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FALL 2012TYPOGRAPHY ONE RESPONSES

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DOYALD YOUNG

MARIAN BANTJES

KEN HINRICHS

HELVETICA

MARGO CHASE

ARTISTS SERIES

ART & COPY

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From humble beginnings in a small Texas town eight decades ago comes legendary typographer, logotype designer, author, and teacher Doyald Young.

Helvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our lives.

Margo Chase is one of the most influential graphic designers of our time.

ART & COPY is a film about advertising and inspiration. The film reveals the work and wisdom of some of the most influential advertising creatives of our time—people who’ve profoundly impacted our culture, yet are virtually unknown outside their industry.

Artist Series is a series of videos, created by Hillman Curtis, that showcases leading designers and design firms.

Marian Bantjes is a letterer and designer who works from her home near Vancouver. Her illustration and design style can be traced back to her afinity with letterforms.

Kit Hinrichs is one of the most accomplished and respected graphic designers and illustrators of the last fifty years.

CONTENTS

DOYALDYOUNG

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Doyald Young is one of those people I wish was my grandfather or father. The short film portrayed him in a way that made him very approachable, kind, and considerate. His wisdom and experience seemed infinite, but simple. Three things that I took away from Young was his hard work ethic, his meticulous observation, and his attitude.

Doyald’s effort to produce more than excellent letters was very inspiring. It’s so easy (for me) to see so much great graphic work on the internet, get inspired, sit down and expect to create a master piece in one sitting. Listening to Doyald and realizing that good things take time and attention to detail, refreshed my memory that good things do take time.

Another attribute that Young instilled in my mind was attention to detail. Doyald’s observations of the forms of letters was a good reminder. Details matter.

Finally, Doyald’s attitude was the last, but perhaps the most important of the things that I took away from the film. I enjoyed his personality and thought I would like to be one his students. Doyald appeared to be proud of his body of work, but by no means flamboyant, cocky or arrogant; I thought this was admirable.

RESPONSE 1

DOYALD YOUNG

LOGO TYPE DESIGNER

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Helvetica the movie was interesting because of its documentary of how a font has become so ubiquitous among societies world wide. What amazed me the most was how I had given so little thought to why the font is so common—from big corporate logos to transportation signage, Helvetica is everywhere. Perhaps the most important idea that I took away from Helvetica was a better understanding

of a how to think about a font. The designers featured in the Helvetica film ranged from old to young. Each had their own opinion about why they thought the font was great or terrible. It was interesting to hear the varying opinions of why Helvetica did or didn’t do its job, it got my mind to thinking of why I like a certain font beyond pure aesthetic. The idea of thinking critically about a fonts application will hopefully continue. At the end of Helvetica I was left with a question of whether or not a font should have a voice or be invisible. If the latter is true then I think we should all be using Helvetica.

RESPONSE 2

HELVETICA

DOCUMENTRARY

ARTIST SERIES

MILTON GLASER

STEFAN SAGMEISTER

PENTAGRAM

JAMES VICTORE

DAVID CARSON

PAULA SCHER

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The showcase of designers that Hillman Curtis presents in his video is great. To hear insight from designers like David Carson, Stefan Sagmeister, countless members of Pentagram, and the legendary teacher and designer Milton Glaser was great. Each brought unique wisdom

about design that broadened my thinking as an amateur designer. David Carson’s style is not my favorite, but I believe his statement about letting your self come through the work was important. To read an article, understand the story and be able to interpret in your own unique way could help set me apart in a world where there are so many other designers trying to succeed.

Throughout the two videos of Stefan Sagmeister, I was amazed at his calmness, humbleness and willingness to share lessons that he had learned from his own experience. His work has some level of shock factor to it whether it be 10,000 bananas on a wall or a poster with words carved into his skin, he is always trying to relay a message worth hearing. Sagmeister remains one of my favorite designer because his work effects me emotionally and inspires me to create work that

RESPONSE 3

ARTIST SERIES

HILLMAN CURTIS

will benefit others in some way. The more I learn about Pentagram the more I wish I could be apart of something so great. The partners aspirations to not necessarily create the best design, but instead produce the best solutions to problems is a monumental idea that I hope to keep in the forefront of my mind. Mr. Glaser was one of the first designers that I was introduced to during my freshman year in College, he left a lasting impression, and is someone I admire. I enjoyed this short interview with Milton Glaser about art and design and it’s effect on its viewers. Particularly on his idea about people’s commonalities and how art and design can help people with different beliefs but similar interests. I think creating design that connects people is one of our most important goals as designers.

Marian Bantjes typographical art and design is inspiring and in someways overwhelming. The mass amount of finite details are amazing in them self, not to mention the conceptual thought given to each poster, book cover, or layout piece. I liked that her work dealt with typography— especially the decorative qualities of type.

