OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO A A27 Typography//Issue of Giants A A Licko Licko Zuzana Zuzana A A A A Zuzana A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A ZUZANA LICKO UTYEjiPKBDSYQ AaWEMABDF AaWEMABDF BACKGROUND AaWEMABDF Zuzana Licko was born in 1961 in Bratisla- va, Czechoslovakia. In 1968 she emigrated with her family to the United States of America. She studied architecture, photography and computer “Thechallengewasthatbecausetheearly programming before earning a degree in Graphic Zuzana’s father was a biomathematician who held a Communications at the University of California computersweresolimitedinwhatthey position at the University of California, San Francisco. It at Berkeley in 1984. was through the work of her father that Licko became coulddoyoureallyhadtodesignsomething involved with computers as during the summer months, special.” she helped him with data processing work. When she first started attending the university her goal was to earn a degree in architecture, but she then changed to a visual studies major because she believed becoming an architect was in her eyes, too similar to AaWEMABDF going to business school. While at Berkeley, Zuzana took a calligraphy class, AaWEMABDF which happened to be her least favorite as she was required to write with her right hand, despite being left handed. This experience later influenced her when she started working on type design, which was more AaWEMABDF computer-based. Mrs Eves Fractions Fractions Mrs Eves Collage of Zuzana Licko Zuzana Licko of Collage IMAGE TEXTBACKGROUND 2 Giants of Typography // Issue 27 3 FOUNDING OF ÉMIGRÉ GRAPHICS In 1984, Zuzana Licko co-founded Émigré Graphics together with her husband Rudy VanderLans. The company became world renowned for its self-published magazine and type foundry, which were greatly inspired by the new technical possibilities offered by the Apart from adding new typefaces as a form of content, introduction of the Macintosh computer. Émigré was also created as a way to share the Licko and VanderLans became early adoptors of typefaces with other designers that liked and wanted the new technology and they used the computer to to use Zuzana’s creations. As technology advanced, experiment and create some of the very first typeface Zuzana moved from bitmap fonts to high resolution designs and digital page layouts causing great designs and based the newer designs on the ones consternation within the realm of graphic design. initially created for dot matrix printers. Eventually, exposure of the typefaces in Émigré AaWEM In the mid-1990s, Licko worked on two notable magazine resulted in demand for the fonts which lead to revivals: Mrs Eaves, based on Baskerville, and the creation of the Emigre Type foundry. Filosofia, based on Bodoni. Both are Licko’s personal This growing library of digital typefaces, both interpretations of their historical models and each Licko describes her creative relationship with Vanderlans, experimental and traditional, is currently the principal features extensive ligatures. Mrs Eaves was named after “ We met at the University of California at Berkeley where activity and mainstay of Emigre. John Baskerville’s lover; it is a somewhat stylized revival I was an undergraduate at the College of Environmental of the Baskerville typeface. Along with ligatures, Licko Design and Rudy was a graduate student in stylized Baskerville through the use of small caps or photography. This was in 1982-83. After college we “petite caps”. both did all sorts of design-related odd jobs. There Like other revivals of typefaces, Licko’s revival of Bodoni was no direction. Then, in 1984 The Macintosh was focused on geometry and symmetry but with her font introduced, we bought one, and everything started to fall Filosofia, aimed to include a version that provided for into place. We both, each in our own way, really enjoyed use as readable body text, unlike the original Bodoni. this machine. It forced us to question everything we had Filosofia also includes Filosofia Grand, designed for learnt about design. We both enjoyed that process of display use. exploration, of how far you could push the limits. Rudy is more intuitive; I’m more methodical. Yin and yang. It seemed to click, and still does.” Cropped image of Licko with her with Licko her of image Cropped Cover of No. 52 Emigre, published 1999 52 Emigre, No. of Cover husband Vanderlans Rudy ABOVE LEFT 4 Giants of Typography // Issue 27 5 FONTS DESIGNED BY LICKO INCLUDE • Lo-Res (9, 12, 15, 22, 28; serif 22 & 21), 1985 • Modula, 1985 • Citizen, 1986 • Matrix, 1986 • Lunatix, 1988 • Oblong, 1988 • Senator, 1988 “ I started my venture with bitmap type designs, • Variex, 1988 created for the coarse resolutions of the • Elektrix, 1989 computer screen and dot matrix printer. • Triplex, 1989 The challenge was that because the early • Journal (original and text), 1990 computers were so limited in what they could do you really had to design something special. • Tall Pack, 1990 Even if it was difficult to adapt calligraphy to • Totally Gothic, 1990 lead and later lead to photo technology, it • Totally Glyphic, 1990 could be done, but it was physically impossible • Matrix Script, 1992 to adapt 8-point Goudy Old Style to 72 dots to the inch. In the end you couldn’t tell Goudy • Matrix Inline (original and script), 1992 Old Style from Times Roman or any other serif • Modula Tall, 1992 text face.” • Narly, 1993 • Dogma (original, script & outline), 1994 • Whirligig, 1994 RECOGNITION AND AWARDS • Base Nine and Twelve (serif & sans), 1995 Zuzana and her husband, Rudy, won the Chrysler collections of The Museum of Modern Art, New York; • Soda Script, 1995 Design Award for Innovation in Design in 1994. Their The Denver Art Museum; the Museum of Modern Art, work on the Émigré Magazine also won the Publish San Francisco; the Museum für Gestaltung, Zurich; the • Modula Round sans, 1995 magazine Impact Award in 1996. A year later in 1997, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, The Bancroft Library, • Mrs. Eaves (original & serif), 1996 they received an American Institute for Graphic Arts University of California at Berkeley; and many other • Filosofia (original, grand & unicase), 1996 Gold Medal Award. Soon after, in 1998 they were institutions around the world. • Base Monospace, 1997 awarded the Charles Nyples Award in Innovation in Typography. In October 2010 the Emigre team • Hypnopaedia, 1997 was inducted as Honorary members of the Society of • Tarzana, 1998 Typographic Arts, Chicago. Licko is also the recipient of • Solex, 2000 an honorary Ph.D degree from the Rhode Island School • Fairplex, 2002 of Design (2005). • Puzzler, 2005 In 2011, five digital typefaces from the Emigre Type • Mr. Eaves Sans and Modern, 2009 Library were acquired by The Museum of Modern Art, New York for its design and architecture collection. • Base 900, 2010 Complete sets of Emigre magazine are in the permanent • Program, 2013 Collage of Hypnopaedia of patterned Collage UTYEBH fonts fromfonts (published library the Emigre the 2013 SOTA with Zuzana at 1997) in the foreground awards Typography of in Front Vanderlans and Opposite Licko cover an Emigre ABOVE 6 Giants of Typography // Issue 27 7 BB Publishing 1/26 Mountain Street, Ultimo, 2007 Sydney, NSW [email protected].