Those were the

words spoken to me by the editorof this fine magazine when we first discussed
the content of this feature.These words stuck in my head and
shaped what you are now reading. They were
particularlypoignant because
the thrust
of my argument was
to be just that, letting the work
speak for itself or in other words, graphic
communication. The focus here however is not
just on communicating well but using wha we usually regard
as a tool being instead used as the entire idea. Yes, type is a tool and a component but it can also be the
end product, in fact not only the end product but the entire product the
idea, the execution, the meaning, the image. Typography is not only a written language but a
visual language, words can be seen and not necessarilyread and in this way can be used as form to echo content.
We have 26 letts in our alphabet, thats 26 individual characters and they are just thatcharacters, patters of behavior, personality- each with their own distinctive
nature. Add to that the plethora of typefaces and through design their personalities become more defined and perhaps also more
exaggerated - letters become shapes and forms as they shift toward illustration. Tyepfaces give us literally thousands of different graphic forms that we recognise as a single abstract
letter. To that end there are manymore than 26 letterforms
in the English language. Strung together letters become words,
words become sentences, sentences become paragraphs, paragraphs
become chapters and chapters become books. But words are so
much more than simply meaning and speech. A 1961 poster by Charles Piccirillo simply stated: abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz- your public library has
these arranged in ways that can make you cry, giggle, love, hate, wonder, ponder, and understand. This for me sums up not only
the power of the written word but also of each individual letter and
its contribution. I instinctly turn to words and letterforms when Im faced with a brief for a new logo or identity, for me
they are our most powerful tools of communication ,
long in exsistence. Then again however we
have the almost
imprenetrable
world of James Joyce whose tortuous
worsmithery in Finnegans
Wake makes
sense of words
which offer unexpected meanings thus opening up a
whole new world. But in order to
communicate directly we have to stick
to what is commonplace.I turn to the cliche. Many Baseline
readers will recoilon hearing that word, many designers spend most
of their careers avoiding the cliche but in the right hands whats directly in front of our
faces everyday can be used to great effect.After all,we are not in the
business of communication? Then what communicates better than
a widely recognised sign. Theres been
muchwritten and said about the London 2012 logo, mostly
unfavourable but this reviewer
for me has missed
the point completely
when he defends it by saying It contains none of the following:Big Ben, bulldogs,
crowns and assorted other royal paraphernalia, the Union Jack, cross of St. George ,
Pearly Kings and Queens,abstract figures doing vaguely
athletic things. For me it would have been
all the richer if it had. Letterforms contain meaning that has been
established for decades if not hundreds of years,they like the cliche,
communicate with an immediacy and so provide us with a very powerful way to
convey a message , the combination of the two can be a graphic gift. As Alan Fletcher
so brilliantly put itthe good designer can stroke a cliche until it purrs like a metaphor. Its the quality of thatmetaphor that sorts the
good designer from the not so good. Its how the cliche is crafted or stroked that will either reinforce that it is a common idea
that has indeed lost its originality , ingenuity and impact or it will instead become that metaphor with good design
reinforcing its message- it becomes original without the feared stereotype of overuse. The transference
of meaning carried out in a fresh and memorable way is what the designer strives for.The
Greek for bus is Metaphora, buses in Athens are called Metaphorai.
The word means I trasnfer just as meataphor means to
transfer a meaning.
Thatfor meis the very
nature of the design
process-I wait at a stop for a metaphor
to come along- I have
the idea, I know where I
want to go but until the metaphor arrives
i have no means
of getting there. Some days I
can wait a long time at my statis for
that metaphor.
Other days half a dozen come along at the same time.
The Haiti Poster Project Pentagram- Designers around
the world were approached to create limited edition posters in quantities of 25 to 100.
As well as raising much needed funds, the goal was to increase social awareness and
to highlight the role design can play in conveying important messages.
Oehler based his design on seismographs.
Just as Haiti was suddenly shaken by the tremors,
the word Haiti is also disrupted.

59

International Typographics Magazine

www.baselinemagazine.com
Books
Ian McLaren

ISSN 0954-9226
Let the work speak for itself
Teresa Monachino

Secret Assignment 2: Bernard Samson

Arnold Schwartzman OBE

Rosie Scott: Illustrator

Geoffrey Grandfield

Great Magazine
Kerry William Purcell

Seen but not heard of : Don Ervin, Graphic Designer

Steven Heller

Bite Snack Meal

Margret Re

Type class in Venice and Rome, Masters Workshop at the (SVA)

School of Visual Arts/New York
Lita Talarico and
Steven Heller

Printed in England
UK 13.00
US $18.95