Programme

Dr Andreas Cl. Sophocleous, a Professor in Communication and Mass Media, holds a Diploma in Geography of London University, an Bsc degree in Geography of the University of Washington USA, a BA degree in Political Science of the Panteion University Athens, an MA degree in Mass Communication of Denver University Colorado USA and a PhD degree in Communication and Mass Media of Panteion University Athens.

He also holds a Diploma in Education of the Pedagogical Academy of Cyprus and a Certificate in Modern Harmony (Music) of the U. States School of Music, New York. He is currently the Director of the Mass Media and Communication Institute (IMME) of Intercollege. In the past Dr. Sophocleous was a lecturer of Journalism at the Frederick Institute of Technology, the KES College and Europa College, all in Nicosia. He has served as Senior Officer of Press and Information and the Director of the Press and Information Office (1969-1995).

He represented the Republic of Cyprus in the Steering Committees of experts on the Mass Media and Cinematography of the Council of Europe. He has served also as a chair of the organizing committees and editor of the proceedings of International Conferences on Journalism and the Cyprus Problem.

His research interests include the History of Cyprus Press, the Cyprus Bibliography, the Cyprus Literature of the 19th Century, the History and Geography of Cyprus. He is also the author of many articles and books on the above subjects (33 books written and edited, 1 co-publication, 5 chapters in books and encyclopaedias, 26 journal articles and 4 conference proceedings papers).

The awarded animated series “A Letter - A Story”, which is created by the author-educational technologist Sophia Madouvalou and the director-animator Aristarchos Papadaniel, is the first educational cartoon series produced in Greece. The series aims at learning through entertainment. It is an innovative production of the Educational RadioTelevision of the Greek Ministry of Education, Lifelong Learning and Religious Affairs on the Greek language and alphabet in the digital era of education. Children become familiar with letters and sounds of the Greek language through 24 verse-based, humorous, surrealistic, animated stories, which combine educational language with fairytales and television. Each episode is designed within a context of an interdisciplinary and holistic approach to knowledge and thus supports the school curriculum in an innovative, original and attractive way.

As part of a multimedia learning package, a digital environment of interactive games based on series “A Letter - A Story” has been developed. The interactive games instructional design is based on the contemporary literacy trends for pre-school and first school classes, as well as on the learning categories of Benjamin Bloom. The objectives of the interactive games are oral language and vocabulary enrichment and reinforcement as well as acquiring a sense of written language. The above process is combined with fun derived from the sound and meaning of the words, the development of phonological and phonemic awareness, as well as the learning of the alphabet (letters and their sounds). The interactive learning environment “A Letter - A Story” is designed to be used as a supportive tool by the teacher in the classroom (smart board) or in the computer lab and individually at home. The pilot application of the interactive games on letter Alpha is already online for free play at the following site: www.i-create.gr

Sophia Madouvalou was born in Athens in 1949. She studied Developmental Psychology, Educational Technology and Film Direction. From 1979 until 2010 she worked as a specialist in Educational Technology for the Greek Educational RadioTelevision supporting with her work the Greek school curriculum. She is the creator of at least 150 educational programs among them the awarded series "A Letter - A Story" as well as the awarded interactive educational CD-ROM "Diagoras in Olympia" (in collaboration with the University of Crete, Department of Education) aiming to teach the Greek language as a second language. She is the co-author of the book "Contemporary Education and Television". Sophia Madouvalou's contribution to literature numbers more than 65 books for children as well as poetry and novels for adults. Some of her books have received national and international distinctions and awards and have been translated into English, Chinese and Korean language.

Aristarchos Papadaniel was born in Athens in 1978. He studied Tourism Business Administration, Graphic Design (ΒΑ hons) and Animation (MA). Author of the book "Greek Political Caricature - The serious side to a funny art" and creator of "Pocket Cinema" flipbook series. In 2005 he co-founded the creative studio SYLLIPSIS Ltd., where he produces visual communication through animation, illustration and graphic design. A number of his illustrations have been published by magazines ("Athens Voice", "PC Magazine", "Metropolis Press", "+design" etc.), exhibited on galleries and broadcasted on various TV series and shows ("The X Factor" etc.). His cartoon animation creations have been broadcasted by Greek public, private and satellite TV channels (ΕΤ1, ERT World, MEGA Channel, MAD TV), and/or hosted by various events (Greek Graphic Design and Illustration Awards-EBGE) and festivals (Athens Animfest, Animasyros, Athens Video Art Festival, Art for More, Be there! Corfu FF, Olympia IFF, Drama FF, Cyprus IFF, Corinthian IFF etc.). Founding member of ASIFA Greece and full member of Greek Graphic Designers’ Association.

