Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz Thoughts Geometry, Art and Letters
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4£%!? O[] Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee FfGg Hh IiJj Kk LI Mm Nn Oo Pp QgRrSsTtUuVvWwXxYyZz1234567890&f£CE$$ PUBLISHED BY INTERNATIONAL TYPEFACE CORPORATION, VOLUME FIFTEEN, NUMBER TWO, MAY 1988 UPPER AND LOWER CASE. THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TYPOGRAPHICS abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz Thoughts Geometry, art and letters. 2 The Letter "B" It started as a symbol for "shelter." 3 Of Art and Artichokes A young illustrator flourishes in farm country. 4 For Sale Prized international properties... starting 8 at $195. Meet the Letterheads Signmaking is not just their job; it's away of life. 10 The ITC Review Board Who's who and how they select new typeface 14 designs. Families to Remember The Bctchs ancl ITC Kaber -another in our series 18 of notable genealogic and typographic families. An Alphabardian Address Book Never have so many diverse Shakespearean 22 characters appeared in one production. Typographic Milestones Beatrice Warde, first lady of typography. 26 What's New from ITC? ITC Jamille Its roots are in the classics, but its reach includes 30 today, tomorrow and beyond. Art Underground A school's advertising demonstrates its ability to 36 teach advertising. Bottoms Up A beer-and-typography buff finds pleasure under 42 his glass. Trenchant Messages From Aesop's mouth to your ear; via Letraset 46 and ITC. The Name of the Game Is... It's centuries old and has as many names and 48 versions as there are languages. Islam A calligrapherfulfills her parents' prophecy. 50 Art Underfoot An urban archaeologist preserves an historic 52 art form. ITC Center Exhibition Calendar June 8-September 1. Over 200 pieces of the 77 best typographic design selected from the Type Directors Club 34th Annual International Design Competition. makes them beautiful. VOLUME FIFTEEN, NUMBER TWO, MAY, 1988 EDITOR: EDWARD GOTTSCHALL ART DIRECTOR: WEISZ YANG DUNKELBERGER INC. EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: ALLAN HALEY ASSISTANT EDITOR, RESEARCH DIRECTOR: JULIET TRAVISON ASSOCIATE EDITOR: MARION MULLER ADVERTISING MANAGER: CAROL MARGOLIN ADVERTISING PRODUCTION MANAGER: HELENA WALLSCHLAG ART PRODUCTION MANAGER: ILENE STRIZVER ART/PRODUCTION: KIM VALERIO, PAT KRUGMAN, SID TIMM SUBSCRIPTIONS: ELOISE COLEMAN © INTERNATIONAL TYPEFACE CORPORATION 1988 LI&LC (ISSN 0362 6245) IS PUBLISHED QUARTERLY BY INTERNATIONAL TYPE- FACE CORPORATION, 2 HAMMARSKJOLD PLAZA, NEW YORK, NY 10017. ITC IS A SUBSIDIARY OF ESSELTE LETRASET. U.S. SUBSCRIPTION RATES 510 ONE YEAR: FOREIGN SUBSCRIPTIONS, $15 ONE YEAR: U.S. FUNDS DRAWN ON U.S. BANK. FOREIGN AIR MAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS-PLEASE INQUIRE. SECOND-CLASS POSTAGE PAID AT NEW YORK, NY AND ADDITIONAL MAILING OFFICES. POST- MASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO U&LC, SUBSCRIPTION DEPARTMENT, 2 HAMMARSKJOLD PLAZA, NEW YORK, NY 10017. ITC FOUNDERS: AARON BURNS, HERB LUBALIN, EDWARD RONDTHALER ITC OPERATING EXECUTIVE BOARD 1988 AARON BURNS, CHAIRMAN EDWARD GOTTSCHALL, VICE CHAIRMAN MARK.). BATTY, PRESIDENT AND CEO ALLAN HALEY, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT ANN OLSEN, CONTROLLER LAURIE BURNS, PUBLIC RELATIONS AND EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES MICROFILM COPIES OF U&LC MAY BE OBTAINED FROM MICRO PHOTO DIVISION, Paul Standard BELL & HOWELL, OLD MANSFIELD ROAD, WOOSTER, OH 44691 FRONT COVER. THOUGHTS, TABLE OF CONTENTS: ITC JAMILLE MASTHEAD: ITC NEWTEXT THE INDEX TO ITC TYPEFACES USED IN THIS ISSUE APPEARS ON PAGE 70 ost people generally consider shelter the second most important ingredient for human survival. "B," the second letter in our alphabet, evolved from the ancient Egyptian hieroglyph attributed to shelter. Although the designs are somewhat different, there is a recognizable correlation between this Egyptian hieroglyph and the second letter of the Phoenician alphabet, which evolved from it, and which also meant "house." The Phoenicians called this letter beth, their word for "house." The name is also carried over into various names and places in the Bible: Bethel (house of God) and Bethlehem (house of bread). The Phoenicians were trad- The width of the capital "B" should be about half, or a little z more, of the character height. The bottom bowl should be ers, the foremost merchants of the While the name change was slightly larger than the top. Mediterranean in the ninth century minor, the eventual Greek beta B.C. They developed their alphabet looks quite different from the Phoe- Optically, this gives the char- for business purposes, and through nician beth. This change gradually acters a feeling of balance and the course of their travels spread it took place over many years. First, stability. For the same reason, throughout most of the ancient