PRINTINGPRINTING TYPETYPESS NNewew ZeaZealandland TTypeype Design Since 18701870

JontyJonty VaValentinelentine CONTENTSCONTENTS

PublishedPublished on tthehe occasion of tthehe exexhibitionhibition 4 FOREWORDFOREWORD,, PhilipPhilip ClarkClarkee N NOTESOTES OONN THE TYPES Printing Types:Types: New ZeaZealandland TTypeype Design Since 1870 CurateCuratedd bbyy Jonty VaValentine,lentine, JuJulyly 2009 5 PRINTING TYPES, Jonty ValentineValentine 37 TThehe BooBookk BorBordersders, RoRobertbert CoupCouplandland HarHardingding OObjectspacebjectspace 25 JuJulyly – 12 SeptemSeptemberber 20020099

OObjectspacebjectspace is a ddedicatededicated anandd awarawardd winninwinningg centre for craft anandd ddesignesign 39 MMarianna,arianna, HeHey!y! TogetTogether,her, DaDavidvid BenneBennewithwith wwhichhich receives major funfundingding from Creative New ZeaZealandland anandd onongoinggoing TYPE SPECIMENS susupportpport from TheThe ChartwellChartwell Trust andand KariKarikarikari Estate Wines. 50 TrespassersTrespassers Will be ProsecutedProsecuted,, Luke Wood 12 TheThe BookBook Borders,Borders, RobertRobert CouplandCoupland HarHardingding 5555 Wedge,Wedge, AdamAdam She|eldShe|eld 14 Churchward Marianna,Marianna, JosephJoseph Churchward 5656 National,National, Kris Sowersby with Jonty ValentineValentine 16 MMcCahon,cCahon, LuLukeke WWoodood 57 Décennie,Décennie, JackJack YanYan 1188 WWedge,edge, Bruce RRotherhamotherham 59 Pam,Pam, Maarten Idema OObjectspace:bjectspace: 20 NNational,ational, Kris Sowersby 8 PonsonPonsonbyby RoaRoadd P O Box 68-762 60 TheThe HomelessHomeless Forms,Forms, DavidDavid BennewithBennewith AAucklanduckland 11411455 22 DécennDécennie,ie, JJackack Yan TeTelephonelephone 09 376 62162166 6161 Black Grace,Grace, Shabnam Shiwan, Alt GroupGroup FacsimiFacsimilele 09 376 6246 2244 PPam,am, Maarten Idema info@[email protected] 6161 Befriend,Befriend, Warren OldsOlds www.owww.objectspace.org.nzbjectspace.org.nz 2266 Auster ReRegulargular A–Z, Narrow GGaugeauge ISBN 978-0-9582811-4-978-0-9582811-4-00 6262 TheThe DesignDesign of Artemis, MarkMark GeardGeard © 2009—This2009—This pupublicationblication is copyrigcopyright.ht. Except for reasonareasonableble purposes of 2288 Black GraceGrace,, Shabnam Shiwan fair review, no part may bbee storestoredd or transmittetransmittedd in any form bbyy any means, 6464 Air New Zealand,Zealand, Jonty Valentine eelectroniclectronic or mecmechanical,hanical, incincludingluding recorrecordingding or storage in any information retrievalretrieval systems, witwithouthout permission in writing from tthehe pupublishers.blishers. 3300 BefrienBefriend,d, Warren OOldslds No reproreproductionsductions may bbee mamade,de, wwhetherhether bbyy pphotocopyinghotocopying or ototherher means ununlessless a llicenseicense hhasas bbeeneen oobtainedbtained from tthehe pupublishersblishers or ttheirheir aagent.gent. 3322 ArtemArtemisis, Mark GearGeardd

Main bbodyody text anandd tittitlesles are in JacJackk Yan’s Décennie. 3344 Air New ZeaZealand,land, Tom EElliottlliott FoFolios,lios, specimen papagege tittitles,les, anandd smasmallll text are Maarten IIdema’sdema’s PamPam.. StocStockk is MunMunkenken Pure CreamCream.. PrintePrintedd bbyy Spectrum Print, CChristchurch.hristchurch. 4 FOREWORDFOREWORD PRINTINGPRINTING TYPES: NNewew Zealand Type Design Since 1870 5 Philip Clarke, DirectorDirector Jonty ValentinValentinee

There is a moment in Gary Hustwit’s 2007 docu-docu- ObjectspaceObjectspace aims to provoke new assessments about HowardHoward RoarRoarkk llaughed.aughed. mentarymentary fifilmlm HelveticaHelvetica wherewhere designerdesigner PaulaPaula ScScherher thethe makingmaking andand functioningfunctioning of craft anandd ddesign:esign: He stoostoodd nanakedked at tthehe eedgedge of a ccliff…liff… humorouslyhumorously quips thatthat thethe HelveticaHelvetica ttypefaceypeface causecausedd Printing Types: New Zealand Type Design Since 18700 isis bothboth the Vietnam and IraqIraq wars. Of course this is a an occasion for us (New(New Zealanders)Zealanders) to consider the I read The Fountainheadd by Ayn Rand again last summer.1 I first read it in my second year as a graphic design jokejoke but embedded in her hyperbole is the recog- workwork of local type designers. This is an important stustudentdent at university—at thethe same time I was introducedintroduced to typograptypography.hy. I’I’dd forgotten a llotot aaboutbout it: hhowow tthehe nitionnition thatthat typefacestypefaces hhaveave power, personapersonalitylity anandd project becausebecause as ValentineValentine sayssays “it is remarremarkablekable novenovell bbegins,egins, tthathat it is so over-tover-the-tophe-top andand romantic. SomehowSomehow it’s thethe perfect mix of MillsMills & Boon cclichéliché 2 are omni-present. One otherother designerdesigner interviewedinterviewed howhow un-heroicun-heroic andand invisibleinvisible tthehe hhistoryistory of ttypeype aandnd philosophical argument. Although it’s not an obvious choice, I want to use The Fountainheadd asas a inin Hustwit’s film notes of Helvetica that “you“you will designdesign has been here”. While writers such as metaphor for how I view type designers. While the main character, Howard Roark, is an architect, the do what the type face wants you to do” so strong is DavidDavid Bennewith, Noel Waite and Douglas bookbook ddoesoes ddescribeescribe thethe idealistic,idealistic, adolescent,adolescent, romantic way thatthat I want to imagine thethe workwork of thethe designerdesigner itsits personality. InIn the Language of ThingsThings (2008)(2008) Lloyd-JenkinsLloyd-Jenkins have started to excavate our type protagonistsprotagonists of tthishis exexhibition—ahibition—a usuallyusually anonymousanonymous group of people,people, some of whomwhom makemake it theirtheir life’slife’s DeyanDeyan SudjicSudjic makesmakes a similarsimilar oobservation:bservation: “In tthehe designdesign historyhistory PrintingPrinting TypesTypes, is I believe,believe, thethe first worworkk to ddesignesign ttypefaces.ypefaces. It is just tthehe kkindind of compellingcompelling butbut }awed}awed andand entertaining mythologymythology thatthat I’mI’m shapeshape andand form of a lletteretter we hhaveave aallll tthehe ccharacter-haracter- exhibitionexhibition andand relatedrelated publicationpublication compcompletelyletely searching for, to start to tell a story that needs more heroesheroes.. isticsistics of an accent”. This assessment contrasts with focusedfocused on contemporary and historical the orthodox assessment of literary critics noted NewNew Zealand type design. Objectspace offers SSTEREOTYPESTEREOTYPES byby Jonty ValentineValentine wwhichhich is tthathat typefaces hhaveave itsits congratulationscongratulations andand immense ggratituderatitude to beenbeen “considered“considered to bbee rerelativelylatively ddumb—byumb—by wwhichhich JontyJonty ValentineValentine whowho hhasas curatedcurated tthishis exexhibition,hibition, Re-readinRe-readingg The Fountainheadd reminded me of a feature I read on Wellington type designer Kris Sowersby I mean silent”.silent”. writtenwritten a provocative essayessay for the publication and in ththee Sundayy magazine last year.3 In the article there is a photograph of Kris standing on one ofof In an age where ‘authors’/creators are often designed the Printing TypesTypes publication. Printing CatCatherineherine Gri|tGri|ths’shs’s monumentamonumentall concrete tatabletsblets of type in tthehe WeWellingtonllington Writers WaWalk.lk. TThehe photophoto is their own producers, decisions about typefaces—typefaces— TypesTypes follows on from the outstanding exhibition pprettyretty epic: Kris is picturedpictured almostalmost hheroicallyeroically witwithh tthehe sun bbehindehind hhimim against a bbackdropackdrop of water lappinglapping thatthat were untiluntil recentrecentlyly llargelyargely tthehe province of Just HoldHold Me: AspectsAspects of NZ ppublicationublication ddesignesign thatthat aagainstgainst tthehe wwharfharf at thethe eedgedge of tthehe hharbour.arbour. TThehe image strucstruckk me as veryvery RoarRoarkesque.kesque. Referring to a panepanell trainedtrained ddesigners—areesigners—are mamadede ddailyaily by manmanyy of us. JontyJonty curatedcurated for ObjectspaceObjectspace in 2006. ddiscussioniscussion involving a number of local graphic designers, the writer commented: “Amongst the graphic The explosion of type decision making opportunities As well as curator JontyJonty Valentine I wish to ddesigners,esigners, Sowersby somehow stuck out as the odd one out and, in his talk, he offered the analogy that, as can be related to the explosion in the number of thank all the contributors to the exhibition and a ttypefaceypeface ddesigneresigner amongst typographerstypographers (designers(designers whowho use typefacestypefaces in theirtheir work),work), hehe is likelike a brickbrick thingsthings tthathat are ddesigned,esigned, proproducedduced anandd owneowned:d: we publication.publication. In additionaddition I want to acknowledgeacknowledge tthehe mamakerker amonamongstgst arcarchitects.”hitects.” Nice. ThereThere is a parallelparallel withwith RoarkRoark herehere too, whowho ““hadhad workedworked as a common havehave never hhadad more ppossessions.ossessions. TThehe ssheerheer rate ooff supportsupport of Air New Zealand,Zealand, Desna JJuryury anandd AUT labourer in the building trades since childhood,”4 and, though qualified as an architect, is reduced to the production and consumption of ‘things’‘things’ has University,University, Stephen Connelly,Connelly, Inhouse Design, working in a granite quarry (because he refuses to compromise his design standards).standards). raisedraised the stakes—culturally, economically and LaraLara Strongman and The National Grid. Objectspace The Fountainheadd is a book that many people say really in}uenceduenced ttheirheir llives.ives. WWhilehile RanRand’sd’s pphilosophyhilosophy socially—ofsocially—of debate and enquiry about design and wouldwould not be able to set out to provoke newnew ofof ObjectivismObjectivism hhasas bbeeneen criticisedcriticised as bbeingeing sopsophomorichomoric anandd preacpreachy,hy, thatthat was just thethe kindkind of grandgrand itsits widerwider rorole.le. LocaLocall inindicatorsdicators of tthishis interest, in assessments of design,design, craft andand appappliedlied arts cuculturelture narrative tthathat I was llookingooking for at tthehe bbeginningeginning of mmyy career as a ddesigner.esigner. Now it doesdoes seem likelike thethe relationrelation to type,type, hhaveave bbeeneen tthehe emergence of tthehe withoutwithout thethe major fundingfunding of Creative New ZeaZealandland ultimateultimate adolescent boys book: individual genius, holding an uncompromising vision, being the avant-garde journaljournal The National Gridd in the last few years and and the susupportpport of The Chartwell Trust and Karikari andand standing up to the conservative establishment against all odds. I was struck by the heroic portrayal ooff the very successful TypeSHED11TypeSHED11 conference staged EstateEstate Wines.Wines. Kris SowersSowersby;by; wwhichhich was ververyy unusuaunusuall for a typetype designerdesigner in New Zealand.Zealand. In fact it is remarkableremarkable howhow earlierearlier thisthis year in Wellington.Wellington. (See wewebsitebsite at uun-heroicn-heroic andand invisibleinvisible thethe hhistoryistory of ttypeype ddesignesign hhasas bbeeneen hhere.ere. On reareadingding Hoare’s Sundayy articarticle,le, I was http://www.typeshed11.co.nz/).http://www.typeshed11.co.nz/). ttornorn between being pleased that ananyy ttypeype designer has achieved such a profile, but equallequallyy kind of frustrated by the lack of contextual foundation laying about the history of New Zealand typeface design. It was as iiff Kris was tthehe first andand onlyonly ddesigneresigner of type in New ZeaZealand.land. But to criticise tthehe articarticle’sle’s autauthorhor for tthishis is a llittleittle unfair, becausebecause thethe historyhistory of typetype designdesign in thisthis countrycountry is hardlyhardly known,known, even to its creators.

CCONTEXTSONTEXTS

ThThee creators were not sel}ess.sel}ess. It is tthehe wwholehole secret of ttheirheir power—tpower—thathat it was seself-su|cient,lf-su|cient, self-motivated,self-motivated, sself-generated.elf-generated. A first cause, a fount of energenergy,y, a lifelife force, a Prime Mover. TThehe creator servedserved nothingnothing andand no one.5 6 7

