Another semi-random purchase on ebay, this time ‘10 kilos of mixed type - usable’, plus some rather dinky little type boxes donated very kindly ‘if we picked them up’.
Some of it arrived slightly, er, jumbled. Cue sorting.
But worth a bit of manual labour because we’ve been desperate to get our miniature Adana press (purchased in the summer) up-and-running.
Quite tough hand sorting eight-point metal type. Only for those with tiny fingers.
Here’s a bit of old-school composition.
There’s that messy ink stuff again.
And a bit of hand printing on the press.
We seem to have a few registration issues at the moment. Need to fix that.
And a quick joke for fun.
Marvellous.
Wedding and party invites coming soon, as long as you don't mind the occasional upside down letter and slightly over-generous word spacing.
Thanks to Gen Harrison at Robert Smail's Printing Works 9 High Street, Inerleithen, EH44 6HA for the donated type.
For decades now, from Jimmy Page to Franz Ferdinand, it’s been de rigeur for musicians to train at art school before finding fame in music. But it’s still remarkably rare for anyone to write any actual songs about their experiences in art before crossing over. Presumably all that sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll puts their memories of dodgy Letraset and hand tracing alphabets out of type books into slightly geeky perspective.
We were reminded last week by Coudal Partners that in our spare time we’ve been collecting references to design in rock music. It’s not a very expansive list - rock and roll doesn’t reference design much.
Electric Six (they of the 2003 classic ‘Gay Bar’) last year finally stepped up to the plate with ‘She’s a graphic Designer’.
You can only marvel at these lyrics:
She’s a nine-to-fiver Got evil up inside her She's a - she's a graphic designer
Nobody does it finer Photoshopping tiger Simplification messiah
Cropping suicider
And she knows her designs of me are graphic And she goes into work early to avoid traffic And she don't need prose and she don't need pride And she don't need your feedback to know where it's at And she don't need a resume to get through my door You better bring your A-game when you wage your war A designer, designer!
Taking your shit higher Running something by her She's a - she's a graphic designer
So now we know - we’re all ‘cropping suiciders’ (and ‘simplification messiahs’). Yeah - right on. You're left wondering of course if they had some sort of run-in with this particular designer - maybe an argument over centred type or a precise shade of light green.
If we broaden our search to art and design, we can all of course cite the Manic Street Preacher’s ‘Designed for Life’, or Pulp’s ‘Common People’ and Jarvis Cocker’s encounter at St Martins….
She came from Greece she had a thirst for knowledge She studied sculpture at Saint Martin's College That's where I caught her eye She told me that her Dad was loaded I said in that case I'll have a rum and coke-cola She said fine and in thirty seconds time she said...
Recently Cocker has admitted that the lines were inspired by a rich girl he met there, but he had ‘embellished’ his memory somewhat - ‘I only knew her for a matter of weeks, and I only spoke to her a few times, but it stuck in my mind what she was saying, that she wanted to sleep with 'common people like me.’
Before that, there’s very little, apart from Donald Fagen’s 1982 classic, New Frontier, where his ambitious white kid emerges from a bomb shelter and pronounces ‘I can't wait till I move to the city, till I finally make up my mind to learn design and study overseas.’
So for a while that seemed to be it. But some recent digging reveals some hope.
Telephone poles like praying mantras against the sky, metal arms outstretched. So much land travelled so little sense made of it. It doesn't mean a thing all this land laid out behind us. I'd like to take off into these woods and get good and lost for a while. I'm disgusted with petty concerns; parking tickets, breakfast specials. Does someone just have to carry this weight? Abstract typography, methane inconvenience, linear gospel, Nashville sales lady, and torturous lice, mad Elizabeth. Chemotherapy bullshit.
New letters across chest emblazoned You're rewarded with high fives and embraces Seating banks are ripped from the theatres To build forts and to build defenses In the streets, millions gather Ignite documents and get warm from the Ink of the burning alphabet
As for US based band Times New Viking, we can't see any proof yet that their name is anything other than a great type joke.