Three Directions Of Writing: Leftward, Rightward And Downward

Linking Latin Letters to Arabic Letters with Japanese calligraphy

Since recorded history, Lebanese people have mixed languages. Today, Arabic French and English are widely spoken in Lebanon and this research aims to show a visual transliteration of these oral mixtures of languages by combining their respective scripts.

However, Arabic letters, like other Semitic alphabets (Aramaic, Syriac and Hebrew), are written from right to left (the opposite direction used when writing the Latin letters of French and English). When alternated in a text, Arabic and Latin scripts go back and forth from one line to the other, acting like a boustrophedon: if line x (written with the first script) is not attached to line x+1 (written with the opposite script), then reading would be problematic. One problem affects the order of reading: reading one language with one script then reading the other. Another problem is that of omission: reading one language through one script and not reading the other. This is why it is imperative to connect Latin and Arabic letters to "force" the reading of the two writing systems. And this is where the challenge lies.

Latin and Arabic letters are connected horizontally, if connected. The vertical connections create a new visual. An approach that is inspired, or even based on, the Japanese/Chinese calligraphy heritage of connecting letters vertically makes the vertical connections between Arabic and Latin possible. The cursive vertical Japanese calligraphy applied on the horizontal flexibility of the Arabic kashida make the vertical connections of Latin and Arabic letters easier to achieve.

To transfigure the verbal mixture of languages in Lebanon, this paper combines three directions of writing: right to left with Arabic letters, left to right with Latin letters, and up to down with Japanese calligraphy.

Antoine received his Masters in Advertising from the Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts (ALBA) in Beirut, Lebanon, in 2000. Shortly thereafter, he moved for seven years to Japan, where he completed both his Masters of Arts (2004) and his PhD (2007) in Visual Communication Design in the School of Art and Design at the University of Tsukuba, Japan. In 2007 he returned to Lebanon to take up his duties as instructor and coordinator of international cultural events and exchange programs between universities at his Alma Mater, ALBA.

Having Phoenician blood in his veins, Antoine loves traveling. He worked, exhibited, taught or lectured in Brazil, China, Dubai, Germany, Greece, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Lebanon, Peru, Poland, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia and USA.

Arabic is one of the most widely spoken language in the world yet it is reputed to be one of the hardest to learn. It exists in many different forms: classical Arabic (used in the Holy Qur’an), colloquial or spoken Arabic which is different from country to country and region to region, and modern standard Arabic (used in media and literature in all Arab countries). Apart from having complicated grammar and right to left reading direction, Arabic is especially difficult because the shapes of its 28 letters change based on their location within a word.
Children in Lebanese schools are finding Arabic harder to learn in comparison with French or English, especially when those foreign languages are also used to teach most scientific subjects. Furthermore, the youth are becoming more attracted to “western” languages popular in entertainment and audio-visual media, and widely used in technological, scientific, and online research and communication.
Scholarly experimental research and suggestions for making Arabic script easier to learn were often attempted since the late 1940s: two notable examples are Nasri Khattar’s “Unified Arabic” in 1947 and the “Basic Arabic” project led by Cecil Hourani and implemented by Mourad Boutros’ in 1990. Both approaches faced difficulties during adoption, possibly because of strong connections to Latin script or Arabic calligraphy, or because the cultural context was not yet ready for change.

Α Lebanese designer who graduated from Notre Dame University with a BA in Graphic Design and later acquired a Masters Degree in Visual Communication with an emphasis in Type and Language from Central Saint Martins, London.

One of my latest achievements was publishing my first book, Cultural Connectives. Fruit of research I started during my MA, the book introduces Arabic script to westerners by bridging Arabic and Latin typography using the Arabic and Latin Mirsaal Type family, which I developed specifically for this purpose.

In 2007, I started teaching typography and design courses at Notre Dame University. Based on my experience in Lebanon and the UK working for international clients, I recently cofounded Layerhead, a design studio specializing in branding, type and multi-screen designs.

One of my current projects includes working with a local institute for Arabic as a second language on developing an Arabic typeface to ease the learning of Arabic.