In ThThee FountainheadFountainhead, RoarRoarkk rejects history.history. TThehe storstoryy bbeginsegins witwithh hhimim bbeingeing expeexpelledlled from hhisis universituniversityy on I’m already up to 1969, and I’ve only mentioned four people. And these designers, let alone their types, are the day of his graduation, cast out because he refuses to design buildings that reference the canons of classical with the recent exception of Joseph Churchward not really known to the local graphic design community, architecture. Roark rejects the Dean’s explanation that the rules or “proper forms of expression” of archi- letlet aalonelone to tthehe wiwiderder pupublic.blic. New ZeaZealandland ttypeype ddesignersesigners reallyreally neeneedd some more grangrandd narratives. But to tecture come from tthehe tthinkershinkers of tthehe past anandd sshouldhould bbee fofollowedllowed bbyy momoderndern ddesigners.esigners. RoarRoarkk argues insteainsteadd achieveachieve this,this, I suspect thatthat therethere is a lotlot of workwork thatthat needsneeds to bbee ddoneone to aabstractbstract materiamateriall from hhidingiding tthathat tthehe marmarkk of a momoderndern bbuildinguilding is in its abilityability “to followfollow its own truth.truth. Its one singlesingle theme,theme, anandd placesplaces in private or public archives around the country.country. Which is whywhy the purpose of this project is to begin to serve its own single purpose.”6 Con}ict between designers who look at the past for inspiration versus toto establish, or at least begin to lay the case for such a series of stories. To prompt further discussion, and to ‘free thinking’ innovators is the crux of the book. But by comparison, New Zealand type designers don’t have posepose thethe question: whowho are thethe otherother New ZeaZealandland type ddesignersesigners out ttherehere currentcurrentlyly hhiddenidden from our a llocalocal canon eiteitherher to pay hhomageomage to or reject. knownknown history?history? AnAnd,d, to aadddd to tthathat cchallenge,hallenge, to question whyy therethere is so littlelittle written aboutabout thisthis subject.subject. ArguablyArguably New ZeaZealand’sland’s first ttypeype ddesigneresigner was RoRobertbert CoupCouplandland HarHarding.ding. From hhisis earearlyly yearsyears as a newspaper printer in Wanganui, andand tthenhen Napier, wwherehere hhee met tthehe missionarmissionaryy WiWilliamlliam Colenso,Colenso, thethe printerprinter JUSTIFICATIONSJUSTIFICATIONS of the Treaty of Waitangi, Harding began to publish his own journals for which he was able to begin to ddemonstrateemonstrate the typographic craft of a printer. Most notably he produced Hardings Almanacc in ththee 18701870ss aass [Toohey:][Toohey:] Mr. RoarkRoark … WhyWhy don'tdon't you telltell me wwhathat you tthinkhink of me?me? wwellell as New ZeaZealand’sland’s first typograptypographichic ddesignesign journajournall TTypoypo wwhichhich hehe beganbegan in 1887. TTypoypo receivereceivedd sucsuchh highhigh [Roark:][Roark:] But I ddon'ton't tthinkhink of yyou.ou. internationainternationall praise thatthat a leadingleading EngEnglishlish typefoundertypefounder wrote tthat:hat: “For tthehe future hhistorianistorian of ttypefoundingypefounding of the present generation we shall certainlycertainly have to go to New Zealand.”7 As Don McKenzie has written,written, ThisThis question is from Ellsworth Monkton Toohey,15 the antagonist of the book who represents backward- “Robert“Robert Coupland Harding, as practitioner, historian and critic of printing has a strong claim to be considered lookinglooking conservativism andand anti-individualism.anti-individualism. One of thethe most famous lineslines in thethe book,book, it is usedused to sshowhow New ZeaZealand’sland’s first anandd most eminent typograptypographer.”her.” In aadditionddition to worworkingking as a a pupublisher,blisher, printer, journajournalistlist thatthat RoarkRoark is not interestedinterested in seekingseeking thethe recognition of ‘the‘the establishment’.establishment’. I want it to echoecho mymy question: andand importing tthehe first NortNorthh American andand European metalmetal ttypeype bbroughtrought into tthehe countrcountry,y, hhee aalsolso ddesignedesigned wwhyhy don’tdon’t we care mucmuchh aboutabout typetype designersdesigners in New Zealand?Zealand? I’m going to specuspeculatelate in ororderder to answeanswerr printing bborders.orders. One in particuparticular,lar, ‘The‘The BookBook Border’Border’ proproducedduced in 1879, was useusedd by printers worworldwideldwide thisthis question. (That’s what Ayn Rand would do). There are a few ways to go. Either, A., the pproductionroduction cost ((seesee pp.12)..12). ofof old technology like letterpress casting made it unviable for types to be madee and hence designedd here; If Robert Coupland Harding was probably New Zealand’s first designer of types, then who was next? 8 oorr B., I hhaveave not uncovereuncoveredd allall of tthehe type ddesignersesigners wwhoho were workingworking hhereere bbecauseecause ttherehere hhasas beenbeen a llackack TheThe fieldfield of type designdesign in New ZealandZealand is woefuwoefullylly ununder-researched.der-researched. AndAnd althoughalthough I don’tdon’t want to suggest ooff primarprimaryy researcresearchh in thisthis area, andand typetype designersdesigners didn’tdidn’t attain a highhigh publicpublic profileprofile to bebe written aboutabout a ddefinitiveefinitive llistist of practitioners, whenwhen obviouslyobviously thatthat is problematicproblematic for anyany account of history,history, I wouldwould likelike to uunlikenlike their artist, writer, or architect peers;peers; or C., New Zealand simplsimplyy didn’t needd its own type designers use this project as a prompt to start a bit more digging. ttoo overcome A. and BB.. options. Or perhaps all of these options could be true, all at onceonce.. A typeface by Joseph Sinel has recently been digitised 9 based on an alphabet that he designed in the late 1920s. JosephJoseph SineSinell (1889-1975) was bbornorn in AucAuckland.kland. He was an ElamElam graduate,graduate, andand workedworked as an apprentice A. ModernModern technologytechnology lithographerlithographer at WiWilsonlson anandd Horton, tthenhen travetravelledlled overseas worworkingking in AustraAustralia,lia, EnglandEngland andand finallyfinally thethe I am restricting mymy interests for thisthis exhibitionexhibition to ‘type‘type design’.design’. So firstly,firstly, I shouldshould acknowledgeacknowledge thatthat therethere UnitedUnited StatesStates.. In 40 LegendsLegends of New ZeaZealandland DesignDesign, DougDouglaslas LLloydloyd JenkinsJenkins writes thatthat JosephJoseph SinelSinel is “widely“widely has been a rich history of a broader category of ‘letter design’—commercial sign writing, lettering and consideredconsidered the ‘father of industrial design’ and the man responsible for coining the phrase ‘industrial design’ ccalligraphyalligraphy throughout the period of late 1800s to now. And although the line between type design and in the 1920s”.1920s”.1010 From some descriptions Sinel sounds like New Zealand’s own Howard Roark, working in ootherther manifestations of lletteretter mamakingking is not aalwayslways cclear-cut,lear-cut, thethe historyhistory of type design’sdesign’s more commonpcommonplacelace New YorYorkk in tthehe 1920s, tthenhen CaCalifornialifornia in tthehe 1940s: hhe’se’s even llabelledabelled a ‘font of wiswisdom’.dom’.11 rerelationlation maymay not bebe suchsuch a mystery.mystery. But thatthat is anotheranother story.story. For thisthis project I want to ddefineefine ttypeype ddesignesign Next on mymy listlist is Bruce RotRotherhamherham wwhoho was a studentstudent at thethe AucklandAuckland University’sUniversity’s SchoolSchool of aass the production of a ssystemystem of stylisticallystylistically coherent ttypesypes for printing using contemporarycontemporary mechanical Architecture and a member of the in}uential ‘Group‘Group Architects’ collective. Still as students in 1946 The GroupGroup reproduction technology. The definition of contemporary type technology has of course changed a great published the manifesto The Constitution of the Architectural Group, stating as their general aim: “to further the ddealeal over thethe lastlast 100 years in New ZeaZealand:land: from earearlyly lletterpressetterpress hothot metalmetal type casting; to ddrawingrawing foforr appreciation of goodgood planningplanning andand designdesign in New Zealand”.Zealand”.12 RotherhamRotherham was thethe son of a commercialcommercial printer phphotolithographicotolithographic cocoldld ttypesettingypesetting wwhichhich bbecameecame popupopularlar in tthishis countrcountryy in tthehe 1970s; to ddigitaligital font vector anandd hhadad workedworked at hishis father’sfather’s businessbusiness llearningearning tthehe funfundamentalsdamentals of ttypesettingypesetting anandd grapgraphichic ddesign.esign. TThehe pproductionroduction in thethe earearlyly 1990s. It mamayy bbee tthishis cchangehange in technologytechnology thatthat partlypartly explainsexplains thethe holehole in our typetype sstudytudy for hishis typefacetypeface ‘Wedge’‘Wedge’ beganbegan in 1947, andand thethe finalfinal font as it is presentedpresented herehere tootookk over fortfortyy yyearsears ddesignesign history. Simply put, we were probably well served by international type foundries and it was not to complete (see p.18). Wedge was designed in response to Herbert Bayer’s ‘Universal Alphabet’, which viable to support the expensive and specialised craft of manufacturing metal types in New Zealand. Rotherham considered to be unreadableunreadable..1313 FurtFurthermore,hermore, even after tthehe introintroductionduction of pphototypesetting,hototypesetting, tthehe pupublishingblishing of fonts was a speciaspecialisedlised PerhapsPerhaps next is JosephJoseph Churchward,Churchward, wwhoho llefteft CCharlesharles Haines AAdvertisingdvertising in WeWellingtonllington to bbecomeecome a rearealmlm stillstill requiring expensive tectechnology.hnology. It is reallyreally ononlyly since tthehe aadventdvent of ddigitaligital tectechnology,hnology, anandd freelancefreelance designerdesigner in 1962—starting1962—starting up AAdvertisingdvertising Art StuStudio,dio, wwhichhich bbecameecame CChurchwardhurchward InternationaInternationall software like Fontographer and Fontlab, in the earlearlyy 1990s that it has become relativelyrelatively easeasyy for the TypefacesTypefaces in 1969. He sold his first custom typeface,typeface, ‘Churchward 1969’ for Woolworths advertising, and independent typographic designer to produce and even to publish their own fonts. other original designs to the H. Berthold type foundry in Germany.14 8

B. andand C. TTypeype is dumbdumb PossiblyPossibly options BB.. and C. could be considered as one. The notion that New Zealand didn’t reallyreally need ttypeype ddesignersesigners enough to overcome the expense of production (and that no one felt the need to speak up for them), bbegsegs tthehe bbiggerigger question of whywhy anyone needsneeds New ZealandZealand (or any new) types at all?all? AndAnd whowho needsneeds to kknownow aaboutbout wwhoho ddesignedesigned them?them? ThisThis is a bigbig a question to answer, butbut it is wwherehere tthehe hhistoryistory gets reareallylly iintriguing.ntriguing. To illustrate: when I started my project research, I imagined that Denis Glover, as a New Zealand poet, journalist, printer, typographic critic would be a candidate for inclusion on the list of unknown type ddesigners.esigners. But now I don’tdon’t believebelieve hhee ever ddidid ddesignesign a typeface. WWhyhy not? WouWouldn’tldn’t hehe havehave likedliked to ddesignesign tytypes?pes? He was ververyy opinionateopinionatedd aaboutbout ttypographyypography anandd ttypefaces.ypefaces. In an articlearticle entitledentitled ‘Typographical‘Typographical Printing TodaToday’,y’, Glover summarised the historyhistory of printing and typographytypography in New Zealand to the earlearlyy 11960s.960s.16 “Printing in New Zealand got away to a bad start,” he began. “It was a missionary venture, and notions of typograptypographicalhical stystylele ddidid not exist.” Because GloverGlover was operating withinwithin thethe narrow constraints of tthehe EngEnglishlish private press tradition,tradition, hehe was concernedconcerned mostlymostly witwithh tthehe printing, tthehe ttypographicypographic llayoutayout aandnd setting of llocalocal lliteratureiterature in foreign ttypes.ypes. He was, it seems, not tthathat interesteinterestedd in tthehe use or ddesignesign ofof local types. So in 1930 when Christchurch’s Caxton Press (founded by Denis Glover) produced their first TTypeype Specimen book (which inspires this project and publication, and see right image), it was full of English aandnd European types. Even thoughthough thethe Caxton Press was thethe first to publishpublish many of New ZeaZealand’sland’s great writers, theythey useusedd foreign ttypes.ypes. TTherehere is aalsolso an intriguing ddisclaimerisclaimer in thethe bbook:ook: “T“Thishis specimen ttypeype book has been designed not so much for the typographertypographer (of whom there are not manymany in the country)country) as for the reader who has found some interest in comparing various faces and styles he has come across…”17 Part of tthehe explanationexplanation for thisthis may bebe thatthat whenwhen in thethe company of writers it just seems trivialtrivial or unworunworldlyldly to want to squeeze too mucmuchh significance out of tthehe cchoicehoice of a ttypefaceypeface useusedd in one’s copcopyy of a reallyreally important text. I hatehate to bbee tthehe one to sasayy it, bbutut tthehe formaformall quaqualitylity of a ttypefaceypeface is of seconsecondarydary importance in a literary (not to mention post-modern) world. Literary theorists (maybe just early structuralist semioticians) often stop at the ‘arbitrary’ form of the alphabet as a signifier, and are not that interesteinterestedd in going closercloser in to examine decisionsdecisions aboutabout thethe ‘material’‘material’ or formalformal qualityquality of signs—likesigns—like thethe ddifferencesifferences in shapeshape of types.types.18 Apart from neeneedingding to bbee easilyeasily reareadable,dable, anandd mamaybeybe inindexingdexing mere stylisticstylistic changeschanges in trends from an advertising perspective, typestypes are byby manymany considered to be relativelyrelatively dumbdumb—— by which I mean silent.

COUNTERSCOUNTERS

IInn The Fountainheadd Roark doesn’t say much either. He’s the introspective strong silent type who thinks his buildings speak for themselves. Though it is a very entertaining story, Ayn Rand is never really able to cconvincinglyonvincingly ddescribeescribe wwhathat makesmakes Roark’sRoark’s bbuildingsuildings so amazing (apart from invoinvokingking modernistmodernist formform-- fofollows-functionllows-function tropes). WhenWhen I saysay thatthat graphicgraphic designdesign needsneeds new stories, new histories—thehistories—the realreal truthtruth maymay be more that as well as addressing the lack of stories in ttypographicypographic design, I am also calling for an alternativealternative to the present stories about design in general. In The Fountainheadd Roark breaks away from thethe conventionalconventional lineline thatthat is promotedpromoted bbyy peoppeoplele llikeike EEllsworthllsworth TooTooheyhey on bbehalfehalf of tthehe conservative

establishment.establishment. So at thethe riskrisk of extendingextending mymy metaphormetaphor too far, I thinkthink ttherehere are opposing narratives in mymy Printing TTypes:ypes: A SecondSecond SpecimenSpecimen BookBook of Faces CommonlyCommonly UsedUsed at thethe Caxton Press, storystory too. TThehe current ddominantominant narrative of tthehe ddesignesign inindustrydustry in New ZeaZealandland is tthehe Design TasTaskforce’s,kforce’s, Christchurch,Christchurch, New ZeaZealand.land. 11948,948, p.77.p.77. 10 TYPETYPE SPECIMENS 11

‘Better by Design’, design in the service of marketing industry line.line.1919 This salvation narrative is still obsessed with looking forward, chanting modernist myths of innovation, and being saved by technology etc.,20— anandd in mmyy opinion tthishis sslicklick grangrandd narrative is perperhapshaps at tthehe expense of hhistoryistory anandd at tthehe expense of llessess ‘successful’, untiduntidy,y, personal, peripheral accounts. If the antagonist or the villain in The Fountainheadd isis Toohey, the villain for this story of New Zealand typographic design I’m recounting might just be ‘the designdesign industry’industry’ or at leastleast thethe rhetoricrhetoric of tthehe marmarketing-innovationketing-innovation part of thethe industryindustry whenwhen it promotes onlyonly tthehe superficiasuperficiallylly new anandd ‘Better’. A designer’s work is never produced in a vacuum. I don’t think it can reallyreally ever be “self-su|cient, self-motivated,self-motivated, self-generated” as Roark might wish to assert. All design relies on context for meaning; there is always a back-story. We do need new local heroes, but by placing them in the context of a larger story,story, witwithh aalternativelternative mytmythologies,hologies, ttheirheir worworkk may potentiapotentiallylly gain mucmuchh more interesting layerslayers of mmeaning.eaning. So for tthishis project, anandd in tthehe fofollowingllowing papages,ges, I am interesteinterestedd in startingstarting some historicalhistorical excavation and in presenting a range of stories that evidence the differentt ways that people talk about and contextualise type designed in New Zealand. I want to provide a prompt for type designers here to tell their storiesstories in tthehe internationainternationall parparlancelance of theirtheir practice butbut alsoalso in a range of our own llocalocal accents.

1. AAynyn RanRand,d, TheThe FountainFountainheadhead. New YorYork:k: Signet, 1993.1993. 10. DouglasDouglas LloydLloyd JenJenkins,kins, 4400 LegendsLegends of New ZealandZealand Design. AucAuckland:kland: 2. In fact ‘c‘cliché’liché’ anandd ‘stereot‘stereotype’ype’ were bothboth printers’ words,words, andand in theirtheir GGodwit,odwit, 2006, p.122.p.122. lliteraliteral printers meanings were synonymous.synonymous. SpecificallySpecifically clichécliché was an 11. In tthehe articarticlele ‘Josep‘Josephh SineSinel:l: BBlueprintlueprint from tthehe EEdge’dge’ bbyy PauPaull WarWard:d: onomatopoetic wordword for thethe soundsound thatthat was mademade duringduring thethe stereo- hhttp://www.nzedge.com/heroes/sinel.htmlttp://www.nzedge.com/heroes/sinel.html tytypingping process wwhenhen tthehe matrix hhitit momoltenlten metametal.l. From WiWikipedia:kipedia: 12. TThishis is from a ppdfdf of thethe manifesto from thethe ArchitectureArchitecture ArchiveArchive hhttp://www.wikipedia.orgttp://www.wikipedia.org wewebsite:bsite: http://www.architecture-archive.auckland.ac.nz/http://www.architecture-archive.auckland.ac.nz/ 3.3. Rose Hoare,Hoare, ‘Go‘Godd is in thethe Details’,Details’, HeraHeraldld on SunSundayday. ??page=exhibitpage=exhibit AAuckland:uckland: New ZeaZealandland HeraHerald,ld, August 3, 2008, p.20. 13. See AAdamdam SShe|eld’she|eld’s text in tthishis pupublication,blication, p.55.p.55. 44.. ThThee FountainFountainheadhead. p.25p.25.. 14. ThisThis is paraphrasedparaphrased from an emailemail withwith DavidDavid Bennewith.Bennewith. 55.. IIbid.bid. p.678.p.678. AlAlsoso see DaviDavid’sd’s text in tthishis pupublication,blication, p.39.p.39. 66.. IIbid.bid. p.24. 115.5. ThThee FountainFountainheadhead. p.p.389.389. 77.. D. F. McKenzie, ‘Harding,‘Harding, RoRobertbert CoupCouplandland 1849–1916’ was publishedpublished in 16. Denis GGlover,lover, ‘T‘Typographicalypographical Printing ToToday’,day’, first pupublishedblished in the Dictionary of New ZealandZealand BiographyBiography, VoVolumelume 22,, 1993. It was aalsolso AA.. H. McLintockMcLintock (e(ed.),d.), An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand,, 11966.966. re-pure-publishedblished in TThehe NationaNationall GriGridd #4, 2007, p.13.p.13. 17. ‘Notes’‘Notes’,, PPrintingrinting Types: A SecondSecond Specimen BookBook of Faces CommonlyCommonly 88.. TThishis neeneedsds a bitbit of expexplanation.lanation. Because althoughalthough thethe use of thethe term likelike UseUsedd at tthehe Caxton Press, CChristchurch,hristchurch, New ZeaZealandland. CChristchurch:hristchurch: ‘t‘type’ype’ maymay bebe straightforwardstraightforward at thethe levellevel of common usage, I am CCaxtonaxton Press, 1948, p.77. proproblematisingblematising tthehe term hhereere by invoinvokingking it’s originaoriginall usage anandd 18. An iillustrationllustration of mymy point herehere is PauPaull EElliman’slliman’s ‘‘bitbit aalfabet’—lfabet’— meaning. Firstly,Firstly, from RobinRobin Kinross: “A DictionaryDictionary definitiondefinition runs as an ongoing project by a writer/designerwriter/designer thatthat playsplays withwith thethe alphabetalphabet ffollows:ollows: ‘Typeface:‘Typeface: tthehe ddesignesign of, or thethe image producedproduced by,by, thethe surface as a cocollectionllection of ararbitrarybitrary signs. EElliman’slliman’s ttypefaceypeface of ddiscardediscarded junjunkk of a printing ttype’ype’ (SShorterhorter OxfordOxford EnglishEnglish Dictionary))’”.’”. So typee and face proves thatthat lletterformsetterforms can lliterallyiterally bbee foundfound in anyany object.object. EllimanElliman is are ddifferentifferent tthings.hings. TThenhen from tthat,hat, thethe wordword typee refers to, “a small interesteinterestedd in tthehe cocollectionllection as evidenceevidence of mecmechanicalhanical reproduction,reproduction, rectangurectangularlar blblock,ock, usuallyusually of metalmetal or wood,wood, havinghaving on its upper endend a oorr more thethe breakingbreaking ddownown of tthehe machinemachine ‘tec‘technology’hnology’ usedused in hishis raiseraisedd lletter,etter, figure, or otherother character,character, for use in printing”. So by thisthis ffoundound typeface:typeface: “The“The foundfound lettersletters appealappeal to me as part of a splinteredsplintered ddefinitionefinition bordersborders (like(like Harding’s)Harding’s) are types.types. AlsoAlso whilewhile we are gettinggetting struggstrugglele betweenbetween technologytechnology andand language:language: thethe worldworld as a giant machinemachine ddownown to it, a set of rerelatedlated images or typestypes is traditionallytraditionally referredreferred to as a bbreakingreaking down.”down.” PaulPaul Elliman,Elliman, ‘The‘The WorldWorld as a Printing Surface’, fountt, or fonfontt to use the now more common North American spelling. KKarelarel Martens: Counterprint. LonLondon:don: HyphenHyphen Press, 2004, p.13.p.13. AActuallyctually a fount is “a completecomplete set of ttypeype of a particularparticular size”. 19. See tthehe government supportesupportedd Design TasTaskforcekforce pupublication,blication, RoRobinbin KinrossKinross,, UnjustifieUnjustifiedd Texts: Perspectives on TypograpTypographyhy. LonLondon:don: SSuccessuccess By Design, ‘A Report anandd Strategic Plan’.Plan’. 2003. HHyphenyphen Press, 2002, p.113.p.113. 20. I sasayy “sti“still”ll” hhereere becausebecause ttheyhey (t(thehe designdesign establishment)establishment) were sayingsaying 99.. From P22 TypeType foundryfoundry website:website: ththee same tthinghing in tthehe llateate 1960s. See DesignScape 1, New ZeaZealandland hhttp://www.p22.com/products/freefont.htmlttp://www.p22.com/products/freefont.html InIndustrialdustrial Design Council,Council, FeFebruarybruary 1969. 12 The Book Borders Below types digitised by Sai Promsri and Letitia Lam 13 Robert Coupland Harding, 1877

see text, p.37 14 Churchward Marianna Regular 15 Joseph Churchward, 1969 Shadow

15pt abcde ffi fl gh i jklmnop 28pt Regular Each character – glyph, Regular qrs tuvwxyzABCDEFGH IJKLMNOPQRSTUVWX YZ letter, digit, mark – 0123456789! "#$%& '( )*+,-./:;<=?@[ \]^_ has something about `{|}~ ¡¢£¤¥¦§¨©ª«¬ - ®¯ ° ± ² ³ ´ μ¶ · ¸ ¹ º»¼½¾¿ you programmed into it. ÀÁÂÃÄÅÆÇÈÉÊÊËÌÍ Î ÏÐ Like the time you broke ÑÒÓÔÕÖ×ØÙÚÛÜÝÞßàáâ ãäåæçèéêë ì í î ïðñòóô your leg. For the fi rst õö÷øùúûüýþÿĀāĂăĄąĆ ćĈĉĊċČčĎďĐđĒēĔĕĖėĘ few days you needed ę Ě ěĜĝĞğĠġĢģĤĥĨ ĩĪīĬ help from your family to ĭĮįİıIJijĴĵĶķĹĺĻļĽľĿ ŀ Ł ł ŃńŅņŇňʼnŌōŎŏŐőŒ œ stand up and get around œŔ ŕ Ŗŗ ŘřŚśŜŝŞşŠšŢţŤ ťŨũŪū ŬŭŮů ŰűŲųŴŵŶŷŸ and your Dad saw the ŹźŻżŽžƒǼǽǾǿjˆˇ˘˙˚˛ opportunity to design ˜˝ ̒ ẀẁẂẃẄẅ Ỳ ỳ – —‘ ’‚“” „†‡•…‰‹› ⁄ €™−≈≠≤≥ ̦ the ligatures.

