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Hans Eduard Meier, a life dedicated to letter design
by Roxane Jubert
Hans Eduard Meier’s typographic work is the fruit of his passion for letter design which has lasted over 60 years, against a background of profound technological mutations. The research he conducted in the 1950s is still relevant today, notably in his book The Development of Script and Type and his Syntax typeface, a key humanistic sans serif. He is still designing typefaces today, such as Schulschrift. His output in this domain can be seen as a type of “sustainable typography”. Read this article -
Hans Eduard Meier, una vida dedicada a los caracteres
by Roxane Jubert
La obra tipográfica de Hans Eduard Meier refleja más de sesenta años de pasión por la letra y atraviesa profundas mutaciones técnicas. Si, por un lado, la investigaciones que realizó en la década de 1950 no han perdido vigencia –tanto su libro La evolución de la letra como el Syntax, esencial dentro del repertorio de tipos humanísticos sin remates–, por otro lado, su trabajo continua en la actualidad con nuevas creaciones como el Schulschrift. Por ello es tentador calificar su producción como «tipografía sostenible». Read this article
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Hans Eduard Meier, une vie dédiée aux caractères
by Roxane Jubert
L’œuvre typographique de Hans Eduard Meier révèle plus de soixante ans de passion pour la lettre et la traversée de profondes mutations techniques. Si ses recherches des années 1950 restent d’actualité – aussi bien son livre Le Développement des caractères que le Syntax, essentiel dans le répertoire des fontes sans sérifs humanistiques –, il poursuit aujourd’hui avec de nouvelles créations, comme le Schulschrift. Il est tentant de qualifier sa production de « typographie durable ». Read this article -
We don’t need new fonts…
by Peter Biľak
Is there any reason to make new fonts when there are so many already available for downloading? It's time to reflect on motivation to draw new type. While there is no reason to make uninspired new fonts, still, there are typefaces which haven’t been made yet and which we do need. Read this article
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Typeface As Programme
by Jürg Lehni
Designer and programmer Jürg Lehni analyses the evolution of typographic technology and the nature of digital fonts, and introduces Donald E. Knuth’s groundbreaking TeX and Metafont systems. An essay complemented by interviews with Peter Biľak, Erik Spiekermann and Dimitri Bruni (NORM). Read this article -
Typeface As Programme: Glossary
by Jürg Lehni
A glossary of tools and technologies mentioned in Typeface As Programme. Read this article
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Conceptual Type?
by Peter Biľak
In November 2010 Peter Biľak was invited to give a talk at a one-day conference ‘Conceptual Type – Type led by ideas’ in Copenhagen about the underlying ideas behind typefaces. This lecture questions the possibility of conceptual type and compares type to other disciplines. Read this article -
In the Name Of the Father (or the troubles with L-caron)
by Peter Biľak
A real-life situation that forced a type designer to evaluate his profession. One small typographic detail (an incorrect version of the diacritic over the letter L) caused troubles with the authorities. With a happy end. Read this article
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Methods of Distribution: Digital Fonts and the Global Market
by Peter Biľak
Article written for the Centre national des arts plastique, discussing conventional distribution methods of digital typefaces and their alternatives. The text focuses primarily on the French typography scene. Read this article -
Méthodes de distribution : les caractères numériques sur le marché mondial
by Peter Biľak
Article written for the Centre national des arts plastique, discussing conventional distribution methods of digital typefaces and their alternatives. The text focuses primarily on the French typography scene. Read this article
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A View of Latin Typography in Relationship to the World
by Peter Biľak
A short essay scrutinising the general misconceptions of western typography, and the appropriateness of Euro-centric type terminology. Read this article -
Family planning, or how type families work
by Peter Biľak
An essay on the history and definition of type families, type design parameters, and the possibilities of creating larger type systems today. Read this article
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What is Typography?
