Gerry Leonidas

articles

Gerry Leonidas — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:54:35 +0000

A few things I've learned about typeface design | 2010
An introductory text aimed at designers beginning to work on typefaces, highlighting a number of areas to consider, published on I Love Typography in March 2010

In search of the digital Cresci: some thoughts on Don Knuth’s _Digital Typography_ | 2000
A response to Don Knuth's Digital Typography. Stanford, CA: CSLI Publications, 1999. ISBN 1–57586–010–4 (123 + xvi pp). First published in Information Design Journal 9 2&3, 2000, pp 111–118 →digital_cresci [footnotes in progress]

[article in Language / Culture / Type] | 2002
pending upload

Γραμματοσειρές και πολιτισμική ταυτότητα | 2000
Δημοσιεύτηκε στην ειδική έκδοση με τίτλο Ελληνική τυπογραφία του Marketing Week →hellenic_typography

snippets

In tipoGrafica no 70: fonts_and_languages | 2006

From a reply to an email with the question What makes a font, a_good_font in the general sense? | 2006

On greek_handwriting_models, from a reply on Typophile to a thread on Greek scripts | 2007

On the development_of_greek_typeforms, from a reply on Typophile to a thread about Garamond Premier Pro | 2005

On Greek character design standards, from a reply on Typophile to a thread on, well, Greek character design standards | 2005

interviews

Δύο απαντήσεις για την τριτοβάθμια εκπαίδευση στην γραφιστική στην Ελλάδα | 2010 → plusdesign2010

Ιnterview by Liza Enebeis and Donald Beekman during the Typecon conference in New York →Typeradio | 2005

Συνέντευξη στο “Ε” της Κυριακάτικης Ελευθεροτυπίας. Δημοσιεύτηκε λίγο πριν το πρώτο Διεθνές Συνέδριο Τυπογραφίας και Οπτικής Επικοινωνίας στη Θεσσαλονίκη (ICTVC) | 2002 →Epsilon

in progress

Handout at TypeCon 09 multilingual typography session | 2009

Notes on postgraduate education in typography

old tumbles

Atlanta award gerard_unger_gets_the_s_o_ta_award | 2009

Typical day: saturday_21_march_2009 | 2009

Gerry Christmas! it_ain_t_merry_if_it_ain_t_gerry | 2008

Post-St Petersburg note in_from_the_cold | 2008

Father's gifts, No 1 the_perfect_tool | 2008

Media scholarship: television_for_martians | 2008

Youthful injuries five_stitches | 2008

Forty! forty | 2008

I want one: supreme_gadget | 2008

First thoughts on home extensions: where_s_the_garage | 2008

Advice for air travellers: personal_hygiene_before_evacuation | 2008

New formats, old texts caught_in_the_fray | 2008

The interweb at work it_s_a_small_world | 2008

The Forgiveness Project no_word | 2008

St Bride / Reading Non-Latin typefaces: post_conference_fatigue |2007

Returning from Antiparos, as the inferno dies down: half_mast | 2007

Birthday bicycle boy 8_august | 2007

Beginner's resources in typeface design

Gerry Leonidas — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 16:07:16 +0000

books and monographs

William Addison Dwiggins, WAD to RR: a letter about designing type. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard College Library, 1940 | →PDF
Jost Hochuli, Detain in typography. London, Hyphen Press, 2008 | →Hyphen Press
Robin Kinross, Modern typography. 2nd ed. London, Hyphen Press, 2005 | →Hyphen Press
Gerritt Noordzij, The stroke: theory of writing of the pen. London, Hyphen Press, 2005 | →Hyphen Press
Fred Smeijers, Counterpunch: making type in the sixteenth century; designing typefaces now. London, Hyphen Press, 1996 | →Hyphen Press
Walter Tracy, Letters of credit: a view of type design. London, Gordon Fraser, 1986 | →Amazon
Michael Twyman, Printing 1770–1970. London, British Library, 1998 | →Amazon
Michael Twyman, The British Library guide to printing: history and techniques. London, British Library, 1998 | →Amazon

anthologies

Steven Heller & Philip B Meggs, (eds) Texts on type: critical writings on typography. New York, Alworth Press, 2001 | →Amazon
Rosemary Sassoon (ed.), Computers and typography. Oxford, Intellect, 1993 | →Amazon
— Computers and typography 2. Bristol, Intellect, 2002 | →Amazon

articles in magazines and journals

You should make it a point to locate out of print issues of Typography Papers, the journal edited by the Department of Typography (and now published by Hyphen Press), and aim to own any issues that are in stock. The level of writing and editing, as well as they object itself, is generally exemplary. See, for example, the 'type rich' issue 7.

