Title and credits for Lexi Jeff’s ‘Shallow Roots’. Built with custom lettering, one of my WIP serifs, and Poem Edition’s revival of Rudolf Koch’s ‘Offenbach’.
Custom font in the works. Trying to draw something that’s kinda weird big, but kinda normal small. It’s an interesting premise, that’s proving an interesting problem to solve.
#typedesign #typography #graphicdesign
I think I’ve drawn at least four or five different Romans in the past few years. They range from the from really exuberant ‘mannerist’ faces (à la Menhart) to Signifier style sharp text faces that rely on their size to soften them. This one, based on calligraphy by Hildegard Korger, skews on the former end of the spectrum and has set untouched on my hard drive for a good two years.
There are definitely some kinks; issues with weight distribution, and I drew it much too sharply for the smaller text sizes shown here, but I think it’s got a surprisingly pleasant texture with its slight forward slant, if I may say so myself.
#typedesign #typography #graphicdesign
Last month I had the pleasure of sharing some of my thoughts and theories at @typeandfaces
Unlike the painter, filmmaker, or sculptor, the type designer only has a two dimensional plane, coloured with black or white, with which to evoke a specific emotional response in their viewer or to record one borne within themselves.
Stripped of other elements, even the most subtle articulations in form impact the way letterforms are read.
By interpreting abstract shapes as alive—moving, breathing and subject to gravity—we can better understand, alter and articulate the emotions they conjure.
Thank you to @giovanni.isnenghi for the photographs, and to all the organizers and attendees for a lovely evening.
I wanted to set my website in a humanist sans with Roman capitals, open counters and vertically cut terminals. Cognate is my ongoing attempt at a design within these parameters. It’s my version of a Futura or Frutiger.
#typedesign #typeface #typography #font #fontdesign
I’m very grateful for the time I spent on the borders this January; liming, swimming and stone carving with Jack, Jo and Connie. Hours slipped by to the rhythm of the chisel, and before long the stone set before you becomes undeniable proof of the day’s effort. It’s hard work, but it seems with any occupation you pay the price with your body or your soul. The former, being more temporal, seems to me the better sacrifice.
I made a typo on the first carving pictured. ‘Taushed’ should be ‘Tavshed’ (Danish for silence)… at least it’s not written in stone. I first came across the word in an essay of Kierkegaard, and it’s echoed in my mind since. He used it to describe what we can learn from the humble Lily.
I pray that my future has some more stone scratching in store.
#stonecarving #lettercutting #typedesign #typography
Poster for Bernstrum and the Men’s upcoming show at Leith Depot. I drew the first artwork for the band about a year ago (the Whistlebinkies chicken), and I’m very proud to see how far I’ve come; ever reaching for more ornate designs.
Get down to Leith on the 26th if you’re in the mood for some premium psychedelic garage rockin.
#graphicdesign #psychedelia #illustration #scottishmusic
In a 2018 blog post entitled ‘The Diminishing Marginal Value of Aesthetics’, technologist Toby Shorin argued that the speed with which visual media is produced and shared today has diminished its inherent value. This handwritten and handbound edition draws inspiration from Shorin’s essay and develops its thesis on the relationship between craft and media, highlighting the challenge of reproducing creative output without equivalent study and patience.
In the digital age, reproducing another’s writing is frowned upon as plagiarism, an unethical or, in some instances, even an illegal act. But prior to the invention of the printing press, copying a manuscript was regarded as an honour to the text and its author—due in no small part to the immense amount of time and cramped fingers required for such a feat.
I completed this during my studies at Kingston, it’s riddled with missing indents, scrappy calligraphy and somewhat questionable typographic hierarchy. Despite all mentioned shortcomings, I still find it beautiful.
297×420mm saddle-stitch pamphlet, gouache, 12 pages.
#graphicdesign #calligraphy
