Ace Jet 170

Happy Birthday Ace Jet!

Well I certainly didn't think when I started this thing that I'd be here, a whole year later, celebrating with a one candled cake all on my own (because we blog on our own) popping a party popper. Picture me (although you don't know what I look like) sitting at my Mac, covered in streamers, with a paper cup of cheap champers and a cocktail sausage.

And (I know it's cheesy but I can't help myself but say) what a year it's been:

I thought no one would be interested. Didn't actually mind (or so I first thought) until my wife's blog started getting comments. Slowly but surely though, they came and they were good and nice and positive and encouraging and very supportive.

And people linked to me and commented. So I linked and commented back.

And people gave stuff, which really surprised and thrilled me.

So I'd like to say a special thank you to all those that have visited, commented, given, corrected and linked. You know who you are so I won't mention names for fear of appearing to gloat about the high standard of patronage Ace Jet gets.

What I would like to say though is that if there's anyone reading this who's thinking about blogging but perhaps is hesitating: Hesitate no more, go for it. Blogging's ace! You learn stuff, interact with people you would otherwise never interact with, it broadens your mind and it makes you think a little more about what you're doing, although you'll probably sleep a little less too.

And yes, sad man that I am, I spent the weekend making dirty stinking badges with my boy's Super Badge It for me to wear today. Just me.

Badly Printed Boy

I don't know about you but for me a bit of crap printing holds great appeal. All that low production value stuff: Rubber stamped messages, postage marks, letterpress or dot martrix overprinted tickets, typewritten texts, stencilled lettering, badly printed cardboard boxes; all that kind of thing.

And fruit crates are another thing. Most of these were scavenged during our honeymoon in Italy (yes, I know, should have had other things on my mind) although the last one I actually found last weekend here, or rather just along the coast a bit.

There's something about the way the ink and the wood work together, the ink bleeding and blurring. Beautiful.

And, they remind me of this:

Years ago, probably one of my first significant design projects was to develop a corporate identity and packaging design system for a salad grower in the south of England. Most of their produce was delivered to customers in packaging unsympathetic with fine print: plastic bags, vacuum sealed packs, cardboard trays and boxes. The trays and boxes were key things because the contents had to be easily identifiable in market and wholesale situations where they would be stacked high. Some would be exported so language was an issue. We thought they needed illustrations but we knew they'd be badly printed so opted for a wood/lino cut style that would actual look better badly printed. The style worked beautifully, even on the vac-packs and bags.

Years later I was surprised and thrilled to see a box side, torn off and disgarded in the gutter in Greece. It still looked good.

What I really liked about the project was how unavoidable restrictions were imposed but we embraced them and turned them to our advantage.

Found Type Friday #22

So a couple of weeks ago I took our boys (4 and nearly 2) to W5 which is our local science/discovery centre thing. I expect most major cities have one now. Ours is inside a leasure complex right on the water's edge which means you get great views of the currently delapidated/soon to be redeveloped harbour area (or Titanic Quarter as it's going to be called).

W5 is actually really good with some very nicely designed things to pull, push, twiddle, build, knock down, press, listen to and generally muck about with. The boys love it. Trouble is, it's a bit like being in Groundhog Day. After a while you can feel trapped in an endless cycle of play with this, play with that, play with them, then back to the start again. We got there just after 10 in the morning and started the process of leaving around 2 in the afternoon. Finally actually leaving at closing time: 5.30pm.

Still, at least we got our money's worth and they had a ball.

But in need of post-W5 therapy I coersed the boys into a little early evening font spotting (I'm trying to indoctrinate them). And they were brilliant, pointing out a sign here, a sign there, as we toured the Harbour area. I'm very happy to say they seemed to really enjoy it.

The highlight was the Training Centre sign. I so wanted to pull it down and make off with it but decided that would actually be a bad example for the kids. And security down there is pretty tight.

I have a notion to track down all the pumping stations. Might make a good Flickr set, which reminds me, there's a little bit more of this stuff there.

It's a really interesting area, a stone's throw from our studio which also (just about) looks over the water. As someone who moved here from the mainland's most land-locked county, Leicestershire, being about to see the sea from my desk and watch the ships coming in and going out, is just brilliant.

Any and all contributions to FTF gladly accepted here.

Piet Zwart

I bloody love Piet Zwart! Along with that of Tschichold his work was a major influence and inspiration to me when I was first starting out. Both are featured in Herbert Spencer's Pioneers of Modern Typography, a seminal book that I imagine is important to lots of designers. It basically showed a fledgling designer just how exciting and dynamic typography can be. Along with some of his contemporaries, Zwart's work still looks amazing and ground breaking.

One of the reasons Zwart's work is so interesting is that, like Sutnar, he worked for clients whose products were very "everyday", e.g. industrial supplies or public services, so very relevant to a designer, 60-70 years later, working for similar clients.

So I was absolutely delighted when Vernon very kindly emailed me a link to his bloody brilliant Flickr set. He explains, "One of the many nice things about studying typeface design at Reading Uni is getting special treatment at museums etc. So here are some shots of some Piet Zwart stuff from Den Haag's Meermanno Museum."

And, as if that wasn't enough, he's started an excellent typeblog. Vernon that is, not Piet.

Penguin by Designers: David Pelham

David Pelham's bit from this is reproduced on the CR Blog.

Jaypeg's Adventures in Letterpress

Jay hasn't posted enough of these on Things To Look At. And there's not enough here either.

Found Type Friday #21

A couple of weeks ago Loïc sent me this. Nice. Thanks Loïc.