by Peter Biľak
What do we mean by the term typography? Before starting any discussion it is useful to clarify the terminology and definition of the word. This is a first from the regular columns that Peter Bilak writes for online version of the Swedish magazine CAP & Design. Read this article -
화이트큐브의 그래픽디자인 / Graphic Design in the White Cube
by Peter Biľak
Read this article
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À la recherche d’une théorie générale du dessin de caractères
by Peter Biľak
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Beziehungen innerhalb der tschechoslowakischen Typografenszene
by Johanna Biľak
Dieser Artikel basiert zum Teil auf meiner Forschung für die Ausstellung über das tschechische und slowakische Schriftdesign mit Schwerpunkt auf der Entwicklung der Typografie in den letzten zwanzig Jahren, die ich zusammen mit Alan Záruba 2004-2006 kuratierte. Die Ausstellung mit dem Titel 'Experiment And Typography' wurde erstmals 2004 an der International Biennale of Graphic Design in Brno gezeigt und zog später weiter nach Prag, Den Haag, Bratislava, Cieszyn, Ljubljana, Warschau und Budapest. Read this article
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Czechoslovak Typography Connections
by Johanna Biľak
This article is partly based on the research for the exhibition on Czech and Slovak typeface design that we co-curated with Alan Záruba in 2004-2006 focusing on the last twenty years of typography development. The exhibition entitled 'Experiment And Typography' was first presented at the Biennale of Graphic Design in Brno in 2004 and later travelled to Prague, The Hague, Bratislava, Cieszyn, Ljubljana, Warsaw and Budapest. Read this article -
좋은 디자인이란 무엇인가
by Stefan Sagmeister
A Korean translation of Stefan Sagmeister’s lecture about the state of contemporary design, ethics, advertising and aesthetics. Read this article
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Microtipografia: Il progetto dei nuovi dizionari Collins
by Mark Thomson
L'Art Director di Collins descrive il procedimento seguito per il progetto di una nuova serie di dizionari, dal punto di vista storico, del layout e della scelta dei caratteri. Data la scala alla quale il contenuto del dizionario viene espresso, e il modo particolare in cui viene letto, le decisioni microtipografiche hanno un effetto amplificato. Read this article -
Graphic Design in the White Cube
by Peter Biľak
Essay accompanying the exhibition Graphic Design in the White Cube during the 22nd International Biennale of Graphic Design Brno 2006. Nineteen designers and collectives were commissioned to design posters for the design exhibition in which they were to participate. Instead of bringing work from the outside to the gallery, the work is made for the gallery. Instead of recreating the context for the exhibition, gallery conditions are the context for the work. Read this article
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In search of a comprehensive type design theory
by Peter Biľak
An honest appraisal of the role discussions about type design have in the broader culture today, and why there is a need for a more cohesive discussion within the field. Read this article -
Falta de diseño, exceso de diseño y volver a diseñar
by Peter Biľak
El no-diseño como una repuesta al sobre-diseño y el manierismo contemporáneo. Alegato a favor de un diseño que, tomando en cuenta su contexto, responda a las necesidades de comunicación y no a modas pasajeras con las que el diseñador luce su virtuosismo técnico. Read this article
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Tipografía de los noventa. La demistificación y re-mistificación
by Peter Biľak
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Las personas como píxeles
by Peter Hall
Un interesante análisis sobre la historia, el contexto y el uso político de imágenes gráficas conformadas por multitudes: ¡la gente como pixeles! Read this article
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En busca de una teoría completa del diseño tipográfico
by Peter Biľak
Una honesta valoración del papel que las discusiones sobre diseño tipográfico juegan hoy en la cultura general, y porqué hay necesidad de discusiones más integradoras dentro de la disciplina. Read this article -
Historia de una fuente nueva
by Peter Biľak
El diseño tipográfico como conocimiento acumulado y continuidad: una mirada al papel de los diseñadores de tipos, la historia y la tecnología, los revivals y la invención. Read this article
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Acerca de Fedra
by Peter Biľak
Una breve mirada al enfoque ‘sintético’ con que Peter Bilak entiende el diseño de tipos. Se examina Eureka, su diseño anterior, y las recientes familias de Fedra. Read this article -
Microtypography, Designing the new Collins dictionaries
by Mark Thomson
The art director of Collins describes the process of designing the new set of dictionaries, their history, layout and choice of type. Due to the scale at which a dictionary’s content is expressed and the particular way in which the content is read, microtypographic decisions have an unusually large effect. Read this article
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Typographica Mea Culpa, Unethical Downloading
by Steven Heller
Steven Heller describes the guilty revelation experienced when he learned that typeface software licenses are sold for use on specific, not unlimited numbers of CPUs. He calls for the ethical treatment of type designers, i.e. respect for their copyrights. Read this article -
Experimental typography. Whatever that means.
