When in Rome…
One of those little pieces that get produced in-house and never usually get seen…
Cartes de Visite originated in France but became a popular and fashionable fad throughout Europe during the Victorian era. As a result, there are many collectors of these accessible (but slightly wierd) photographic portraits of middle class Victorians, and quite a lot of information is available for the mildly interested.
For instance, the John E. Palmer elegantly scripted upon this card was one of two photographer brothers from Devon, and along with William Eastman Palmer (and five of his seven sons) who appeared to dominate the south west market.
Much more information can be found in the following links:
http://www.rogerco.freeserve.co.uk/victoria.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Eastman_Palmer_%26_Sons
http://homepages.tesco.net/~roger.vaughan/visitors/taylor-ag.htm
http://www.cartedevisite.co.uk/
Many thanks to my friend Pete who has kindly allowed me to feature them here.
It’s the start of December, which means a new header for ”my type of…” blog. Notice the header? You know how I change the typeface every month (go look in the header archive if you haven’t), well now you have a chance to get your typeface up there. This is an open call to showcase new typefaces!
For this month I present to you ‘Punch’ by UK graphic designer Christopher Skinner. (Me!)
This typeface was first developed for a book design project earlier this year and only consisted of the characters required. Although this design was rejected in favour of a different typographic approach, I was sufficiently pleased with it to develop it into something a little more useable.
The original characters are actually created using a hand punch on some stiff card, which was then photographed with lighting arranged to highlight the depth. Much PhotoShoppery was applied to enable this to work on a variety of surface images…
It is obviously not a functioning font, but is good for a few words here and there.
LINKS
Lestaret
Lestaret’s Blog
So what typefaces have you designed? I would like to feature new work, experiments and non-commercial typefaces once a month – all you have to do is send me an email with a small sample image attached and a little information about your design. Submissions are welcome from professional designers, students and the typographically inclined.
christopher (at) lestaret (dot) com
I will get back touch with you for more samples and information as I update the blog. Of course, any work submitted will be attributed to you, and links to your website/blog/shop will be included. It’s over to you…
A WANDER AROUND ST.PAUL’S, SOUTH ALONG THE RIVER & QUEENS PARK
The second installment of an epic meander through the capital in September…
Starting in Carter Lane, just south of St.Paul’s at what is now a rather down-at-heel YMCA in a spectacularly decorated and sadly dilapidated state. This building, once the choir boys school, is liberally covered in lettering and decoration in a technique called ‘sgrafitto’ where layers of coloured plaster are spread over each other, and the top layer is scraped away to reveal the colour beneath. Water damage has made some probably irreversible damage to this delicate plasterwork. Grrr.
The building is also adorned with other decorative features too like this corner plaque at the rear, where the building joins the old Deanery which needs to be tried for crimes against setting copperplate script in all caps!
On the way through Cheapside we found this marble slab with some pretty uninspiring typography:
Wordsworth would probably spin in his grave if he saw just how a poor choice of typeface could reduce a poem to just words in stone…
Across the river, on Shad Thames some pretty nasty kerning was found…
But was all redeemed after a couple of pints in The Rake near Blows yard…
Followed by more pints in a variety of establishments along the river…
And some excellent noodles at Cha Cha Moon, with its elegant typography and nimble neon sign…
There were other places after that, but much of that is now strangely lost to me.
The following morning after a hearty fried breakfast we wandered the streets of NW6 and found some items of interest…
And at the point at which I could take no more Helvetica, I spotted this elegant handwritten note alongside some more. I sincerely hope that you are only getting your own mail now, Janette.
So what’s in your neighbourhood?
I am putting out a request for contributors for the “my type of… place” section of this blog and would like you to put together your own typographic tour. If you are interested, download the contributors information sheet for more details, ideas and specifications here.
BY GLENN ADAMS
As a small town boy from the east of England with roots in east London, visiting cities have always been the norm for me, so a trip to Paris to celebrate my first anniversary with my girlfriend Kim seemed like an opportunity to take plenty of “touristy” photos and soak up the romantic atmosphere.
From the second we arrived it was love for both of us taking morning walks down the banks of the Seine (granted it was October so it was a tad chilly) and browsing the small boutique shops of the latin quarter.
What really grabbed me for the whole of my stay was the underground graffiti art of Paris. Using conventional spray and stencil work with prints and graphics the results are unique and always eye catching.
All cities have their own underground art scene each with its own feel and style but the Parisian style is truly something else.
I had fallen in love with this Paris that mixes English and French to express the new, making you feel like one of the cool kids being invited.
The biggest embodiment I found of this was in Rue Saint-Honoré in a store called Colette, literally selling everything you need to impress and burn a few hundred euros. It wasn’t the shop that impressed me though, but what was on the side of the building, a white garage door with simple blue spray paint that somehow made me stop in my tracks.
