An issue, dominated more than usually, by typographic personalities. Steven Heller’s profile of the great American designer Paul Rand, brings to mind Rand’s comment on the ‘national’ nature of typography: ‘Good typography, American or otherwise, is not a question of nationality but of sensitivity to form and purpose.’
Yet there is a cultural heritage reflected in the typographer’s work which remains detectable even while boundaries are crossed and design goes ‘global.’
Witness the work of Brazilian-born Mary Vieira, retaining the influence of her period in Switzerland despite her absorption into Brazilian surroundings. Plus the intuitive discipline, never lost, in the craft of graphic design pioneer Hans Schleger. More evidence is presented through the essential Britishness of the late, very lamented Phill Grimshaw.
Studies in character and design, broken up by interludes. One can read the images in David Gibson’s striking photographic essay. Discover Jilly and Ian McLaren’s intriguing story of the very pre-Euro currency from Neustadt, Germany.
Hans Dieter Reichert & Mike Daines
My father was, for all his working life, a monumental engraver and I have occasionally wondered if there might be a parallel in the shared concerns for shapes and textures. Certainly there is a similar discipline with regard to composition and balance. Photography to me is a means of interpreting the world around me and very precisely attempting to separate everyday scenes into moments of order and sometimes quite humour…
David Gibson
When Phill Grimshaw died, in July last year, the UK lettering community was left in stunned condition. There had been some warning. Grimshaw had known of his terminal cancer for several months. At the age of 48 he was wrenched from his wife Penny, his two sons, and his profession – lettering.
Friends and associates gathered in Manchester to mourn. Patrick Argent produced crisp factual obituary for The Independent. Patrick Baglee’s appreciation in U&lc struck a more emotional chord, echoed by Satwinder Sehmi’s affectionate tribute in the calligraphy and Lettering Arts Society’s journal, The Edge…
Mike Daines