by Peter Biľak
An epistemology of the word ‘experimental’ as it applies to design and type, contrasted with its scientific connotations. Examples of past and current design, type and reading/language, as well as scientific experiment, are taken into account. Read this article
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New Faces (abstract): type design in the first decade of device-independent digital typesetting (1987-1997)
by Emily King
The abstract for Emily King’s doctoral thesis which focuses on typeface design in the United States, England and the Netherlands between 1987 and 1997. Read this article -
New Faces (Introduction)
by Emily King
The introduction to Emily King’s doctoral thesis which focuses on typeface design in the United States, England and the Netherlands between 1987 and 1997 (part one). Read this article
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New Faces (Historiography)
by Emily King
The introduction to Emily King’s doctoral thesis which focuses on typeface design in the United States, England and the Netherlands between 1987 and 1997 (part two). Read this article -
New Faces (Typographic History in the Context of Broader Design Historical Models)
by Emily King
The introduction of Emily King’s doctoral thesis which focuses on typeface design in the United States, England and the Netherlands between 1987 and 1997 (part three). Read this article
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New Faces (Chapter One: Technological and Industrial Change: Setting the Scene)
by Emily King
The first chapter of Emily King’s doctoral thesis which focuses on typeface design in the United States, England and the Netherlands between 1987 and 1997 (part one). Read this article -
New Faces (Mapping Contemporary Type Design)
by Emily King
The first chapter of Emily King’s doctoral thesis which focuses on typeface design in the United States, England and the Netherlands between 1987 and 1997 (part two). Read this article
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New Faces (Chapter Two: The West Coast)
by Emily King
The second chapter of Emily King’s doctoral thesis which focuses on typeface design in the United States, England and the Netherlands between 1987 and 1997. Read this article -
New Faces (Chapter Three: The East Coast)
by Emily King
The third chapter of Emily King’s doctoral thesis which focuses on typeface design in the United States, England and the Netherlands between 1987 and 1997. Read this article
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New Faces (Chapter Four: London)
by Emily King
The fourth chapter of Emily King’s doctoral thesis which focuses on typeface design in the United States, England and the Netherlands between 1987 and 1997. Read this article -
New Faces (Chapter Five: The Netherlands)
by Emily King
The fifth chapter of Emily King’s doctoral thesis which focuses on typeface design in the United States, England and the Netherlands between 1987 and 1997. Read this article
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New Faces (Conclusion)
by Emily King
The conclusion of Emily King’s doctoral thesis which focuses on typeface design in the United States, England and the Netherlands between 1987 and 1997. Read this article -
New Faces (Bibliography)
by Emily King
The bibliography of Emily King’s doctoral thesis which focuses on typeface design in the United States, England and the Netherlands between 1987 and 1997. Read this article
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New Faces (List of Interviews)
by Emily King
The list of designers interviewd for Emily King’s doctoral thesis which focuses on typeface design in the United States, England and the Netherlands between 1987 and 1997. Read this article -
Battle of the Blogs
by Dmitri Siegel
Blogs, design criticism and the AIGA Vancouver conference discussion about the premacy of corporate vs. editorial design... Read this article
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History of a new font (notes on designing Fedra Serif)
by Peter Biľak
Type design as accumulated knowledge and continuity: a look at the role of type designers, history and technology, revivals and invention. Read this article -
Art of the Third Reich
by Steven Heller
A brief rundown of the treatment of art by the Nazi state and the background of Hitler’s repressive cultural policies in this review of two books, one about the art of the Nazi state in general, and the other specifically about the show Degenerate Art which toured the Reich in an attempt to exterminate modern art. Read this article
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Design History
by Steven Heller
A call for greater design history instruction in graphic design education as a way to better (and Heller hints proper) design. ‘Design programs should encourage designers to become critical historians...’ Read this article -
Fuck Tibor
by Dmitri Siegel
Despite the piece’s off-colour title, an optimism exists in this reaction to what the author sees as the hermetic design field’s reverence of the late Tibor Kalman. Read this article
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My Type Design Philosophy
by Martin Majoor
This article by the designer of Scala and Seria is as much a typographic guide and history lesson as it is a personal account of his approach to type design. Read this article -
How Good is Good?