I can hear them in the distance, Running through the trees waving both guns blind. You raise the flag for the revolution, "the common man," With wit for protection, Running through the gate to the Palace Walls. You raise the sign, it's a revolution in graphic design. We'll trade positions, Parading through the streets until the roads turn red.
Surprise!!! We're making revolutions in graphic design. We're making revolutions in graphic design. Look at the lines! Look at the colors we use! White beside the red behind the double bold type. 1,2,3-1,2,3-1,2,3-1,2,3-Hold it up high!!! Gentlemen, we've made revolutions in graphic design. Now design solutions for Western Decline!!! We've manufactured dissent. No one stops the press, you just keep it in time: 1,2,3-1,2,3-1,2,3-1,2,3-1,2,3...4
If anyone has any more for our list, please email info (at) johnsonbanks (dot) co (dot) uk.
Most graphic designers learn their trade by studying (at least at first) their favourite designers. Sometimes this results in ideas which are reminiscent to those that have gone before. It happens.
...which itself looks pretty similar to this Brand Union Vodafone project from 2007/8.
And with a few more slides we could link the style back even further. Nice trend though.
Sometimes similarities happy by accident - we once designed this symbol for the UK Presidency of Europe...
...but all hell let loose when a far-right anti-Europe think tank said they had once used swans for their symbol too. Unlucky break.
When we designed these stamps for the Royal Mail several years ago, we were at pains to point out that we had been influenced by all sort of things, from Fuzzy Felt Faces, to that book on Vegetable Faces, to Archimboldo.
But this was, as far as we knew, the first time that anyone had supplied ten blank fruit and vegetable stamps along with 76 stickers for customising them.
Apparently the Finns say that: ‘The Funny Vegetables stamp booklet gives you an opportunity for a little hands-on work. You can give the tomato a moustache or put a hat on the asparagus or ears on the cucumber. You can dress up the vegetable stamps designed by Nina Rintala as you wish with the accessories included in the booklet.’ Marvellous thought.
We’re not quite sure what to say about this one. The trend for sticker stamps featuring fruit and vegetables is really taking off though isn't it?
Just a quick note to say that some of our Japanese projects are featured in the recent edition of Eye Magazine, leaning towards the ideas that combine English and Japanese words and images together in one.
Part of this theoretical project was to re-name Verizon to ‘Very’, and we illustrated the ‘new’ brand with images culled from one of our favourite photography sites, The Sartorialist (which features very cool ‘street’ photography, as at the top of this post).
But the unveiling of Verizon’s new advertising campaign has got us really confused. One of the 182 commentators on the original spoof asked ‘am I the only one who thinks this could actually have potential? Seriously, verizon, take a hint and do some of this!’.
Last night’s event celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Prince Philip Designer’s Prize could have come at a critical moment.
This prize has run, on and off, for 50 yrs, is masterminded by The Design Council, and for the vast majority of its history (much like the Council itself) has been known for celebrating product and engineering design. So just a quick tally up reveals that the award has gone to this sector 37 out of 50 times. Last night didn’t divert from the script when it gave the award to the designer and manufacturer of the Brompton folding bicycle.
It’s fair to point out that the last 20 years has seen a slight loosening of product and engineering’s grip on the prize – four graphic designers have won, as have two architects and polymaths such as Thomas Heatherwick.
But the prize is known for its 3d emphasis, for awarding those more in the ‘autumn’ of their careers and for its occasionally eccentric results. One year a balloon designer won. Go back in time and the Mini Metro one once. (True). At D&AD in the early noughties there were serious questions asked as to whether nominating anyone was worth it since they were routinely ignored (nominations are taken from various industry bodies, including the likes of the Institution of Engineering Designers and the Chartered Society of Designers).
Last night there was opportunity to pull away from this history and acknowledge some undoubted stars: architect David Adjaye or fashion designers and entrepreneurs such as Wayne Hemingway, Jeff Banks and Hussein Chalayan.
Graphics was represented by 3 nominations, Michael Peters, Peter Saville and Smith & Milton. All were presumably delighted to be included, all left disappointed.
