On Paul Rand site: There are essentially two kinds of typography: The familiar kind for reading, and the other, simply for viewing, like a painting. Some say that readability is most important. There are really two important things about typography: readability and beauty; both are equally important. However, many readable typefaces are visually offensive. The design of a typeface, ugly or not, is only one aspect of the problem of readability. How a typeface is used is equally, if not more, important.
Great interview with Jason Munn, where we can take a look at his studio and discover a little more about this talented designer, who’s work I truly admire. Love the the simplicity and the impact.
I discovered this interview via Dave from grain edit, who send me an email with links to rare type specimens/design books that he publishes on his blog. Here are some samples:
This post may be a little outdated, but I haven´t seen this page before, so I´m gonna post it, because perhaps some of you haven´t seen it also, and i think the quality is well worth it.
Here are the best 100 posters from 2006, according to [please insert name here, I don´t know german].
Here is also the link to the homepages of the winners, where you can further explore each individual participant.
Enjoy!
You probable know Typeradio, created by Underware, and it´s famous quote:
“Type is speech on paper. Typeradio is speech on type.”
Unfortunatelly i don´t have the time to hear it as often as I wanted…but today I heard the John D. Berry session, and I advise you to do the same.
(Don´t miss the nice jingle at the beggining
I specially liked the “confrontation” with David Carson’s work, which I also appreciate very much. ( You can hear David Carson’s episodes also on typeradio)
It´s divided in three parts:
Part 1:
John always starts with questions, everything he does in his life he has come to sideways, he is interested in both words and visuals and does not make a distinction between the two. What good is it to be a designer if you don’t read?
Part 2:
John talks about collecting and accumulating, and how he organises his collections. If you are a collector of obscure literary magazines of the pacific north west from the late seventies and early eighties this could be your chance to increase your collection. John talks about being the editor of U&LC, and how content and design worked together perfectly.
Part3:
John explains how he got involved with U&lc. What he hates about typography and what not to do. What he finds important when designing a magazine. His views on Massimo Vignelli and David Carson. Why not to use Helvetica numerals. What he considers most powerful the written or spoken word.
And who is John D. Berry? Let´s go to the facts:
John D. Berry is an editor/typographer who works both sides of the design/content divide. He is the former editor and publisher of U&lc (Upper and lower case) and of U&lc Online, and he edited the book Language Culture Type, on international type design, published for ATypI by Graphis. He has a deep and eclectic background in both writing/editing and typography; he has made a career for more than twenty-five years in Seattle, New York, and San Francisco as an editor and book designer. He writes and consults extensively on typography, and he has won numerous awards for his book designs.
He writes a regular column about type and design, dot-font, for Creativepro.com.
He lives in Seattle with the writer Eileen Gunn.
He never drew a typeface, but “maybe he will surprise himself someday”.
For over three decades Paula Scher has been at the forefront of graphic design. Iconic, smart and unabashedly populist, her images have entered into the American vernacular. Scher has been a principal in the New York office of the distinguished international design consultancy Pentagram since 1991.
Also don´t miss her recent interview at Monocle.
The national identity of countries can shift radically and at a speed that leaves their inhabitants gasping. As the United States continues to suffer from low approval ratings all over the world, Paula Scher, one of the world’s leading graphic designers and a principal at Pentagram in New York, talks to Monocle editor-in-chief Tyler Brûlé about how the US needs to overhaul its image, brand promise, name and messaging.