by Stefan Sagmeister
Stefan Sagmeister talks about the state of current design, ethics, advertising and aesthetics. Read this article
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Spot the difference
by Emily King
Emily King examines the interaction of punctuation, numerals and acronyms via corporate design and an album cover. Read this article -
Graphic intervention
by Steven Heller
Steven Heller discusses the history and current state of guerrilla, activist and political design from posters to attached image files. Read this article
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The Time for Being Against
by Rick Poynor
An enjoyably nebulous set of Rick Poynor’s thoughts about the current condition of criticism and the value of oppositional tactics in design and writing. Read this article -
The Long March
by Max Bruinsma
The optimistic theory is put forth that institutions of power have been democratized by the “empowering effects of the media” and that real change can be effected by graphic designers who use their work to engage the public in meaningful dialogue. Read this article
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Reduce to the max
by Max Bruinsma
A reduced and expanded exploration of Swiss design and culture across the 20th century. Read this article -
People as Pixels
by Peter Hall
An interesting analysis of the history, politics and context of graphic images which are composed of crowds of people: people as pixels! Read this article
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One Picture, 1,000 Word
by Peter Hall
A brief examination of the politics, culture and designer’s role in the uses, cultural placement and proliferation of stock photography. Read this article -
Contemporary Dutch graphic design: an insider/outsider’s view
by Peter Biľak
An essay about the design culture which is specific to the Netherlands. Read this article
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The Small Crit
by Steven Heller
A brief look at the role of graphic design criticism. Read this article -
The Last Supper
by Emily King
Emily King briefly looks at visual artists use of type, and their collaboration with designers in their work. Read this article
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Mars calling Earth
by Max Bruinsma
A refreshingly positive response to (and call for?) more, and more thoughtful culture and design publications in a time when the phrase “who needs another design mag?” is common. Max Bruinsma also briefly details the evolution of Dutch and other non-mainstream/design publications. Read this article -
Fluid Mechanics: Typographic Design Now
by Ellen Lupton
A poetically theoretical take on the fluid state of type, design and the vernacular in digital form as they relate to language and contemporary culture. Read this article
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Zap Comics
by Steven Heller
An anecdotal history and analysis of the racy work of Robert Crumb, and the cultural situationing of Zap comics then and now. Read this article -
Quick Cuts, Coarse Letters, Multiple Screens:
by Steven Heller
An overview of the work of Cuban-born titling artist Pablo Ferro who broke ground with the titles for films like Dr. Strangelove and pioneered moving type for the screen. Read this article
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Ladislav Sutnar and Knud Lönberg-Holm
by Steven Heller
A history of the little-known collaboration of Ladislav Sutnar and Knud Lönberg-Holm, who together were a modern design team which was ahead of its time in the realm of information information design. Read this article -
Otto Bettmann: Father of Retro
by Steven Heller
About the German-born founder of the Bettmann Archives in New York which houses over 5 million cuts, drawings, images and pieces of ephemera, collected since the 1930's. Read this article
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Advertising Arts: America Becomes Modern(istic)
by Steven Heller
A history and analysis of the role played by this American precursor to the graphic design magazine, which sought to bring progressive commercial graphic and industrial arts into the mainstream. Read this article -
Erik Nitsche: The Reluctant Modernist
by Steven Heller
The life and work of the quietly pivotal Swiss modern design Erik Nitsche, who's clients ranged from the MOMA to RCA in a career that spanned the 20th century. Read this article
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Designed Screens
by Paul Elliman
Screens of all sorts, their histories and their metaphors are approached in this theoretical discussion which take on the panopticon, Clinton’s inauguration and the largest movie screen in the world. Read this article -
The Science of Typography
by Ellen Lupton
‘Scientific’ studies of typography and legibility are analysed by Ellen Lupton... Read this article