LINKS
http://www.glennadamsphotography.co.uk/
Many thanks for your observations Glenn – it’s great to see how other people pick up on the style of cities and think that this offers another viewpoint of this over photographed city! And best wishes to you and Kim!
So what’s in your neighbourhood?
I am putting out a request for contributors for the “my type of… place” section of this blog and would like you to put together your own typographic tour. If you are interested, download the contributors information sheet for more details, ideas and specifications here.
We continue to ring the changes to the “my type of…” blog. Not massively, but I think in a way that may appeal to some. Notice the header? You know how I change the typeface every month (go look in the header archive if you haven’t), well now you have a chance to get your typeface up there. This is an open call to showcase new typefaces!
For November I present to you ‘Tangled Jeans’ by freelance illustrator Hwan Uk Choe. This typeface ‘Tangled Jeans’ was commissioned by Calvin Klein Jeans Korea as an artist collaboration event to promote Calvin Klein Gradation Denim.
Living and working in Seoul, Korea, Hwans portfolio is a comprehensive mix of illustration and design, with type playing an important role within his work. He has some other excellent typefaces on his website too, including ‘Nature,’ ‘Restaurant’, Pasta Party’ and ‘Cellar Door’ to name a few. Go there now – be inspired!
LINKS
http://www.hanuku.com/
http://www.behance.net/hanuku
Thanks very much to Hwan for permission to feature his work here. All the images above remain the copyright of Hwan Uk Choe.
So what typefaces have you designed? I would like to feature new work, experiments and non-commercial typefaces once a month – all you have to do is send me an email with a small sample image attached and a little information about your design. Submissions are welcome from professional designers, students and the typographically inclined.
christopher (at) lestaret (dot) com
I will get back touch with you for more samples and information as I update the blog. Of course, any work submitted will be attributed to you, and links to your website/blog/shop will be included. It’s over to you…
by Lisette van de Graaf
Barcelona is a city of designers and therefore graphic design can be seen everywhere, in many shapes and forms. So when Christopher invited me to write a guest post for his blog, it was hard to decide on what to choose. Finally, I decided to go with the graphic design and typography that we tend to overlook, as they are omnipresent and such a part of our daily lives that we no longer ‘see’ it. No doubt a lot of work went into creating these examples, so they are well worth showcasing.
The above logo belongs to Barcelona de Serveis Municipals, and more specifically to their network of parking spaces, which can be found all over the city and used by cars, motorbikes and bicycles alike. This particular one belongs to a car park on Carrer Bergara. Below, another example of graphic design for the local council. In this case, it’s for Department for Environment, a council department in charge of managing quality and sustainability criteria for the
provision of urban services and the maintenance of the environment. One of their domains is waste management, to which this logo belongs.
Found underfoot, on Ronda Universitat, is this lovely cast iron cover with the name of its maker prominently displayed. This is not very common these days, as this type of lid usually shows the name of the service provider whose tunnel it covers.
Another ‘old school’ example, is this sign found in the Muntaner underground train station. No doubt the designers of this enamel sign were much inspired by the signs used in the London Underground, for there are a number of similarities to be found.
Much more modern is the design for the local council bikes, called Bicing. Hugely popular, they are used by approximately 58,000 people every day. Their docking stations can be found all over town, and are a great way to move around the city. As use of these is per annual subscription, they are not available to tourists.
Found on a car at a petrol station: the logo for Catalonian television station TV3 – watching their programs is a good way to brush up one’s Catalan language skills!
An old logo which no doubt will be removed soon. It belongs to the former version of the waste disposal department of Barcelona’s city Council. For the design of this logo use was made of the simple floral pattern that can be found in many of Barcelona’s street tiles.
Two similar fonts have been used by Fira de Barcelona and the Regional Train Company, Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya, or FGC. Barcelona considers itself to be a modern city, and so all things graphic are continually renewed and redesigned. As a consequence, most fonts used are clean and simple, especially when used by the various local council bodies.
Thanks Christopher for the invitation to share my type of Barcelona with your readers. I hope you
have all enjoyed this selection.
LINKS
http://www.bsmsa.cat/mobilitat/index.php/home
http://w110.bcn.cat/portal/site/MediAmbient?lang=en_GB
http://www.bicing.cat/
http://cutesuite.wordpress.com/
Thanks to you too Lisette – your blog is a great source of images of modern urban Barcelona – I hope you’ll consider submitting more images soon!
So what’s in your neighbourhood?
I am putting out a request for contributors for the “my type of… place” section of this blog and would like you to put together your own typographic tour. If you are interested, download the contributors information sheet for more details, ideas and specifications here.