In a way, the 50th anniversary winner fits quaintly with what has become the hard-coded, institutionalised, post-war view of design: ‘Britain can make it’, the Festival of Britain, Routemaster buses, red post boxes, Michael Caine, Mini Coopers, Mary Quant, Spitfire aircraft, Frank Pick and Underground graphics. All great memories, all great designs (some recently recorded on a nice set of stamps) but a view that celebrates past glories, mad inventors in sheds and re-runs of The Great Escape.
The critical moment has arrived for this prize: if it’s place is to ‘look back’ and applaud long-standing industry names, then it should stick to its traditions and don’t nominate young hopefuls.
Multiple trips to Japan and constant frustration at being unable to read the language has sparked off an unusual typographic project at johnson banks. Earlier in the year we started seeing if we could combine the English language and Japanese script in some way.
One of the three typographic styles that is used in Japan is essentially phonetic, and is called Katakana. We’ve been attempting to find ways to incorporate phonetic sounds with the Katakana letterforms.
Here’s an example - UNIQLO, in Japanese, is pronounced with four clear syllables, U, Ni, Q, Lo (they’re actually spoken like this, Yoo Nee Koo Roh). There are four katakana used for these sounds.
Looks great, but unless you’ve learned the sounds, you’re no wiser. In our typeface, which we call ‘Phonetikana’, it would look like this.
My name, Michael, is usually pronounced Ma Ee Keh Roo, so here it is in Phonetikana.
Here are some more characters.
We’ve been developing a series of examples to show it in action - at the top of this post is ‘superhero’, below is ‘big apple’.
‘Moo’ and ‘baa’?
Or ‘big in Japan’. (If you say them out loud, as you see them, you’re getting close-ish to Japanese pronunciation).
See if you can work these out.
(That’s ‘top banana’ and ‘tomato’).
We’re also working on some japanese phrases too...
...‘niko niko’ is Japanese for smile...
...and ‘doki doki’ means ‘the sound of my heart beating’.
‘Kuru kuru’ is the ‘sound of something spinning’...
...and guess what the Japanese say when they take a group photo? Yep - ‘cheese’ (or ‘chee-zoo’ if you want the right pronunciation).
This is all work in progress, so apologies to our Japanese readers for any linguistic blunders. If you’re interested in finding out more about Phonetikana, (or just want to correct our grammar) please email info (at) johnsonbanks (dot) co (dot) uk.
Some slight slips in concentration at johnson banks today since this was just delivered, following a bit of crafty ebay action earlier in the week. It might look small, but needed four people to get it out of the van...
...and seems to involve real, analogue, non-digital, er, you know, ink.
Our first attempt? Hopeless. We’ll need some time.
But here’s a master printer putting her back into it.
Being true designers at heart, we’re just as excited at embossing things ‘blind’ so we won't need any of that nasty ink stuff. Spot the creative use of polyboard.
Anyway, finally we can make use of the long-stored stash of wood type.
We’ll be accepting commissions soon, In the meantime, all types of flowers pressed, speedy 24 hour service with a smile.
Recent college placement Jamie Hearn offered us his thoughts on entering into his final year at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.
So, it’s arrived. The week I begin my third year at college. I was going to say go back to college, but as it’s my final year, I am treating it as a ‘new beginning’. Not just because that sounds incredibly upbeat and optimistic however. Over the summer the feeling of ‘this is it’ has very much sunk in. What do I want from my final year? That’s the main question I’ve been asking myself over the summer. What would I really like to do with my time? What things would I regret not having done? I don’t want the dreaded ‘why didn’t I…’ popping into my head 12 months from now.
I have often thought of my BA Graphic Design course as a marathon. At times it has very much felt like one. Foundation was a quick sprint by comparison. Like any marathon, there are great moments, mixed with painful unpleasant ones. When you get the momentum you have to keep it. At times you have to grit your teeth and endure. It is an intense experience of ups and downs, with lots to learn both personally and professionally.