see text, p.39 16 McCahon Regular 17 Luke Wood, 2000

40pt Regular a b c d e f g h l m n o p q r s w x y z A B C D E F GHIJKL MN O PQR S T UVWXYZ 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ! " & ' ( ) , - . : ; ? – — ‘ ’ “ ” see text, p.50 18 Wedge Regular 19 Bruce Rotherham, 1947 Italic Bold

20pt 40pt Italic abcde fghi jk lm It occurred to me Italic n opqr s tuvwxyz ABCDE FGH I J K LM then that there must NQRSTUVWOP XYZ 0123456789!"# be a face that was $%&'( ) *+ , - ./: as elementary as the ;<=>?@[\]^`|} ~¡¢£¤ ¥¦§¨©ª«¬ `universal alphabet' ®¯°±²³ ´µ¶·¸¹º »¼½¾¿ÀÁ ÂÃÄÅÆÇ but that would be É Ë ÍÎÏ ÑÒÓÔÕÖØÙ as readable as the ÚÛÜÝ Þßàáâãäåæ çèéêë ì í î ïðñòó recognized book ôõö÷øù úûüýþŒœ faces. ŠšŸƒˆ˜ –—‘’ ‚“” „†‡…‰‹ ™−

see text, p.55 20 National Thin Thin Italic Light Light Italic Book Book Italic 21 Kris Sowersby, 2009 Regular Regular Italic Medium Medium Italic Semibold Semibold Italic Bold Bold Italic Extrabold Extrabold Italic Black Black Italic

10pt abcdefgh i j klmnopqrstuvwxyz 80pt Light Black ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTU VWXYZ 0123456789! "#$%&'()*+,-./: ;<=>?@[\]^_` x{ | }~ ¡¢£¤¥¦ §¨© The Light ª«¬®¯°± ²³´μ¶·¸¹º»¼½¾¿ÀÁÂÃÄ ÅÆÇÈÉÊËÌ Í Î Ï ÐÑÒÓÔÕÖ×ØÙÚÛÜÝÞ ß àáâãäåæç è éêëì í î ïðñòóôõö÷ø ùúûüýþÿĀāĂ㥹ĆćĈĉĊċČčĎďĐđ Ē ēĔĕĖėĘęĚěĜĝĞğĠġĢģĤĥĦħĨĩĪīĬ ĭ Į įİıIJijĴĵĶķĸĹĺĻļĽľĿŀŁłŃ ńŅņ can swing ŇňŊŋŌōŎŏŐőŒœŔŕŖŗŘřŚśŜŝŞşŠš ŢţŤťŦ ŧŨũŪūŬŭŮůŰűŲųŴŵŶ ŷŸŹźŻ żŽžƏƒƘƙƷǍǎǏ ǐǑǒǓǔǙǚǚA¨¯ǟǢǣǤ ǥ Ǧ ǧǨǩǪǫO˛¯ǭǮ ǯ ǰǴǵA˚´ǻǼǽǾǿ¶ȂȃÃÄȆ ȇÇ ÈȊ ȋ @AȎȏȒȓFGȖȗȘș!"#$%& ÉÊË either ÌÍ j‒–—―H‘ ’ ‚I“”„J†‡•…‰'‹› ⁽⁾ ₍₀₁₂₃₄₎〈〉＿⁰¹²³⁴⁵⁶⁷⁸⁹⁺⁻⁼⁽⁾n ₅₆₇₈₉₊₋₌₍ ₎⅓⅔⅛⅜⅝⅞฿₡₢ ₣ ₤₦₧₨₩ ₪ €₮₱№78™℮↖↗↘↙■□▪ ▫▲►▼◄◊○●○←↑ →↓∂∆∏∑√∞∫≈≠≤ ≥ǎ ǎ π& ( ) / abc d e f way. gh i j k lmnopqrs tuvwxyz[\]{|} ¦ ª ºàáâãäåæçèéêëìíîïðñòóôõö øùúûüýþāăąćĉċčďđēĕėęěĝğġģĥ ħĩīĭį¯ijĵķĺļľŀłńņňŋōŏőœŕŗřś ŝşšţťŧũūŭůűųŵŷÿźżžəƙʒǎǐ ǒǔǚ ǟǣǥǧ ǩ ǫǭ ǯǰǵÀǻǽǿÄȃÆȇNȋPȏȓSȗș Vịọụỳỹ‡ˆ‰Š‹ḍḑḥḷ ḹṃṅṇ ṛ ṝ ṣ ṭẁẃẅ \•〈〉ļe`̣e´̣•–—ķ™š›œÑņÓÔÕÖŗţÙ Ú a bcff fi fl ffi ffl fb ffb ffh ffj ffk fh fj 0112fk 3456789 ()+0123456789=−

see text, p.56 22 Décennie Roman Bold 23 Jack Yan, 1997 Italic Bold Italic

18pt o 34pt Roman abcdefghi jklmn It seemed unfair that Roman pqrs tuvwxyzABCD EFGHI JKLMNOPQRS there were people like TUVWXYZ12345678 90!"#$%&'()*+,- that who were being ./:;<=>?@[\]^_` {|}~ ¡ ¢ £ ¤ ¥¦§ overlooked. New Zealand’s ¨©ª«¬®¯°±² ³´μ¶· typographic history is far ¸ ¹ º »¼½¾¿ÀÁÂÃÄÅÆ ÇÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏÐÑÒÓÔÕ richer than people realize, ÖØÙÚÛÜÝÞß à á â ãäå æçèéêëìíîïðñòóô even though there has õö÷øùúûüþÿĆćČč ĒēĔĞğİıŁłŒœŞşŠš been a sudden interest in ŸŽžƒˆˇ˘˙˚˛˜–—‘ ’ Kiwi typeface design in ‚ “”„†‡•…‰‹› ⁄₣™ − fifl recent years.

see text, p.57 24 Pam Regular 25 Maarten Idema, 2004 Extra Bold

20pt 40pt Regular abcdefghi jk lm Maybe it is a joke Regular n opqrstuvwxyz ABCDEFGHI JKLM played between NQRSTUVWXYZOP the City Planner’s 0123 456789! "& '()*+ ,-./:;< and Surveyor’s >?@[ ]_ `{|}¡¨° departments, to put \´¶·$μ¿ ¸ à ÀÁÄÅ ÈÉÍÚàá ãäåæçèé the longest street ë ì íï òóõöøùúüÇ ñ Þ†‡÷×þ ıƒ ˚˜–— name in the smallest ‘’“”„•€→fifl0 12 street. 3456789ÀÈÙāēī ōū  

see text, p.59 26 Auster Regular A–Z 27 Narrow Gauge, 2004–2005

11pt A city aardse stad Abandoned H city Habituation city Hair city O city Oasis city Obesity city Obey V city Vagabonds city Vakantie city Abject city Abstract city Hak stad Handle city Handelsnatie city Object city Oblique city Obses- stad Valkuil stad Vandaalbestendig Achterkant stad Achtung stadt stad Handelsverhoudingen stad sive city Obstacle city Obvious stad Vegetarian city Veiligheid stad Acrobat city Act city Action city Handed city Hang-on city Happi- city Ocean city Octet city Odd city Ventilator city Verbeeldings stad Additive city Affect city... ness city Haploid city Happy city... Odyssey city Oeuvre city... Verblijfsruimte stad... B city Backside city Bag city Bal- I city Ice city Iconicity city P city Pan city Panoramic city W city Waarheid stad Walking ance city Bamboo city Banal city Iconografische stad Iconophobic Papier stad Para city Paradijs city Walls city Wandelende stad Banker city Barbarian city Bar- city ideale stad Identiteiten stad stad Parallelle stad Paranoide Wanderlust stadt Wandelverenig- bell city barbie city Baroque city Idoru city Illusions city Illus- Stad Park city Parkeergarage ing stad Wandschildering stad city of Bars Basic city... tratieve stad Imagination city... stad Parket stad... Wandschilderingen stad... C city Cafes city Cakewalk city J city Jabberwock city Jabot city Q city Qatar city Qua city Quack X city Xantippe stad Xanthine stad Caleidoscoop stad Camera city Jacquard city Jaculation city Jacu- city Quackery city Quad city X benen stad X-es city Xenoglossia Campaign city Champagne city liferous city Jade city Jalous city Quadrangle city Quadrangular city Xenoith city Xenomancy city Candle city Canyon city Car city Jam-packed city Japanophilia city city Quadrate city Quadratic city Xenogamic Xenomanic city Xeno- Circus city Casual city... Jargon city Jarred city... Quadrature city... phobic city... D city Dada city Dagboek stad K city Kaarsen stad Kaart stad R city Raam stad Raccoon city Y city Yabber city Yack city Dagdromen stad Dagelijkse stad Kade stad Kaiserin stadt Kaino- Radicale stad Radio city Radiof- Yachtsman city Yaffingale city Daglicht stad Dam stadDown- tophobia city kak stad Kakidrosis ragmenten stad Radiostation city Yajna city Yakhdan city Yakow city wardness city Dandyish city city Kaleidoscope city Kalon city Rangeerterreinen stad Raster city Yale city Yammerhead city Yank Dansende stad Dappermarkt... Kalpis city Kame city... Rationalism city Rave city... city Yankee city Yapok city... E city Earth city Earthquake L city Lab city Label city Labor S city Sacrale stad Safe city Z city Z achtgroene stad Z aden city East city Echte stad eclec- city Labyrinth city Laid-back city Saint city Samenlevings stad city Z ak stad Z akelijke stad Z ak- tic city Eco city Eco-media city Landmark city Language city Sandy city Saletjonkers stad Satan lampen stad Z ambia city Z any Economische stad Edge City Large-scale city Last city Land city Sauntered city Schizphrenic city Z ap city Z eal city Z ealotry Edible city Edo city... city Landschappen stad... city Schwartz stad... city Z ealous city Z ebra crossing... F city Fabricated city Fabulous M city Magazine city Magic T city Tactic city Tafel stad Takeshi city Facades city Factory city city Mathematical city Matry- city tale city tap city Target city Fair city Fake city Fall city Fame oshka city Maybe city Mayor Tassen stad Tastbare stad Taste city Familiar city Familiebanden city Maximum city Mean city city Taxis city Techniek stad Tech- stad Fancy city Fantasy city... Mecano city Mechanical city... nologie stad Tegelaar stad... G city Game city Gang city N city Nacht stad Nachtmer- U city u boot stad Ubiquitous city Garden city Garnalen stad Gas rie stad Naked city Named Ubiquity city Udder city ufo stad city Gasket city Gasconader Namaak stad Nano city National Uglification city Ugly city uilen stad city Gastvrijheid stad Gated city city Naval city Natuurlijke stad uitbreidende stad Uiterlijke stad Gaten stad Gebeurtenis stad... Narrow city National city... Uitgangspunten stad... see text, p.60 28 Black Grace simanu 29 Shabnam Shiwan, 2006 kiona

32pt 56pt Simanu a b c d e f g h i j k Kiona l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ! $ & ' ( ) * + , - . / : ; < = > ? @ \ _ ~ ¡ ¿ – — ‘ ’ “ ”

32pt Kiona a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ! $ & ' ( ) * + , - . / : ; < = > ? @ \ _ ~ ¡ ¿ – — ‘ ’ “ ”

see text, p.61 30 Befriend Regular 31 Warren Olds, 2003 / 2009 42pt a b c d e f typefaces 30pt consist of a g Hijkl relatively defined set mnopqr of forms that can be stuvwx multiplied into a seemingly yz0 1 23 endless 456789 combination of ideas and !$( )+ , language, both coherent and - . : ; = ? incoherent.

see text, p.61 32 Artemis Medium 33 Mark Geard, 2005 Italic Bold

18pt 44pt Bold abcde fgh i j k lmn It is what takes Mediun opqr s t uvwxyzAB CDE FGH I J KLMNOP place between QRS TUVWXYZ0 1 23 456789! "#$%&'( a work and the )*+,-. / : ; <=>?@ [\]^_`{|}~¡¢£¤ viewing individual, ¥¦§¨©ª«¬®¯°±²³ their bodily and ´ μ ¶ · ¸ ¹ º » ¼½¾ÀÁ ÃÄÅÆÇÈÉÊËÌ Í Î ÏÐ psychological ÑÒÓÔÕÖ×ØÙÚÛÜÝÞ ßàáâãäåæçèéêëì experience, that í î ï ðñòóôõö÷øùú ûüýþÿĆćČčđĞğ İı makes a work ŁłŒœŞşŠšŸŽžƒˆˇ ‘living’ or organic. ˙˚˛˜˝–—‘’‚“”„† ‡•…‰‹ ›⁄₣€™−fifl see text, p.62 34 Air New Zealand Below types digitised by Jonty Valentine, extrapolated from logotype 35 Tom Elliott, c.1968 66pt ABC D E AIR NEW FGHIJ ZEALAND KLMN O PQRS T U V WX YZ

see text, p.64 36 NNOTESOTES OONN THE TYPETYPESS TThehe Book BorderBorderss 3377 RRobertobert Coupland Harding, 18918911

From Banner to BookBook ComCombinationsbinations mamayy seem to ppairair of lowerlower corners, intendedintended to varvaryy tthehe ddesignesign be a strange transition; but as a matter of fact, it aalthogether,lthogether, and to produce with the three regularegularr was the next stage, and a natural one, in the process ccornersorners the effect of a pile of sheets or cards on a ooff evoevolution.lution. TThehe RiRibbonbbon suggestesuggestedd thethe Scroll,Scroll, andand bboardoard … TThehe two bbook-markerook-marker ccharactersharacters were ththee ScrollScroll thethe Banner, andand withoutwithout tthesehese probablyprobably ooff ccourseourse introducedintroduced ttoo bbreakreak tthehe stiffness ooff tthehe ththee BooBookk ddesignesign wouldwould never havehave beenbeen devised.devised. As hhorizontalorizontal llines.ines. OnlyOnly one caution is necessarnecessaryy tthehe original designer of the latter, in the year 1877, iinn arranging the pieces. A careless compositor tthehe writer can speak with certainty as to its having sometimes transposes the right and left lowelowerr bbeeneen in a greatgreat measure derivedderived from thethe threethree ccorners,orners, reversinreversingg tthehe curves at tthehe anangles,gles, whichwhich ppreceedingreceeding designs.designs. TheThe simplicitysimplicity andand effectiveness hhasas an exceedinglyexceedingly badbad effect. WithinWithin reasonablereasonable ooff the Scroll and Banner patterns—atpatterns—at that time llimits,imits, ververyy considerable variation maymay be made in ppossessingossessing the important additional attraction ofof shape and size; but it is quite possible to overdo it novenovelty—ledlty—led hhimim to experiment witwithh tthehe ddesignesign iinn tthishis respect. We hhaveave seen it set so extravagantlyextravagantly ooff an oopenpen volumevolume in pperspective—threeerspective—three sisidesdes llargearge as quite to ddestroyestroy thethe effect. WWhenhen tthehe pages tytype,pe, anandd thethe upper edgeedge bbrass-rule.rass-rule. AllAll attempts at aarere enenlargedlarged to smasmallll quarto, for exampexample,le, tthehe iideadea realistic representationrepresentation were unsuccessful, and the ooff a book is lost, and the effect of the centre-centre-piece,piece, idea was foe a time abondoned. Then occurred the rrepresentingepresenting the back of the volume, is ridiculous … ththoughtought tthathat tthehe mistakemistake laylay in attempting a type- From thethe open to tthehe cclosedlosed bbookook was a naturanaturall ddesignesign in perspective—it must bbee on tthehe principprinciplele of ttransition;ransition; bbutut tthehe bborderorder is entireentirelyly ddifferent.ifferent. Not a font elevation, and rectangular. The arrangement oonene piece can be made to interchange. Here again it ooff the characters was then a simple detail: there was necessary to adopt a strictly rectangular form; must bebe four corners, aallll ddifferent,ifferent, two centre- aandnd tthehe same numnumberber of ccharacters—fourteen—haracters—fourteen— ppieces,ieces, andand extension ccharacters;haracters; andand a scschemeheme were requirerequiredd to compcompletelete tthehe ddesignesign … alalmostmost iidenticaldentical witwithh tthehe ssynopsisynopsis at tthehe headhead of T Thehe ddrawingsrawings were sent to thethe JJohnsonohnson tthehe next column was the result. In the border,border, as Foundry, Philadelphia; and they appeared in due ooriginallyriginally designed, the two justifying-pieces —————— ttime,ime, coming out in 1879 as one series of 28 aandnd —–——–——— were absent, the idea being to supply chcharacters.aracters. WithWith thethe exception of thethe cchangeshanges ththeireir plplaceace withwith brass-rule.brass-rule. TheThe lowerlower corners were we hhaveave noted,noted, tthehe orioriginalginal ddesignesign was followed,followed, nonott L--shaped,shaped, but ssquare,quare, the same size as the upperupper eevenven (approximatel(approximately)y) to the scale. We had drawn ccorners,orners, and the white-line pattern on the edge ofof iitt to 3-line nonpareil, and suggested that the ththee bbookook was aabsent.bsent. TThishis was introintroducedduced bbyy tthehe nnonpareilonpareil standardstandard wouwouldld bebe preferablepreferable to any ooff founfounder,der, andand improves thethe effect, butbut it prevents thethe ththee continentalcontinental standards—thenstandards—then in almostalmost uniuniversalversal bborderorder from justifjustifying,ying, as in thethe originaloriginal scscheme,heme, uusese for bborders.orders. TThishis susuggestionggestion was not aadopted;dopted; ttoo a nonpareil em. The border being double, the but, strangely enough, this was the last combination ooriginalriginal unit was a pica in width and a nonpareil eeverver cut to the emerald body by Mackellar. All his in ddepth—asepth—as cast, tthehe unit in wiwidthdth is tthreehree ems succeesucceedingding bordersborders havehave beenbeen mademade to a pica- ((Didot),Didot), or more tthanhan hhalf-an-inch,alf-an-inch, whichwhich is often nnonpareilonpareil stanstandard.dard. inconvenient in adapting it to a card of a given Few borders are better known—the «Book» size. The original synopsis included 14 characters; ccombinationombination being in nearly every jobbing-o|ce. bbutut two of tthesehese were never engraved.engraved. TheyThey were a TThehe originaoriginall founfoundersders patentedpatented tthehe ddesignesign in 38 Marianna, Hey! Together 3399 David Bennewith

