Ace Jet 170

The Ropes

I feel like I've already shown these but I can't see them anywhere in Ace Jet now so perhaps I'm wrong.

Ropes. And floats.

I was digging through a load of photos to find some to use on a small advertising project. I do have a tendency to take photos with a graphic design application in mind. Not a real, specific one, but I'll compose a shot with space in it, instinctively imagining it being used on a book or brochure cover or something. It's just a habit. I do it without thinking too much. And every now and then, the photos come in useful.

So, let's hope that in the future, someone asks me to design something to do with sea fishing or ropes or harbours so I can use this lot.

1966

Applied Works (who, incidentally, do beautiful work) mentioned Retronaut's post of London Film Festival posters from 1957 up to 2010. It's a great collection if, as we agreed, a little patchy at times. For me, the best one was this one for the 10th festival in '66. Would love to know who designed it. Typical of the era's best graphic design it has a feel of Raymond Hawkey. If anyone knows who did design it, please let me know.

The Penrose Annual 1968 Volume 61

Over the past few years I've been trying, extemely slowly, to catalogue highlights from my Penrose Annuals. Most of mine span from around 1958 up to 1970; a golden era for both typographic/graphic design and break-throughs in production technology. It's the period that straddled the move from letterpress to photocomposition and represents the heady rise of the industry.

If you're not up to speed, the Penrose Annual was first published in 1895. A review of the graphic arts, from a couple of years later it was issued by Lund Humphries every year until 1982. A weighty volume, each book was packed full of a multitude of articles recording techniques, styles, applications and technical advances.

Volume 61, for example, includes texts on:

• Designing Australia's decimal currency

• Typographic design and a new device called the "computer"

• The first "harmonised" type, Sabon (originally drawn by Tschichold)

• Print for poor-vision readers

• Programmed monochrome reproduction

• Advertising for a type foundry

• The abstracting process and the British Museum Catalogue of Printed Books

• Types of the Sixties

I've uploaded a load more images to Flickr and you can take a look back on the other volumes I've featured here.

Istanbul Deko

Turkish graphic designer Geray Gencer develops typographic posters that focus on social and cultural aspects of his country. Geray explains one of his latest projects:

"Essentially 'Istanbul Deko' is a type design project with a common theoretical base of architecture and typography. It uses an original typeface inspired by the multicultural heritage of İstanbul and designed with details of the city’s historical structures. Then I have produced a typographic poster series about istanbul and its architectural heritage as well."

You can see more of Geray's work on Flickr. 

The Lost Birds

I was looking through some photos from the last few years the other night. Mostly family trips here and there. Hilarious photos of the boys and swoon-triggering photos of Karen. And some photos of miscellaneous farmyard foul.

The Tetracontagon

You've probably seen this by now: Pentagram at 40. Beautifully written by Naresh Ramchandani and Tom Edmonds. And nicely performed by some bits of paper.

What Jim said

I mentioned this on Twitter: I was going to tell you what I thought of George Lois's little book of big ideas but Jim's, well, totally (ehum) summed it up here.

Collection Cligne Cligne

I hadn't heard from Loïc for a while. Then out of the blue, he emailed an interesting link through. Interesting but not quite AS interesting as what he's been up to lately. A little while ago, after setting up Cligne Cligne Magazine, he met the head of French publisher Didier Jeunesse Michèle Moreau. Interested in Loïc's knowledge of long forgotten children's books, one thing led to another and Moreau asked Loïc if he'd be interested in managing a collection dedicated to "awesome children's books, unknown to most".

He was.

The plan is for Didier Jeunesse/Cligne Cligne to, periodically, publish "lost" children's classics with two done and two or three more to come next year. Here's a little more, from the publisher, about the first two:

Ou est Maman Ourse

Isn’t it ironic? One of the oldest books by Ann Jonas is also the one that looks like it had been drawn this very morning. The editor Susan Hirschmann was already working with Jonas' husband Donald Crews when she asked graphic designer Jonas to create something for children. She devised two books: When You were a Baby and Two Bear Cubs. The latter was first published thirty years ago but, strangely, was never reprinted.

Un Garcon Sachant Siffler

Peter is back and he’s quite unhappy: he can’t whistle! This is the second of seven books featuring this young character written and drawn by Ezra Jack Keats between 1962 and 1972. And what happens? Almost nothing, or rather, a series of small experiences that make childhood rea. In this story, as in the others, the author gives back his own experience of the city as a kid.

Both books are skillfully illustrated: Ann Jonas' work clearly that of a graphic designer; simple black line work and flat colours from a limited palette. Meanwhile, Keats' illustration are beautifully textured and witty.

Mother

As unlikely as it might seem, I really wasn't expecting to appear here yesterday - I thought it was going somewhere else. Needless to say, totally thrilled about it anyway. 

Stick. On Rock.

Colorplan at 40

Forty years after Colorplan was first developed, GF Smith have maked the occassion with a top notch promotional double act: An open bound tabbed reference piece showing the colour range paired with a playful celebration "in three acts". The former is straight forward, a little retro and useful; the latter is ingenius, tactile and witty; incorporating folds, cuts and contrasts. Fantastic work, designed by MadeThought, that continues the paper company's tradition of outstanding design.

And there's beautiful photos, by Lee Funnell, of Colorplan's manufacturing process on the GF Smith website along with some great videos.

Bicycling For Beginners

Before around February 2011, the last time I'd sat on a pointy seat and propelled myself around the neighbourhood on a self-powered contraption was when I was about 15. Wheels were square then and bicycles were carved from wood. We've come a long way since those bygone days. Returning to the velocipede now that we're living in the future I am a little like the proverbial fish out of water; a fish, out of water, trying to ride a bike.

How do you work it? More importantly, how do you fix it when things go wrong? 

What I need is a handbook. A handbook for bike owners. That tells you how to work it and fix it. And it would be really nice if it was a little bit cool too.

Oh…Cicada have just published one.

Fungus Meets Photosynthetic Partner

May. And with it comes the urge to be out. By the sea. On rocks. Photographing lichen.

The clattering and the clicks

Er…it's Linotype: The Film. Thursday 17 May at the Unviversity of Ulster. Complete with rattling doohickies of typographical automations. Excited. Much.

On rescuing mass production from the ugliness and aesthetic emptiness which has so far characterised the greater part of its output, and other stories.

Design Research Unit deserve their near mythical position in design history. I first wrote about the "Practical Idealists" four years ago here. More recently, Johnny kindly wrote a guest post here after seeing the exhibition that toured a year or so ago. And a little before that, Eliza Williams wrote this for the Creative Review blog.

Anyone working in design today owes a debt to this amazing collection of disciplined and creative planners and smokers. Back in the day, barely a day went by when the besuited gentlemen of design didn't gather together to flame up a tab and plan a brighter future for us all.

I don't think I've anything to add to what's already been said. Except to say that the new book provides a rather convenient introduction to anyone less than familiar.

Just look at them: It's like Design Avengers Assemble circa 1970.