Hold up, what you see here is not a broken page. It's time for a realign. I'm working on it.
A very interesting video from Gestalten.tv featuring Erik Spiekermann as he explains the new visual languages, the design process and the analogies of music and typography.
I especially like the part in which he explains how he creates something new through study of some existing typeface. In this case Sabon.
It’s better to have a bad idea of your own than to steal a good idea from someone else.
—Dirk Laucke
The work above is the amazing typographic skills of Simon Walker. I just love his use of colour, type and texture. You can see all of these and more over at Flickr. For snippets and progress shots checkout his dribbble. The guy has skills.
Why I gravitate towards classical typefaces I have no idea, but Plantin has grabbed my attention recently.
Plantin is not that well known and deserves to be used more. It is a true hidden gem that I’ve only just discovered following the redesign of Weightshift. I loved this design, Naz Hamid has serious design skills. I took a look under the hood and discovered Plantin.
When you begin to use a new typeface it’s good advice to try and understand what it’s unique characteristics are. What follows is my attempt to get a handle on the nuances of Plantin and try to understand why this typeface has grabbed me. But first a little history.
Plantin was designed for the Monotype Corporation in the early 1900s, It is named after the sixteenth-century Antwerp printer Christophe Plantin (that’s him above).
Although not based directly on his work, the model for Plantin was taken from the huge collection of type Plantin had procured.
With its serious tone, narrow width, and large x-height, Plantin has definite merit as an alternative to Times New Roman. In fact Plantin was used as a reference during the cutting of that very Typeface.
Plantin is an old-style beautifully designed Typeface. It has more character than most serifs and this is why I like it. It has a certain charm and the italics are really beautiful.
Another plus: Plantin is exceptionally legible and elicits a classic, elegant tone. The Monocole magazine & website uses Plantin to great effect and it forms an important part of their brand.
In my opinion Plantin is a confident, beautiful Font and like Helvetica & Futura before I am all over this Typeface. If you are looking to add a confident, permanent look to your design Plantin is a great choice for your project.
I’ve just picked up Design as Art by Bruno Munari. I’m only 50 pages in but it’s turning out to be quite a read. Here’s my favourite piece so far:
A designer with a personal style, arrived at a priori, is a contradiction in terms. There is no such thing as a personal style in a designer’s work.
While a job is in hand, be it a lamp, a radio set, an electrical gadget or an experimental object, his sole concern is to arrive at the solution suggested by the thing itself and its destined use.
Therefore different things will have different forms, and these will be determined by their different uses and the different material and techniques employed.
—Bruno Munari