the United States; Figgins secured the rights forfor On the 9th of January 2008 the tag list on www.MyFonts.com the United Kingdom; Woellmer for the German empire;empire; andand MayeurMayeur for France. Wide-spreadWide-spread andand for the typeface Churchward Marianna read: 3d, blimpp, wellwell kknownnown as it is, its ppracticalractical uses are after allall bulbous, cool, decorative, funnyy, headline, heavyy, informal, veryvery limited. It is in favour wth printers as being newzealand, obese, outline, partypy, posterp r, retro, round, adapted peculiarly to their own business, but is not 1, Fig. 1 foundfound very serviceable for outside work. Unless sansseriff, shadow, signagegg, spunkypy[suggest]. A few weeks greatgreat care is exerciseexercisedd in spacing,spacing, thethe junctions are later, around the 14th of February, a new word had been added lliableiable to aappear;ppear; anandd its wiwidede unit of justification is Fig. 2 somewhatsomewhat against it. In abandoning the suggested to the list: biographicalgp . How did this word come to appear brass-rule and casting separate characters, the there? What could its relation be to a typeface? foundersfounders mademade a smallsmall butbut ddecidedecided improvement on thethe orioriginalginal ddesign.esign. Unlike its ppredecessors,redecessors, the Book combination [. . .] has never been imitated or varied. It is in but one sizesize and style, and all existing fonts are from the originaloriginal enengravings.gravings. In thethe lineline of developmentdevelopment it at ppresentresent closescloses a series, no furtherfurther evolutionevolution of thethe type-and-rule idea having appeared during the last twelve yearsyears.. TheThe principleprinciple it illustratesillustrates is an important one—designsone—designs for tthehe insertion of ttypeype sshouldhould alwaysalways be rectangular and not rhomboidal, as theythey Fig.Fig. 1 must be when drawn in perspective. Such designs look very well until the lines are inserted, when tthehe hhorizontalsorizontals anandd pperpendicularserpendiculars of thethe lettersletters immeimmediatelydiately ddestroyestroy allall illusionillusion of perspective. ¿¿DoDo designers and comps ever think of the incongruity of representing lines of type at the angleangle of 90° printedprinted on a cardcard in perspective, lylyinging at an anganglele of 35° or 40°? Yet notnothinghing is more common. Mortised designs for ttypeype are almost without exception open to this objection. TheThe defetct can readilly be avoided. Nothing wouldwould bebe easier thanthan to mamakeke tthehe opening for ttypeype Fig.Fig. 2 rectanrectangular,gular, andand arrangearrange tthehe ototherher llinesines of tthehe drawingdrawing accordingly.

ThisThis text was first ppublishedublished in Typo, 27 June, issue 54, Vol.Vol. 5, 1891, p.85, editededited bbyy RoRobertbert CouplandCoupland Harding.Harding. 4040 Marianna, 41

Your Dad was working all the time; like you said (drawing out I remember, quitequite vividly,vividly, readingreading thisthis quote for the fi rst ttime.ime. tthehe ‘loved’) “He LOOOOVED it!it!”. He desdesignedigned tthishis ttypefaceypeface iinn It made me laughlaugh out loud. But mmyy laulaughgh was coupled with that 1969, when you were six, and he named it ‘Marianna’. warm, prprickly-scalpickly-scalp sensationsensation you feel when embarrassed. BeBeinging fresh to hhisis work at the ttimeime – and iitt bebeinging the closest I It was throughthrough youyou that I managedmanaged to getget inin contact withwith Joseph had yet come to his speaking voice, well, it just seemed too . . . in the fi rst place, so fi nally meeting you in Dublin last unequivocal. Even though it touched whole-heartedly on one December felt llikeike ququiteite a ssignifiignifi cant momentmoment..2 I was set to ooff the well-establwell-establishedished methods of fi ndingnding a name for a iinterviewnterview yyouou on a specspecifiifi c perspectperspectiveive of hhisis practpracticeice – ttypeface,ypeface,5 I didn’t reallyreally know that more could be made of it. connected to how we pperceiveerceive and understand our pparentsarents’ The ‘Marianna Quote’, along with some other potentially JOBS as children.children. But ththisis was ququicklyickly replaced by a lengthy ccrypticryptic answers to mmyy iinitialnitial questquestions,ions, was stored awaawayy iinn a exchanexchange:ge: storstoriesies about yyouou ggrowingrowing up, around and eventualleventuallyy ffolderolder on mmyy computer’s hard drive. wworkingorking at Churchward International Typefaces Limited, were interrupted by the things I had discovered and made about AAboutbout a month after ththisis iinterviewnterview I was gigivenven an assassignmentignment to yyourour Dad’s bodbodyy of work over the past two yyears.ears. IncIncidentally,identally, ddesignesign a poster for our end-of-year exhibition.6 SpurreSpurredd on byby tthehe interview turned into a conversation. It was qquiteuite soon a frfriend,iend, iitt seemed llikeike a good opportunopportunityity to fi sh out JosephJoseph’s after, maybe even on the ride back to my accommodation quote.quote. The ideaidea was similarlysimilarly unequivocal:unequivocal: to trytry and keep the iinn town, that I bebegangan to reconsreconsiderider a questionquestion that had been spirit of my initial interpretation while setting the quote about introduced to me in the preceding months by a fellow designerdesigner..3 MariannaMarianna inin the eponymous font. At the ttimeime a ddigitisedigitised versversionion It was a question that had simultaneously annoyed and ofof the typefacetypeface ddidnidn’t exist.exist.7 I bebegangan the actactivityivity of cuttingcutting and intriguedintrigued me: ‘Can a ttypefaceypeface be bbiographical?iographical?’ I started to pastingpasting the quote together, using a scan from an old tthinkhink about it in relation to the typeface your Dad designed for Churchward’s type catalogue. It felt llikeike the closest (digital)digital) you. Driving through a rainy, dark Dublin night it suddenly equivalentequivalent I mightmight ggetet that would hark back to the ggood-old-ood-old- occurred to me that the fi rst timetime we maymay have actuallactuallyy ‘met’ daysdays of composing headline lettering by hand, just like your wwasas by virtue of your typeface in 20052005.. DadDad diddid (and you, too, some ttimeime after).

LookLookinging back to 2005, iinn mmyy ververyy fi rst interviewinterview withwith JoseJosephph The process of constructing the quote – spacing and composing tthathat you conducted and transcribed for me, he touched briefl y the letters to make the designdesign – unveiledunveiled a discoverydiscovery that, iinn on what infl uenced the typeface Marianna. hindsight,hindsight, could be best descrdescribedibed as serendserendipitous.ipitous. AsideAside I ccalledalled it Marianna becausebecause Marianna wwasas fat in ththoseose fromfrom the result being a bit humorous to read and look at, the days and it was a fat design… You were plumpy… formform and content were now mingling with one another. That’s whwhyy I called it Marianna, because it was plumpy.plumpy. 4 MariannaMarianna (the type) not only became more ananimatedimated all of a 4242 43

sudden, but hinted at somethinsomethingg that went bebeyondyond the corporeality of the quote. It had acquired an independent, yet œ æ fi fl discretediscrete personalpersonalityity that seemed to populate the letterforms. Fig.Fig. 3 An oral, descriptivedescriptive and formal confl ation of Marianna had resulted in a tangible response to my initial disenchantment. I Of course – as iiss ggenerallyenerally the case wwithith ttypefacesypefaces – ththisis ttypeype was surprisedsurprised to noticenotice that iitt was the work that was speakspeaking.ing. ooff information is often divorced from its exexpectedpected function. BButut it could be aarguedrgued that infl uences live in a kind of palpable TThishis idea was made more apparent when, in a telephone ccreationreation ssystemystem that exexistsists iinn the ccircumstancesircumstances of itsits genus.genus. conversatconversationion wwithith Joseph, the subsubjectject of Robert LouLouisis This is a pplacelace where Roland Barthes’ ‘natural state of the Stevenson came up. Joseph said somethinsomethingg that reallyreally struck letter’ 10 might be compared with the natural innocenceinnocence of the me: “Perhaps designing a typeface is like writing a book.” 8 cchild.hild. ThisThis ideaidea isis perpetuated inin the essayessay ‘The StorytellerStoryteller’ bbyy IItt became clear that byby ususinging the common defi nnitionition of the philosopher, Walter BenBenjamin,jamin, where an equal relationship ‘biobiographygraphy’ as a catalcatalyst,yst, while also consideringconsidering this particular between the storyteller and the craftsman is elucidated.11 insight into your Dad’s designing process, I could make a connectconnectionion to yyourour ttypeface.ypeface. What I mean, iiss that throuthroughgh FForor youryour Dad, a typefacetypeface is complete when the balance of the Joseph’s process of desidesigning,gning, a narrative was occurrinoccurringg that llettersetters are found, then – without much pause for refl ection – would result in a biographical disposition being instilled in the next one iiss ddiligentlyiligently bebegun.gun.1212 Even thouthoughgh iitt iiss yyourour Dad’s tthehe MarMariannaianna alalphabet.phabet. wish that the alphabets are used, this is not the primarprimaryy reason he obsessively designs them. Instead, he describes it as an Something else as well. During our conversation in December ‘iinquisitivenquisitive ururgege’ 1313 or (more telltellingly)ingly) as ‘ChChineseinese ghosts’ yyouou remreminiscedinisced about the occasionsoccasions when youyou would sitsit iinn yyourour “[Which push him to] do the bloodybloody work!” 1414 PerhapsPerhaps it is in Dad’s studio, swinswingingging yyourour lelegsgs on the offi ce chair. Not reallreallyy this hypothetical space that the alphabet could also develop ttalkingalking much and trying to be on your best behaviour because a hhiddenidden personality.personality. A latent spspiritirit that was planted iinn the yyourour Dad was concentratconcentratinging on hhisis desdesigns.igns. I llikeike to iimaginemagine craftingcrafting ggrowsrows and remains embedded as a cipher or code. tthathat Joseph was desidesigninggning Marianna durinduringg these moments, MaybeMaybe these are things conveyed in transmission. ‘Invisible’ writing as he was designing. This time he happened to be busy traces to whichwhich a vvieweriewer mmightight be senssensitive;itive; traces that are wrwritingiting about yyou.ou. Each character – glyph,glyph, letter, digit,digit, mark – appapprehendedrehended for later reference. More often than not, this is hhasas somethinsomethingg about yyouou programmedprogrammed into it. Like the time yyouou how we come to understand, or react to, a style. We receive a bbrokeroke your lleg.eg. For thethe fi rst ffewew ddaysays you neeneededded hhelpelp ffromrom ssignalignal before we start reading.reading.1515 On the other hand – as yyourour yyourour famfamilyily to stand up and ggetet around and yyourour Dad saw the DadDad quite clearlclearlyy refl ects – ‘It’s there, yyouou jjustust have to fi nd it’. 16 opportunitopportunityy to desidesigngn the liligatures.gatures.9, Fig.Fig. 3 44 Hey!ey! 45

LookLookinging further, I ddiscoverediscovered that these kkindsinds of transmtransmissionsissions LettreLettre’, Barthes suggestssuggests a relationshiprelationship between the human and are not uncommon in various historical manifestations of thethe letter via the motif of silhouette: ccommunicativeommunicative writing. For example, in Oriental calligraphy, oorr iideographicdeographic wrwritingiting cultures iinn ggeneral,eneral, the practpractitioneritioner’s The ssilhouette,ilhouette, iiff onlonlyy bbyy iitsts etetymology,ymology, iiss a stranstrangege hand infers an important layer of meaning and narrative. In object,object, at once anatomic and semantic: it is the bodbodyy which the early Irish written tradition from the time of the Book of hashas explicitly become a drawing. Kells, complexcomplex scriptedscripted letterforms were ‘inhabitedinhabited’ withwith sstories,tories, symbols and fi gures. These fi gures were apprehended He concludes,concludes, bbyy the speaker and the receiver, the literate and illiterate, as mmuchuch byby the eeyeye as bbyy the ear.1717 More recently,recently, these visualvisual The ssilhouetteilhouette iiss an essentessentialial ggraphicraphic product: iitt makes transmissions seem to prevail in the coded backgrounds of the human bodybody into a potential letter, it asks to be read. 19 uncontained letters that are found in multitudes of graffi ti pieces.pieces. SSimilarly,imilarly, a more specifispecifi c example isis seen inin 12-year-12-year- WhenWhen consideringconsidering MarMariannaianna’s optopticalical provocatprovocations,ions, and old Kate McCann’s entry fforor tthehe 2008 ‘DooDoodledle fforor Googleoogle’ becausebecause it is evident that typefacestypefaces and humans share some ccompetition.ompetition. MMississ McCann’s work iiss ententitleditled ‘Up My Street’. common physical characteristics, I wondered if (in person)person) you The small ‘g’ of Gooooglegle isis a school; the ‘e’ iiss a fullfullyy fl ededgedged tratrainin mightmight share ‘common terms’ withwith a wrwrittenitten descrdescriptioniption of the sstation.tation. It seems the activity of inhabiting letters with ulterior typefacetypeface Marianna. Also, I was curious about how this mmeaningseanings iiss ststillill prevalent. description might refl ect back on you? To test this out in a kind of controlled situationsituation I consulted a curcuriousious feature of the In the more black and white world of typefaces you might have MyFontsMyFonts website. It is possible to search for a particular ststyleyle to look a bit further to read these transmissions. There are of typeface by adjectives or keywords. A compila-tion of these ootherther ‘daudaughterghter’ ttypefacesypefaces around, such as ErEricic Giillll’s ‘Joanna’. relatedrelated words (tags) iiss llistedisted for every font iinn the MyFonts Gill’s emphatic insistence that letters were ‘things, not pictures system.system. By revisiting this list (see the beginning of this ooff ththingsings’ 18 already presupposes an inextricableinextricable linklink between essay) Fig. 1 – and since meeting you – I could quite easily relate bbothoth Joanna’s letter and her anatomanatomicalical renderrenderings.ings. RecentlRecently,y, tthesehese words to youryour character: 3d,3d, cool,cool, decorative,decorative, funny,funnyy, oonn receipt of the type specimen for Typotheque’s latest iinformal,nformal, nnewzealand,ewzealand, partypy and spunkyspunky.py. Used in this waway,y, typeface, I encountered the eponymous Greta, adadjacentjacent to her tthehe adjectives create a set of idioms that relate to both the aalphabet,lphabet, starstaringing out at me from the cover. AAgain,gain, Barthes iiss a tytypefacepeface and the subsubject.ject. ConsequentlyConsequently thetheyy touch on some ggoodood reference point about how, when regarding reading and kkindind of lanlanguageguage that desidesignersgners ggenerallyenerally use to describe form, these manifestations of transmission work. For example, events or choices in their work – however much they’re wwhenhen describindescribingg Erté’s illustrated alphabet in ‘Erté or À la iintendedntended or innocuous.innocuous. 4646 TogetTogetherher 47

Inevitably, this led towards a curiosity about how these ideas When taktakinging these ddifferentifferent prospects intointo consideration,consideration, mightmight be transmtransmitteditted iinn more tantangiblegible waways:ys: throuthroughgh two posspossibleible readreadingsings of MariannaMarianna inin relationrelation to the term reproduction. (Designers, in general, are quite pre-occupied ‘biographical’ seem to eventuate. First, there is the optical by reproduction.) When considering the many ways and means rrecognitionecognition of the alphabet – the messages sent vviaia iitsts bbyy whwhichich MariannaMarianna has been applapplied,ied, printedprinted and ddisseminatedisseminated morpholomorphology.gy. Second, iiss a more latent messagemessage that existsexists inin over the yyears,ears, I wondered if this matter mimightght contribute to a iitsts crafting, or creation. Both readings seem capable enough burgeoning biographical myth? During the course of its ooff holding an account of both person and personality – and 339-year-long9-year-long exexistence,istence, MarMariannaianna has been rendered for use there existsexists the possibilitypossibility that these accounts oscillateoscillate inin bbyy the various available technolotechnologiesgies of the daday.y. this ‘inhabited alphabetalphabet’.