While David sent me this, he say, "I promised you a contribution from my trip to Ghent, Belgium - and I spotted this one whilst wandering around...I love the way that it's obviously been there for so long, but it hardly has any presence at all. And long since gave up on having any functional value - so now it's just decoration. How easy it would have been to slap the white paint over the whole lot."

And Felix sent me this gem, about which he says,"I almost squealed with glee when I found this in the local Save the Children. I really love the humour of the cover, with the peguin holding a spanner looking under the bonnet on the front and the author sitting in the car at the back. There's some nice period illustrations throughout as well. First published in 1960. Cover illustration by Erwin Fabian."

Weeks ago Dave sent me a link to his Goudy Chapbook Flickr set which is really nice (sorry for not featuring it yet Dave). He's got lots of really great photos, these are from an old Ford dealership.

Many thanks to everyone for taking time out to send things. If anyone else would like to contribute, email me here.

Handle With Extreme Care

Now I know I'm doing our printer a disservice by showing this image first but it just made me laugh. You see, we're doing a bit of work for them at the moment; have just developed a new ID and are in the middle of rolling it out.

So on Friday I popped over to their place to take some photos. It's brilliant at the printers. Like most, they've been at it for years, in the same location, so their premises are packed full of interesting things. They've got a couple of old Heidelbergs that they use for cutting for example, some dusty old stuff, shelves full of ink, stacks of papers (of course) and a variety of finishing contraptions.

Yes, I know this is all pretty typical, but I for one never tire of seeing it all and getting the chance to have a good poke around was great fun. There's a load more on my Flickr.

Michael's Thirteen Ways

This is good.

Typotheque: New Fonts/Used Fonts

A couple of weeks ago I ordered a copy of the booklet Edward Wright: readings, writings that was published to coincide with the recent exhibition Edward Wright: design work, held in Reading. You can get it from Typotheque, I've only just started it but I thinks it's going to be good. Short, but good.

Along with it, Typotheque kindly sent a copy of their type specimen book for the Fedra family of fonts. It's lovely. Really great. I love type specimen booklets and the background information, credits, executions and technicalities that come with them.

But, funnily enough, the thing that really stood out for me was the invoice. It's beautifully layed out, printed on bible/india paper with a grey panel printed on the reverse side that highlights the financial stuff on the front by its show-through. Stamp embossed with the company's name, it's clearly been designed with admirable care and attention to detail.

Incidentally, Typotheque is the only place I know that sells this book about Sutner.

Found Type Friday #20

Hey look! Ben's been up north a'wandering and a'snapping, then a'flickring. Brilliant!

Big thanks to Ben for sharing! Loïc, I'm keeping your contribution for next week. Hope that's OK. If anyone else has anything to contribute, you can email me here (it's good to share).

Jaypeg's Adventures in Lomography

Jay left a very nice comment on my all new Penguin Poets Flickr set.

She's, amongst other things, a Lomographer; perhaps you know all about Lomography; perhaps it's just me that's completely missed it; but it looks like loads of fun and the results are often beautiful. See her brilliant Flickr sets here.

Helvetica in the BBC

If anyone hasn't seen it yet, Helvetica is on the BBC website.

Penguin Poets: On Flickr

I've always had a good reaction to the Penguin Poets I've posted. If you're interested in seeing more I've put them all on Flickr now, which is quite timely because Gerry McFarlane has just pointed me toward this site dedicated to Stephen Russ. Thanks Gerry!

And I have to say I'm thrilled that the amazing Ray Fenwick has already visited them and left a comment. I'm not worthy.

Lost Type Friday

Well, not actually lost. As Ace Jet approaches the grand old age of one I came over all nostalgic and thought I'd have a look at my first entries but I've just realised that, with Typepad, your Archive only displays the last ten months. Now I know I can get to those entries by going to the last available and clicking back through pages but I'd really rather have the Archive list just carry on.

Has anyone got any suggestions as to how I can do that? Remember, I'm using Typepad so don't have complete control over everything (which is just the way I like it).

A Practical Treatise on the Art of Typography...

I've been trying to find five minutes to take a look in our local War on Want bookshop for weeks, months even. But everytime I try it's closed. You see, it's got this little corner crammed full of vintage Penguins. At last, on Saturday, I got the chance and yes, found a few of the little fellas; soon to be Flickr-ed.

And then I spotted this in a glass cabinet; going for three whole pounds.

It was printed in 1904, when, as this bit explains, "the Point System [was] gradually coming into use", which seems very odd today but of course there was another system that we don't talk about now, in the dark and distant past; when type sizes were given obscure names: Excelsior (3 point), Brilliant (3.5 point), Semi-Brevier (4 point)...then there's the audacious Bourgeois (9 point) and the mighty Canon (44 point).

It's basically a printer's manual, covering probably everything you'd need to know from the production of type, through its composition, making up, imposition, hand-press work, motive power (steam, gas, water or some new fangled thing called electricity that'll never catch on), machine printing, warehouse work, costing and even the choice of paper.

The book - printed at the Chiswick Press: Charles Whittingham and Co., Tooks Court, Chancery Lane, London - ends with ads for printing paraphernalia: paper, inks, electrotypers, book binders, composing machines and presses, of course.

A snip for three quid and a fascinating throw back to when it was all a lot slower and the world was more centred.

Lumps of metal with twiddly bits

Yes I know, "give him a Flickr Pro account and he thinks he's a Flickr Pro". Well whatever, you're probably going to see a whole lot of Flickr stuff from now on. And me such a cynic only a handful of months ago.

Dazza', for example, has this remarkable set of photos taken in and around Inverkip Power Station (found via I Like, so thanks Anne!). And he's just joined Stephen's fantastic Control Panel Group.