[Emily Potts] Last week we were inspired by three amazing artists: Henning Wagenbreth, Sophie Dutertre and Placid. In keeping with the French artist theme, I’m starting off this week’s Creative Chain with an illustrator I deeply admire and respect.
[Kim Rogala] As the Mohawk Show 12 entry deadline approaches (May 31st, so hurry and enter!) we wanted to direct your attention to the Show’s materials that were created by the team at Tether. We asked Stanley Hainsworth, founder and chief creative officer of Tether, to tell us a little about his thoughts behind the designs.
[Alyson Kuhn] Michael Boyd, designer of the PLANEfurniture line, collects modernist furniture, art, architecture and design books, and ephemera. Last year, he decided to create a line of modernist-inspired furniture that “makes you think, holds your body, eases your mind, and sits well within your budget.” That’s a quote from the jacket flap of PLANEfurniture: types + prototypes, designed by Mick Hodgson of Ph.D, A Design Office. I recently sat in some of the furniture and can confirm that it is quite user-friendly.
Beginning with digital software such as Adobe Illustrator, Treacy and Pigford reproduced the Emigre typeface Vista Sans, designed by Xavier Dupré. Once the computer process was complete, the two created physical letterforms using a Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) router. The video below shows the CNC router cutting the letter a out of a block of oak.
Because Treacy and Pigford chose to cut the letterforms from raw materials such as plywood and scrap wood, the resulting letterforms have quirks and imperfections similar to those found in old wood type.
Once finished, the 432-point wood letterforms were sent out to 20 international print designers who were asked to make a short run of experimental type prints using the paper and type provided. These artists blogged about their processes on the VSWTP blog, and have submitted their prints to be showcased at exhibitions across the country. Currently, the VSWTP is exhibiting at the College Book Art Association Conference in San Francisco, and Treacy and Pigford have promised to give us an update upon their return. [SJ]
