Not just for the Bird’s: Fast Type, Slow Type
The Friends of St Bride Library’s annual conference is one of the greatest incidental benefits to come out of the recent campaign to save the Library. As a Friends committee member, it is one of the things I’m most proud of. This year, the conference took place at the Custard Factory, formerly belonging to Sir Alfred Bird of ‘instant’ fame. It is a set of buildings that have been converted into studios and offices for artists and designers in Digbeth, close the city centre of Birmingham. The new venue, in a very strikingly different part of Britain, attracted new delegates from the area; people that we (the Friends committee) hoped would enjoy having a graphics conference take place closer to home. We also hoped they would be interested in the Library; it needs to make its case as a national library more clearly, and one effective way is for the Library’s ambassadors to travel out of London and explain what the Library is and does to interested people who can’t just drop in to Bride Lane, Fleet Street, for a quick look round.
There were some really great talks. The established format is that each talk lasts half an hour, and there are generally no questions. We zip from one topic to the next with barely time to catch a breath, and in this spirit here is a roundup of some of the most memorable.
Noëmi Bachmann, Jolanda Eberhard, Christine Kaufmann and Eliane Wehrli, ‘Swiss made’: reporting on a loving exploration of the properties of Swiss chocolate as a medium for lettercutting. Michael Diebold, ‘Truck & Type’: A survey of European truck tarpaulins, with comprehensive analysis of the colours, typefaces and motifs thereon. Derek Fenech, ‘The typographic art of buses’: another transport-related talk looking at decorated buses in Malta. Robert Hillier, ‘Sylexiad: a typeface for the adult dyslexic reader’ which summarised a research project aiming to discover which characteristics in type really do help dyslexics to read more easily. Yvonne Jones, ‘John Baskerville — one of the most imminent japanners in Birmingham’ which revealed the economic importance of Baskerville’s japanning business in allowing him to produce the printing innovations he is more famous for.
Other talks were notable for beautiful and intriguing images; for abstract qualities, there were talks on by Ausra Lisauskiene on ‘Water letters’ (letter shapes inspired by flowing and frothing water) and Kathryn Scott on ‘translation’ which was a set of intriguing photographs of letters made by shining light through fine holes in paper and moving the paper during the exposure). More concrete was Victor Gaultney’s study of the works of Arnold Flaten, sculptor, lettercutter and priest. There was also a memorable impromptu lettering demonstration by Paul Antonio; a rare opportunity to be simultaneously entertained both visually and musically by one person. I was amused to be cited in Catherine Griffiths’ ‘Journeying through the landscape of passion, disappointment, hope’ — the quote came from my review of an earlier by Catherine, talk given at ATypI Helsinki 2005.
And this summary hasn’t covered fascinating insights into two very different type foundries, American Type Founders and Letraset, nor Catherine Dixon and Phil Baines’ delicious roundup of milestones and elderly road signs, nor A.B.A.K.E.’s wry magazine alphabet project…
This is the fifth year of the Friends conference, my fourth time. It’s obvious that Typevents’ Caroline Archer, who’s in charge, has been steadily refining the formula when you consider the smoothness with which the event ran. I have to declare my interest: I have been involved in helping out at the conferences since ‘Hidden Typography…’ the second conference, in 2003. I also have a fair idea about the planning that goes into the conference. But in attracting and marshalling speakers and exhibitors, in assisting the delegates, and in dealing with the contingencies that arise during the event, and in the days and hours leading up to it, Caroline and Typevents are showing their professionalism. Well done to them, and another thank you to everyone who attended.
I must also thank Chris and Ali Patterson who gave me a peaceful place to stay during the conference!
More about the Friends’ conference: http://stbride.org/friends/conference
There were some really great talks. The established format is that each talk lasts half an hour, and there are generally no questions. We zip from one topic to the next with barely time to catch a breath, and in this spirit here is a roundup of some of the most memorable.
Noëmi Bachmann, Jolanda Eberhard, Christine Kaufmann and Eliane Wehrli, ‘Swiss made’: reporting on a loving exploration of the properties of Swiss chocolate as a medium for lettercutting. Michael Diebold, ‘Truck & Type’: A survey of European truck tarpaulins, with comprehensive analysis of the colours, typefaces and motifs thereon. Derek Fenech, ‘The typographic art of buses’: another transport-related talk looking at decorated buses in Malta. Robert Hillier, ‘Sylexiad: a typeface for the adult dyslexic reader’ which summarised a research project aiming to discover which characteristics in type really do help dyslexics to read more easily. Yvonne Jones, ‘John Baskerville — one of the most imminent japanners in Birmingham’ which revealed the economic importance of Baskerville’s japanning business in allowing him to produce the printing innovations he is more famous for.
Other talks were notable for beautiful and intriguing images; for abstract qualities, there were talks on by Ausra Lisauskiene on ‘Water letters’ (letter shapes inspired by flowing and frothing water) and Kathryn Scott on ‘translation’ which was a set of intriguing photographs of letters made by shining light through fine holes in paper and moving the paper during the exposure). More concrete was Victor Gaultney’s study of the works of Arnold Flaten, sculptor, lettercutter and priest. There was also a memorable impromptu lettering demonstration by Paul Antonio; a rare opportunity to be simultaneously entertained both visually and musically by one person. I was amused to be cited in Catherine Griffiths’ ‘Journeying through the landscape of passion, disappointment, hope’ — the quote came from my review of an earlier by Catherine, talk given at ATypI Helsinki 2005.
And this summary hasn’t covered fascinating insights into two very different type foundries, American Type Founders and Letraset, nor Catherine Dixon and Phil Baines’ delicious roundup of milestones and elderly road signs, nor A.B.A.K.E.’s wry magazine alphabet project…
This is the fifth year of the Friends conference, my fourth time. It’s obvious that Typevents’ Caroline Archer, who’s in charge, has been steadily refining the formula when you consider the smoothness with which the event ran. I have to declare my interest: I have been involved in helping out at the conferences since ‘Hidden Typography…’ the second conference, in 2003. I also have a fair idea about the planning that goes into the conference. But in attracting and marshalling speakers and exhibitors, in assisting the delegates, and in dealing with the contingencies that arise during the event, and in the days and hours leading up to it, Caroline and Typevents are showing their professionalism. Well done to them, and another thank you to everyone who attended.
I must also thank Chris and Ali Patterson who gave me a peaceful place to stay during the conference!
More about the Friends’ conference: http://stbride.org/friends/conference
posted by Ben Weiner at 10:32 AM
0 comments
