Monday 8 April 2013

The Hands on Approach - Dana Burrows


After listening to the podcast on Joseph Churchwood, I decided to look into what made his typefaces so successful on their own. What characteristics about his work differentiate him from todays type-writers?    He is obviously very talented at what he does but aren't most successful type-writers? I then thought it could be in the way he produces his work that makes it so strong and effective.
How interesting that one would choose to continue to produce their work by hand, when most would argue that it would be faster, more effective and sufficient to produce it on the computer. What would be the benefits of working in such a way?
I remember him saying that he still prefers to produce all his type-faces by hand.
I went onto research whether or not there were artists who choose to create typography by hand still and whether or not it proved to be more or just as effective than computer generated typefaces.


Briar Mark has a keen interest in craft; her project iCraft explores the relationship between handcraft and graphic design with a strong emphasis on process. Mark believes that computer's have a strong dominance in almost every aspect of our lives, which has resulted in a revival of craft as a show of resistance. Her processes are very extensive and time consuming but I believe that the final outcome is something to be admired, not many people would have the time or patience to attempt this, or have the skill to accomplish such a thing to such great detail.

You can find more information about Briar Mark here.



"I did this instead of going out."


Sarah Maxey is an award winning designer, she creates hand-rendered typographic's. Her work displays strong discipline towards her craft, but it hasn't unrecognised, as in 2011 her personal discipline was rightly awarded Maxey's Purple Pin for Best Design Awards, Best Discipline. She believes "if technique becomes too polished [using a computer] it looses heart", so she continues with a hand rendered approach. 


"Take A Hike."


Katie Lombardo is a freelance illustrator and typographer. She uses a mixture of watercolor and acrylic paint to create her soft and elegant fonts. I believe her work is quite original and really admire the skill and time she so obviously put into her work 


Hand type is not always the best way or the most time effective solution. Handcraft is a time consuming,  cannot be mass-produced and has the potential for mistakes; however people always have appreciation for the tactility of a physical design. With that I believe that it is important to have time with working with the basics,  away from the mechanical approach to design and get back in touch with the hands on approach.  I believe that this achieves an extra aesthetic that time spent on the computer can not achieve.  This is evident with the various steps and stages that can be seen - it is almost like being on a journey with the project. Sometimes this can be kinesthetically evident as one can feel the various strokes of a brush; smell the aroma of a product.  This enables one to  be drawn into the depth of the message even more so than something that has been computer generated. 

2 comments:

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  2. After reading your post the thing that intrigued me the most was designer Briar Mark and his work on “I could have done this on my Mac.” I love the concept and it’s clever the way the type is enhanced with the words the letters form. This person has a lot of will and determination to complete a project like this. It’s interesting reading this piece makes my think. I didn’t realize before how we, especially us graphic designers, are so confined to our computers.

    Then I look at projects like these and they are much more personal. I think we tend to use the computer when creating our designs because we develop short cuts and it quicker. Once I looked into crafted fonts like that of Briar Mark’s, ‘I could have done this on my Mac’ it inspires me to step away from the computer and aim to create something hand crafted.

    I found a blog with 30 examples of handcrafted letters. The typefaces in the blog were created from a range of different craft materials, including paper, wool, card, and string. These particular examples would take a lot longer then creating a typeface on the computer and a lot more patience. Each individually intricate in it’s own way. They are not the sort of type that I can see working commercially, however I think they work perfectly well as they are.


    Blog:

    http://www.youthedesigner.com/2011/07/06/30-unique-craft-typography-designs/


    - Tash Gate

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