also a screening of Ryan and Boca’s Typographics film.
The director, Gary Hustwit (he’s the blurry one on the lower right-hand corner) was in attendance. It turns out he produced not only “I am Trying to Break Your Heart” (The Wilco documentary) but also “Moog” (the documentary about the moog synthesizer) as well as being a part of SST Records and a vice president of salon.com. Oh, my goodness. Find out more on Gary’s blog.
The film itself was, in my opinion, really great, and quite inspiring. I think it does a good job of explaining what type is to the non-designer, too. My favourite bits were probably Erik Spiekerman’s inspired rant on branding in the pre- and post- International Type Style eras; Paula Scher’s claim that Helvetica is the cause of American Imperialism (she was laughing) and *especially* Massimo Vignelli’s description of the world as a visual disease which designers stuggle to cure (he was not laughing). Oh, and I also loved the cute men at Linotype with their dazzlingly bright ties.
The film was followed by a panel with the director, Jim Rimmer, of Pie Tree Press and Rimmer Type Foundry, and Douglas Coupland. It was really fun, and I enjoyed moderating the discussion up there with the guys. Thanks to the GDC for organizing the event and to VFS marketing for sponsoring the panel.
Hey guys, I know I already posted some stuff about Typographics earlier this week but I had to share this with you…
Typographics was selected for the TypeCon2007, as a part of The Typophile Film Festival.
Here is a little bit about the festival:
Typophile Film Festival 4 will take place at the opening night of TypeCon in Seattle, August 1-5, 2007.
It is open to anything relevant to typography, design history, and/or type design. It can be educational, experimental, inspiring or humorous.
The first Typophile Film Festival debuted at TypeCon 2004 in San Francisco, and showcased fifteen short works of typography in motion from around the world, including films by Erik Spiekermann, H5, Motion Theory, Trollbäck + Company, Cheshire Dave, and others.
The festival will take place in Seattle Aug 1-5 so if any of you guys are in Seattle for the nest few days you should check it out. There’s going to be a lot of really cool stuff on typography there.
Hey, everyone, don’t forget to go see Tom about tickets today…this will be a great event, and a good chance for you to meet lots of industry-types, too.
As many of you know, the documentary “Helvetica” will be screening in Vancouver on August 7th. This year is Helvetica’s 50th birthday, and the film looks at its enormous impact on visual culture, advertising and our everyday lives. The film’s premiere at south by southwest sold out and the film’s world tour has been a smash success. We can’t wait to see it here!
The screening will be followed by a panel discussion and Q&A session with director Gary Hustwit, Douglas Coupland and type designer Jim Rimmer.
Friday the 13th at noon is the deadline for students to purchase tickets through Tom’s office. Tickets for VFS students are only $5 (regular student price is $15), and you will be guaranteed a seat.
Screenings in many other cities sold out in advance, so don’t miss your chance.
Date: Tuesday August 7
Time: Screening begins at 7pm. Discussion and reception to follow.
Location: Empire Granville 7 Cinemas, Theatre #7
If you would like to find out more about the film, you can visit Gary Hustwit’s web site or his blog.