the character was inverted so that western world. the triangle was at the base. the middle hairline should be Beth was one of the 19 char- Then, through continual slightly heavier than the top, acters acquired from the Phoenician use, and perhaps because symme- the bottom hairlinejust a traders and became the basis of the try was so important to the Greeks, Greek alphabet. In the process, they a second triangle was added and little heavier than the middle, changed the name slightly from the two triangles ended up on the B ITC Berkeley Oldstyle' Medium beth to beta; and in doing so, pro- right side of the character. vided us with the second part of the The Greek beta further ITC Bookman' Light two-letter name that makes up the evolved in the hands of the Romans. B word alphabet. They changed its name to Bay, and Normally, the two bowls more important, formalized the arejoined by a hairline which curved strokes. appears parallel to the base- The Romans were some of the first calligraphers in the western line and joins the main vertical world. They brought flowing lines stroke. There are some type- and graceful curves to our alpha- faces, however, in which the bet. It was art born of technology. on a smooth writing surface; the The early Greeks drew their letters result was the naturally-propor- hairlines do not quite meet by scratching through a soft wax tioned letters we are now familiar the verticals, or they continue coating applied to a wooden board; with. It has been shown that even the curve of the bottom bowl, this forced them to work primarily in the inscriptions on their great mon- short, straight lines. By the time the uments were first painted on with a joining the vertical stroke higher Romans inherited the precursor to flat brush, or similar tool, before than the optical mid-point. our present alphabet, letters were they were carved. These letterforms ITC Benguiat Gothic' Medium drawn using flat pens and brushes were so proportionally beautiful, 5 and at the same time legible, that they serve as a guide to type 1 designers even today. In a Roman typeface (a From the square "house': the "B" grew into one of the most design with serifs, generally beautiful letters of our alphabet. based on classic Roman design traits) the thickest part of the bowl is slightly above the center of each curve. - Allan Haley HEADLINE: ITC GALLIARD BOLD ITALIC WITH ROMAN TEXT: ITC PANACHE BOOK, BLACK ITALIC BYLINE: BLACK CAPTIONS: ITC FRANKLIN GOTHIC BOOK 4 Collage illustration for "How the Whale Got It's Throat" from Kipling's Just So Stories. "The Inventor." Collage of a man a bit ahead of his time. You don't have to ponder these drawings too long ro see there's a blithe spirit on the loose here. Ellyn Siegel is an artist who speaks in three different voices: in brilliant-colored fey, fantasy drawings, in sophisticated pen-and-ink line and in folksy collage paintings. She is a young illustrator, anxious to expand her horizons in all directions, but she turned her back on the big cities that nurture those industries and settled in a small town in the midst of a vineyard. There, between commissions, she tends her orange tree and artichokes and feels she's "come home ro stay" To better understand the Muses that guide her we thought it best to ler her tell her srory in her own words: The Lion:' Ink and watercolor illustration for a story about a lion. Ellyn Siegel "Uncle Benny." Collage and drawing for a short story published in Northeast Magazine 1982. 5 Of Art and Artichokes Portrait of an artist by herself "As long as I can remember, "The Lion Lying Down With the Lamb7 people have called me a day- Inkand water color. dreamer. I was always the kid in school who got caught staring out the window or drawing in class when I should have been paying attention. Hackneyed as it sounds, I really have always wanted to be an artist. Even as a little kid, I was getting into trouble for not coloring inside the lines. "When I was in Junior High School, I went out with a boy whose father was a very well- known illustrator. They lived in this beautiful house in the coun- try, and his father had a whole separate building for a studio. He stayed at home and painted most of the time except for occa- sional trips into New York City, in his late model BMW, to deliver his illustrations. Being the impres- sionable youth that I was, I remem- ber clearly thinking, Oh boy! That is the life for me! "I got my first real illustration assignment while I was still in art school (Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York). It was an assignment to do a 4-color illus- tration for an article on 'How to travel with your pet.' (Not exactly the esoteric, cover-of- Time-magazine-job we were practicing for in art school, but it was for a national consumer magazine and they were even going to pay me!) I was thrilled "Levitation7 A pen-and-ink drawing to say the least. used in a promotional piece for herself.