Category Archives: Uncategorized

#LDF13: ‘Clean’ by Nick Watts

#LDF13: ‘Clean’ by Nick Watts

“Watching British riders winning at the highest levels of pro cycling is now as familiar to Londoners as the sight of the mucky ‘chain print’ marks on the calves of its commuters and couriers. Hordes of greasy, oily ride-to-work schemers and Boris Bikers have taken to the roads, inspired by the cleanest riders in the sport for generations.”

Watts created his letters from sections of bike chain which he mounted onto backings to create printing blocks. The letters are printed in acrylic paints on yellow nylon fabric.

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#LDF13: Ralph Steadman Rebellious Creative

#LDF13: Ralph Steadman Rebellious Creative

Ralph Steadman is one of the most influential and provocative British artists, whose ink splattered style, anarchic wit and characteristic figures are immediately recognisable.

“Some people really deserve a custard pie. If you’re not going to shock or enlighten, I don’t really see the point.” Says Steadman to Vanity Fair

Steadman’s pieces for Type Tasting are created both in his freehand inky style (below), and using woodblock printing letters (above), the double ‘OO’ ligature appears in many of his prints. “I ink the letters by hand roller—drop the paper directly onto the block letter area and get my pet elephant Caxton to roll onto its back— then lovingly push to coax him to roll through 180 degrees across the outdoor grass printing bed—and…….

VOILAA!!! Done quicker than it takes to place a Trunk Call!!”

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#LDF13: ‘Love’ by Tatty Devine

#LDF13: ‘Love’ by Tatty Devine

Harriet Vine from Tatty Devine created this necklace as her response to ‘London = …?’. It’s inspired by “Hyde park, RCA and the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band”.

Tatty Devine creates jewellery that blurs the boundaries between art, fashion and culture. They create original designs from scratch, almost all of their jewellery is made by hand in Tatty Devine’s own workshops and they stick to their principles of keeping production in the UK. Their standout designs are all about expressing yourself in a fun and distinctive way. Harriet Vine met Rosie Wolfenden at the Chelsea School Of Art, they founded Tatty Devine in 1999. They were soon selling out every week at Portobello and Spitalfields, and Vogue shot their first collection for their Millennium issue. This year they were awarded MBEs for services to the fashion industry.

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#LDF13: ‘Home’ by Caspian Ievers

#LDF13: ‘Home’ by Caspian Ievers

Caspian Ievers lives in Wellington, New Zealand. He is originally from the UK and ‘Home’ is about his Mum’s cooking and going to visit her. He photographed all the stages he went through to create the letters—from his home baking to enjoying the jam laden scone with a cup of tea (below).

The distance Ievers lives from London was emphasised as he created the letters on Sunday. He explained that it was an eventful day “with more earthquakes than you’d ever want in a day including a 6.5 not that far away which made the shoot a bit unusual, no damage here just plenty of diving under the table.”

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#LDF13: Alan Kitching and a trip to the V&A

#LDF13: Alan Kitching and a trip to the V&A

Alan Kitching‘s stunning ‘BUSES+TUBES’ contribution arrived today, we felt like kids on Christmas morning opening the parcel. Kitching is a world renowned typographer, designer and letterpress practitioner. His bold and sometimes witty letterpress compositions are simply and elegantly executed in his distinctive style.

Kitching has influenced generations of printers and designers and continues to teach and give regular talks. He runs hands-on courses teaching typesetting and the art of letterpress printing from his studio in Kennington. Find out more at thetypographyworkshop.com

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#LDF13: Summer in the city

#LDF13: Summer in the city

Two beautifully summery submissions for Type Tasting with the London Design Festival at the V&A. ‘Festival’ is by graphic designer Zoë Chan, the typographic bunting is created from felt and paper with lots of chunky display type. Dubai based Monica Brough’s ‘Botanical’ is inspired by her love of the natural world and all the gardens and parks in and around London such as Hampton Court and Kew Gardens.

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Gallery: Dalston Type Safari

Gallery: Dalston Type Safari

Compositions from the most recent Dalston Type Safari, can you name the tune in the piece above by Rob Self-Pierson? The designs below are by Alice Stevens and Maria Cox.

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Blog: Dalston reimagined

Blog: Dalston reimagined

We created an installation of Dalston signage in the Type Tasting studio and invited participants to create customised Dalston letters. A wide range of people joined in, from graphic designers and visiting design students to grandparents and children. It was a creative and colourful weekend. Click on the main image twice to see all the detail at full size.

Above is the Helvetica ‘R’ from the chatty cinema sign over Ruby’s Bar and below is the neon ‘A’ from Dalston Superstore.

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