From itsits more humble beginningbeginning as hand lettered forms, to SSinceince iitsts creatcreation,ion, MarMariannaianna has been ppublishedublished a few ttimesimes mmechanicalechanical production as photo-lettering,photo-lettering, Dia-tDia-type,ype, Computa- ooverver by a handful of different publishers. ‘She’ has been ttypeype and Letraset, Marianna has recently been ‘born again’ as ppurchased,urchased, swapped and used by many people in different a fullfully-fly-fl edgededged OpentOpentypeype versversion.ion. It isis withinwithin these systemssystems of pplaces.laces.20 Now that iitt iiss fullfullyy ddigitisedigitised iitt takes up jjustust 120kb production and reproduction that a biographicalbiographical messagemessage ooff hard disk space on a computer, so – if yyouou have it – Marianna mmightight be conveyed. If Marianna has been designed as writing, iiss always attendant. Whenever I make use of Marianna I am wwhichhich iiss ververyy much about yyou,ou, each renderingrendering also conceivablyconceivably cconsciousonscious of also sendingsending somethingsomething about yyouou out iintonto the carries an adumbrated – albeit arrangeablearrangeable – account of yyourour world. SomethingSomething akin to digitaldigital pollen, transmitted bbyy wires, sstory.tory. Maybe this begins to up-size the original question from ddisks,isks, signals, fi lm, ink and paper that takes hold over screens, ‘Can a ttypefaceypeface be bbiographical?iographical?’ to ‘Can a ttypefaceypeface be a oobjectsbjects and prprintedinted matter.matter. biobiography?graphy?’ That is, where the ttypefaceypeface is a kind of ggestaltestalt ththatat captures tthehe ccharacterharacter ooff a personperson.. [. . .] 4848 49

ENDNOTESENDNOTES letter.letter. For the letterletter,, iiff iitt iiss alonealone,, iiss Imagininggg Language,gg, An Anthology.Anthologygy. Roland Barthes.Barthes. The Responsibilitypy of innocence:innocence: the Fall begbeginsins when we alalignign MITMIT Press. p. 380380.. Forms.Forms. Translated by Richard Howard, 11.. MyFonts.com, http://www.myfonts.http://www.myfonts. llettersetters to make words’ in Roland Barthes. 18. Eric Gill, ‘AutobiographyAutobiography’ in Fiona TheThe UniversitUniversityy of California Press. com/fonts/blhd/churchward-marianna/. 11991.991. ‘Erté, or Á la lettre’, ‘M’, TheThe MacCarthy,MacCarthy, 1989. EEricric Gill.ill. A Lovers QQuestuest ISBNISBN 978978-0-520-07238-1.-0-520-07238-1. 22.. 1.11.12.2007.2.2007. Responsibilitypy of FormsForms.. Translated bbyy for Art and God.od. E.P. Dutton,Dutton, New York.ork. 3. IntervInterviewiew wwithith WWillill Holderolder,, MaastrMaastricht,icht, RichardRichard Howard, The UniversityUniversity of p.p. 144.144. RobinRobin Kinross. FFellowellow RReaders.eaders. nnotesotes 55.2007..2007. CaliforniaCalifornia Press. p. 127. 19. ‘Erté, or Á la lettre’, on multipliedp languagegg Hyphen Press, 4. JosephJoseph Churchward, unpublishedunpublished 11.11. ‘An orientation towards ppracticalractical The Responsibilitypy of FormForms.s. OOpp ccit.it. London,London, 1994. ISBN 0-907259-07-3. iinterviewnterview wwithith DavDavidid BennewBennewith,ith, interestsinterests iiss charactercharacteristicistic of manmanyy born p.p. 107 [‘The SSilhouetteilhouette’]; p. 113 220.10.2005.0.10.2005. Conducted and transcribed storytellersstorytellers . . . It contacontains,ins, openlopenly,y, or [‘The Letter’] (Author’s emphasis).emphasis). bbyy Marianna ChurchwardChurchward.. covertly, something useful’. See Walter 220.0. You proudly told me that Marianna is 55.. Emily King. ‘TThirty-sixhirty-six pointpoint Gorilla’, benjamin.benjamin. The Storyteller.y Refl ectionectionss on one of yyourour Dad’s best-sellinbest-sellingg ttypefaces.ypefaces. fi rst publishedpublished in EyeEye,y , No. 23, Winter thethe WWorksorks ooff Nikolai LLeskov.eskov. CConversationonversation wwithith MariannaMarianna Churchward,Churchward, 1996. Text can be sourced online from www.slought.org/fiwww.slought.org/fi les/downloads/les/downloads/ DDublin,ublin, 1.12.2007. TypotTypotheque.com,heque.com, events/SF_1331-Benjamin.pdf,1331-Benjamin.pdf, p. 2. www.typotheque.com/articles/ 12.12. David Bennewith, Joseph Churchward FFIIGURES thirty-six_point_gorilla. andand Warren OOlds.lds. 1.2007. ‘CChurchwardhurchward 66.. Year 7 students of the WerkWerkplaatsplaats VideoVideo Notes A-J’. The National Grid #3#3,, 1. MMyFontsyFonts descrdescriptioniption as at 9.1.2008. TTypografiypografi e Masters proprogramme,gramme, Arnhem, pp.. 554.4. 22.. New keyword ‘bbiographicaliographical’ added as NNetherlands,etherlands, 2006-7. 113.3. Joseph Churchward, unpublunpublishedished at 14.2.2008. 77.. Since 2007 a digitised version of iinterviewnterview with David Bennewith, 3. LigaturesLigatures of Churchward Marianna, MMariannaarianna has been available for 20.10.2005. Conducted and transcribed JJosephoseph Churchward, 1969. BluHead ppurchaseurchase from MMyFonts.com.yFonts.com. DDigitisationigitisation by MarMariannaianna ChurchwardChurchward.. studstudios,ios, 2007. bbyy BluHead StudiosStudios of Norwood, MA, USA. 114.4. ‘Churchward VideoVideo Notes A-J’. Op ccit.it. 8. Telephone conversation with Joseph pp.. 557.7. SSELECTEDELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY CChurchward.hurchward. David Bennewith. 115.5. Edward WriWright.ght. ‘Conversation, 221.11.2007.1.11.2007. Handwrandwritingiting and the Poster’. Edward JJeded Rasula and Steve McCafferMcCaffery.y. 2001. 9. Sebastian White. Instabilities in Wright.g readings,g, writingswritings.g . DepartmentDepartment Imagininggg LanguageLanguage,gg, An Anthology.Anthologygy. writingg and standingstanding,g, ‘Memory of Typography and Graphic MMITIT Press. ISBN 0-262-18186-0-262-18186-XX CCharacter,haracter, Resurrection Character’, CCommunication.ommunication. University of Reading, workshop, RoRoyalyal CollegeCollege of Art, UUnitednited Kingdom,Kingdom, p. 39.39. DDepartmentepartment of TTypographyypography and Graphraphicic 26.02.200826.02.2008,, DavDavidid BennewBennewith.ith. ‘In 116.6. ‘Churchward VideoVideo Notes A-J’. OOpp ccit.it. Communication. 22007.007. Edward Wright.g wrwritingiting and medmedicalical tools a lligatureigature pp.. 558.8. readings,g, writingswritings.g . University of occurs either when two or more 117.7. ‘To the early Irish, Latin was Reading, United Kingdom. ISBN lletterformsetterforms are jjoinedoined as a sinsinglegle gglyphlyph ‘primarilprimarilyy a written or ‘visible’ lanlanguageguage 00-7049-1322-4.-7049-1322-4. or a patpatientient’s legleg or lelegsgs are iinjurednjured and . . . [apprehended] as much (iiff not moremore)) are unable to support bodbodyy weweight.ight. by the eeye,ye, as bbyy the ear.’ [. . .] In the WWalteralter Benjamin. The Storyteller.y LLigaturesigatures usually replace consecutive Book of Kells (late eighth or early ninth Refl ectionectionss on tthehe WWorksorks ooff Nikolai ThisThis essaessayy was first pupublishedblished in tthehe bbookook Joseph Churchward,, edited by characters sharing common components, century) occurs the famous CHI-RO (folio LLeskov.eskov. www.slought.org/fiwww.slought.org/fi les/ DavidDavid Bennewith,Bennewith, withwith essaysessays by RebeccaRebecca Roke,Roke, DanielDaniel Van derder VeldenVelden or lelegs.gs.’ 2929),), an elaborate motif in which the letter downloadsdownloads/events//events/ andand PaulPaul Elliman.Elliman. PublishedPublished byby Clouds,Clouds, Jan van EyckEyck AcademieAcademie andand 110.0. ‘Such iiss the alalphabetphabet’s ppower:ower: to [a sort of ‘P’] encrencryptsypts a human form.’ SSFF_1331-Ben1331-Benjamin.pdfjamin.pdf Colophon,Colophon, 2009. ISBN 978-0-9582981-1-7978-0-9582981-1-7 rediscover a kind of natural state of the JJeded RasuRasulala anandd Steve McCaMcCaffery,ffery, 2001. 50 TrespassersTrespassers Will be Prosecuted:Prosecuted: 51 A B-Grade Horror in Four PartsParts LukeLuke WoodWood

“…and…and there was even talk of having Elvis’s corpse “There are those who want a text (an art, a painting) instead to consider that all design is really just, Of course a corpse can never be reanimated dug up and the stomach analysed for traces of drugdrugss without a shadow, without the ‘dominant ideology’; toto varying degrees, a process of re-design. And ‘‘whole’,whole’, or perfectly as-it-was. McCahon with his tthesehese two years on wwhichhich lleded me to fantasize: Can you bbutut tthishis is to want a text witwithouthout fecunfecundity,dity, witwithouthout nowherenowhere dodoeses tthishis seem cclearerlearer tthanhan in tthehe ppaintaint anandd bbrushes—coloursrushes—colours anandd eedgesdges blbleedingeeding imagine ananythingything more tthrillinghrilling tthanhan getting to sticstickk pproductivity,roductivity, a steristerilele text… TThehe text neeneedsds its sshadow:hadow: evolutionaryevolutionary hhistoryistory of ttypeype ddesign.esign.4 In sayingsaying iintonto one anotanother,her, tthehe texture of tthehe surfacesurface,, anandd yyourour hand and forearm through the hole in Elvis’s rotterottedd tthishis shadow is a bit of ideologideology,y, a bit of rerepresentation,presentation, tthishis though, I don’t mean to make the mistake ooff tthehe paint sitting there on that. Me with my vector guts slopping whatever’s left of ’em all over each other a bit of subject: ghosts, pockets, traces, necessary sounding like I want to legitimise this THING. That ooutlines,utlines, restricted like Victor Frankenstein, by getting tthehe intestinaintestinall tracts mixemixedd up witwithh tthehe stomacstomachh cclouds:louds: susubversionbversion must proproduceduce its own cchiaroscuro.hiaroscuro.” 2 is not my intention hhereere at aall—quitell—quite tthehe opposite ththee tectechnologyhnology avaiavailablelable to me. Ones or zeros, on lliningining mixemixedd uupp witwithh tthehe kkidneysidneys as yyouou forage fisfishinghing aactually.ctually. OObviouslybviously mmyy project ddoesoes not bbelongelong oorr off, blblackack or wwhite—youhite—you can’t hhaveave bbothoth at for incriminating ppillchips…illchips… as yyouou ppullull yyourour arm out ooff McCahon’sMcCahon’s interest in the everydayeveryday is well ttoo a civilisincivilisingg linealineagege of concern for the conditions tthehe same time. MMyy monster, like Victor’s, is an dead Elvis’s innards triumphantly clenching some crumbs documented, and while his ‘word paintings’ are ooff reading. Mine is a more marginal exercise— aapproximation.pproximation. I’ve had to add bits that weren’t off a few Percodans, Quaaludes, Desoxyns, etc. etc. etc. wwellell known for their use of lofty, poetic, and often a monstrosity—a ‘Display’ face. (Which makes ttherehere originally and leave out certain other bits that anandd tthenhen once ooffff camera now hhere’sere’s wwherehere tthehe reareall bbiblicaliblical texts, hhisis formaformall points of reference came pperfecterfect sense actuaactually,lly, tthehe term ‘monstrosit‘monstrosity’y’ comes were. I can’t reproreproduceduce tthehe infinite possipossibilitiesbilities of kkickick to enendd ’em aallll comes as yyouou ppopop tthosehose llittleittle bbitsits ooff ffromrom comic bbooks,ooks, aadvertising,dvertising, anandd sisignage.gnage. He from tthehe Latin ‘monstrate’ meaninmeaningg to ‘ex‘exhibit’hibit’ or nnature,ature, anandd I’ve hhadad to ‘step-in’, picpickingking tthehe bbestest crumbled ppillsills in yyourour own mouth and swallow ’em anandd claimed to be interested in the ‘look of words’,words’, not ‘‘toto show’. And within a practice dominated by an ‘‘a’a’ to go alongside the ‘b’ and so on, and so on. get high on drugs that not only has Elvis Presley himselhimselff only what they ‘meant’, and the story of how as uunsurpassednsurpassed concern for invisibility,5 any use of the aalsolso gotten hhighigh on tthehe exact same not bbrandrand bbutut tthehe a bboyoy hhee “fe“fellll in lloveove witwithh signwriting” wwhilehile ttermerm ‘‘display’display’ is more tthanhan llikelyikely cynicacynical.)l.) “…SoFA is currentcurrentlyly exexhibitinghibiting LuLukeke WooWood’sd’s typeface ppillsills tthemselveshemselves tthey’vehey’ve bbeeneen llayingaying uupp ttherehere insiinsidede hhimim wwatchingatching someone paint ‘HAIRDRESSER AND Typefaces,Typefaces, unlikeunlike hhandwriting,andwriting, can usuausuallylly MMcCahon,cCahon, wwhichhich attemattemptspts to rereproduceproduce some eelementslements of pperhapserhaps even aging like fine wine ppluslus of course thethey’rey’re TOBACCONIST’ on a shoshop-frontp-front window has been be described bby/asy/as shifts in ssystematicystematic relationships the scriscriptpt Big Mac used on his ppaintings.aintings. Homage, yyes,es, all slimy with little bits of the disintegrating insides ooff firmly embedded in the popular imagination of NZ aacrosscross the body of a grid. My work here pays onlonlyy bbutut one somewhat missing the point. McCahon’s painted Elvis’s pelvis—SO YOU’VE ACTUALLY GOTTEGOTTENN art history. very little attention to that tradition, and makes ssignsigns were great art because every letter expressed TO EAT THE KINKINGG OF ROCK ‘N’ ROLLROLL!—which!—which ababsolutelysolutely no cclaimlaim to its llineage.ineage. TThehe McCaMcCahonhon ssomethingomething of hhisis ppersonalersonal exexpression,pression, strainestrainedd out ooff wouwouldld bbee tthehe llivingiving enendd in terms of souvenirs, fetisfetishism,hism, “I cocollectedllected bbonesones ffromrom ccharnel-houses;harnel-houses; anandd ddisturbed,isturbed, tytypefacepeface is, insteainstead,d, a kkindind of iillegitimatellegitimate hybhybrid,rid, blblood,ood, bboneone anandd muscmuscle.le. TThis,his, on tthehe ototherher hhand,and, finfindingding ppsychofandom,sychofandom, the collector’s mentalitmentality,y, or even just hero with pprofanerofane fingers, the tremendous secrets of the made from stolen parts. The raw material for my iitsts aapotheosispotheosis as vinvinylyl stick-on transfer lettering, is merelmerelyy worship in generalgeneral..” 1 human frameframe..” 3 exerciseexercise coming entirely from books, McCahon’s sselfelf defeating and cheap—endlessly repeating in masmasss bbodyody of worworkk bbeingeing wewellll entomentombedbed in various pproductionroduction wwhathat was unique anandd inindividual…dividual…” 7 *** * * ppublications.ublications. AtAt odds with The Original, mmyy ungodlungodlyy ‘version’ is Part I: Grave-robbingg and Cannibalism * * * iinfinitelynfinitely reproducible, the same each time, doomed ttoo repeat itself over and over and over… Being thatthat mmyy career as a ddesigneresigner hhasas invoinvolvedlved Part II: Reanimatinggp The Corpse helpinghelping artists to mamakeke bbooksooks or posters etc., I’ve “I am sshockedhocked to see tthehe McCaMcCahonhon pprojectroject occuoccupiespies tthehe often been vaguely interested in art that referenced, “ItIt was on a drearydreary night of November that I beheld the mainmain gallergalleryy while McCahon originals are pplacedlaced aass aappropriated,ppropriated, or inhabited the conventions ooff PhotographPhotograph of a sign on a farm gate used in I Will Need Wordss by accomplishmentaccomplishment of my toils. With an anxiety that almostalmost ssecondaryecondary in the back gallery—Don’t see the purpospurposee ggraphicraphic ddesign—andesign—and vice versa. ExampExamplesles are WystanWystan Curnow to illustrate McCahon's vernacular reference.reference. amountedamounted to agony, I cocollectedllected tthehe instruments of llifeife ooff tthishis computer project, it seems to ‘c‘cheapen’heapen’ tthehe artist’artist’ss numerous, easieasilyly founfound,d, anandd particuparticularlylarly frequent aroundaround me, tthathat I migmightht infuse a ssparkpark of bbeingeing into wwork.ork. It mercmerchandiseshandises anandd triviatrivialiseslises tthehe worworkk ooff aacrosscross ggenerationsenerations of New Zealand art. FroFromm LikeLike McCahon, the ggraphicraphic desidesignersgners I ggrewrew up the lifeless thing that laylay at mmyy feet. It was alreadalreadyy one MMcCahon.cCahon.” 8 tthehe likes of Billy Apple to Daniel Malone—who, llikingiking never seemed particularly bothered bbyy inin the morning; the rain pattered dismally against the interestingly enough, cannibalised the older-butolder-but-- bborrowingorrowing or appropriating bits and pieces from panes,panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out, when, byby ActuallyActually at this point in time the typeface wasn’t stistill-very-alivell-very-alive AppApplele by wawayy of a name cchangehange ototherher peoppeople’sle’s worworkk to mamakeke sometsomethinghing ‘new’ of thethe glimmerglimmer of tthehe hhalfalf extinextinguishedguished llight,ight, I saw tthehe ddullull for sale.sale. I’I’dd never intenintendedded for it to bbee avaiavailablelable to a few yyearsears ago. AnAndd tthenhen of course ttherehere is ttheirheir own. As sucsuchh I’ve never reareallylly susubscribedbscribed yellowyellow eeyeye of tthehe creature oopen;pen; it bbreathedreathed hhard,ard, anandd a othersothers to use. But thethe monster, a trespasser by its Colin McCahon. WhoWho,, like ElvisElvis,, casts a sort of to ideologies that emphasize ‘innovation’ and convulsiveconvulsive motion agitatedagitated its limbs.” 6 very being, cannot be contained… posthumous shadow over everything. ‘originality’ as fundamental to design, and prefepreferr * * * 52 53