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Old Guns
by Steven Heller
In 1999, Print magazine talked to 20 American design heroes and had them look at work from their halcyon days. Designers from Art Chantry to Massimo Vignelli discuss a piece of early work as a foil for Print’s ‘Designers Under Thirty’ section. Read this article -
Words On Screens
by Max Bruinsma
Max Bruinsma (who declares he has no printer, just a Zip drive) calls for greater attention to be paid to type on screen, is echoed by Matthew Carter, with a brief discussion of screen text technology and its place in reading today (or then). Read this article
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The Designer as Producer
by Ellen Lupton
Walter Benjamin’s ideas are explored (amongst other early 20th century avant-garde artists) in relation to the recent discussions around expanding the designer’s role from that of problem solver to one of author—and producer. Read this article -
Graphic Design Magazines: Das Plakat
by Steven Heller
The point-form story of a German dentist named Hans Josef Sachs and the magazine Das Plakat he founded on his love for posters. Responsible for the promulgation of early German advertising art abroad, his vast collection was confiscated by Goebbels for the Nazis’ collections and Sachs narrowly escaped the Holocaust. Steven Heller looks at the rise and fall of this significant early design periodical. Read this article
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The Object Poster:
by Steven Heller
Wooden display types, Victorian chromolithography and the demise of Art Nouveau in the form of a poster for a German Match company in 1906... Read this article -
De Stijl, New Media, and the Lessons of Geometry
by Jessica Helfand
An exploded view of the digital screen, informed by analyses of architecture, designers’ roles, avant-garde Dutch design from the De Stijl period and geometry. Read this article
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Graphic Authorship
by Michael Rock
An examination from 1996 of the history and concept of the designer as author, starting in the first decades of the 20th century. Read this article -
Thirty-six point Gorilla
by Emily King
A fascinatingly thorough investigation of the naming of typefaces. The naming of type as a window to history, conventions, the hermetic type world and cultural context, then and now. Read this article
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Font Embedding
by Erik van Blokland
In 1996 Erik van Blokland relays the problems with font embedding, which a decade later has little success… Read this article -
Walter Herdeg, editor and founder of Graphis
by Steven Heller
The “epitome of a post-war Modernist”, Walter Herdeg, backbone of Graphis magazine, is appraised by Steven Heller. Read this article
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Dutch type design
by Peter Biľak
A mid-90s account of the development and current state of Dutch design and type in the context of its cultural and political history. Read this article -
Official Anarchy: Dutch Graphic Design
by Max Bruinsma
A mid-90s appraisal of Dutch graphic design’s unique qualities, with an overview of various studios, designers and significant movements from the 20th century. Read this article
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Electronic Typography: The New Visual Language
by Jessica Helfand
A talking Barbie lush as a foil for the Mac’s Speech functions; debates about the value of capital letters; Derrida, Saussure and Foucault; Oliver Sachs and Chaucer are all considered in this theoretical piece about the state of typography in new media. Read this article -
Cult of the Ugly
by Steven Heller
In the early 1990s Steven Heller takes on the word ugly as he sees it applied to graphic design and design education. En route, his views of art history, pop culture and recent design trends are considered in his essay about style and meaning in design. Read this article
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Waiting for Permission
by Michael Bierut
An early 90s discussion about social responsibility and design. Using a frightening 1960s social behaviour experiment as his fulcrum, the author suggests that the designer has the responsibility to do more than provide design as a service to the client. Read this article -
Writing Lessons: Modern Design Theory
by Ellen Lupton
A history of visual design and arts pedagogy, the Bauhaus, semiotics and gestalt theories as they apply to modern graphic design education. Read this article
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Women Graphic Designers
by Ellen Lupton
A survey of woman designers of books, magazines, activist campaigns, identities etc. across the 20th century. Read this article -
Ladislav Sutnar, Web Design before the Internet
by Steven Heller
