A couple of days ago a coworker of mine brought in a copy of Unit Editions’ reprint of Octavo magazine. The magazine, which was designed by Hamish Muir and Mark Holt of 8vo, a London-based graphic design firm, was an eight issue series that ran between 1986 and 1992. The …
A couple of days ago a coworker of mine brought in a copy of Unit Editions‘ reprint of Octavo magazine. The magazine, which was designed by Hamish Muir and Mark Holt of 8vo, a London-based graphic design firm, was an eight issue series that ran between 1986 and 1992. The first seven were printed in an A4 format while the final was published as an interactive CD-ROM. The magazines are held in high regard because they addressed the history and theory of a new wave of typographic representation and formulation. Because 8vo focused on typographic design as a core component of their work, they felt it was pertinent to showcase the design trends in the UK at the time.
As I was flipping through the reprint, it occurred to me that I simply have not seen typography treated with the precision that it was in these journals. Through these journals, it proved that type can be just as expressive as an image. But the most incredible aspect of these magazines is that the first couple issues were produced before the beginnings of desktop publishing.
I believe it’s beneficial for not only designers today to view the magazine, but artists in general. It really gives a look into how typography, when handled right, can produce incredible results. The Unit Editions of the reprint also includes reproductions of the handmade mechanicals and proofs, showcasing the amount of precision that went into these magazines. Here are a couple of select spreads:
What is life without music? Over here at Alfalfa, we love all types of music: Hip-hop, rock, instrumental … there isn’t a genre we haven’t listened to. But as creatives, you know we just don’t listen to the music, its skin is just as important to us as the music …
What is life without music? Over here at Alfalfa, we love all types of music: Hip-hop, rock, instrumental … there isn’t a genre we haven’t listened to. But as creatives, you know we just don’t listen to the music, its skin is just as important to us as the music that accompanies it.
We’re a quarter way through 2018, and a lot of music is blasting through our ears. Although the Grammy’s recently passed, the season of new music is in the air. Here is our list of 5 covers we are obsessed about in 2018.
We are 66 days away from the initial whistle of the World Cup inauguration. These are the months where, as a fan, you start anticipating the possible lineup of the national team you are rooting for. At this same time is when you are eager to find out what jersey …
We are 66 days away from the initial whistle of the World Cup inauguration. These are the months where, as a fan, you start anticipating the possible lineup of the national team you are rooting for. At this same time is when you are eager to find out what jersey your team will wear inRussia 2018. With 32 national teams from all over the world, eight sporting brands (Adidas, Nike, Puma, New Balance, Umbro, Hummel, Uhlsport, Errea) will have the privilege to present their designs this 21st edition of the World Cup. This is the time where teams will show off their impeccable jersey designs and there is one particular design that stands out from the rest.
There will be no shortages of beautiful jersey designs in Russia 2018. As always, the top brands likeNike, Adidas, Puma, and New Balance added a beautiful touch the teams’ uniforms. This year those top brands focused on typography.
Athletic brands, Adidas, Puma, and Nike, released special-edition typefaces that will be used on all the uniforms for the teams they sponsor. As of right now, New Balance has only released the typeface that is being used by the Costa Rica National team. We are on the lookout for what other fonts will be plastered on their other team, Panama.
Adidas
The font being used for all Adidas teams distinctively commemorates the Russian culture. Designed in-house by Adidas and inspired by traditional Soviet imagery, the new typeface features letterforms cut-out in a 90-degree angle. All the numbers have an inline that goes through the center.
Aside from Adidas being a world leader in uniform design for the World Cup, currently Nike makes a close second. Based on their typographic qualities, Brazil, France, and England stand out the most. Among those teams, the main team I want to talk about is England. While most teams have a traditional number design, England made their design a one-of-a-kind.
Australia, Brazil, Croatia, England, France, Nigeria, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, South Korea
Nike x England
England x Nike commissioned British DesignerCraig Ward to create a special typeface for the 2018 England World Cup kit. Ward created a typeface modeled in 3D. The St. George’s Cross is incorporated into all the characters, making it dynamic. The curvilinear font was designed in various weights which include an inline, outline and fill. They all have complimentary numbers. Personally, I think England has the best Jersey in this world cup and particularly because of the font design.
To wrap it up, let me share with you the fonts being used for the Puma, Hummel and New Balance Brand. As you can see below, each brand had their own interpretation of how to associate their typeface with Russian culture. Puma used unique shapes within their design to reflect an industrialized look. Let us know if you agree that England nailed it in their uniform design, or if you have any other favorites.