'The discovery of the alphabet will create forgetfulness in the learner's souls, because they will not use their memories; they will trust to the external written characters and not remember of themselves.' [Plato, Phaedrus]
Within Plato's reflections on discourse, the 'invention' of writing was, somewhat paradoxically, associated with potentially negative effects on memory: laziness, loss and forgetfulness. Typography, as a set of paratextual communicative practises, might be seen, therefore, to be party to this unintended consequence. This paper looks to explore the relationship between typographic communication and two significant conceptualisations of memory: 'cultural' and 'communicative', discussing them in the context of significant social and technological change and how
they might act or be employed as some force to prevent forgetting.
Cultural memory has been defined and discussed by Jan Assman who sees it as essential to "…the survival of the type" [sic](1995:125), through it's associations with functional necessities, habitualised customs and forms of communal socialisation. It operates on a level beyond the everyday, being objective and distant from what is often termed 'communicative memory' - that which is experienced locally, individually, frequently and, often, informally.
Assman goes on to delineate cultural memory as being clearly distinct from communicative memory, defining it as being dependent upon particular points or markers (what he terms 'figures of time'), within collectivised or shared experience. He pays particular attention to "…the mnemonic functions of objectivised culture…" (129) which allow for
shared memory to be accessed across (often great) distances of time and space. This paper seeks to explore the notion of alphabetic communication as a unique form of 'objectivised culture' and, consequently, a unique form of cultural memory.
Typography is often employed to play a significant role in the processes of making memory and is used explicitly in the social construction of history and its' narratives. It's regularly an agent in the production of both cultural and communicative memory, in particular when allied to organised, vocal and public activist intent. Activism, driven by a cause requiring response and leading to some kind of action, often seeks to bring about change through forms of intentional remembrance. Such instances of design-as-cultural-memory mark out moments in a history of organised
activism. As Plato makes clear, one concern for externalised memory centres around a role for writing which disempowers the reader and, in the process, discourages memory. The paper contends that a role for typography might exist which aims for a response to such loss.
Through the discussion of notable examples, the paper aims to discuss how typographic communication, in the service of a production of memory, can have measurable cultural impact and might often live on beyond an issue or when a cause has ceased to be considered worthy of reaction. Likewise, typography has a role to play in the construction of [activist] communicative memory - where the incidental, accidental and, often, throwaway practises of the non-designer have created work which has lasting impact upon an activism (re)located within the self.

Dr. Paul Wilson is a Lecturer in the School of Design at the University of Leeds. His research activities centre on aspects of typographic process and practice, investigating the relationships between language, typography, writing and aspects of everyday life.
He is particularly interested in narratives of community and place and focuses on sites of situated class experience at moments or points of transition, decay or termination. His current research explores ideas of activism, alongside notions and practises of sonic and co-design.

texpw@leeds.ac.uk

Eric Gill (1882–1940) was an important and controversial figure in twentieth-century British arts and crafts. Greatly respected as a sculptor, writer, inscription carver, book designer and engraver, he also made an impressive contribution to type design. He is one of the most important British typeface designers of the twentieth century. Perpetua was the first type that Gill started designing in 1925. The majority of his work in type design was done in collaboration with The Monotype Corporation, but he also worked with type foundries. Gill designed at least eleven typefaces, not including some projected designs for types, in the period 1925–1938. By far the best known is Gill Sans, originally manufactured by The Monotype Corporation in 1928. Gill’s other well known typeface designs are Perpetua and Joanna, but the remainder – Perpetua Greek, Golden Cockerel Type, Solus, Aries, Floriated Capitals, Bunyan, Pilgrim, Jubilee and Gill Hebrew – are unknown to most designers.
For most of the twentieth century the design of typefaces was a two-stage process: the designer would make drawings and then a team of engineers would implement the design, often making changes to the design in order to make it work technically. This research project will investigate the conception, design and production of each of Gill’s typefaces. It is a chance to study the process and working practices of how his typefaces came to be manufactured – initially for hot-metal typesetting and later for photocomposition and digital typesetting.
This presentation will show the value of the archives at St Bride Library, Monotype Imaging, and the Type Archive, and the extensive documentation and artefacts they contain relating to type design, printing, engineering, business and culture. The most relevant collections come from Monotype, and the type founders H W Caslon & Co Ltd, and Stephenson, Blake & Co Ltd. Focusing on Gill’s designs for metal type, this presentation will discuss some of the findings from the archives so far. Seemingly incidental details have been recovered and added to what is already part of current typographic knowledge, with the aim of providing further insight into the process of designing and manufacturing type in the 1920s and 1930s.

Sallie Morris is a PhD candidate in the Department of Typography & Graphic Communication at the University of Reading, where she is researching the design and manufacture of Eric Gill’s typefaces in the golden era of hot-metal typesetting. She holds a BA (Hons) in Typography & Graphic Communication and an MA in Information Design from the University of Reading. In between studies, Sallie was a practising graphic designer in Reading and London for a total of eight years. Her PhD research is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) as part of a Collaborative Doctoral Award, in conjunction with St Bride Library in London.

