We are proud to be a sponsor of this year’s TypeCon 2009 in Atlanta, Georgia. If you don’t know what TypeCon is, it is the leading conference in America on all that is Type.
On top of being one of the main sponsors, we are also curating a poster exhibit at TypeCon again. We are looking for your best poster work that has excellent usage of Type on it. Last year we had enough room to show all the posters that were submitted and the work was amazing. As a bonus a local gallery took all the posters as part of their permanent collection in Buffalo. The time before they travelled around at ATypeI and some other places.
To clarify some issues: There is no specific size requirement for your posters. You do not have to create the type shown on the poster and anyone can submit. Feel free to pass this information to everyone you know, the more the merrier.
What we need from you:
Two copies of each poster design submitted.
Fill out page 2 of the pdf and print it out twice.
Ship to the address on the pdf by July 3rd.
From the big wigs over at Canada Type we now have their second bundled collection. This set includes 14 different type families and a total 31 different font weights and variations. So go ahead, revive and freshen up your font collection with this super discounted set today! This package saves you over $125! In this sour economy, this might cost a grip up front, but you save so much more in the long run and grand scheme of things. Perfect for any agency or small design shop’s type collection.
Personally, I really like Canada Type and what they are doing. These guys are typeface making machines, just look at how many of their fonts we handle. I really like this work ethic, which is, well WORK!
Hannah is a font comprised of three versions that work together as one, producing not variation and contrast between weights but between widths. The loose, hand drawn quality adds yet another layer of personality to the font. Hannah is similar to one of our popular Hand Set fonts, ThinAire, but is available in OpenType format which makes Hannah much more versatile. There are also some additional unicase characters included in the font which can be activated as contextual alternates in OpenType.
Agostina is a unique typeface in many ways. The obvious being that is is a Sans-Serif typeface that contains both beginning caps and ending lowercase swash letters. This instantly gives endless typographic possibilities to the user. Agostina takes advantage of the OpenType font format that opens further exploration with a full latin and limited alternate characters as well. With almost 300 characters, Agostina is a workhorse and a must own typeface.
This isn’t the first time I have posted this, and I expect not my last either. But ALK1′s Flickr stream is for sure one of the strongest documenting American, English and European Graphic Design history on Flickr. I really enjoyed her recent post of her late husbands archives from before there was a proper Helvetica library available in Portland. Read more…
This last year’s show was an open entry exhibit. Normally when you do something like this, you get a couple of good pieces and a lot of not so good ones. This was not at all the case for this show. Shu and I saw that we had enough room (barely) to get all the posters up if we used the walls and fabricated cardboard walls. The posters that did not make it up were ones that did not arrive, or the ones that were too large or heavy that they kept falling down, thus removing themselves from the show. It felt good being able to have everyone’s work up.
The poster show was very well received, a lot of people complimented it and asked questions. A local gallery, Western New York Book Arts Collaborative, asked if they could display it in their gallery and the show may also travel again to ATypeI, the largest type conference in the world. This year it is being held in Russia. That was a great feeling as it has a home and can travel if needed.
Thank you and congratulations to everyone who submitted work. It really was a positive reflection of the current state of typographic design. The pictures shown are primarily close-ups, as the room was dark and I would have needed a professional lighting set up to get decent shots of the posters. These are the best photos that I have of the show, you probably can see random shots if you look around Flickr for some. In no way are these displayed as “the best posters in the show.” They are just the pictures that turned out and fit the vertical format.
Thanks again and next years show will be even better! Thank you to everyone that helped with the show and entered work, it would have been literally nothing without you.
Just got back from TypeCon 2008 and thought I would give a little run down. It was held in Buffalo, NY and was great to see what the home of the Chicken Wing was like.
I got there on Wednesday, July 16th and said my hellos and checked on the poster show. Shu was in charge of the set up so we talked about everything, looked over what came in and was very impressed with the submissions. We decided to put all the submissions in the show, so if you entered, your poster was up (unless it got lost in post or something). I will write another blog entry on the poster show so give me a couple of days to get that up. I have tons of pictures to share of the poster show.
Later that night there was a Stefan Sagmeister event at the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum so I hopped on a bus to check it out. Stefan’s speech was great, it was about his book, Things I have Learned in My Life. I really enjoyed his presentation. I really like how he thinks a couple steps beyond design and brings ideas to the masses.
All of the days were packed solid with workshops and presentations. Friday I spoke on a panel about Indie Font Marketing that was moderated by Jan Middendorp. The panel went good, we got to talk about the Black Slabbath punk rock type release party, show the Fred and Sharon Movie and talk about how we really are different from any other type foundry out there. So if you make fonts, hit us up.
Friday night Erik Spiekermann spoke at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery. He was his out-spoken “funny” self, but can get a little much after a while. I had to take an extended break in the middle of his presentation and check out the Gallery. I really liked the Gallery a lot, it had a very informal feel to it, very welcoming.
My favorite night was on Sunday night with a trip to the Roycrofter compound. I got to see the community, hear some history and talk to some of the artists there. They had a great dinner for us there and was a great time with great people.
