Printing Types
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PRINTINGPRINTING TYPESTYPES NewNew ZealandZealand TTypeype Design Since 18701870 JontyJonty ValentineValentine CONTENTSCONTENTS PublishedPublished on thethe occasion of thethe exhibitionexhibition 4 FOREWORD,FOREWORD, PhilipPhilip ClarkeClarke NNOTESOTES OONN THE TYPES Printing Types:Types: New ZealandZealand TypeType 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 anandd KariKarikarikari Estate Wines. 50 TTrespassersrespassers Will be ProsecutedProsecuted,, Luke Wood 12 TheThe BookBook Borders,Borders, RobertRobert CouplandCoupland HardingHarding 5555 WWedge,edge, AAdamdam SShe|eldhe|eld 14 Churchward Marianna,Marianna, JosephJoseph Churchward 5566 NNational,ational, Kris Sowersby with Jonty ValentinValentinee 16 MMcCahon,cCahon, LukeLuke WoodWood 57 DécennDécennie,ie, JJackack YanYan 1188 WWedge,edge, Bruce RRotherhamotherham 59 PPam,am, Maarten Idema OObjectspace:bjectspace: 20 NNational,ational, Kris Sowersby 8 PonsonPonsonbyby RoaRoadd P O Box 68-762 60 ThThee HomeHomelessless Forms,Forms, DaDavidvid BenneBennewithwith AAucklanduckland 11411455 22 DécennDécennie,ie, JJackack Yan TeTelephonelephone 09 376 62162166 6161 Black GraceGrace,, Shabnam Shiwan, Alt GrouGroupp FacsimiFacsimilele 09 376 6246 2244 PPam,am, Maarten Idema info@[email protected] 6161 Befriend,Befriend, Warren OOldslds 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, MarMarkk GearGeardd © 2009—T2009—Thishis 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 ZealandZealand,, Jonty Valentine eelectroniclectronic or mecmechanical,hanical, incincludingluding recorrecordingding or storage in any information retrievaretrievall 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, DirectoDirectorr Jonty ValentinValentinee There is a moment in Gary Hustwit’s 2007 docu-docu- OObjectspacebjectspace aims to provoke new assessments about HHowardoward RoarRoarkk llaughed.aughed. mmentaryentary fifilmlm HelHelveticavetica wwherehere ddesigneresigner PauPaulala ScScherher thethe makingmaking anandd functioninfunctioningg of craft anandd ddesign:esign: He stoostoodd nanakedked at tthehe eedgedge of a ccliff…liff… humorouslyhumorously quips thatthat thethe HelveticaHelvetica typefacetypeface causedcaused Printing Types: New Zealand Type Design Since 18700 iiss bothboth the Vietnam and IraqIraq wars. Of course this is a an occasion for us ((NewNew ZealandersZealanders)) 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 jjokeoke but embedded in her hyperbole is the recog- wworkork 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 nnitionition tthathat ttypefacesypefaces hhaveave power, personapersonalitylity anandd project bbecauseecause as VaValentinelentine sasaysys “it is remarremarkablekable novenovell bbegins,egins, tthathat it is so over-tover-the-tophe-top andand romantic. SomehowSomehow it’s thethe perfect mix of MiMillslls & Boon cclichéliché 2 are omni-present. One otherother designerdesigner interviewedinterviewed hhowow un-un-heroicheroic anandd invisiinvisibleble tthehe hhistoryistory of ttypeype aandnd philosophical argument. Although it’s not an obvious choice, I want to use The Fountainheadd aass a iinn Hustwit’s film notes of Helvetica that ““youyou will desidesigngn 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 DDavidavid Bennewith, Noel Waite and Douglas bbookook ddoesoes ddescribeescribe thethe idealistic,idealistic, adolescent,adolescent, romantic way thatthat I want to imagine thethe worworkk of thethe ddesigneresigner iitsts personality. IInn the Language of ThingThingss ((2008)2008) LLloyd-Jenkinsloyd-Jenkins have started to excavate our type pprotagonistsrotagonists of tthishis exexhibition—ahibition—a usuallyusually anonymousanonymous group of people,people, some of whomwhom makemake it theirtheir life’slife’s DDeyaneyan SuSudjicdjic mamakeskes a simisimilarlar oobservation:bservation: “In tthehe ddesignesign hhistoryistory PPrintingrinting TTypesypes, is I bbelieve,elieve, tthehe first worworkk to ddesignesign ttypefaces.ypefaces. It is just tthehe kkindind of compellingcompelling butbut }awed}awed andand entertaining mythologymythology thatthat I’mI’m shshapeape anandd form of a lletteretter we hhaveave aallll tthehe ccharacter-haracter- exexhibitionhibition anandd rerelatedlated pupublicationblication compcompletelyletely searching for, to start to tell a story that needs more heroesheroes.. iisticsstics of an accent”. This assessment contrasts with ffocusedocused on contemporary and historical the orthodox assessment of literary critics noted NNewew Zealand type design. Objectspace offers SSTEREOTYPESTEREOTYPES bbyy Jonty VaValentinelentine wwhichhich is tthathat typefaces hhaveave iitsts concongratulationsgratulations anandd immense ggratituderatitude to bbeeneen “consi“considereddered to bbee rerelativelylatively ddumb—byumb—by wwhichhich JJontyonty VaValentinelentine wwhoho hhasas curatecuratedd 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”. wwrittenritten a provocative essaessayy 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 TypeTypess publication. Printing CatCatherineherine Gri|tGri|ths’shs’s monumentamonumentall concrete tatabletsblets of type in tthehe WeWellingtonllington Writers WaWalk.lk. TThehe pphotohoto is their own producers, decisions about typefacestypefaces—— TTypesypes follows on from the outstanding exhibition pprettyretty epic: Kris is picturedpictured aalmostlmost hheroicallyeroically witwithh tthehe sun bbehindehind hhimim against a bbackdropackdrop of water lappinglapping tthathat were untiuntill recentrecentlyly llargelyargely tthehe province of Just HoHoldld Me: AsAspectspects of NZ ppublicationublication ddesignesign ththatat aagainstgainst tthehe wwharfharf at tthehe eedgedge of tthehe hharbour.arbour. TThehe image strucstruckk me as veryvery RoarRoarkesque.kesque. Referring to a panepanell trainetrainedd ddesigners—areesigners—are mamadede ddailyaily by manmanyy of us. JJontyonty curatecuratedd for OObjectspacebjectspace 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 JJontyonty 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 tthingshings tthathat are ddesigned,esigned, proproducedduced anandd owneowned:d: we pupublication.blication. In aadditionddition I want to acknowledgeacknowledge tthehe mamakerker amonamongstgst arcarchitects.”hitects.” Nice. TTherehere is a parallelparallel withwith RoarkRoark herehere too, wwhoho ““hadhad workedworked as a common hhaveave never hhadad more ppossessions.ossessions. TThehe ssheerheer rate ooff ssupportupport of Air New ZeaZealand,land, 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 ‘thin‘things’gs’ has UniversitUniversity,y, Stephen Connelly,Connelly, Inhouse Design,