History is by definition selective. So too is the typographic history that we find repeated within our ever-expanding shelves of related publications, with each introductory chapter mapping the predictable timeline of cuneiform to Gutenberg to letterpress to metal to digital.

Twentieth century typographic history (mapped by mechanisation, classification, digitisation and the work of individual typographers) forms a rich and accessible visual resource from which we construct our knowledge and reference the formation of new work. It is selective in its documentation and representation of the multiple layers of typographic communication. As long as we regard typographic history as primarily constructed through print, digital output and the work of the ‘hero’ font designers and typographers, then typographic knowledge remains limited, with its history only partially written. In doing so we deny ourselves access to an even richer resource.

This paper examines alternative layers of the history of the twentieth century development of type and letterforms. Removed from the label of the named typographer, the flatland of paper and the surface of screen, this is a ‘typographic archaeology’, constructing a history through the letterforms of the anonymous everyday three-dimensional environment, where extraordinary typographic artefacts are revealed buried in the visual confusion of the familiar everyday world.

Historically this is regarded as low art, ‘un-designed’ and commercial. Dismissed as peripheral at best, this is the typographic space where classification is ill-defined and its exponents nameless. Vernacular type however is a significant contributor to the development of a broader, more culturally expansive typographic history, comprising of rich layers of narration, communicated through a variety of typographic accents and dialects.

Drawing upon original visual research this paper explores stages of typographic development, illustrating the vernacular landscape of urban and sub-urban American roadside type. Patterns of typographic movements are examined and defined, and their emergence and development explored within the context of American cultural, political, economic, technological and material change. This establishes an expanded vision of twentieth century ‘typographic history’.

Louise McWhinnie is Associate Dean of the Faculty of Design, Architecture & Building at The University of Technology Sydney. Before lecturing in Australia, Louise worked as a graphic designer and lecturer in London, also spending several years as a course director for Central Saint Martins, establishing the graphic design course in Malaysia. Louise lectures at both under-graduate and post-graduate levels across a range of predominantly print-based forms of visual communication, her specialist areas being Typography and Information Design. Her research encompasses the areas of international design education, cultural and linguistic diversity within visual communication educational practice and typography.

http://datasearch.uts.edu.au/dab/staff/details.cfm?StaffId=2164

In a simulation of the design practice participants are requested to design a solution for a customer. The journey to the final design leads them through a "maze" every designer has to go through: how to get the required information from the customer? Designers are forced to think about their way of working: to design their own design process.

The design game originally was made for the curriculum of the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague. Students for graphic design learn that not asking the right question or not thinking about the design process itself, never leads towards appropriate design. The design game create a small virtual world that hold all aspect of the real designers practice. Interested how your customer feels: play the game. Interested how your designer thinks: play the game.

Anyone can participate: designers, typographers, students, or non-designers. Fun for everyone!

Additional to the game Petr van Blokland will reflect on the game results in relation to the daily practice of a designer and extentions will be made to disciplines as programming and artificial intelligence, whereas the connection to game theory easily can be made.

Petr van Blokland (1956) studied at the Graphic and Typographic Design Department of the Royal Academy of Visual Arts in The Hague, Netherlands. In 1979 he graduated cum laude and worked as an intern at Total Design in Amsterdam and Studio Dumbar in The Hague. From 1980 until today he was designer and partner in Buro Petr van Blokland + Claudia Mens in Delft. To specialize himself he studied for several years at the TU-Delft department Industrial Design. From 1984 until 1989 he taught at the Academy for Visual Arts in Arnhem. Since 1988 he is a teacher at the Graphic and Typographic Design Department and the post-graduate course Type & Media of the Royal Academy of Visual Arts in The Hague. With Claudia Mens he was co-founder of the Health Agency (publisher of on-line medical information) which he/they left in 2006.

