How to Nail an Interview

Tip No. 17: Be honest but not too honest.
Would you hire this guy? For more tips on how to nail a job interview, check this out.

xType Culture Show

The rules of engagement for my experimental typography class were an "about face" from classwork of the previous quarter teaching the fine typography skills required of book design. Here are just a few of the 37 great examples currently on exhibit in our school's art gallery through end of April.

From the top: Emi Buckmaster: Ephemeral (Suminagashi) | Shinya Iwaki: Cityscape (Handmade letterforms of architecture) | Sean Fischer: Dance Team (video of dancing girls, a pirate and a cat) | Adam Curtis: InterAction (Flash animation and lots of coffee) | Atticus Waller: Dreamgasm (Handmade letterforms) | Reis O'Brien: Toypography (cheap plastic toys) | Jordan Dailey: Micron Font (100s of Micron pens) | Mike Holm: ABC Gum (26 pieces of gum) | Anna Goldstein: Typuccino (26 lattes) | Jen Pearce: Rind (Oranges).

Industrial Typography

I wonder if these letters pollute?

Not My Type

It's The Visual Enforcement Kit. Don't leave home without it.

Antonio Frasconi Exhibit

I just saw an exhibit of the master woodcut and poster artist, Antonio Frasconi at Davidson Galleries in Seattle's Pioneer Square and came away so inspired to learn the craft. Frasconi has illustrated many books including children's books and his work is in the collection of several major museums including MoMA, Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco and the Brooklyn Museum. This is his first exhibition in the Northwest. The show is up until May 2, 2009. Don't miss it!

Designing Typefaces

The question has often come up this quarter about how to design your own typefaces. My first thought is to ask, how experimental is this? Are you talking 26 letters, or 700 glyphs? A good place to begin would be to read this reference book, Designing Type by David Earls. Then sit down and begin drawing. Oh, and notice how the book title so nicely mimics the font in the title above it!

Marian Bantjes Business Card

She just continues to amaze!

Paper Letters of the Other Kind

London design consultancy, Johnson Banks, created a series of nice posters in the mid-nineties based entirely on letterforms made from folded or 'found' paper-related objects. Very inspired!

CD Album Cover Artwork Assignment

1. Go here and choose the third photo, no matter what it is, as your album cover.

2. Go here and select the last four words of the very last quote as the title of your album.

3. Go here and select the first article title on the page as the name of your band.

4. On a separate layer, produce all the text as either handmade letterforms or altered digital fonts. Merge layers together to complete your album artwork.

5. Send me a jpeg.

The Pursuit of Happiness

Maira Kalman is back on the nytimes.com blog with her charming handlettered paintings portraying her recent experiences at the inauguration in DC.

The Nose

The Nose No. 18 (published, illustrated, and conceived by Seymour Chwast, and edited by Steven Heller) is now online for the first time. The Nose is a publication designed to draw attention to relevant social issues as well as trivial ones. Each 24 page issue is designed and illustrated by Seymour Chwast, lovingly handlettered in his most charming and endearing style. This issue is devoted to "Cults and Superstitions". You'll love the new sustainable, digital version. Each page is worth the price--which, since it is online, is nada. So this is your lucky day! Join The Nose cult now. Or if you prefer the hardcopy subscription, order it directly from Seymour Chwast at Pushpininc.com.

The strange history of lorem ipsum (5:15) | On PRI's The World

The strange history of lorem ipsum (5:15) | PRI's The World

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Typography Is

Get your own - Open publication

From Spatium magazine comes a book about what typography means for various designers. Click on book for full screen.

The Average Day of a Design Student.

Find out how you stack up against your peers.

End Papers

Here is a nice collection of book endpapers to peruse.

Alphabet Soup

This is Where We Live

A wonderful little video about books by the film crew 25th Estate.

New From Penguin Books

Pentagram designer's, Angus Hyland and Fabian Herrmann have designed the hardback edition of Penguin Books Quantum of Solace: The Complete James Bond Short Stories. The book collects together all of Ian Fleming's Bond short stories in a single volume. Hyland created a cloth-covered hardback with cover imagery restricted to a silver foil stamped image of Bond's infamous Walther PPK. A subtle diamond pattern is debossed on to the boards, which combined with deep burgundy endpapers evokes the discerning elegance of Bond's world. An embossed manila bellyband with typewritten cover information on the label evokes the official documents of the period. Click on image to enlarge.

ObamaBats

Bring some change to your artwork. Download a free True Type set of Obama Dingbats and hope for some great designs we can all believe in this next year.

The Learners | Chip Kidd

Type Class Warfare

An international type conference gathers to consider the inclusion of Zapf Dingbats when the crooked, villainous, Ransom decides to hold Courier, and his daughter, Curls MT, hostage. Suspense mounts. Can't all types just get along?

An Evening With Hatch Show Print's, Jim Sherraden

Enjoy a lecture and exhibition tour with Hatch Show Print designer Jim Sherraden in honor of EMP|SFM's newest exhibition, American Letterpress: The Art of Hatch Show Print. Sherraden will lead a presentation on letterpress and the history of HATCH SHOW PRINT, America's longest-operating print shop. Following the presentation, guests are welcome to attend a special tour of the exhibition and a chance to meet Sherraden to continue the conversation about Hatch Show Print.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009 7:00 pm.
Experimental Music Project--JBL Theater
325 5th Avenue North
Seattle, WA 98109

Ticket Info:
Free to EMP|SFM and AIGA members; $5 general public, 206.770.2702 or 1.877.EMP.SFM1. Reserved seats unclaimed 10 minutes prior to the event are subject to be released to the wait list.

Type Goes Electric

Gather Gallery in Columbia City is having a show of Jeremy Bert's neon type. Bert has assembled a complete alphabet of abandoned neon letters which he acquired from old advertising signs. Each letter has been rewired and is available for sale. The show is up until November 23rd and you may go here for more info.

Tweak This

Before Robert Bringhurst, there was Geoffrey Dowding. U&lc online magazine recently listed Dowding's notable book, Finer Points in the Spacing and Arrangement of Type as one of the ten essential books on typography for a designer to own. Perhaps the designer of this cover may have benefitted from reading this treasured book.

Inhale Exhale

The work of artist and paper engineer, Matt Shlian intersects the disciplines of math, science and art. He is a master at creating kinetic art and folding paper. See many samples at his site and a video of his book, Inhale Exhale here And his links page shows a great sample of presenting navigation visually.