The Type Tasting studio turned into a creative wonderland of ink and hand painted letters this weekend. To coincide with the London screenings of Sign Painters Mike Meyer, one of the film’s stars, came to town to deliver an intensive two-day sign painting workshop which was organised by Sam from Better Letters. Mike teamed up with the Brilliant Sign Co. and under their expert guidance we filled the Type Tasting studio with inky lettering.
“Covered in paint & happier for it.” @FranPayne
On the road: The Art Deco Lark Cinema, Larkspur, California USA / Big Display Sans Serifs visible from a distance at the Billabong Roadhouse, Western Australia / Eurostyle & a Condensed Sans Serif on the 1950s style Antiques sign at Barbie’s Coffee Shop, Three Rivers, California USA / Casual Script and Slab Serifs at the Edgewater Inn, Pismo Beach, California USA…
To all of you test pilots who threw yourselves into the unknown so enthusiastically, the brilliant volunteers, everybody who came along to the big public Type Tastings, or booked bespoke tastings for your organisations. To those of you who submitted such beautiful work for the exhibition at the V&A, and everybody who tweeted, blogged, reviewed and wrote about it. Thank you also for all the encouragement, enthusiasm, commissions, challenges and the invitations. Cheers! Sarah.
Type Tasting launched officially on Valentine’s Day 2013 with an evening of Typographic Swearing ‘n’ Cussing. By contrast 50 year six kids participated in a typographic tour of Hoxton Hall’s history in with Hackney Wow.
You’ve taken Type Safaris through Islington and Dalston, talking typography and booze making for a perfect combination. And at the busy workshop at Pick Me Up at Somerset House we created a wall of inventively customised letters which had great feedback.
The question ‘what’s the future of type?‘ prompted diverse responses on Twitter, in Design Week, Creative Review and at the event at the St Bride Library. The next event was Type Tasting with the London Design Festival at the V&A with stunning submissions for the exhibition.
Type Idol
Band logos or album covers become iconic and result in a herd of spin off merchandising. We scribbled the logos on our school books, have the poster on our walls, wear the t-shirt, get the tattoo. They become so familiar that they become idols in their own right and can be reduced down to a simple typographic element and still be recogniseable.
How many do you recognise?
How Punk changed Graphic Design
Sarah Hyndman on Punk, which first exploded in the 1970s and, at the time, looked like youthful rebellion.
In actuality it was part of the Postmodernist movement which began as a reaction to the rigid restrictions of Modernism. Its DIY ethos encapsulated the anti-establishment mood of the mid 1970s, a time of political and social turbulence. The former British Empire was dissolving and a new era in British music, fashion and design was beginning.
Taking the stage to articulate the feelings of a dissatisfied generation calling for change were the Sex Pistols, who played their first gig in 1975 at St Martins College of Art. Their outrageous behaviour and contempt for established conventions announced the beginning of Punk. The DIY ethos and uncontrolled, home made style was revolutionary at the time and launched a new era in British music, fashion and design.
(A side-note from the author: Be more Punk, a call to action in 2016.)
Type Tasting has been touring the streets of Dalston exploring the signs that illuminate our social rituals, rummaging around in record shops* looking at type on album covers, and next year we’re off to take part in SXSW in Austin, Texas. Typography is the new Rock ‘n’ Roll. We’ll tell you more soon…
*Read the article in the next issue of Artrocker Magazine
Top 5 spots for a typographic day out in London
By Sarah Hyndman
1. London Transport Museum
This museum in Covent Garden is crammed with the informative typography that we have used every day for almost a century to navigate our way around the city. The buses and signage date from the 1920s to the present day and sit side by side, enabling us to compare the lettering and how it has changed over the years.
Photo ©TfL, from the London Transport Museum collection. http://www.ltmuseum.co.uk
2. Highgate Cemetery
The inscriptions on the gravestones in this beautiful North London cemetery give a view of London’s social history dating back to 1839, with many prominent figures buried there. The lettering to be seen ranges from ornate Victorian script to the typographic simplicity of Patrick Caulfield’s headstone (above). Tours are open to the public all year round.
Photo by Kath Tudball
London = ‘25 Hr City’ built by Edward Hill
Process: Brainstorming / Exploration / Destruction / Preparation / Outlining / Heart / Crane / Building / Expanding / Pausing / River & Trees / Lettuce and Watercress / Conclusion
Where you there?
If you came along to our London Design Festival workshops at the V&A we’d love to hear your comments (or see your photos). Please either comment here or email sarah@typetasting.com
Type Tasting’s Sarah Hyndman on the BBC’s The Arts Hour
“We hear from Sarah Hyndman about how new sign design in London is reflecting the cultural and economic changes in the city.” Interviewed by Nikki Bedi. Listen to the interview.
Type Tasting Blog 