http://www.petr.com

http://www.typeradio.org/.../index.php?cat=Blokland,Petrvan

http://www.kabk.nl/

The proposed presentation is an introduction to an EU-funded, Comenius Multilateral project that develops and utilizes digital alphabet books, to facilitate preschool children’s play with the written word; the letters, meanings and sounds of different languages. The AlphaEU project focuses on the Key Activity 2 priority: “Promoting early language education.” It aims to promote the acquisition of multilingual awareness and language skills of pre-schoolers in various European countries, by developing, piloting, and implementing digital alphabet books and alphabet-related games and interactive activities. Targeted alphabets/languages include: English, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, and Romanian. Bringing very young children into contact with foreign languages may result in faster language learning, improved mother tongue skills, and better performance in other areas. Studies have shown that phonemic awareness is closely associated with reading ability in the early and later years of schooling, while letter-sound correlation is proved to play an important role in learning how to read and write a language. Alphabet books are also bound to enrich children’s vocabulary in a language and offer multifaceted opportunities for creative learning. The innovative aspect of AlphaEU is that active and creative language learning is channelled through digital media that encourage children to approach European languages and alphabets in a comparative manner, identifying differences and similarities and beginning to formulate general ideas about how languages work. An AlphaEU guide introduces kindergarten teachers, parents and caregivers to the project’s approach and material. E-learning modules inform and train adult mediators in utilizing digital alphabet books and activities. The project encourages involvement of family members in supporting language learning, enabling an effective integration between school and community. The digital alphabet books and activities are implemented with preschool children in all participating countries and case studies are publicized as demonstrators of the AlphaEU approach. The AlphaEU project is expected to have a positive impact on pre-primary language education across the EU.

http://www.cardet.org/vrasidas/

Sue Walker is Professor of Typography at the University of Reading, UK. She served as Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities and Faculty Director of Research from 2007 to 2011, having been Head of the Department of Typography & Graphic Communication for ten years. She is a Fellow of the Design Research Society.

Her research interests are the analysis and description of graphic language, in particular the relationship between prescription and practice in everyday documents, and in typographic design for children. Before becoming a full-time academic in 1999, she practiced as an information designer, and she continues to undertake research and consultancy in this area. Her most recent research project has been ‘Isotype revisited’, funded by AHRC where she was co-investigator with Eric Kindel. She worked in particular on graphic explanation for children based on study of the children's books produced by the Isotype Institute in the 1940s and 1950s. She is continuing to work on Marie Neurath's role and influence as transformer with particular reference to these books; and is planning future work on Isotype and communicating information about health, especially TB and malaria.

Niki Sioki has worked for more than 20 years in medical publishing as Editorial Manager and Publishing Director. She has been actively involved in research programs concerning Greek academic publishing and the training of professionals working in the publishing sector.

She now teaches Book Publishing and Typography in the Department of Design & Multimedia at the University of Nicosia.

Her research interests concentrate on the typographic design for children, the relationship of typography and meaning in elementary reading books, book history and issues concerning the contemporary publishing industry. She is currently working towards her PhD at the Department of Typography and Graphic Communication, the University of Reading, UK. Niki's research focuses on the historical development of the typographic design of Greek elementary reading books.

Λίγες περίοδοι της ιστορίας περιέχουν ένα τὀσο εκρηκτικό μείγμα – το οικονομικό δράμα, την καλλιτεχνική δημιουργικότητα, τα ιδεολογικά αδιέξοδα, τα ουτοπικά όνειρα, τις κραυγαλέες κοινωνικές αντιθέσεις, αλλά και το σπέρμα του επικείμενου ολέθρου – όσο αυτό που συγκεντρώθηκε στη Γερμανία από το τέλος του Α´ Παγκοσμίου Πολέμου έως την κατάλυση της δημοκρατίας από τους ναζιστές, το 1932.

Κατά την περίοδο αυτή οι αλλαγές που επέφεραν οι τεράστιες καταστροφές του πρώτου ολοκληρωτικού πολέμου, ο εθνικισμός, ο γεωπολιτικός ανταγωνισμός και οι κοινωνικές συγκρούσεις οδήγησαν πολλούς καλλιτέχνες σε ρήξη με το εικαστικό παρελθόν και στην υιοθέτηση μιας όλο και περισσότερο εικονοκλαστικής αντίληψης της Τέχνης και του ρόλου τους. Ταυτόχρονα, η ανάπτυξη της οπτικής επικοινωνίας άρχισε κι αυτή να παρεισφρύει στο καλλιτεχνικό γίγνεσθαι τόσο ως διαφήμιση όσο και ως πολιτική προπαγάνδα.

Η ταχεία ανάπτυξη του κλάδου προσέφερε ένα ευρύ πεδίο δημιουργίας σε όλο και περισσότερους ταλαντούχους καλλιτέχνες που αποτέλεσαν, ουσιαστικά, την πρώτη γενιά ειδικευμένων γραφιστών. Η Γερμανία που διαμορφώθηκε κατά την περίοδο της Δημοκρατίας της Βαϊμάρης αποτέλεσε ένα κομβικό σημείο όπου όλες οι παραπάνω αντιθέσεις βρεθήκαν σε παράλληλες, ή τέμνουσες πορείες διαμορφώνοντας μία άκρως δημιουργική σκηνή που απελευθέρωσε, στο μικρό διάστημα που διήρκησε, το ταλέντο πολλών νέων καλλιτεχνών. Τόσο η σχολή Bauhaus που ίδρυσε ο Walter Gropius, όσο και το περιοδικό Gebrauchsgraphik του Hans Frenzel γεννήθηκαν από αυτή την κοινωνική και καλλιτεχνική συγκυρία, αλλά και υπήρξαν ηγέτες της σύντομης πορείας της.

