Tag Archives: london design festival

#LDF13: ‘Underground’ by Maria Cox

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#LDF13: ‘Underground’ by Maria Cox

Maria Cox chose the word ‘Underground’ because she has an ongoing fascination with this London icon. For her Type Tasting piece she initially looked at fonts with a curve to them and thought about drawing a train running on railway tracks to create the typeface. She came up with the final idea after sketching thumbnails with different ideas of trains and tracks, and playing with the meaning of the word so that part of the word appeared below ground level.

An accident involving a colleague and some spilt ink led to an unscheduled delay (well it is the underground), but we really like the resulting Hitchcockian blood red ink splattered over the ‘Mind the Gap’ warning.

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#LDF13: ‘Celebration’ by Bárbara Ana Gómez

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#LDF13: ‘Celebration’ by Bárbara Ana Gómez

Bárbara Ana Gómez is a Spanish illustrator who moved to London in 2007. Her Type Tasting submission ‘Celebration’ is an intricate combination of flowing shapes and mischievous faries which were sketched out by hand before being ounlined in pen and ink then scanned in and coloured up in Photoshop.

#LDF13 ‘Retro’ by Kate Clift

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#LDF13 ‘Retro’ by Kate Clift

Clift explains that the concept behind the word is as much about the process as the aesthetic. First she letterpress printed the word on an Adana 8×5 press using type made in the 1960s. This was scanned, enlarged and cut out to create a template. Clift then spray painted the fluorescent pink onto 1960s/80s inspired tie dye fabric.

Her piece is influenced by retro from different periods, from the timelessness of letterpress printing through to the more contemporary decades of the 1960s/80s.

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Blog: Tatty Devine made by hand

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Blog: Tatty Devine made by hand

We’re delighted to give you an exclusive, behind the scenes look at the making of the Tatty Devine ‘Love’ necklace…

Tatty Devine creates original designs from scratch, almost all of their jewellery is made by hand in their workshops and they stick to their principles of keeping production in the UK. You can see here just how much detail goes into making each necklace, from choosing the separate shapes and assembling them by hand to match the diagram through to removing the protective coverings and revealing the final piece. We especially like the big, yellow pot of ‘Magic Glue’.

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Workshop: Type Tasting at Cass Art Islington

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Workshop: Type Tasting at Cass Art Islington
Sunday September 1st, 3-5pm
Cass Art Islington
Prior booking necessary via the Cass Art website, maximum group size 8 people.
Experience: all levels (16+)

Take part in a Type Tasting creative typography workshop at Cass Art Islington hosted by Type Tasting founder Sarah Hyndman. Get away from the computer to get your hands dirty experimenting with typography and exploring its expressive qualities. We will explore the topic of ‘creative London’ through typography, mark making and materials. At the end of the session you are invited to submit your work to be considered for inclusion in Type Tasting with the London Design Festival at the V&A.

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Workshop: Type Tasting at the Dalston Eastern Curve Garden

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Workshop: Type Tasting at the Dalston Eastern Curve Garden
Creative typography workshops for children
Thursday August 22nd
Drop in workshops at 1pm, 2pm and 3pm, each session lasts for an hour.
No prior booking necessary
(the workshop will accommodate 10-15 children at a time)

Children are invited to draw words about creativity and playing in a session led by Type Tasting founder Sarah Hyndman. The children will choose words and then create them so that the letterforms are inspired by the meaning of the words.

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#LDF13: ‘Clean’ by Nick Watts

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#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.”

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Clean_Nick Watts

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

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#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: ‘Home’ by Caspian Ievers

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#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

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– The Old Guardian Foyer

#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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