I can’t wait to see the other designs from all 32 teams competing in Russia this year. You can expect us to update you on the scoop as we get closer to the event! In the meanwhile, check out all of the other designs that are being released in the wake of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Type Designer Kosuke Takahashi had experimented with the limits of language and type design to create the unique typeface Braille Neue. But what makes Braille Neue so unique? Well, this typeface ambitiously combines Braille with English and Japanese alphabets. It’s what Takahashi calls “braille for everyone.” By altering English and …
Type Designer Kosuke Takahashi had experimented with the limits of language and type design to create the unique typeface Braille Neue. But what makes Braille Neue so unique? Well, this typeface ambitiously combines Braille with English and Japanese alphabets. It’s what Takahashi calls “braille for everyone.”
By altering English and Japanese characters around the Braille grid, a stylistic and friendly typeface emerged. The typeface makes it look effortless, but as we designers all know that is usually not the case. In the English alphabet, there are 26 characters, far less than the 250 characters in Braille that could indicate various letters, numbers, and articles. You could probably imagine how many attempts it took for him to get to the perfect character. Takahashi also found in his research the experimental typeface was legible to all sighted people as long as it remained confined within the six dotted pattern.
Standard Braille Neue
The intention of Braille Neue is not an idea that hasn’t been explored by others. However, this is the most recent project that attempts to do it at such a large scale. This typeface is aimed to meet everyone’s needs at the Olympics and Paralympics for Tokyo 2020:
“Our aim is to use this universal typeset for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics in 2020 to create a truly universal space where anyone can access information…We aim for an inclusive society where using braille becomes commonplace.”
-Kosuke Takahashi
Braille Neue has two versions. The first is the Standard, which is exclusively in English and Braille. The outlined variant of Braille Neue is both Japanese and English with Braille. It’s unfortunate that this extremely useful typeface is not more available to the public yet. But it might be in the works soon as Takahashi hopes this will encourage more type universality in public spaces.
Today, I selected two experimental typefaces made of opposite materials: solid vs liquid; hair vs piss. Both projects have a kind of visceral quality to them. Dutch designer Monique Goossens used strands of human hair to create her letters. ‘Hair Typography’ was designed by meticulously arranging bunches of hair into …
Today, I selected two experimental typefaces made of opposite materials: solid vs liquid; hair vs piss. Both projects have a kind of visceral quality to them.
Dutch designer Monique Goossens used strands of human hair to create her letters. ‘Hair Typography’ was designed by meticulously arranging bunches of hair into the shapes of single letters. The letters’ thicks and thins bring to mind other-worldly creatures, menacing and beautiful at once.
“The hair letters consist of hundreds of hairs and give the impression of being fine pen drawings. The basic shape of the letters is created by forming the hairs into a legible character, during which process I follow the natural characteristics of the hairs: curly, rounded corners, springiness.” Says the designer, “The ends of the hairs create an organized chaos, an energetic play of lines which forms a haze around the letter’s basic shape.”
On the other hand, designer and musician Anton Bodin wanted to do something appropriate to the sound he and his band play, dirty hardcore punk. For their debut album “Apathy & Cheap Thrills,” he decided to create the logo with pee, then when completed, he realized it would make an interesting typeface.
Six months and 300 peeing times later the alphabet was completed. But it was not as simple as it sounds. First, it required a team so all the band members took turns urinating. Also, they needed the right canvas, so they experimented with a number of fabrics ranging from new materials to old bed shits. Once they found the right materials, they created a special frame to capture the letterforms. As you can imagine, they have to photograph them within five seconds otherwise the forms evaporate.
In the end, they digitize each letter and Pissjar Sans was born. If you like the font, you can download it for free here.
If you haven’t noticed the rise of hand-lettering over the past few years, you’re either living under a rock or completely oblivious to design in the world around you. It has shown up absolutely everywhere, in a seemingly infinite amount of styles. You’ve seen it on TV, at weddings, on …
If you haven’t noticed the rise of hand-lettering over the past few years, you’re either living under a rock or completely oblivious to design in the world around you. It has shown up absolutely everywhere, in a seemingly infinite amount of styles. You’ve seen it on TV, at weddings, on social media, posters, and menus. Anywhere you normally see text, you will most likely find examples of hand-lettering.
But what makes it so popular?
It’s the humanness of something handwritten that we find so alluring. We connect with it, more than with a robotic font because we can sense the person behind it. In fact, it is a rebellion against the clean, pixel perfect, mass-produced, cookie-cutter designs that we have been spoonfed for so long. Hand-lettering is low tech and custom made. It cannot be mimicked, and its uniqueness is undeniable.