Το μηνιαίο περιοδικό Gebrauchsgraphik ιδρύθηκε τον Ιούλιο του 1924 και διήρκησε έως το 1944, αν και ο Frenzel είχε πεθάνει από το 1937. Αναμφισβήτητα, η πλέον δημιουργική παρουσία του υπήρξε έως το 1932, όταν ως ένα διεθνές δίγλωσσο περιοδικό των γραφικών τεχνών δημοσίευε μέσα από τις σελίδες του ότι καλύτερο είχε να παρουσιάσει η Γερμανία στον χώρο των εφαρμοσμένων τεχνών, αλλά και έδοσε το βήμα σε πολλούς εξέχοντες γραφίστες της υπόλοιπης Ευρώπης.

Η διάλεξη θα παρουσάσει τις ποικίλες τάσεις της γερμανικής και της ευρωπαϊκής γραφιστικής δημιουργίας που καταγράφονται στις σελίδες του περιοδικού κατα­δεικνύοντας την πλούσια παρακαταθήκη που υπήρξε η πηγή της επικοινωνιακής έκρηξης που ακολούθησε τη μεταπολεμική περίοδο και έθεσε, ουσιαστικά, τους εικαστικούς κώδικες που χρησιμοποιεί η οπτική επικοινωνία έως σήμερα.

George D. Matthiopoulos is Lecturer in Graphic Design at the School of Graphic Arts of the Technological Institute of Athens and his research work is in the fields of type design, typography and Graphic Arts history. He is a founding member and type designer for the non-profit organization Greek Font Society. He has authored the work Anthology of Greek Typography (University of Crete Press, 2009), the textbooks Lettering and Flexography (Greek Open University Press, 2002) and he has translated into Greek the works of: Robert Bringhurst, Elements of Typographic Style (University of Crete Press, 2001), Victor Scholderer, Greek Printing Types, 1465-1927 (Typophilia, 1995), Tim Wu, The Master Switch. The Rise and Fall of Information Empires (Gialos, 2012) and John Berger, A Painter of our Times (University of Crete Press, 2002). He has also designed many editions and art catalogues, museum exhibitions and conferences.

gfsgr@hol.gr

On the left hand side of my bookshelf are typographic manuals, foundations and handbooks that I have collected over the years. This collection of ‘typographic introductory texts’ started when I was an undergraduate student studying typography and continued into my professional career. It features some well-read favorites such as Robert Bringhurst’s The Elements of Typographic Style and Ellen Lupton’s Thinking With Type as well as more obscure titles found in the bargain bin at the local discount bookstore. On the right hand side are the typographic titles which showcase the newest and brightest stars of the (typo)graphic world. This ‘typo porn’ is where I indulge when in need of creative inspiration. Full of glossy images of innovative and groundbreaking typographic design, these publications have been graced by the likes of Émigré, David Carson and more recently studios such as Experimental Jetset.
What is apparent from my fastidious collection and organisation of
typographic publications is a polarity between the two sides of my
bookshelf. More importantly it seems curious that few books fall between the two extremes of publication. Whilst many of these introductory publications include a few examples of ‘typo porn’, these tend to be minimal and relegated to the back of the texts.
My larger doctoral research agenda is to make explicit an understanding of the ‘unconventional’ through a study of the patterns, rhythms and
idiosyncrasies inherent within typographic design. To explore the
‘unconventional’, the conventional and traditional must be scrutinized; the
examination of these traditions and histories of typographic design is the
basis of this presentation. This is done through the use of information
visualisation to undertake a literature review of seminal and fundamental
typographic texts. These have been selected based on traditions which are regarded as good practice and the cornerstone of good typography.
The typographic (foundational) publications were comprehensively collected, the content gathered, sorted, analysed and mapped, enabling a breadth of understanding to be formed of the discipline’s most fundamental knowledge. With the content broken into character, word, sentence, paragraph and page as consideration of both the macro and micro levels of typographic knowledge, conventions are explored and their articulation questioned. In exploring this, the resultant visualisations become maps, taxonomies and typologies of existing knowledge that endeavor to make such fundamental information accessible in new ways. These require the audience to rethink and reinterpret their understanding of the discipline’s traditions and histories, enabling new articulations for future typographers.

