by Robin Mitchell
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.
Posted in Experience, Typography | No Comments »
by Boca Ceravolo
Hey guys, how’s it going?!?
Oh, welcome dd09!
Here’s the link to the fixed version of our (Ryan and I) term 4 motion piece, hope you guys like it…
Cheers
Boca
TYPOGRAPHICS
Posted in Student Work, Typography | 6 Comments »
by Sebastien de Castell
There’s a terrific online display of the “Top 100 Typefaces Of All Time” chosen by some very big names in design. The site discusses the evolution of each of the typefaces and why it was developed and its impact on the world of design. Here’s the problem for most of us: the site is in German (for now). The opportunity though, is to look at this well thought-out selection and interpret for yourself why some fonts have had an impact on our visually constructed worlds. When you take a look at the level of detail that goes into every glyph of a typeface (such as the one pictured at left from Gill Sans), you can’t help but admire the passion of these influencial typographers. On a more practical level though, it calls on us to consider why we choose specific typefaces for particular design applications. When you’ve spotted a typeface that speaks to you as a designer, grab your copy of “Thinking With Type” or just do a quick piece of web research and get informed about it. Most designers have a set of typefaces they like to work and they develop a deep understanding of them. Check out the site and post a comment here to help educate your fellow designers. Stake out your type turf!
Posted in Typography | 1 Comment »
by Aaron Bell
” ‘Patterns’ is series of professional observations about package design practices within specific product categories - brought to you by the design team at R.BIRD.”
R.BIRD Patterns is an awesome collection of packaging designs taken from the shelves of grocery stores, well photographed and analysed for their effectiveness. It is a must read for anyone interested in packaging design and branding. While the products are primarily American (the company is based in New York), the lessons are ones we can all take to heart.
Posted in Branding, Design, Inspiration, Print, Resource, Typography | No Comments »
by Stefan Belavy
I’m looking forward to this one myself. It looks to be a well rounded expose - with a little bit of something for all type nerds…
http://helveticafilm.com/
http://www.helveticafilm.com/clips.html
Posted in Inspiration, Typography | 1 Comment »
by Brett Forsyth
Those who know me know I surf the web quite a bit. One of my favorite resources is Pixel Surgeon as they do a great job aggregating content. Today I found a link to a font created with fire that I had to share with everyone. What are some other ideas that come to mind when you see this? My first thought is to get letter shapes that can hold water and make a font of ice. Or even finishing the font set with lowercase, numbers and punctuation.
Posted in Inspiration, Typography | 1 Comment »
by Todd Smith
For those who don’t know Frutiger, here’s an introduction… Everyone-Frutiger, Frutiger-Everyone. Frutiger is a san serif typeface that I simply cannot live without, it was originally drafted by Adrian Frutiger in 1968 and was formally released by Linotype in 1976. Without striking the attention of a type war, I’ve personally chosen this set above others as a reference point for a lot of designs, it’s simple, it’s interesting, and there are little cues that make it adapt to dramatically different situations. For example, it was originally invented for signage in airports in Paris, is currently used on all the traffic signs in Switzerland, and is the corporate font for Flickr, CBC, and the US National Parks Service. Give it a shot, regardless of your taste it’s bound to trigger some inspiration; whether it be application, or knowledge of the font you choose and where it came from, it all helps.
Posted in Typography | 2 Comments »
by Robin Mitchell
“Futura is a subtly crafted geometric sansserif. The stroke appears to be unmodulated, but in fact it is carefully shaped to give optical balance” — Bringhurst
Futura is a superstar of twentieth-century type design. With its optimistic name, bubbly round o’s, and oddly long ascenders, it is a lovely, quirky typeface. For many of us, it is one of the first faces we recognize as students. It may be so ubiquitous that it is sometimes taken for granted. Here is a brief history of Futura, how it influenced/influences contemporary design, and a list of alternate typefaces for Futura fans.
Futura has been used by great designers from Saul Bass to Bruce Mau. It was Stanley Kubrick’s favourite typeface! Whether it appeals to your personal aesthetics or no, Futura’s pedigree is clear. After almost a century of popular use, it’s earned its stripes.
Designed in the mid 1920s by Paul Renner, Futura arrived only about thirty years after the first sansserif type began appearing on posters. Futura is a “geometric” sansserif — its letterforms are based on the proportions of the circle, square and triangle. Most typefaces have a bit of a slope to them, the way human handwriting does. But Futura embraced the age of the machine in which it was born, and its form is pure. That is why the o’s are so perfectly round. A number of geometric sansserifs came out of the 1920s, but Futura was the most popular (except the UK, where Gill Sans took the place by storm).
Futura’s strict geometric proportions were still radical in 1927, when it was first issued by Bauer. It was one of the first sansserifs to make its way into popular use and became an important ingredient in the revolution of “The New Typography”, which embraced asymmetrical grids and sansserif typography, and which still heavily influences us today.
But does Futura fit into the typographic landscape of the 21st century? Renner himself believed that each new generation of graphic designers should “attempt to create a contemporary form true to its own time” (Philip Meggs). Futura is no longer of the future; its cubist gestalt is even quaint by today’s standards. Should we move past it, or modify it? There have been several revised versions of Futura already. The most famous is probably Avenir (recently re-reworked as Avenir Next for Linotype). Avenir has never had the same popular appeal as Futura, though.
I feel that the biggest problem with Futura for contemporary designers is the popular digital version. It’s OK, but not as nice as the original — just look at old Paul Rand pieces from the 1950s and 60s. You will be envious (well, if you’re a nerd) and wonder why your own type, even at the same size and weight, looks a little shabby. There is actually a beautiful font of Futura up at the Regional Assembly of Text on Main Street. Hopefully the R.A.T. letterpress will be available to the public soon.
Futura is an excellent typeface for students new to typography. It is appealing and its form is simple and transparent. Nevertheless, it would be shame if it did not serve as a stepping stone to other, more sophisticated typefaces (many of which it influenced).
Students who enjoy Futura’s simplicity, range of weights, and “cleanliness”, might be encouraged to consider Frutiger, Univers or Akzidenz Grotesk (the Berthold version has a nice, clean light weight).
Those who find Futura’s proportions appealing might consider Century Gothic, News Gothic, Memphis, Rockwell, Avant-Garde or Gill Sans.
Finally, those looking to equal Futura’s “friendly” quality (and although it has strict geometric features, its heavy emphasis on circular forms allows Futura to appear bouncy, even cute in its lower case) might consider the slightly-more-serious Franklin Gothic, Syntax or even Clarendon.
If anyone wants to find out more about lovely Mr. Paul Renner and his exciting life as a revolutionary typographer, there is a book about him by Christopher Burke called “Paul Renner: The Art of Typography”. If you are lazy, you can just look at the cover and see a picture of Paul Renner. He’s such a cutie. No wonder he made such a nice typeface.
PS to Futura-istas: Unless you are using all caps, it’s a good idea use generous leading when you are setting Futura.
Posted in Opinion, Typography | 2 Comments »