Part III: The Monster is Loose where did they get the typeface from? The weird Part IV: Full Circle ()(or The Monster Comes Home) vernacular of hand-painted signs often seen around feeling that someone had ripped me off… which roadsideroadside fruit stalls and orchards. The gist—the “I steppesteppedd fearfufearfullylly in: tthehe apartment was empty; anandd mmyy was stranger still,still, consiconsideringdering tthathat mmyy worworkk was a “ThThatat hhee sshouldhould lliveive to bbee an instrument ooff miscmischiefhief marketingmarketing angle—beingangle—being to ddoo witwithh ‘‘honesty’.honesty’. bbedroomedroom was aalsolso freefreedd from its hhideousideous gguest.uest. I coucouldld rip-offrip-off of sorts anyway.anyway. disturbsdisturbs meme……” 12 FunnilyFunnily enoughenough tthehe ttypefaceypeface on tthosehose llabelsabels is, hhardlyardly believe that so great a good fortune could havhavee I contacted the City Gallery and was told that ofof course, my McCahon. Unlike particular otherother bbefallenefallen me; but when I became assured that my enemenemyy SaatchiSaatchi & Saatchi in Wellington had done the work, ShortlyShortly after the incident with Saatchi & Saatchi, outingsoutings though, this one is quite legitimate, and hhadad inindeeddeed }}ed,ed, I cclappedlapped my hhandsands for joy, anandd ran andand that,that, interestinginterestinglyly enougenough,h, someone ttherehere aass a vain ggestureesture to recreclaimlaim tthehe tthing,hing, I ororganisedganised Charlie’sCharlie’s havehave paipaidd me for an ‘exc‘exclusivelusive llicenceicence foforr ddownown to CClerval.lerval.” 9 hadhad designeddesigned tthathat ttypeface.ypeface. I contactecontactedd SaatcSaatchihi & toto showshow it—to ddemonstrateemonstrate it—puit—publiclyblicly by wawayy ooff thethe beveragebeverage sector’. Apart from tthehe fact tthathat it was Saatchi,Saatchi, and theythey spent a couple of weeks trtryingying to exhibition.exhibition. A sort of ‘freak show’, if yyouou like. As is a friend who initiallinitiallyy approached me about this, I’d never thought very far ahead, and, in fact, the convinceconvince me that someone there had indeed done usuallyusually the case with displays of monstrosity there I was quietly very interested in it going aheadahead.. typefacetypeface sat unfinished for a good year or so until it, and that if I’d simply copied McCahon what was some hype around the event. I myself was not I was approacapproachedhed by Sam BroBrodie,die, wwhoho (un(underder tthehe mamadede me tthinkhink mmyy copcopyy wouwouldld necessarinecessarilyly bbee ananyy eentirelyntirely ddisappointedisappointed witwithh tthehe exexhibitionshibitions (t(therehere “TThehe compcompletionletion of my ddemoniacalemoniacal ddesignesign bbecameecame an aegisaegis of thethe DINZ DesiDesigngn AmAmbassadorbassador scscheme)heme) was ddifferentifferent to someone eelse’slse’s copcopy.y. WWhenhen I finafinallylly were two in tthehe enend),d), bbutut ttheyhey certaincertainlyly ddidn’tidn’t feefeell insatiableinsatiable ppassion.assion. AnAndd now it is enended;ded; ttherehere is mmyy puttingputting together some sort of CD-based collection oofferedffered to send them my original drawings for the how I imagined they would. lastlast victim!victim!” 14 ooff ‘New Zealand design’. I didn’t know what to tthinghing along with a letter from a lawyer they finallfinallyy eexpect,xpect, bbutut it seemeseemedd llikeike a ggood-enoughood-enough motivation ggaveave up anandd witwithh minimaminimall fuss a smasmallll amount of ColinColin McCaMcCahon’shon’s interest in tthehe vvernacularernacular art ttoo finisfinishh tthehe tthinghing off. AnAndd tthathat was its first outinouting,g, monemoneyy was sent mmyy waway.y. ooff sisign-writinggn-writing came up often in hhisis llettersetters anandd in public, sort of. MostlMostlyy the CDs were distributed It was a hollow victoryvictory though, and I still felt conversations. I’d been vaguelvaguelyy aware of thisthis—— ooverseas,verseas, and apart from the odd comment from some unease. That my creation had escaped, not tthehe ‘Hairdresser and Tobacconist’ story for friends who’d seen it I didn’t hear anything more. eveneven really ‘finished’ properly, and was now out in example—but in reading the books that I was UUntil…ntil… ththee worworldld (via a sslip-uplip-up witwithh tthathat CD), was vaguevaguelyly scanninscanningg hhisis lletterformsetterforms from I was surprisesurprisedd at hhorrifying.orrifying. OtOtherher peoppeoplele using tthehe tthinghing was a hhowow frequentfrequentlyly hhee wouwouldld comment on it. One “… I pperceivederceived in the gloom a figure which stole from ppossibilityossibility I hadn’t planned for, or consideredconsidered.. iinstancenstance in particular was sparked in my memory bbehindehind a clump of trees near me; I stood fixed, gazing McCahon:McCahon: A TypefaceTypeface by LukeLuke WoodWood exhibitionexhibition at tthehe HockenHocken Library,Library, by the initial approach from the juice companycompany…… iintently:ntently: I coucouldld not bbee mistamistaken.ken. A }}ashash of llightningightning “I consideredconsidered tthehe bbeingeing wwhomhom I hhadad cast among manmankind,kind, DDunedin,unedin, 20032003.. illilluminateduminated tthehe oobject,bject, anandd ddiscoverediscovered its sshapehape plplainlyainly aandnd enendoweddowed witwithh tthehe wiwillll anandd ppowerower to effect ppurposesurposes “You’ve aallll seen tthosehose numnumberber ppaintingsaintings witwithouthout rearealisinglising to me; its gigantic stature, and the deformitdeformityy of ititss of horror, such as the deed which he had now done…” 1111 AtAt the time I had naivelynaively enjoenjoyedyed the idea of having it.it. For exampleexample fruit stalls with white lettering. The besbestt aaspect,spect, more hideous than belongs to humanity, instantly takentaken the thing from the gallery, redistributed the inin New Zealand are on the Bombay Hills.” 15 iinformednformed me that it was the wretch, the filthy demon, Over the next few years the thing kept appearing qualityquality and spirit of the original, and then fed it to wwhomhom I hhadad ggiveniven llife.ife.” 10 in thethe stranstrangestgest pplaces—inlaces—in tthehe papagesges of TThehe Listener, backback into tthathat ssystem.ystem. In rearealitylity tthishis was a faifailedled thethe titlestitles for a rearealitylity TV sshow,how, a llogotypeogotype foforr gesture.gesture. I am no artist, andand tthishis was not mmyy ddomain.omain. In late JJanuaryanuary 2003 a friend posted me a cutting Peta Mathais, an insurance company, a film ThisThis was not the outcome I was looking for, and the from a newspaper containing an advertisement for festival guide…guide… monster was not put to bed. ‘‘AA QQuestionuestion of FaitFaith’,h’, an exexhibitionhibition of McCaMcCahon’shon’s I’m not usuallyusually ververyy sentimentasentimental,l, bbutut I ddoo worworkk tthenhen on at tthehe CitCityy GaGalleryllery in WeWellington.llington. sometimes feelfeel qquiteuite bbadad aaboutbout aallll tthis.his. BaBadd for “ComeCome on, mymy enemenemy;y; we hhaveave yyetet to wrestwrestlele for our llives;ives; TThehe text in the ad, as had been sussuspected,pected, was Colin I mean. Sometimes it is a bit like I’ve dugdug him butbut manymany hard and miserable hours must yyouou endurenduree set entirely in the McCahon typeface I had made. upup and set him to work, zombie-like—the shell ofof untiluntil that period shall arrive.arrive.” 1313 I remember it feeling quite strange. Slightly his former self. But then there’s something I quite horrifyinghorrifying actuaactually.lly. FirstFirstlyly it just seemeseemedd so blblatantlyatantly likelike aaboutbout tthathat too. Let me see if I can exexplain…plain… AroundAround five yyearsears llater,ater, llastast yyearear in fact, a wewell-ll- inappropriate—to advertiseadvertise McCaMcCahon’shon’s worworkk usinusingg kknownnown purvepurveyoryor of fruit juices in New ZeaZealand,land, a font that quite obviously mimicked it. But then * * * Charlie’s, re-branded and repackaged it’s products. alsoalso there was the question who did this? And TheThe new bottle labels being based loosely on the Charlie's 'Honest Juice,Juice, Orange', labels designed by The Wilderness, 2008.2008. 54 WedgeWedge 55 Adam SheffieldSheffield

TheThe signs hhe’se’s tatalkinglking aaboutbout are commoncommonlyly 1.1. Lester Bangs from ‘Notes for Review of Peter Guralnick’s Lost Highway, WedgeWedge was designeddesigned by AucklanderAucklander Bruce height,height, overall character, paper surface, printing processprocess blblackack bboardsoards witwithh wwhitehite hhand-paintedand-painted llettersetters 1980’ published in Lester Bangs,Bangs, Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dungg, Rotherham. The study forfor WedgeWedge beganbegan in (and(and the list has been ever ggrowing).rowing). The desidesigngn task thithiss aandnd numbers on them. The exact same signs that edited by Greil Marcus. Serpent’s Tail, London, 1996. 1947, and the finalfinal ffontont as it is ppresentedresented in this set in motion was to try to understand and order thesethese 2.2. Roland Barthes, The Pleasure of the Textt, 1973. This quote used by eexhibitionxhibition took over fortyforty years to complete. influences. (The unreadability of the Bauhaus alphabetalphabet Charlie’s are now mimicking for their labels. Aaron Kreisler in his text ‘Lost For Words’, McCahon: A Typeface by AnAndd so, as if tthroughhrough some sort of voovoodoodoo oorr Luke Wood. University of Canterbury, School of Fine Arts Gallery, RotRotherhamherham was an undergraduateundergraduate student at maymay now be explained by the apparent failure to addressaddress ddarkark mamagic,gic, McCaMcCahonhon is returnereturnedd to hhisis point JulyJuly 2003.2003. tthehe Auckland University's School ofof Architecture. some of these factors).factors). In this way the development ofof of dedeparture.parture. Commercial, vernacular, cheacheap,p, 3.3. Victor Frankenstein in Chapter 4 of Mary Shelley’s FFrankensteinrankenstein. He was the son ofof a commercial printerprinter and WedgeWedge began."began." 1 4.4. Given the parameters of legibility the development of typefaces fromfrom reproducible; this awful stuff… had worked at his ffather'sather's business learninglearning the one to another is often incremental, and it is relatively common for a typographer to use an existing face as a starting point in the ffundamentalsundamentals ooff typesetting and graphic design. In 1958, aafterfter ten years ofof development,development, Rotherham “ThThee awfuawfull stuff mamadede by tthehe W.D.F.F. & tthehe signwriting development of their own. Eric Gill’s redesign of Edward JJohnston’sohnston’s WhileWhile at University Rotherham met WilliamWilliam aapproachedpproached Monotype with a version ooff Wedge. of tthehe towns & tthehe footfootballball & racinracingg & aadvertising.dvertising. typeface for the London Underground is a well-known example.example. ((Bill)Bill) Wilson and with Marilyn Hart, Allan Wild and AfterAfter several trial paragraphs Monotype Is that ppossiblyossibly the culture, & from there we must 5.5. See Beatrice Ward’s ‘The Crystal Goblet’ for instance. William Toomath foundedfounded the Architectural GrouGroup.p. recommended that WedWedgege had a number ofof 6. Victor Frankenstein in Chapter 5 of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Rotherham took responsibility forfor the design weaknessesweaknesses in key letter groupsgroups in particularparticular r, n, start. Not from the imports but from the awful stuff 7.7. Andrew Paul Woods, in ‘Up The Arts’, CantaCanta, Issue 16, JulyJuly 2003. 1616 arounaround…d…” 8. Anonymous feedback from Hocken Library exhibition of the McCahon aandnd print production ofof their manifestomanifesto On tthehe m,m, h. The company recommended that the project typeface, December/JanuaryDecember/January 2003. Necessity fforor ArcArchitecturehitecture and tthehe grougroup'sp's magazine bebe set aside forfor a fewfew years so the remainingremaining designdesign It’s like Romero’s zombies who,who, brain-deadbrain-dead,, do 9. Victor Frankenstein in Chapter 5 of Mary Shelley’s FrankensteinFrankenstein. PlanninPlanningg, which only had one ffamousamous issue, Planning problemsproblems couldcould be worked through. Rotheram 10.10. Ibid., Chapter 7.7. what they know best... and head for the mall. 11.. The Group also distributed numerous event wrote:wrote: “I was advised to pputut tthehe work aside, wwhenhen 11.11. Ibid. 2 ThThee monster is a creature of hhabit.abit. 12.12. Ibid., Chapter 24.24. invitations, CChristmashristmas cards and ototherher printed thethe desidesigngn issues could be seen aafresh.fresh." 13.13. The ‘Monster’ in Chapter 24 of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. materiamateriall allall produced at night at Rotherham's Rotherham practiced architecture in **** * * 14.14. Ibid. ffather'sather's sstudio.tudio. NeNeww Zealand and then in Great Britain forfor over 15.15. Colin McCahon, from a talk at Outreach, Auckland 1979. Quoted by It was during this pperioderiod that he was pprovokedrovoked tthirtyhirty years before,before, by chance, he heard a BBC WystanWystan Curnow,Curnow, I Will Need WordsWords, National Art Gallery, Wellington by Herbet Bayer's 1927 `universal alphabet'. He radio show `Science Now' discussing the topictopic “TThehe combined effects of the drugs and rotted bodilbodilyy NZ,NZ, 1984. organs wore off aaboutbout tthirty-sixhirty-six hhoursours llater.ater. I came ououtt 16.16. Colin McCahon in a letter to JJohnohn Caselberg, 21 February 1951. ggreatlyreatly admired the pure geometry ofof the typetypefaceface of computer type setting. Realising that Wedge of a ddeepeep anandd not unrestfuunrestfull ssleepleep feefeelingling ddisoriented,isoriented, QuotedQuoted by Peter Simpson, AnsweringAnswering HarkHark, Craig Potton Publishing, but he considered it to be virtuavirtuallylly unreadabunreadablele waswas stillstill a relevantrelevant project he contacted the item displaced,displaced, vaguelvaguelyy dedepressed,pressed, emotionallemotionallyy numbed, bubutt NelsonNelson NZ, 2001.2001. when used to set largelarge bodies ofof text. Bayer's pproducerroducer Adrian Pickering at the University ooff 17.17. Lester Bangs, from ‘Notes for Review of Peter Guralnick’s Lost with mind and body in a relatively sound state. After a ttypefaceypeface was not thereforetherefore a suitable replacement SSouthampton'southampton's School ooff Electronics and ComComputerputer Highway,Highway, 1980’ published in LesterLester Bangs, Psychotic Reactions and coupcouplele of ddaysays I was even aableble to llistenisten to music againagain,, Carburetor Dungg, edited by Greil Marcus. Serpent’s Tail, London, 1996. fforor the san serifserif facesfaces that werewere the ffashionashion ofof the SScience.cience. PickeringPickering was interested and excited even hhisis aalbums.lbums. TThere’shere’s just one tthinghing tthat’shat’s ddifferent.ifferent. ddayay fforor setting architectural and art publications. byby the prospect ooff a collaboration and worked If ttheyhey exexhumehume tthehe bbodyody again, I ddon’ton’t tthinkhink ttheyhey sshouldhould closelyclosely with Rotherham in the production ofof digital be worrworryingying about drugs (I certainlcertainlyy wouldn’t take ananyy ““ItIt occurred to me then that there must be a face that version ooff the fface.ace. more drugs that came outa Elvis Presley’s stomach!). wwasas as elementarelementaryy as the `uuniversalniversal alphabet' but thatthat Some ten years later WedgeWedge was available I tthinkhink ttheyhey sshouldhould tatakeke hhimim ddownown to a taxitaxidermist’s,dermist’s, anandd wouldwould be as readabreadablele as the recorecognizedgnized boobookk faces. forfor use.use. hhaveave hhimim stuffestuffed,d, llikeike Trigger. I coucouldld sasayy sometsomethinghing llikeike PonderingPondering on what made favoured text faces readablereadable ‘and then have it pplacedlaced on the stestepsps of the White House’House’,, a number ofof considerations acting one on anotheranother 1. Bruce Rotherham.Rotherham. c.2003.c.2003. 2.2. IIbid.bid. but that would be glib. The trouble is, while I know hhee soon became evident: form, formation, perception, sshouldhould bbee stuffestuffedd anandd put on ddisplayisplay somewsomewhere,here, I ddon’ton’t lower-case-ness,lower-case-ness, combine-abicombine-ability,lity, distribution of lletteretter fforor tthehe llifeife ooff me kknownow wwherehere tthathat sshouldhould bbe.e. Because area, percentagepercentage use of each letter,letter, spacing,spacing, greyness, I guess hhee reareallylly ddoesn’toesn’t bbelongelong ananywhere,ywhere, ananymore,ymore, familiarity, historic pprecedence,recedence, acceacceptableptable change, does he? Does he?” 1717 geometry, contrast of forms, avoidance of static forms, the eyeeye's travel, movement, nature ofof termination ooff strokes,strokes, function of ascenders and descenders, b-q-x-b-q-x- 5656 NationalNational DécenniDécenniee 57 Kris SowersbSowersbyy with JontJontyy ValentinValentinee JJackack YaYann