Steven Heller laments the disappearance of refined modern design craftsmanship and organisation, and provides some background to Sutnar’s work, upholding him as a pioneer of just this sort of waning craft. Read this article
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Serial type families (from Romulus to Thesis)
by Alejandro Lo Celso
A thorough look at the history and development of large type families across the 20th century. Read this article -
Taking Credit: Film title sequences, 1955-1965 / 1 Contents
by Emily King
Emily King’s contents (part two of ten) for her dissertation for the V&A/RCA M.A. Course in the History of Design. The dissertation focuses on the relationship between graphic design and film in the middle of the past century. Read this article
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Taking Credit: Film title sequences, 1955-1965 / Acknowledgements
by Emily King
Emily King's acknowledgements for her dissertation for the V&A/RCA M.A. Course in the History of Design. The dissertation focuses on the relationship between graphic design and film in the middle of the past century. Read this article -
Taking Credit: Film title sequences, 1955-1965 / 4 Abstracting the Essence
by Emily King
Part four of ten of Emily King’s dissertation for the V&A/RCA M.A. Course in the History of Design. The dissertation focuses on the relationship between graphic design and film in the middle of the past century. Read this article
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Taking Credit: Film title sequences, 1955-1965 / 2 Introduction
by Emily King
Emily King’s introduction to her dissertation for the V&A/RCA M.A. Course in the History of Design. The dissertation focuses on the relationship between graphic design and film in the middle of the past century. Read this article -
Taking Credit: Film title sequences, 1955-1965 / 3 Visions in Motion
by Emily King
Part three of ten of Emily King’s dissertation for the V&A/RCA M.A. Course in the History of Design. The dissertation focuses on the relationship between graphic design and film in the middle of the past century. here she lays down the modernist roots of her work. Read this article
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Taking Credit: Film title sequences, 1955-1965 / 5 Spiralling Aspirations: Vertigo, 1958
by Emily King
Part five of ten of Emily King’s dissertation for the V&A/RCA M.A. Course in the History of Design. The dissertation focuses on the relationship between graphic design and film in the middle of the past century. Saul bass, Hitchcock, Clement Greenbrg, Tin Pan Alley and Hollywood: the American avant garde and kitsch... Read this article -
Taking Credit: Film title sequences, 1955-1965 / 6: Musical Statues: Spartacus, 1960
by Emily King
Part six of ten of Emily King’s dissertation for the V&A/RCA M.A. Course in the History of Design. The dissertation focuses on the relationship between graphic design and film in the middle of the past century. Saul bass, Hitchcock, Clement Greenbrg, Tin Pan Alley and Hollywood: the American avant garde and kitsch... Read this article
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Taking Credit: Film title sequences, 1955-1965 / 7: Sex and Typography: From Russia With Love, 1963
by Emily King
Part seven of ten of Emily King's dissertation for the V&A/RCA M.A. Course in the History of Design. The dissertation focuses on the relationship between graphic design and film in the middle of the past century. Bond titling sequences and the invasion of British design... Read this article -
Taking Credit: Film title sequences, 1955-1965 / 8 Popcorn and Pop graphics, What’s New Pussycat?, 1965
by Emily King
Part eight of ten of Emily King’s dissertation for the V&A/RCA M.A. Course in the History of Design. The dissertation focuses on the relationship between graphic design and film in the middle of the past century. Read this article
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Taking Credit: Film title sequences, 1955-1965 / 9 Conclusion
by Emily King
The conclusion of Emily King’s dissertation for the V&A/RCA M.A. Course in the History of Design. The dissertation focuses on the relationship between graphic design and film in the middle of the past century. Read this article -
Taking Credit: Film title sequences, 1955-1965 / 10 Bibliography
by Emily King
The bibliography for Emily King’s dissertation for the V&A/RCA M.A. Course in the History of Design. The dissertation focuses on the relationship between graphic design and film in the middle of the past century. Read this article
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Deconstruction and Graphic Design: History Meets Theory
by Ellen Lupton
A theory-heavy, mid-1990s look at the concept of Deconstruction, looking at its origins in French post-structuralist discourse and then current use in the design world. Read this article
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