designer

Typography

Chalk Type by Dana Tanamachi

By Delphine Hirasuna |

In an age when so much design is digitally generated and has the look of being manufactured, it is refreshing to see beautiful display type letters drawn freehand with chalk. Not the kind of hastily written “daily special” menus seen on chalkboards in neighborhood cafes, the chalk lettering of Brooklyn-based designer Dana Tanamachi recalls the lost art of early 20th century storefront sign painters with their mix of outline and script letters, decorative flourishes, and subtle shading.

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Film

Of Saul Bass and the History of Film Titles

By Delphine Hirasuna |

Years ago designer Saul Bass explained how he approached film title sequences to me when I interviewed him for an article. “Find an image that will be provocative, seductive yet true to the film,” he said. “It has to have some ambiguity, some contradiction, not only visually but conceptually. Not just isolating the prettiest frame, but finding a metaphor for the film.“

Beginning with his 1955 work on Otto Preminger’s “The Man with the Golden Arm,” Bass transformed the way film title sequences were perceived forever. He approached the task with a graphic designer’s eye, so that stills from his title sequences easily translated into a powerful iconic poster for the movie.

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Interviews

Erik Spiekermann — 2011 German Design Lifetime Achievement Winner

By Delphine Hirasuna |

Designer/typographer Erik Spiekermann, who founded the globally renowned MetaDesign and FontShop, is the recipient of this year’s German Design Lifetime Achievement Award. Here, he spoke at length with gestalten.tv on his approach to and philosophy of type design, visual languages, design processes and other subjects. His remarks are thoughtful, informative and inspiring, and though this video is nearly 14 minutes long, we think it is worth viewing. Congratulations, Erik. Well deserved.

Design Education

Milton Glaser on the Fear of Failure

By Delphine Hirasuna |

Fear of failure was the theme of this year’s student work exhibition at Stockholm’s Berghs School of Communication. As part of the program, Berghs asked some of the world’s most renowned and prolific designers, artists and writers to share their thoughts on the subject. Included in these interviews were Milton Glaser, Paulo Coelho, Stefan Sagmeister, Rei Inamoto, Michael Wolff, and Lis Johles. Here designer Milton Glaser explains why it is so importance to “embrace failure.”