NationalNational iiss a deceptdeceptivelyively ssimpleimple sans serifserif wwithith subtle ququirksirks tthishis was rather inappropriate. However, I must saysay CanCan you tetellll me a bbitit aaboutbout tthehe NationaNationall system?—system?— Our 1997 type release, JYJY Décennie, has been designed for both the web inin the detadetailsils that gigiveve iitt a ddistinctive—butistinctive—but not ddistracting—istracting— tthathat since then I have mellowed in my outlook! I I count eighteen typefaces from Thin to Black. andand print. Essentially applying the principles of newspaper typefaces, personality.personality. WhWhileile NatNationalional travels throuthrough,gh, and touches on, a nnoo longer think as strongly about the accent thing WhyWhy did youyou do such an extensive range of weights attentionattention has been paid to the Windows versions of the family to ensure lot of historicalhistorical matermaterial,ial, iitt iiss desdesignedigned to thrthriveive iinn our modern clarityclarity when used in web browsers. It was originally conceived with an typotypographicgraphic climate.climate. NatNational’sional’s detailsdetails are drawn from the aass I useusedd to. It is nice thatthat Kiwi designersdesigners havehave a fforor this ttypeype family?family? Australian broadsheet newspaper in mind, and ultimately launched to best pre-Akzpre-Akzidenzidenz ggrotesques,rotesques, givinggiving itit a humble, workmanlikeworkmanlike llocalocal choice,choice, butbut it wouldwould bebe tremendouslytremendously naïve commemoratecommemorate JY&A’sJY&A’s 10th anniversary. Input for the design came partlypartly ccharacterharacter withwith an agreeableagreeable tone of voice.voice. Its extensiveextensive character to tthinkhink thatthat everyy local word mmustustt be set in a TThehe fi rst release of National had six weights, from JY&AJY&A Fonts’ site visitors using the Font Studio feedback form.form. set includesincludes a widewide arrayarray of accents, seven numeral sets, alternate local typeface. ItIt’s’s neither interesting nor feasible. from Book to Extrabold, which I thoughtthought was a The design itself is based on Australian and New Zealand wood forms for some base gglyphs,lyphs, and small caps across all styles. In type, which was used widely by European settlers during the nine- II'd'd really hate to become one ofof those vehement fairly goodgood range.range. But when I saw people usingusing short, all the ggoodood ththingsings that the exactexactinging typotypographergrapher should teenth century. eexpectxpect from a contemporarycontemporary OpenTOpenTypeype ttypeface.ypeface. ttypographicypographic evangeevangelists!lists! iitt fforor display purposes I realised that it could There are small cap and expert fonts, as well as a Titling Roman and htthttp://www.klim.co.nz/national_info.phpp://www.klim.co.nz/national_info.php rreallyeally benebenefifi t fromfrom lighter and darker weights Italic, for use with initial caps or headlines. Titling is JY&AJY&A Fonts’ first YYourour mention ofof Bembo reminds me ofof the aneccdote wwithith tigtighterhter spacing. TheThe original,original, core weightsweights displaydisplay typeface, with a design that complements Décennie’s text sizes. On Mon, 11/5/09, jt@thtilid wrote: tthathat Rose Hoare quoted fromfrom you in her article in the ofof National are spaced primarilyprimarily for text use, A sans serif version, JYJY Décennie Express, is also available.available. All typefaces have been fine-tuned, with the text fonts featuringfeaturing InIn TheThe NationalNational GridGrid (Issue(Issue #2)#2) you wrote thatthat SSundayunday magazine—saying that what made you fall meaningmeaning that they're quite loose. So when it's used 2,2002,200 kerning pairs each and Titling featuring 3,300. creatingcreating NationalNational GothicGothic was promptedprompted byby us (TNG)(TNG) in love with letterformsletterforms was noticingnoticing fromfrom redrawingredrawing atat larger sizes it can look a bit weird—unless care http://www.jyanet.com/fonts/font130.htmhttp://www.jyanet.com/fonts/font130.htm using Helvetica in Issue #1, and that youyou thought BBemboembo “tthathat the arch ofof the ‘n’ subtlsubtlyy curves into the isis takentaken to tightentighten it up. TheThe ThinThin & BlackBlack are mademade NewNew Zealand needs a National typefacetypeface because rright-handight-hand stem—all the wayway down into the serifserif”, especiallyespecially for displadisplayy use, around 20 points & WhenWhen I startestartedd ddesigningesigning ttypeype in thethe 1980s, ““readingreading local words set in foreignforeign typefacestypefaces is rather aandnd next to your ssketchketch you hadhad written “chcheekyeeky larger.larger. The LiLightght can swinswingg either wayway.. JJoesephoeseph ChurchwardChurchward hhadad recentlyrecently sshuthut up sshophop in irksome.”irksome.” BeBembo!mbo!” Are there any National letterforms (or parts WWellington.ellington. It was an opportunity missed, and JoeJoe ooff glyphs)glyphs) that make youyou now think “chcheekyeeky KrisKris!!”? Also,Also, designers really love to have a range ooff and I never met till many years laterlater.. On Mon, 11/5/09,11/5/09, wrote:wrote: weights,weights, stylesstyles & widthswidths to playplay with—especiallywith—especially It wasn’t easy to start off solosolo as tthehe first digitaldigital You're riright,ght, the inspiration forfor National was NNo,o, I don't think so—I can’tcan’t see the cheekiness. for complex typotypographicgraphic work. I think that havinhavingg tytypepe ddesigneresigner in New ZeaZealand.land. CChurchwardhurchward asiaside,de, the arrival ooff ThThee NationalNational GridGrid in my letterbox.letterbox. That’s not to say that other people can’t see it anan extensive rangerange ofof weightsweights helps to sell it. New Zealand wasn’t known for type,type, and even According to the TNG website at the time, “The tthough.hough. It’s just so hard to see your own hand ThisThis is quitequite importantimportant to me, I'd hate to spendspend ProDesign, publishing an article about typography National Grid is a space to speculate, criticallycritically oorr ststyle.yle. Christian Schwartz & I have had this agesages on a typeface that doesn't get used or isn't in thethe 1990s, failedfailed to mention any type ddesigners.esigners. enquire, research and explore ggraphicraphic desidesigngn sstyletyle conversation before.before. As it turns out,out, I can quitequite comcomplete!plete! I rememrememberber writinwritingg to a Kiwi journajournalistlist wwhoho saisaidd issues within a New Zealand context.”context.” However,However, prettypretty muchmuch tetellll hhisis andand hehe mine. I showedshowed himhim ththereere were none in thisthis country,country, again in thethe 1990s. turning to the fi rst article entitled ‘Beautiful, ssomeome worworkk in progress anandd askedasked “isis therethere anyany (She claimed her search engine revealed none; mmyy BorinBoringg Postcards’ I sighedsighed when I saw it was set identifiidentifi ableable ‘Kris-ness’‘Kris-ness’ to iit?t?”. He replied: “YesYes.. own search through all the major search engines at in the arguablyarguably beautiful,beautiful, but decidedly boringboring IInn the g f and s. And the a. And the v. Sorry, ththee time provedproved otherwise.)otherwise.) Helvetica. A ffeelingeeling ofof ennui arose within meme.. KKris.ris. Your style is distinctive. And you get your WhenWhen PuPublishblish in tthehe US wrote a smallsmall piecepiece fi ngerprints on everythingeverything!!” about yyoursours truly,truly, one of the remarks was that HHadad you bbeeneen tthinkinghinking aaboutbout designingdesigning a nationalnational ttheyhey never associated elegant type design with ttypefaceypeface before thisthis?? SSometimesometimes when I see National (or ananyy ooff mmyy New ZeaZealand.land. It wasn’t a great situation—not onlyonly ttypes)ypes) out in the wild, I usually get a ffeelingeeling ofof ddidid I seem to bebe thethe pioneer, I alsoalso hadhad to bebe thethe YesYes,, I had. It was one ofof the reasons I decided ffamiliarityamiliarity (almost like hearing my own voice) bbattlerattler wwhoho foughtfought thethe ideaidea thatthat Kiwis weren’t to start the foundry.foundry. At the time I did feel veryvery before I can identifidentifyy it as miminene. It'sIt's hardhard to explainexplain designing type both offshore and, even more sstronglytrongly about usingusing local typefaces fforor local pprecisely,recisely, sorrsorry.y. ttragically,ragically, locally. content. I saw typefacestypefaces as an accent. For example, I knewknew I was never aalone.lone. MarMarkk Geard,Geard, foforr rreadingeading a James K. Baxter poem set in Bembo is examexample,ple, hadhad workedworked on NovalisNovalis andand hehe andand llikeike listeninglistening to an ItalianItalian accent—andaccent—and I thoughtthought I struck up a friendship earlyearly on. Kiwi expat 5858 PamPam 5599 MaartenMaarten IdIdemaema

PaulPaul Clarke designed National, a comprehensive many of the ideas found their way into OpenType, PamPam iiss a ttypefaceypeface desdesignedigned sspecificallypecifically fforor the street mamapp maker as MajorMajor AvenueAvenue part of the Masters of Design at the Royal Academy of Art in the serif family,family, for First NationalNational RealReal Estate in 2001. ththee dominantdominant font format today.)today.) HagueHague 20042004.. MakingMaking the x-hex-heightight fifitt the street heheightight iiss a ggoodood method fforor maimain-n- BBothoth were connections to thethe CChurchwardhurchward eraera,, andand Part of thisthis was out of genuinegenuine interest. TheThe Maps have always contained a large amount of written and tatainingining larlargerger text ssizesizes and iiss sursurprisinglyprisingly easeasyy to read. ThThisis method aarguablyrguably understood type better than most people. other part was telling the world: New Zealand is graphic information, used largely for location familiarisation and way isis commonlcommonlyy ffavouredavoured bbyy countrcountriesies that use accented characters. finding.finding. Like ananyy other demandindemandingg utilitutilityy desidesign,gn, mamapsps need to be SmallSmall ascenders and descenders can helhelpp to ttidyidy uupp pprotrudingrotruding street I’d rate them as the most knowledgeable NewNew a player in the international typographic scene. as clear and unambiguousunambiguous as ppossible.ossible. TheTheyy have a ddifferentifferent set ooff elements. ThisThis ddiagramiagram uses PamXS (x-he(x-heightight shshift).ift). ZZealandealand typefacetypeface designers,designers, ever. NeitherNeither was after I rusrushedhed tthehe earearlyly stuff, anandd spent wayway too llongong typographictypographic iidiosyncrasiesdiosyncrasies ffromrom that ooff a book and yyetet yyouou won’t HüngrystraatHüngrystraat recognition—trecognition—theyhey were interestedinterested onlyonly in creatingcreating on thethe llaterater stuff. JYJY Alia,Alia, my latestlatest release,release, was findfind a ttypefaceypeface desdesignedigned wwithith the street mamapp iinn mmind.ind. To satsatisfyisfy these demands the map maker wwillill ppieceiece together ThisThis style of application is not commonly used on small maps because it bbeautifuleautiful typefaces.typefaces. conceived as an idea back in 1994—I didn’t finish differentdifferent fonts of varying styles, weights, and sizes—cluttering the generallygenerally doesn’t work if the aappliedpplied ttypefaceypeface has lonlongg ascenders and It seemed unfair that there were people like it till 2009. Somewhere in between we did some visualvisual terrain with a some what clip art like application of icons and descenders like those in Helvetica. This diagramdiagram uses PamES ((emem shiftshift).). otherother cartographic symbolssymbols.. PamXS, PamPamCSCS and PamES have been tatailorilor made to fifitt the that who were being overlooked. New Zealand’s meaty international commissions, a few of which Pam is an attempt to resolve a number of these issues whilst heightheight ooff the street—no matter what method yyouou choose. The ssizeize has ttypographicypographic hhistoryistory is far ricricherher tthanhan peoppeoplele I stistillll can’t ddiscuss.iscuss. addingadding more ffunctionalityunctionality to aaidid iinn the makmakinging ooff street mamaps.ps. Pam’s beenbeen scaled and the baselbaselineine shshiftedifted so that llineine and ttypeype match. For rearealize,lize, even tthoughhough ttherehere hhasas beenbeen a suddensudden AlongAlong tthehe waway,y, I can proprobablybably tatakeke crecreditdit aestheticaesthetic was larlargelygely iinfluencednfluenced bbyy how economeconomicalical iitt could be wwithith example to have the x-heightx-height fifillll the street choose PamXS and then set space,space, how iitt fifitt on a llineine and how iitt worked at small ssizes.izes. CCurrently,urrently, the type to the same weight as the line. The 99ptpt line used here uses 99ptpt interest in Kiwi typeface design in recent years. fforor more than a few names in Australia and PamPam comes iinn reregulargular and extra bold wwithith susupportingpporting iicons,cons, arrows, text. You won’t ever have to fiddle around with guessing the measure AnAndd it seems that men like GeardGeard andand ClarkeClarke are New Zealand getting their starts or even their first andand bborders.orders. of either your type or baseline shift. Just click and type.type. stistillll beingbeing overlooked—andoverlooked—and I’ve spent thethe ggoodood pieces of press coveracoverage.ge. 1. Economyyp of space 3. Typeyp at small sizes part of 13 yearsyears as a typographytypography columnistcolumnist givinggiving I wouwouldn’tldn’t tradetrade thethe experience for anything.anything. props where it’s due. Ironically,Ironically, I had to do this for New Zealand did indeed become recognizedrecognized as a Maybe it is a joke played between the City Planner’s and Surveyor’s ApartApart ffromrom keekeepingping counters oopenpen and mamaintainingintaining a larlargege x-hex-height,ight, departments,departments, to pputut the lonlongestgest street name iinn the smallest street. the ffollowingollowing ffeatureseatures were iimplementedmplemented to retaretainin character dedefiningfining DDesktopesktop, an Australian magazine, because in 1996 ssourceource of digital type, and those who followed me C Condensedondensed ttypefaces,ypefaces, whwhilstilst obvobviouslyiously more economeconomicic iinn llineine areas ofof whwhiteite sspacepace that could aaidid iinn the readreadinging ooff small pprint.rint. The no one here gave a damn. That engagement has had fewer battles to fight. All I ask that we continue space,space, are comcomparativelyparatively harder to read. At a condensed ssize,ize, round nextnext three points refer to an area, highlighted in diag. 1, best described continuecontinuedd aalmostlmost on a montmonthlyhly basisbasis since. ttoo create ttypeype tthathat is wortworthyhy of tthehe bbattle.attle. strokes withinwithin the letter have less sspacepace to turn and so aappearppear to have as an external junction counter. Most common in the letters a, d, g, n, m, more verticalvertical stress. The text rhythm can seem llikeike a serseriesies ooff repeatrepeatinging p,p, q, r and uu.. In mymy minmind,d, ttypeype ddesignesign is a collegialcollegial affair stems—jarring the eye. Pam needed to be conservative on line length aandnd in the last 20-odd years I’ve built up a and yet maintain legibility.legibility. wwonderfulonderful rapport in this world. I probably have This was achieved by constructing strokes around open counters, increasing the x-height and retaining a rounder shaped letter. All the mmoreore in ccommonommon wwithith ssomeome ooff tthehe names ofof thethe whilewhile conservconservinging on character wwidth.idth. 11980s980s anandd 1990s tthanhan tthehe yyoungerounger ones totoday:day: diag.diag. 1 d diag.iag. 2 d diag.iag. 3 ddiag.iag. 4 JeanCDamJeanCDam those of us who had to playplay with Arts & Letters and External jjunction counters. Making the stroke junction meet FFontographerontographer 3, learning the tools and figuring out PamPam includesincludes a set ofof map abbreviationabbreviation glyphs and arrows. The further down the stem (see diag. 2) gives more white space to the wwhathat features to put in. I hung out with Emigre, example above shows the abbreviation for straat in Dutch. Whilst external counter of the junction. Without this space,space, stem and junction the arrow and ‘str.’ visually sit on different levels, features in the font stroke can melt into each other when pprintedrinted small. If the stroke poppepoppedd downdown to AAdobe,dobe, swore witwithh SpieSpiekermann.kermann. allow the text to be made with one line of type. This means arrows and isis ppulledulled ffurtherurther uupp the stem, towards the totopp ooff the termterminal,inal, the I fougfoughtht for ttypeype ddesignesign copyrightcopyright protection by abbreviations are consistently offset above or below the street name. resultresult can be a squaresquare shashapedped counter. ThThisis leaves the determdeterminingining helping start TypeRight. Designers, including the EditEdit the street name and all the alignedaligned arrows and abbreviationsabbreviations move characteristicscharacteristics ooff characters llikeike ‘m’ and ‘n’ wwithith a non-desnon-desirableirable togethertogether as a block withwith the edit.edit. angularangular aappearance.ppearance. late Evert Bloemsma, sent me their work to check. S Stroketroke contracontrast.st. Diagram 3 shows how adding contrast by I joinedjoined tthehe QuicQuickDrawkDraw GX tectechh groupgroup to examine 2.2. PerformancePerformance between llinesines decreasing the width of a stroke before it joins a stem increases whitewhite space. whwhatat characterscharacters werewere neededneeded as feature-richfeature-rich fontsfonts TypeType is generally applied to a street using one of the following three Ink traps.p Bell Gothic Centennial comcompensatespensates for ink that bleeds wwereere beinbeingg developed. (While GX never took off, methods.methods. intointo tighttight areas of small pprintrint bbyy usinusingg ink tratraps.ps. You could ararguegue that thisthis techntechniqueique iiss outdated wwithith the iimprovementmprovement ooff pprintingrinting condconditions.itions. ENA RD TheThe iinknk tratrap,p, however, ststillill ffunctionsunctions to oopticallyptically chanchangege the weweightight ooff ToTo make neater and seeminglyseemingly largerlarger text the map-makermap-maker willwill oftenoften letter byby allowallowinging a llineine to take a more extreme turn comcominging iintonto the use capitalcapital letters. The downside,downside, however, isis that capitalcapital letters are traptrap ((seesee ddiag.iag. 44).). much harder to read than theirtheir lowercase brothers. ThisThis diagramdiagram uses Stroke contrast, and ink traps are accentuated in the extra bold PamCSPamCS (cap(cap heightheight shift).shift). inin order to maintain this external jjunctionunction counter. Note that this white space functions differently on stems that ascend or descend. Like the b,b, d and h. 60 TheThe Homeless FormsForms Black Grace BefriendBefriend 61 DavidDavid BennewithBennewith SShabnamhabnam Shiwan,Shiwan, AltAlt GrouGroupp WarrenWarren OldsOlds

