“Shungu: The Resilience of a People”, a film screening

A slight departure from the typical typography-related posts, but not entirely unrelated. This is an announcement for a film screening by one of the most interesting figures in the world of typography and academia, Saki Mafundikwa. Saki founded and runs Zimbabwe’s first design and new media college, the Zimbabwe Institute of Vigital Arts (ZIVA). He has previously taught at Cooper Union, holds and MFA from Yale and has written extensively on African writing systems. In 2004 the book he wrote, “Afrikan Alphabets: The story of writing in Afrika”, was published by Mark Batty Publisher.

On Wednesday, April 14th he he will be screening his film Shungu at the Cooper Union. The film is “a compelling narrative of the strategies ordinary people use to survive in Zimbabwe today… The filmmaker takes us on a personal journey offering a rare, intimate insight as the country experiences political turmoil, economic meltdown and health care collapse.”

Screening details:
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
4 to 6 pm
Screening followed by Q&A
Frederick P. Rose Auditorium
41 Cooper Square, New York, NY
Free and open to the public

Please attend if you are in the area and help spread the word about this unique opportunity to see this film.

Filed under: Events, Lectures, People

Aldo Novarese

Aldo Novarese is someone I meant to post about some time ago, as his incredibly prolific type-design career spanned over 50 years (into the 1990’s) and produced over 70 typefaces (over 200 if we count the various weights & styles). His typefaces helped shape the visual landscape of the 1950s and beyond, with such classic faces as Eurostile, Stop, and ITC Novarese. The Microgramma/Eurostile typeface has become synonymous with Mid-Century Modernism. Much like his contemporary Roger Excoffon (in charge of the Fonderie Olive type foundry) Novarese led the prominent Italian foundry Nebiolo and left a similar mark on the world of typography.

Filed under: Designers, People, Reference, Typefaces, Typography

Lubalin Now

The inaugural exhibition in the newly re-located Herb Lubalin Study Center of Design and Typography.

Herb Lubalin (1918–1981) is best known for his wildly illustrative typography and his groundbreaking work for the magazines Avant Garde, Eros, and Fact.

On view in Cooper Union’s new gallery, the installation includes recent posters, publications, and motion graphics by internationally recognized graphic designers that spotlight an emerging trend toward expressive lettering and typography.

Original sketches, magazines, logotypes, and posters selected from the Lubalin Center Archive will illuminate Lubalin’s influence on contemporary graphic design.

On view: November 5, 2009 – December 8, 2009

Filed under: Lubalin, People, Reference, Typography

Stephen Farrell

Almost every semester I mention to my students the designer Stephen Farrell as someone whose work they should look at. I have always admired his approach to typography, as well as his small but eclectic set of typefaces he designed. Unfortunately his work is scattered across the web, in small bits. Obviously his work is meant to be seen in real life, to be handled, interacted with, experienced. Still, I decided to pull together everything I could find online to make it easier for students and other people to see his work. Hopefully this will also provide leads to finding his printed work for those interested.

Filed under: Designers, People, Typography