College can be my best friend in the whole world. Sometimes it drives me mad and I hate it with a passion. However on the whole it is a healthy relationship. The frustrating comes from being in such a competitive, challenging environment. If is difficult when you are constantly being taken out of your comfort zone. However, this process is rewarding, and you improve quickly.
At present there are numerous conversations about the role of design, in relation to our society in our current climate. As a student, it is an opportunity to think about the ways we can improve our world and make positive contributions. At college, complete creative freedom is given to you. The best students use this wisely and responsibly, in order to achieve great results. Tutors are tough on you. Listen to what they say, and you stand to benefit. They indicate it is a tough journey ahead to be successful in the creative industries. Obstacles are put in your way, a bit of bureaucracy here and there. All of this is frustrating but an important learning curve.
I remember one tutor telling me ‘the world does not need another graphic designer’. A daunting statement, just one term into my course. It made me ask various questions of myself ‘how am I going to make a difference?’ ‘What is my message?’ ‘And what is the best way to communicate it?’ By asking these questions, you begin to develop the professional focused approach needed to be successful.
The alternative approach for students? The naïve one? Around a year ago, I found myself in a bizarre conversation with a group of engineering students, on a visit to see my best friend at a large, well-respected university up north. Two individuals I talked to were convinced the world owed them a living. Apparently a lecturer had made a tongue-in-cheek comment, saying on their graduation a ‘60k job with a Ferrari thrown-in was waiting for them’. They had taken his ‘joke’ somewhat literately. One of them laughed when I said I was studying Graphic Design, and told me my career working in McDonald’s would not be far away.
Subsequently, the two boys failed their first year of Engineering. They haven’t gone back to university. They didn’t get enough marks to do so, I’m told. I hear they haven’t got that 60k job, or the Ferrari. Apparently one of them now works in…
So I am keeping a cool eye on my future in the coming year. Most importantly, I will continue to be passionate about the work I do. If so, work quickly turns to play, and great enjoyment is gained. Enjoyment is a key ingredient to successful study, and what I will aim to achieve most. If I can say 12 months from now I enjoyed the work I did in my final year of college, I will be a very happy graduate.
Jamie Hearn is (now) a third year BA Graphic Design student: his website is here.
Editor’s note: we posted the wrong version of this yesterday. This is the right one. Sorry.
Over the last few days, a new campaign we’ve been developing for Save the Children has launched.
Every One is a global initiative that’s being run in each of the 28 different Save the Childrens around the world, so a truly global campaign. The aim of the campaign is to make the world finally wake up to the plight of the world’s under-fives in under-developed countries (many millions are still dying every year from preventable diseases).
In the UK, the campaign is being driven by an advertising campaign we’ve developed which is running now on trains, outdoor media and press. The campaign is written in the past tense, about the hopes and dreams of children no longer here.
Internationally, each country is running its own campaigns, but we’ve been developing a suite of translated logos for certain languages (a few of these are shown below).
That’s Bengali, Spanish, French, Arabic and Hindi for all the keen linguists out there.
The blur of last week’s London Design Festival meant a few things got a bit lost along the way.
Like this: Rooted - an experimental show created by graduates that allowed art and design students free space to showcase their own work.
‘There are no rules or boundaries; people can put up, hang, project (or even wear) their work wherever they want for it to be seen and stand out from the rest! It is completely free to put up work, it is simply about getting your work up and out there’ say the Rooting team of Owen Evans, Ella Collinge, Peter Stadden and Zoe Barrett. (Sorry that sounded slightly rude, you know what we mean).
They had one ‘Rooted’ in April of this year, then Rooted 2 was held last week at the Truman Brewery, with over 50 exhibitors and hundreds of guests, and a 12-person guest judging panel with the likes of NB:Studio, VCCP (of compare-the-meerkat-dot-com fame) and Wunderman.
Sarah decided to leave the corporate world behind her (she used to work at Poke) and has set up shop in her own home. Her home, round the corner from Portobello Market where she has a stall, is now ‘overflowing with treasures and delights’ and, apparently, ‘she welcomes visitors with tea and cakes’. Crikey.