Screens < Paper
Utensils > Keyboard
I have a personal love for calligraphy and hand-lettering, dating back to the mischievous days of my youth when I ran around neighborhoods pursuing the art of graffiti. I have since channeled this behavior into the more accepted career choice of graphic design, but my love for beautiful and creative letterforms still burns brighter than ever.
Here are some of my favorite hand-lettering artists, on Instagram, that you should go follow immediately.
When I first glanced at Abby Chen’s work, I was pleasantly surprised by the meticulous and conscious grasp of her creative voice. In a culture where minimalism is almost painfully the norm, reflective of the Digital Age, Chen’s clear mastery of typography and illustration is a breath of fresh air! Her …
When I first glanced at Abby Chen’s work, I was pleasantly surprised by the meticulous and conscious grasp of her creative voice. In a culture where minimalism is almost painfully the norm, reflective of the Digital Age, Chen’s clear mastery of typography and illustration is a breath of fresh air! Her graphic design work drastically contrasts her illustrations. Despite their differences, her versatile illustrations and graphic design work make a great combination.
Based in New York City and a graduate of Parsons School of Design, her website is even more reflective of the type of creative she may be. Currently employed at Gallagher & Associates, she creates projects in the realm of brand identity, interaction, editorial, and information design for clients.
I look forward to viewing the progress of her work and love the direction that she is going. You can follow her work on her website.
Sometimes, you don’t know which typeface to use for your designs. You might be bothered by thousands of typefaces available online or on your computer. Here are some fonts that big brands use. Many trendy brands today are more likely to use sans-serif typefaces to evoke modernity and youthfulness. However, …
Sometimes, you don’t know which typeface to use for your designs. You might be bothered by thousands of typefaces available online or on your computer. Here are some fonts that big brands use. Many trendy brands today are more likely to use sans-serif typefaces to evoke modernity and youthfulness. However, serif typefaces are also very beautiful and timeless. They have their own attitude and flavor that sans-serif fonts can’t compete with. Anyway, these are all very beautiful typefaces and they all have their own personality. Hopefully, they can help you with your designs or your typeface research.
This past Sunday in New York City, the winners of 60th Grammy awards were announced. Although its ratings and views reduced by 24% compared to last year’s event, the night was full of impactful messages of social and political justice. Award winners were not only those in the music industry, designers and artists received awards as well, those in the best recording package award and the best boxed or special limited edition package categories.
Surprisingly, this year was a tie in the best recording package award category, with both Father John Misty’s Pure Comedy deluxe edition LP and El Orisha de la Rosa by Magín Díaz winning an award. Father John Misty’s Pure Comedy was illustrated by cartoonist Ed Steed, and art directed by Sasha Barr and Joshua Tillman. Its competition and equal, El Orisha de la Rosa, Magín Díaz’s first and last solo record, was designed by Claudio Roncoli and Colombian studio Cactus.
Here is a listing of all of the winners of the night.
What do you think about the winners? Love it, hate it? Comment below.
The 100 Years of Swiss Design in Mexico City is Awesome!
I recently went on a trip to Mexico City and visited an exhibition at Museo De Arte Moderno called “100 Years of Swiss Graphic Design.” Under the curatorship of Francisco Torres Muñiz and, it is a part of the Swiss Design Mexico 2017 Program. Based on the exhibition at Museum für …
I recently went on a trip to Mexico City and visited an exhibition at Museo De Arte Moderno called “100 Years of Swiss Graphic Design.”
Under the curatorship of Francisco Torres Muñiz and, it is a part of the Swiss Design Mexico 2017 Program. Based on the exhibition at Museum für Gestaltung in Zürich back in 2014, it shows 250 projects in eight different thematics, such as graphic design, furniture design, fashion design, and technology.
My favorite segments of the exhibit were its graphic design and furniture design. It showed four of the most famous typefaces in the world that Swiss-based designers created: Helvetica, Avenir, Frutiger and Univers, and how they were used. It was very nice to see them together and compare the different personalities between them. And of course, Swiss posters did not miss their graphic design principles.
The furniture was very cool, too. You will be impressed by those elegant and interesting shapes. Many of the items that we use every day were designed about 30 years ago by Swiss designers, but still look modern.
If you are into Swiss design too, don’t miss this exhibition!
PASEO DE LA REFORMA Y GANDHI S/N
Bosque de Chapultepec I Secc, 11560 Miguel Hidalgo
CDMX, Mexico