I think my favorite part of TypeCon and why I keep going back is how personal and intimate the conference is. You get to talk to everyone you want to, and everyone is extremely nice. I never will forget when I went to the first TypeCon in Boston, Matthew Carter shows up and we were all geeking out over the fact that he was there. He strolls in when we were eating breakfast on the second day and sits down at my table and just starts talking away. We were all totally nerding out that THE Matthew Carter came to us and was just chatting it up. At the end, he picks up the tab and walks away. I personally think that Matthew set the tone for the conference by being such a humble and caring man. If you have never been to TypeCon, you may want to consider it if you are into type, it really is a unique experience. The next one is in Atlanta, so get ready!
Who needs a typeface? Romance in a Readable Font, a promotional video for Absent Grotesque created by the internet’s most beloved video artists, Fred & Sharon. Including Fred, Sharon, uncomfortable silences, and animation (don’t forget the animation!).
In 2007 Michael Cina found four individuals, Eric Carlson, Matt Desmond, Maddy Nye, Travis Stearns with sound abilities in imperfection for the YouWorkForThem type foundry. The design of “a model sans serif” typeface releases all that associate with rigid standards of life. Adding some new members, the fonts were tested in Berlin, to closely view the idiosyncrasies contributed through time by all. Inspiration was taken from any character set, but nature gave us this – a perfect realist sans-serif in OpenType format with a deep and inconsistent breath.
Tell us a bit about your background, and the disciplines and media your work comprises. I was born in Missouri the son of Diane and Rick Perry in a typical suburban setting. My parents got divorced and then at the age of 14 we moved to Kansas where my back yard was miles of open land. I once went for a walk in my back yard and found a dead horse that had been killed by a wolf who ate its belly. No joke. We had apple trees and a pond. Horses in the back and cows across the street. Mowing the lawn took all day. I had very supportive parents and grandparents. My grandfather (who is a painter / claims to have made a flying car) when I was very young gave me a painting he made as a gift that I adored. As I got older and started looking at art history books, I came to realize that he had given me a Piccasso and called it his own. At the age of 14 he gave me a tackle box full of paints and that was it; from then on out I spent most of my time making paintings. I went to school at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design where I began my education as a painter but quickly realized that design was my path. I fell in love with design because it gave me the opportunity to do whatever was right for the idea I had. ie. if I wanted to use photography I used it. If something called for an illustration then that was the answer. Design seemed to be the medium that allowed me the most diversity. When I graduated I got a job as a designer at Urban Outfitters where I worked for the next 3 years. About a year ago I left Urban to start my own studio and that is where you find me today. I always try and incorporate a variety ideas and techniques into each and every project. I have a particular interest in typography, illustration and story telling. I think about color, texture and tactility.
What kind of messages do you infuse in your personal work beyond visual interest? I would say the messages are usually very simple and honest. I am a positive happy person and I wake up each day excited about the world and I try to infuse that into everything I make. I also try to have fun when I am making things and believe in laughter. If I can make myself or someone else smile I feel like I have succeeded. But in addition to that, process is very important. I have always believed in the generating of piles, and I look at the process of “making” like exercise. The more you exercise the stronger you become. Needless to say I do a lot of making for its own sake.I often times think about water and other natural elements but for the most part I try and just let things happen.
Would you share some artists, authors, movements, places, ideas that you’ve found influential? I think that a lot of my influences come from my peers that are doing exciting things. Talking about making and discussing process and ideas.I love all of the usual amazing things in the world: vintage illustration, american quilts, anything about typography, most outsider art, bodegas, accidents (for instance I was at this bar last night and it had the most beautiful tables and they were a complete accident), music, David Sedaris, diagrams on how the world works, kittens, flea markets and thrift stores. I don’t go to Kansas often enough but that place is amazing like the ocean.
Can you let us know what you’re working on currently? My first book titled Hand Job – A catalog of typography is about to land in stores. I am currently working on a few new books. A book about the use of patterns with Princeton Architectural Press. A book about the midwest that I am shopping around. I am designing a book for Chronicle Books. Planning the second issue of my magazine titled Untitled a… I have been art directing a new literary magazine called “The Crier” that I am really excited about; we are on our 3rd issue. Working on some records and illustrations. I am getting ready for a few art shows. Making tee shirts for myself and for clients. Giving a talk in Kentucky and in Minneapolis. I have an idea for a skate deck that I want to make. Art directing a fashion story for Brooklyn Industries. Just finished up something for Zune. A music video with some friends in LA. And some new typefaces that I will probably never finish.
Hello. My name is Michael Perry. I run a small design studio in Brooklyn, NY that has recently celebrated its 1 year aniversary. I am currently working on my second book with Princeton Architectural Press. My first book titled “Hand Job” is due out early fall 2007. I also recently started a magazine called Untitled a… I would love to talk to you about any ideas or projects that you might have coming up. Please feel free to contact me with questions, or for whatever your design, illustration, type, art direction, or art needs may be.
We are proud to be a sponsor of this year’s TypeCon 2009 in Atlanta, Georgia. If you don’t know what TypeCon is, it is the leading conference in America on all that is Type.