Bantjes decision to pursue work “her way” was bold, but I admire her choice to do what she wanted to do. This is inspiring for future reference. I want to be balanced designer, not always an artist that simply regurgitates what a client wants, but someone who can provide what the client desires and then also contribute with my own ideas.

Of all the things I noticed about Marian Bantjes was her ego. Marian’s work was very attractive and beautiful. However, her ego was not. It was difficult for me to listen to the “me statements.” Disregarding that, Marian is an inspiring artist.

MARIANBANTJES

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Marian Bantjes typographical art and design is inspiring and in someways overwhelming. The mass amount of finite details are amazing in them self, not to mention the conceptual thought given to each poster, book cover, or layout piece. I liked that her work dealt with typography— especially the decorative qualities of type.

Bantjes decision to pursue work “her way” was bold, but I admire her choice to do what she wanted to do. This is inspiring for future reference. I want to be balanced designer, not always an artist that simply regurgitates what a client wants, but someone who can provide what the client desires and then also contribute with my own ideas.

Of all the things I noticed about Marian Bantjes was her ego. Marian’s work was very attractive and beautiful. However, her ego was not. It was difficult for me to listen to the “me statements.” Disregarding that, Marian is an inspiring artist.

RESPONSE 4

MARIAN BANTJES

LETTERER DESIGNER

MARIANBANTJES

Margo Chase

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Margo Chase is an inspiring artists and designer for several reasons. Her ability to run her own business yet remain flexible with employee and client relationships was admirable. Besides being flexible Mrs. Chase appeared to be organized—two unlikely paired attributes. The most

interesting aspect I found about Margo Chase was the way in which her team approached and processed clients brands from start to finish.

To hear Margo Chase’s story about how she started as a freelance artist doing mainly designs for music labels to currently owning her own small business spawned the idea that owning a business isn’t crazy idea and is something I’d like to aspire to. I liked that she was humble enough to seek others with business experience for help.

The organization of Margo Chase’s studio space was a good reminder that clean, well laid out spaces are ideal for producing good work. I enjoyed how each space she showed had a purpose. When Margo Chase and her associate began to go through there method of producing a visual identity for client I didn’t think much about it.

RESPONSE 5

MARGO CHASE

DESIGN & BUSINESS

However as they began to unravel the process of bringing a consumer to life—giving “her” a name a personality and likes and dislikes, it became clear that I should I take notes. I thought their method for creating lasting visual brand identities was very helpful and even applicable to the projects at school.

Margo Chase seems to be a very skilled designer (and pilot! having knowledge of both analogue and digital forms of design. Paired with her flexibility, organization and a smart branding method, Margo Chase is a designer I admire and am inspired by.

ART&

COPY

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“I’ve always been interested in advertisements, I give partial credit to my parents for making me aware of them.” They would often cover my eyes or ears for certain ads or applaud and praise others for their message. Art & Copy is an exceptional documentary about the advertising industry and reveals some of the creators for ads that I remember seeing with my family.

People who starred in the film, such as Dan Wieden, have been of interest to me before watching Art & Copy. However being able to hear more about the work they produce for Ad campaigns such as Wieden+Kennedy’s “Just Do It” campaign for Nike made me even more aware of how powerful an advertisement can be. Another clip in Art & Copy that stuck out to me was when Jeff Goodby made the comment about how he only let his children see the “good ads.” This reminded me of my own parents and the importance of creating work that is improving a place or society—even if it’s selling something.

Near the end of Art & Copy I had a moment where I felt emotionally moved and inspired by what these people were doing. Yeah they’re selling things we don’t need, but they’re doing it in such a way that was moving. It was at this point that I realized that through Art & Copy I had allowed my self to buy into advertising industry. Maybe one day I will help create ads that my parents will praise.

RESPONSE 6

ART & COPY

DOCUMENTARY

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Kit Hinrichs’ experience and wisdom is something that I will hold onto. Throughout the video I was impressed with his profound comments on the importance character, business and ideation. Kit Hinrichs is a designer that I enjoy to listen to and value. During the Lynda interview Kit was asked about portfolios and what he

expected to see in them. I thought it was interesting and refreshing to hear him say that good work was important, but character was also something that he looked at. Is character more important than the work you’re producing? I think so.

When business and economic downturn was introduced in the video I was intrigued by Kit’s responses. His advice for creating clientele was to create trust. Trust will keep clients coming back. Another piece of advice that Kit offered that I found profound was to always be working, but for the right reason. However, whether it’s a small project or international project, make sure it has a strong idea behind it.

Throughout the video Kit shared life experiences that shaped the person he had become today. From being a student, traveler, Marine and finally renowned designer, Kit believed that these experiences helped him form better ideas about design. If there is anything that I took away from Kit Hinrichs it was that ideas are important. People

RESPONSE 7

KIT HINRICHS

DESIGNER

can always learn technical skills, but not nearly as many can produce unique ideas. Thanks to Kit I hope to develop ideation skills through my life experiences and training.

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