As a graduate of The University Of Technology Sydney’s Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication (Hon1), Erin has worked as an Art Director for a niche art publication as well as working on projects which vary from corporate identity and branding to publication design under the auspice of her own design practice, paragraph one. She teaches typography to students at UTS and is undertaking a PhD which marries the disciplines of typography and information visualisation.

Is there a cure for graphic dementia?

Situation

Any observation of the graphic design profession would notice a combination of fairly severe symptoms. There are memory disfunctionalities (short term and long term), language issues (combining words and visuals), difficulties with common actions (problem solving), attention problems (self centered), and disorientation (not knowing ones position, and little sense of direction where to go). This combination of symptoms is usually recognized as dementia. Further evidence is that the patient is - to a large extent - unaware of what is happening. The symptoms are however very clear to people outside the profession. Especially education and commercial commissioners look at graphical dementia and wonder if and how they have to deal with this situation.

The five symptoms that need to be treated are:

Memory dysfunctionality: As a practice, graphic designers make things, and forget immediately afterwards what has been done. The results and consequences of actions are lost in a continuous search for new and novel ways of attracting the attention of people. Both short term and long term information is rarely recorded and is frequently lost. There is therefore a lack of reliable information about graphic design. We can only learn from our own limited number of mistakes and we don’t learn from the mistakes and experiences of others. As a cure, we need practice based research that investigates classes of projects. We need to look for patterns, test, improve, and compare to determine ‘best practice’.

Language issues: Graphic designers do not refer to arguments, rarely refer to literature, rarely test or investigate, and still hope that commissioners believe them. It is necessary to speak the language of commissioners and their contacts. As a cure, we need to prove that our arguments are strong enough, and that our facts are correct and present this in a language that commissioners are familiar with.

Difficulties with common actions: Graphic designers are very good in repeating an identical approach over and over again. Many activities refer to ancient technology, point sizes, set squares, and paste-up of phototypesetting. It still seems to work, but there is little progress, and experiments to find out if there are alternatives are rarely done.

Attention problems: The attention span of graphic design is already limited by the short periods in which projects are executed. During these projects there is little time to look outside the borders of the computerscreen and talk to real users about real activities. The focus is on a graphic designer who shapes a digital reality. Paying attention to matters outside the studio, and outside graphic design might redirect the professional focus to the relation between people and visual information.

Disorientation: Developments outside graphic design have changed the position of graphic designers. The relations to commisioners in different sectors, and the position of a single graphic designer in a team of other professions changed. The role, function and benefits of the activities of graphic designers are not clear and are not taken for granted. That is disconcerting and brings doubt.

Conclusion

The diagnosis of the graphic design profession is clear and reliable. All symptoms point to a fairly severe form of graphical dementia. Fortunately, in contrast to cognitive dementia, the symptoms of graphical dementia are reversible. Potent treatments, that have proven to be effective in other professions, can be applied.

Karel van der Waarde studied graphic design in the Netherlands (The Design Academy) and in the UK (Leicester and Reading). He received his doctorate in 1994 for a study that investigated the usability of information about medicines.

In 1995, he started a design - research consultancy in Belgium specializing in the testing of information design of pharmaceutical information. His company develops patient information leaflets, instructions, forms, packaging, and the information architecture for websites.

Avans University of Applied Sciences (Breda, The Netherlands) has appointed him as scholar in Visual Rhetoric in 2006. It is a research post to investigate the development and use of visual communication with a longer term aim to support the relations between practice, research and education.

Van der Waarde is a life-Fellow of the Communications Research Institute (Melbourne), a board member of IIID (Vienna) and editorial board member of Information Design Journal, Iridescent, the Poster and Visible Language.

http://www.visueleretorica.nl

Having come into art & design school in the late 1980s at the tail end of paste-ups, rubilith, and hand rendering, it is not surprising to see these processes viewed as quaint artifacts of another era. Still, it is unnerving to see many of today’s young designers truly removed from mechanical practices and completely dependent upon computer manipulation for almost all of their work. There are the practicalities of commercial workflow that dictate a required fluency in digital pre-press and design, however the danger is that hand processes become lost and along with them, deeper understanding of how design works. The residual terminology of earlier eras has digital designers discussing kerning, leading, points and picas, without truly knowing where these terms came from or what they really mean.
Despite having the inclination of a Luddite and truly enjoying hand-work, I could not avoid using the computer for creative work. During graduate school when my work was primarily created on Amiga and Macintosh computers, part of my method of financial support was hand-binding books using traditional techniques. Upon graduation, with few job prospects,
P22 type foundry came into being. P22 took historical lettering and created fonts, and 18 years later, is still exploring the rich past of type and lettering and creating fonts that acknowledge and embrace the past. Research that was done for P22 led to small print shops and even use of letterpress and hand-binding for product packaging and promotion.
The Western New York Book Arts Center (WNYBAC) was formed after considering the fate of many closing print shops and a simultaneous resurgence of interest in letterpress printing and the “handmade.” With consideration of museum preservation, education, hands-on access, community building, and how it might be funded, the project was finally
launched in 2008. Having seen a range of ‘book arts centers’ in other cities, the challenge was set forth on how to make an open-access print shop a viable venture.
For hundreds of years, every small town had its own print shop. Many are now gone, but others are extant yet dormant. The premise of using discarded commercial letterpress equipment to enhance educational and artistic practice in a community while preserving artifacts and history that would otherwise be forgotten was, and is, a big challenge. There are
many ways this can happen and much to consider. This presentation will relay the case study of the WNYBAC project. In addition to a presentation, a break out discussion on how communities anywhere can rally to assemble similar co-operative spaces will be accomodated.

