1. What are you currently working on?

Well right now it’s a mix between a couple things. A few NDA type projects, a font and an identity job. Both are awesome, but I unfortunately can’t talk about either. Then there’s CXXVI, the menswear brand my partner Matt Gorton and I started on the side of our typical studio work.

2. Do you find the time to work on client directed briefs as well as personal projects? Or do you tend to focus on one at a time?

I do too much at once. I have client work bleeding through the day so that there’s not much time for anything, but randomly I’ll find a spare hour or two to work on something personal. That’s usually around 3 or 4am though.

3. What are your passions away from design?

My family is my number one passion. My wife, parents, brothers, cousins, grandparents…it goes on. I love my family and it’s great to hang out with them whenever I can. Aside from that, I’m a huge Yankees fan and a general lover of baseball. I’m big into music too. I was a drummer in a hardcore band the majority of my formative years, so that’s another thing I wish I had more time for.

4. Do you think there is a greater satisfaction when designing a typeface by hand than through a digital medium?

For me personally, I prefer working by hand. I have more control over all the little nuances and I just feel like I can express personality in my work a lot easier through pencil and paper. The digital stuff definitely plays a huge role in my design, but that doesn’t really have much of an effect on the character of my work.

5. Where do you go to gain inspiration when starting a new project?

It really depends. Recently I’ve found my favorite source of inspiration has been 1865-1965 in general. It’s got a great range of style, but the methods of production are all relatively the same. If I could compile a reference book right now, it would be a collection of overall styles from this time period. Posters, furniture, clothing, toys, technology. So much life in such a short amount of time.

6. Do you use typography/lettering as an outlet for express your personal views?

Always. To be perfectly honest, besides yelling, I don’t know how else to express my feelings!

7. Why is Helvetica such a popular design choice?

It’s beautiful. Bottom line. How could you say no to something so right?

8. Do you see Helvetica as a safe design option?

I could see how people would argue that Helvetica is always a safe bet, but if you’re using it wrong then it doesn’t matter how safe it is, your piece is still going to suck. Helvetica won’t save a pile of garbage from not being garbage. It might be a masterpiece, but that doesn’t mean it’s magic. It’s the same argument that designers make against non-designers: Photoshop doesn’t make you good, it’s just another tool to help you on your way.

9. What are the key factors when making the decision to design a new typeface or use an existing one?

For me it’s all about personality. What are you trying to represent with your type? The same statement can be made in many different typesets and each one can relay a different message. If you do it right, the design will speak for itself and the actual content contained within the design will merely be a crutch for the viewer.

10. What does the future hold for typography? Do you think it’s important to push the boundaries of legibility?

As long as typography can relay a clear, visual message, the legibility won’t be too far behind. I say, push boundaries until they break, then keep pushing some more.

1. What are you currently working on?

I’m currently working on some luxury cosmetics brand, creating everything from the identity to the packaging.I’m developing their website also.

I’m also working on one of the largest european beverage brands and re-designing my company’s website,

2. What are your passions away from design?

My passions would be mainly sport related, i play football, squash and badminton every week.

3. Do you think there is a greater satisfaction when designing a typeface by hand than through a digital medium?

If anyone wants to design a working typeface, they will have to use the computer at some part of the process. Applications such as Fontographer and FontLab

have given professional tools to the masses and now anyone and everyone can produce a font. As for satisfaction; i find the typefaces that arent ‘aided’ by the

computers abilities, those that take just as long [if not longer] to draw in vector form, offer a greater satisfaction on completion.

4. Where do you go to gain inspiration when starting a new project?

I get inspiration from the things around me, from someones style of handwriting to arbitrary street/shop signage

5. Do you use typography as an outlet for personal expression?

Possibly, I do tend to draw new ideas for characters as a doodle – so maybe its subconscience

6. Why is Helvetica such a popular design choice?

Its utilitarian, almost featureless appearance help it deliver an inoffensive quality. For this reason, designers use it to deliver the content of the message rather

than attach any meaning to the style of font choice.

7. Do you see Helvetica as a safe design option?

No – as well as helvetica is designed, it still takes skill and an experience to use it well. I’v e seen it used badly so many times.

8. What does the future hold for typography? Do you think it’s important to push the boundaries of legibility?

The primary function of a typeface is to communicate. Pushing the boundaries of legibility only dilutes the message or confuses the viewer.

Hope this helps,

Thanks

Lee

An investigation to discover what drives artists to create their own typefaces.

What are you currently working on?

Whilst many of the artists I interviewed were able to concentrate on personal projects over the Christmas period, the likes of Seb Lester were busy designing for Sports Giants whilst preparing to release a new typeface in the early part of 2010

Do you find the time to work on client directed briefs as well as personal projects? Or do you tend to focus on one at a time?