““WanderingWandering letters… that umm… had been left out. random,random, akinakin to ramrambling.bling. Sure ttheyhey are ddescribingescribing Typography exists to honour content, like music, Befriend was developed for, and exhibited in, They were dishevelled, messy, uncontained and eroded. a recognisablerecognisable form—a lletter,etter, an aalphabet—butlphabet—but ttheyhey dance and anything else that lends grace to thethe 2003 exhibitionexhibition Arcadia:Arcadia: tthehe otherother lifelife ofof videovideo I couldcould barelybarely understandunderstand them.”them.” 1 areare denied the regulations of }uidit}uidityy and balance language.language. RatherRather thanthan create a singularsingular marmarkk gamesgames at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in connectedconnected to conventional font designing. Therefore toto represent BBlacklack Grace, a Pacific contemporarcontemporaryy NewNew Plymouth.Plymouth. I was watching a homeless guyguy walking along the whatwhat happenshappens insideinside of tthishis bboundaryoundary creates dance compancompany,y, a ttypefaceypeface was created to become ArcadiaArcadia sought to survey New Zealand artists street the other day. He was speaking as he walked somethingsomething ononlyly remoteremotelyly connecteconnectedd to eiteitherher source, tthehe voice of Black Grace. workingworking withwith andand aroundaround videovideo games.games. Warren OldsOlds bbutut hhee wasn’t speaspeakingking to anyone tthathat I coucouldld see. in thethe end.end. TheThe ddisplayisplay face re}ectsre}ects thethe art of thethe tattoo. was invitedinvited to contricontributebute a worwork,k, anandd pproposedroposed tthishis He was just speaking forwards—or, maybe [better],[better], In ‘Auster Regular’ the form of the letters IInn Pacific culture,culture, tattooingtattooing hashas a hugehuge significance:significance: typeface.typeface. It was exhibited as a simple character-set outwaroutwards.ds. He was speaspeakingking as hehe walkedwalked anandd wwhenhen become transient: in the outcome of its alliterate, a pperson’serson’s mana, ttheirheir spiritualspiritual powerpower or lifelife force, cut from vinyl and applied to the gallery wall. I watched I started to think about Narrow Gauge’s repetitive, overlappedoverlapped bitsbits of }otsam}otsam & debris,debris, is displayed through their tattoo. The act of leavingleaving A working version of the font was made available typefacetypeface ‘Auster Regular’ again. scratchesscratches & bbrisk,risk, youyou can imagine a kkindind of patpathh a mark celebrates the individual’s endurance and toto visitors via emaiemaill excexchange.hange. One way thatthat lettersletters are connecteconnectedd to llanguageanguage beingbeing described, but with no fixed originorigin oror ddedicationedication to cuculturalltural tratraditions.ditions. TThehe eelaboratelaborate TypefacesTypefaces are nearlynearly aalwayslways a part of thethe is by doingg them. It is both the letters physical and destination. The letters describe a psychic territoryterritory ggeometricaleometrical ddesigns,esigns, representingrepresenting bothboth malemale andand architecture of an exhibition,exhibition, their form is often ppracticalractical manifestations that provideprovide and assume thatthat alludesalludes to a space of emotionalemotional paroleparole.4 ffemaleemale tattoo ppatterns,atterns, are combined with quiet but usually active: supporting intentions, meaning. The form of these physical and practical WWhichhich bringsbrings me bbackack to tthehe hhomelessomeless guguyy at tthehe ttypographicypographic forms based on the geometric faces contributingcontributing directions,directions, ddetailingetailing content. ththingsings are ddefinedefined bbyy bboundariesoundaries thatthat are alsoalso given bbeginning.eginning. As I watcwatchedhed I thoughtthought of thethe forms of tthehe earlyearly 20th20th century. TheThe typeface hashas a tone, ForFor ArcadiaArcadia OldsOlds presentepresentedd a ttypefaceypeface as itself—itself— aandnd assumed;assumed; wwhichhich in turn proviprovidede some kkindind of while the homeless man spokespoke outwards and told.told. ttimbre,imbre, ccharacterharacter andand form thatthat create a sense of a ssystemystem of letterforms abstracted from language. founfoundationdation for ttheirheir creation—or theirtheir ddesigning.esigning. visuavisuall movement. WWhenhen tthehe ttypeype is pplacedlaced over an WhenWhen considered in this more inert way, typefaces The boundary of ‘Auster Regular’ seems to be 1. Unknown source, unknown date. image, it still reveals what is underneath. It is not consist of a relatively defined set of forms that can ddefinedefined by its source material. The framework is 2. Paul Auster, CCityity of Glass. PenguinPenguin Books, 1980, p.80–87. jjustust read—it is also looked through. Like the tattoo, bebe multipliedmultiplied into a seemingseeminglyly enendlessdless combinationcombination 3. Walter Abish, AAlphabeticallphabetical Africa. New Directions PublishingPublishing inspireinspiredd bbyy a specific segment in PauPaull Auster’s story CCorporation,orporation, 1974. http://en.wikipedia.orhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphabetical_Africag/wiki/Alphabetical_Africa ththee typeface is just as mucmuchh aboutabout makingmaking a markmark of ideasideas andand language,language, bothboth coherentcoherent andand 2 ‘Cit‘Cityy of GGlass’lass’ —an—an amambivalentbivalent tatalele ooff a wwriterriter who’swho’s 4. Parolee (meaning “speech”). A linguistic term used by Ferdinand aass it is aaboutbout tthehe sskin.kin. incoherent.incoherent. life becomes consumed bbyy superficial characters ddee Saussure, parole describes linlinguisticguistic performance or languagelanguage In a world cluttered with marks, this typefacetypeface This }exible structure is also present in video seemingly of his own creation. Hired as a personal pproductionroduction in use. expresses an emotional and meaningful intensity gamesgames sucsuchh as DoomDoom, Unreal Tournamentt andand detective,detective, thethe writer recordsrecords thethe movements of hhisis ggreaterreater tthanhan thatthat founfoundd in a singularsingular logologo mark.mark. Counter-StrikeCounter-Strike. TheThe arcarchitecturehitecture of thesethese gamesgames quarryquarry throughthrough thethe city,city, by sketchingsketching smallsmall maps LLikeike a tattoo, thethe bbrandingranding aims to lleaveeave an inindelibledelible isis characterised byby a virtual 3D space viewed in hhisis notebooknotebook hhee assumes ttheyhey tatakeke tthehe form ooff marmarkk on contemporarcontemporaryy culture.culture. fromfrom a first-person perspective. The player is then letters. The construction of ‘Auster Regular’ stems freefree to interact with this space in a relatively non- from an alliterate writing experiment by Oulipo linearlinear fashion—openingfashion—opening doors,doors, shootingshooting aliens,aliens, aartistrtist WalterWalter Abish,Abish, publishedpublished as a bookbook calledcalled wanderingwandering aimaimlessly,lessly, or simplysimply stanstandingding still.still. Alphabetical Africa.3 This boundarboundaryy provides a structure and a working method. The structure is a grid; in ‘Auster Regular’Regular’ it coucouldld bebe comparedcompared to a space for mappingmapping —reminiscent of thethe rectangularrectangular 11 x 4 citycity blockblock illustratedillustrated on page 81 in ‘City‘City of Glass’.Glass’. TheThe working method, how the letters are formed, is an additive layer on which the wanderings emanate—accordingemanate—according to tthehe aalliteratelliterate experiment therethere are 26 versions of ‘Auster Regular’.Regular’. I saysay wanderings because the marks appear aimless, 62 TThehe DesDesignign of ArtemArtemisis 63 MMarkark GeardGeard

I createdcreated the typeface ArtemisArtemis as partpart of a pospost-t- bodybody of text look sterile anandd at the other enendd the rratherather to achieve movement anandd fl ow within ppassiveassive each human beinbeingg has an inner sense of movement graduategraduate Masters DeDegreegree wherein I was explorinexploringg typetype can be too full of life anandd conseconsequentlyquently rapidlyrapidly elements. BringingBringing more fl uiuiditydity into the upriuprightght that responrespondsds to the ggesturalestural form of type over anandd notionsnotions of ororganicganic ddesignesign within a two ddimensionalimensional tiretire thethe eye.eye. sstrokestrokes also meant that the ‘l’ andand the ‘k’ movedmoved into aabovebove its worword-communicationd-communication function. The nature environment.environment. WithinWithin thethe researchresearch thethe term ‘or‘organic’ganic’ In the designdesign process of ArtemisArtemis thethe lettersletters of the the ‘me‘mediating’diating’ catecategorygory rereducingducing the number of of this resresponseponse is rerelativelative to the pperceptionerception of an directly referenced the natural world and not alphabet were separated into three basic categories; llettersetters in ‘crystalline’.‘crystalline’. experexperienceience of tthehe ‘organic’.‘organic’. pprimarilyrimarily an abstract paradiparadigm.gm. The followinfollowingg is crystalline (straight lines only), mediating (those that WorkWork on the uppercase letters proceeded It is what takes place between a work and the a veryvery briefbrief summarysummary of what was an extensive had both curves and straight lines), and fl ow (those aalongsidelongside those of the lowercase and after a number viewing individual, their bodily and psychological exploration.exploration. with curves onlonly).y). TheyThey were as follows:follows: ooff tests it became apparent that these letters needed experience, that mamakeskes a worworkk ‘living’ or organic. An earlier typeface I had designed, NovalisNovalis, had CCrystalline:rystalline: AEFHIKLMNTVWXYZ iklvwxyiklvwxyzz oonlynly a small number of distinctivedistinctive glyphs. There was TThehe experience is not principallyprincipally an inteintellectualllectual one beenbeen the start of mymy interest in this area of research. Mediating:Mediating: BDGJPQRU ababdefghjmnpqrtudefghjmnpqrtu a constant dangerdanger that the font wouldwould start takingtaking bbutut one that works at an intuitive level throuthroughgh one’s ItIt hadhad very few straightstraight lines andand each letterform was Flow:Flow: COS cos onon too much character anandd become ddisturbingisturbing to sense of life andand movement. The designeddesigned objectobject designeddesigned with gentlygently expandingexpanding anandd contractincontractingg line ‘Crystalline’‘Crystalline’ llettersetters create strenstrengthgth throuthroughgh strongstrong the eye at small point sizes. DurinDuringg the ddesignesign process nneedseeds to enengagegage a life process within the viewer. weightsweights as if a crystalline form was beginningbeginning to free angularangular structure, and ‘fl ow’ letters create movement, the cap ‘A’ drawingsdrawings developed a sweepingsweeping gesturegesture IIff this happens the designed obobjectject then becomes itselfitself and come into movement. It is a displaydisplay font largely defi ning the basic gesture of the font. My aass an exit point to the right moving slightly bbelowelow aann extension of that life pprocess.rocess. andand has provedproved quitequite popular,popular, however I discovered foundingfounding ideas for ArtemisArtemis were that it had to visuallyvisually the base-line. This was a pleasing and elegant thatthat users seemed to be applying it as a text font convey a gentle energy without disturbing the eye ssolutionolution that integrated well within the overall inin addition to its intentional use. In my opinion its and that to create this energy I would need to reduce aaesthetic.esthetic. The ‘E’, and ‘F’ developed upsweeping mid- forms are too active for continuous-text situations; thethe number of crystalline-shapedcrystalline-shaped letterforms. The aarms.rms. Flow was brought into the ‘Y’ by softening the thusthus my interest in ddevelopingeveloping a font which woulwouldd be letter strokes wouldwould also have gentlegentle modulation,modulation, aarmsrms in ththee mannermanner of thethe traditionaltraditional GrGreekeek form. designeddesigned out of a relaterelatedd set of values but focussefocussedd an expansionexpansion andand contraction of line wiwidth,dth, that Throu Throughgh these developmentsdevelopments four letters were on a continuous-text aapplication.pplication. althoughalthough subtle, wouldwould help ameliorate any harhardnessdness mmovedoved from the crystalline into the memediatingdiating My Masters research followefollowedd a ppathwayathway that and rigidityrigidity of line.line. ccategory.ategory. TThehe ggroupingsroupings now were: examined key stastagesges in the phenomena of plant The lowercase letter ‘e’ is the most used letter Cr Crystalline:ystalline: HIKLMNTVWXZ vwxvwxyzyz growth as defi ned by JohannJohann Wolfgang von Goethe in the English language and it formed the starting Mediating: ABDEFGABDEFGJPQRUYJPQRUY abdfghijklmnpqrtabdfghijklmnpqrtuu inin his ground-breaking workwork The Metamorphosis point of the design—not solely because of this fact, Flow: COS ceos ofof Plants. Goethe defi nes a fundamental rhythmrhythm but more importantly, due to the dynamic nature of The overaching concern in the design of this font underlyingunderlying all plant growth of periods of expansion its form. The initial drawingsdrawings evolvedevolved quickly into a waswas not that the individualindividual letterforms woulwouldd carry a andand contraction throughout a plant’s cycle of life. dynamicdynamic letterform in which the cross bar became ssharplyharply defidefi nedned organicorganic quality but that they wouldwould TheThe extreme of these two popolesles express themsethemselveslves curvedcurved makingmaking the entire letter curvilinear. This workwork togethertogether as a collective whole andand that the sum on the one hanhandd throuthroughgh a crystalline hardeninghardening of changedchanged its catecategorygory ggroupingrouping from ‘me‘mediating’diating’ ooff seeminseeminglygly quite minor inindividualdividual effects woulwouldd form, anandd at the other throughthrough a fl uidicuidic dissolvingdissolving of toto ‘fl ow’. havehave an accumulative gentlegentle power. form. The beautifully modulated line weiweightsghts seen Within the early stages of the design process the In summarsummaryy thisthis researchresearch proprojectject proposes an inin calligraphycalligraphy perfectly refl ect this elemental life letter ‘l’ had the appearance of having been drawn aalternative,lternative, or additional way of viewing letterform rhythmrhythm where the viewers’ inner sense of movement by a broad nib pen —in the manner of Black Letter. aandnd typography. It argues the case for the alphabet isis invigorated through recapturing the trace of the It had a curved ‘lead-in’ diagonal stroke which gave to be seen as an archetypal entity that manifests calligrapher’s hand. Within letterforms, hardened thethe letter energy andand movement. This ddirectionirection through a series of metamorphosing forms, some crystalline forms can be experienceexperiencedd in the junctions was pursuedpursued anandd applieappliedd to the vertical strokes of vveryery lively anandd others more ririgidgid anandd lackinlackingg life. of vertical andand horizontal strokes, unmediatedunmediated by b,d,h,i,m,n,r,u.b,d,h,i,m,n,r,u. AAss ororganicganic life ddependsepends upon both fl uiuidicdic andand curvedcurved fl owingo w i n g lines. In addition,addition, unmodulatedunmodulated lines Unlike Black Letter FracturFractur,, these lealead-ind-in strokes ccrystallinerystalline structure, so can type, vieweviewedd as livinlivingg of one lineline weightweight only,only, as seen in many ggeometricaleometrical were not hard crystalline ananglesgles but rather curves form, bebe seen to reveal these qualities to a ggreaterreater or fonts, add to a ‘stillness of form’ and alignalign themselves more in the stylestyle of Rotunda. llesseresser degree; through individual letter shape and/or toto the ‘Crystalline pole’. MovingMoving too far in the It is important to note that these applied curves type seen as continuous text. It also recognizes that direction of either pole can on the one hand make a were not created to imitate pen crafted letters but 64 AirAir New Zealand Jonty ValentinValentinee

TomTom ElliottElliott ddesignedesigned thethe Air New ZealandZealand llogotypeogotype in (about) 1968. I met Tom a few months ago at a cafe near where he now works in central Auckland, andand hhee explainedexplained thethe storystory behindbehind thethe typeface.typeface. TomTom was worworkingking at BernBernhardhard RounRoundhill’sdhill’s ddesignesign studio iinn Auckland, and theythey had the Air NZ ‘account’ at the time. It was then, as it is now, a vveryery bbigig anandd prestigious jojob.b. Tom explainedexplained thatthat KKenen CChapman,hapman, whowho Tom sat at thethe deskdesk next to in tthehe stustudio,dio, ddesignedesigned tthehe Air NZ Koru anandd together they developed the logotype to go with it. TThehe ‘brief’ for the design of the logotype, which wwasas communicatecommunicatedd by Air NZ MarMarketingketing Services ManaManagerger Bernie McEwen, was for thethe focus of the design to be on “readability”.“readability”. The aim was for the logo to be read just as well when it was on tthehe sisidede of an aeropaeroplaneslanes as on thethe sideside of a pen. TTomom recountedrecounted tthishis ververyy cclearlylearly by holdingholding up mmyy bballpointallpoint ppenen to iillustratellustrate tthehe connection betweenbetween the shashapepe of aeroaeroplanesplanes and pens.pens. He also explainedexplained how this aim was the reason for the mix of upper aandnd llowerower case llettersetters anandd for tthehe reregulargular strostroke,ke, aandnd enenlargedlarged space in thethe counter forms. OriginallyOriginally ooff course onlyonly the letters a, d, e, i, l, n, r, w, z were required, but Tom did also later design the rest ooff tthehe aalphabet.lphabet. However hehe doesdoes not knowknow whowho holdsholds tthishis artworkartwork now, if inindeeddeed it hhasas bbeeneen llost.ost. Tom's llogotypeogotype was useusedd up untiuntill 1996 wwhenhen Air NZ was re-branded by Davies/Baron (London) aandnd Dave Clark Design Associates (Auckland). The new logotypelogotype theythey ddevelopedeveloped “is a dderivativeerivative of tthehe TTimesimes family”family”1 andand accordingaccording to TimothyTimothy MooneMooney,y, Air NZ's Brand and Marketing Communications Manager at the time, “Our goal was readability. ThThee ooldld typeface hhadad a very ddiminutiveiminutive andand hardhard to reareadd llookook in manmanyy environments. We wantedwanted it to reareadd stronstrongg anandd tthathat is one of tthehe reasons bbehindehind the very classic serif typeface.typeface.”” For me though, I will always think of Tom’s ddesignesign as thethe reall Air New Zealand logotype.

1. Kerry Tyack,Tyack, PProDesignroDesign, ‘A New LooLookk for Air New Zealand’.Zealand’. AAugust/Septemberugust/September 1996, p.46–58p.46–58..