Richard Kegler is the founder and lead designer at P22 type foundry which marks its 16th year of operation in 2010. Before his involvement in type design, Mr. Kegler was a bookbinder, designer, postgraduate (Masters degree in Media Study), artist seeking a respectable self-sustaining life as a hand-craftsman. Mr. Kegler has recently started a non-profit Book Arts Center in Buffalo NY and has returned to an active involvement in hand setting and printing metal and wood type as a concurrent career with digital font research at P22.

http://wnybookarts.org/

Miljenko Licul (1946-2009) was born in (then) Socialist Republic of Croatia, but spent most of his working life in Ljubljana (Slovenia), where he was active as a graphic designer and educator. His worldview was immensely influenced by childhood spent in cosmopolitan port of Pula, positioned at the southern tip of the Istrian peninsula. His early professional work was informed by studies at the Faculty of architecture in Ljubljana, and by his first employment at a very advanced electronic equipment manufacturer Iskra. Despite being under communist regime, Iskra’s designers were encouraged to travel to design conferences abroad and were well informed about developments in profession.

Licul belongs to so-called “second generation” of Slovenian designers, which became active in the early 70s, when Slovenia was still part of Tito’s Yugoslavia. He was instrumental in bringing fresh air into visual communications of Communist Party, which was at that time still going strong. In 1980s Licul and his colleagues established design studio Znak, which was soon well-known for projects in cultural, tourist and publishing sector. As a grand finale in 1990s came comprehensive projects on a national level: he designed the first Slovenian money (called tolar) and passport, driving license, personal ID card and many other documents. When tolar was replaced by euro in 2007, Licul designed national euro coins as well. All these projects mirror his views on Slovene identity and Slovenia’s place in the world, but also show his interest in geopolitical history, broad knowledge about Slovene heritage and history of art in general.

In the talk I will argue that designers such as Miljenko Licul should be clearly put on the map of world history of graphic design, not only because of the high quality of their output, but also because of the influence their work had on a broader population of a country.

Petra Cerne Oven is designer and writer with special interest in typography and information design.

Petra has worked as a consultant for a diverse range of clients. For her work she received a Typographic Excellence Award from the TDC (NY). In 2008 she won an invited tender for visual identity of “Ljubljana – World Book Capital 2010” and was recipient of “The most beautiful Slovene book” award in 2011. She has published in Eye, Typography Papers, baseline, 2+3D, emzin, Typomag, Hyphen, Delo, Oris, Ampak, and contributed articles to many other publications. She is the ATypI’s country delegate for Slovenia and the founding member of the Brumen Foundation (Ljubljana), a Slovene association aimed to promote visual communications. She is a member of Board of experts for Festival of Letters – a typographic event which is organised in Ljubljana since 2010.

In 2004, Petra was awarded PhD at the renowned Department of Typography & Graphic Communication at the University of Reading (UK), for her thesis “The development of special characters in Slavonic languages: with emphasis on the orthographic reforms in Slovenian and Croatian language”. After that she was working on a research project “The optimism of modernity” with Paul Stiff. As a part of the project she curated an exhibition and edited a book Edward Wright: readings, writings (2007). In 2008 she started to teach at the Academy of Fine Arts & Design in Ljubljana.

In 2009 she prepared the concept for a series of international lectures ‘Information Design 2009/2010’ which were organised in collaboration with Museum of Architecture and Design and Pekinpah Association. She was co-author of an exhibition “Service and information design: examples of good practice”. In 2011 she collaborated on extensive research project about Slovene designer Miljenko Licul, which culminated in exhibition at the National Gallery (Ljubljana) and was the editor of the book Miljenko Licul (2011).