I found this answer differed between person to person. Those who worked as part of a studio or for a corporate organisation tended to focus on one client project at a time, leaving little time to focus on personal projects. Those who worked as freelance designers tended to juggle a number of projects at one time because there was no guarantee of the next job being lined up for them.

Describe your own personal process when forming a new typeface?

Many of the artists I interviewed focused on a hands on style. Evelin Kasikov combined her love for needlework with her typography projects, creating beautiful patterns with intricate stitch craft.

What are your passions away from typography?

I was quite very interesting to discover that music and poetry were top of this list. It was also evident that these ‘outside passions’ were a source of inspiration for their work.

Is there a greater satisfaction making a typeface by hand than through a digital medium?

The general consensus was ‘yes’, I believe this to be down to the recent surge in accessible digital technology. Whereas in the past, gifted digital designers were a rarity, nowadays every tom, dick and harry can have a go at designing with a few clicks of a mouse. I think this has highlighted the appreciation for traditional techniques such as calligraphy.

Where do you go to gain inspiration when designing a new typeface?

Blogs. The Internet. Other areas of design. Magazines. Books. Poetry or even just being inspired by random events in the world. For example. Seb lester claimed to have been inspired by the colourful pattern of a womans fingernails

Who would you crown the king/queen of typography? And why?

Si Scott. Simple

Alan Fletcher once said,

“A typeface is an alphabet in a straight jacket”

Do you agree?

Once it was the case, however a new typeface seems to serve a purpose beyond the alphabet, as its own illustration.

Why is Helvetica such a popular design choice?

- Its Legibility

- Its appearance in many operating system

- It’s clean professional appearance

- The way it was networked. The hype that surrounded it.

Do you see Helvetica as a safe design option?

Yes, designers tend to avoid it which may mean that avoiding using Helvetica is the safe option….

What are the key factors when making the decision to design a new typeface or use an existing one?

Depends on the client, the brief and most importantly the most effective option available.

Q. It’s great to see a modern designer still using as much pain, pen and ink as you do. How important are computers for what you do? (lifelounge)
A.I work a lot on computers for commercial projects (deadlines!), and rarely physically combine the computer and a hand drawing. It’s an either-or thing for me, really. I may spend time figuring out a composition in photoshop, and then commit that composition entirely to paper. Everything informs everything for me, and I might not stumble on techniques in my drawings if I hadn’t discovered something toying on a digital project for a client. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t wish I’d have more time for proper drawings though.

January 4th

FAQ

Q.How do you work? What is your process?

A. Almost everything I make is made in Adobe Illustrator. All the work is done in Illustrator, even adding textures and whatnot. When I send finals to clients I send tiffs, because the files are usually too complex to hand over as is. For illustration work, I do sketches first which are REALLY rough and mostly to communicate ideas rather than a direct composition interpretation. For type I usually don’t do sketches unless absolutely necessary as most of my experimentation happens on the computer. I don’t use any fancy tricks or even a wacom tablet (I hold a pen like a child holds a crayon (in a tight fist that will only catalyze the carpal tunnel)). I use the pen tool to draw all of my type and don’t use any magic tool to make my curves. I usually work with the grid on at first, starting with a single weight line and then adding thickness or ornament later depending on what I’m trying to achieve. I make general decisions at the beginning to figure out what kind of type I want to draw (a script? slanted or upright? thick or thin? sans serif? retro feeling or more modern feeling?) and then add decoration / ornamentation after the “skeleton” is drawn.

Master of calligraphy and lettering art

“I write to live. I live to write”

Despite, the fact he only started designing type in 2006, he has already amassed several beautiful typefaces.

Below is Pilo Thin.

Goran describes the process of its creation:

“The mission of Pilo Thin was to create a typeface that was exactly the opposite of the very bold Pilo Regular. A thinner cousin, which would create the contrast and to be a credible member of the family. The challenge was to make the font build as much as possible on the inner lines in Pilo Regular. Pilo Thin is more feminine and some shapes has been softened up and adjusted so that Pilo Thin can stand on it’s own, but without forgetting its origin.”

His love for music is his main source of inspiration. In fact one of the reasons he moved to Barcelona (where he now resides) was to at the heart of a musically diverse city.

“I had an insane passion for record covers. Also, the skateboard graphics fascinated me when I was a kid. As « official » artists, they’re so many. I always admired Amedeo Modigliani, Robert Rauschenberg, and to name three, Bruno Munari who is one of my idols. The man was a real Raver !”

W for Capital Exhibition

Type treatment for the exhibition “Capital”, at the first Madrid Diseño SI – week of international design.
The artwork is inspired by “Where is my mind”,one of my favourite songs ever.

They exist both as a typeface and as a visual piece of art.