In addition:

Sem L Hartz, ‘An approach to type designing.’ Penrose Annual, vol 52, 1958, pp 39–42 | Reprinted in: Sem L Hartz, Essays. Amsterdam, Serifpers, 1992
Kris Holmes, ‘Lucida: the first original typeface designed for laser printers.’ Baseline, no 6, 1985, pp 12–13 | issue is out of print →Baseline magazine
Ladislas Mandel, ‘Developing an awareness of typographic letterforms.’ Electronic Publishing, vol 6, no 1, 1993, pp 3–22 | available from →Nottingham U
Erich Schulz-Anker, ‘Syntax Antiqua, a sans-serif on a new basis.’ Gebrauchsgraphik, August 1970, pp 49–56
Richard Southall, ‘Shape and appearance in typeface design.’ ProText III proceedings, 1986 pp 75–86 (if you can't find it in your school library, we've got copies here; tricky to get hold of)

Visible Language has ocassionally relevant articles. One of the most important for typeface design was 19.1 (1985) with the title The computer and the hand in type design, which is still avaiable on the mag's site; order →here. That issue includes also:

Matthew Carter, ‘Galliard: a modern revival of the types of Robert Granjon.’ Visible Language, vol XIX, no 1, 1985, pp 77–97
Jack Stauffacher, ‘The Transylvanian Phoenix: the Kis-Janson types in the digital era.’ Visible Language, vol XIX, no 1, 1985, pp 61–76

Quarterly Eye occasionally publishes relevant articles. Most back issues are available →here. Some articles are available to read online, such as:

Emily King, ‘Digital type decade.’ Eye, vol 10, no 40, 2001, pp 40–47 | (full text, no images) →here

For others, you will need to obtain a hardcopy; e.g.:

Phil Baines, ‘Face lift: new cuts at the Times.’ Eye, vol 10, no 40, 2001, pp 52–59

Older issues are less easy to get hold of, bt may be locatd on eBay; they contain articles such as:

Robin Kinross, ‘The digital wave.’ Eye, vol 2, no 7, 1992, pp 26–39 | a reference text for a period of major experimentation

Eye has a ‘Typography Special’ issue every few numbers. The content in these issues is type-orientated, and therefore interesting. Eye is increasingly confident, and manages to be both British in its approach, and international in its scope and response. Regardless of the typography-special issues, you should consider subscribing.

fora and blogs

(Yes, there's lots; these are worthier of your attention:)

Typefoundry: by James Mosley

Probably the only online resource where every article is of the same, superb, level of scholarship.

Type Culture: by Mark Jamra

Includes a lot of student work. There is a range: try to filter by your reading list.

Typotheque/articles: by Peter Bil'ak and Johanna Bil'ak-Balusíková

Several relevant articles. The site has now far too many entries for its structure (authors, titles, etc.), and it is difficult to separate those with broader impact from the lighter ones. Also, no indication of sequence: which are introductory, which are more substantial?

Typblography: by the Adobe Type Team

More technically focused, but offered insights into the design process as well. Used to be Thomas Phinney's blog (now at Phinney on Fonts) but is now a joint effort.

I love typography: by John Boardley

Like Typotheque, iLT is beginning to grow too big for its blog format, and the repository of articles / interviews etc. will need some filtering for effective access.

Gerry Leonidas — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 14:29:20 +0000

ΘΑ: Ποια είναι η εικόνα που έχετε για το συνολικό επίπεδο της ελληνικής επαγγελματικής εκπαίδευσης πάνω στο γραφιστικό σχεδιασμό και ποια είναι η σχέση του με το αντίστοιχο επίπεδο στην αγγλική πανεπιστημιακή εκπαίδευση;

ΓΛ: Η εικόνα που έχω για την επαγγελματική εκπαίδευση στο χώρο μας στην Ελλαδα ειναι δειγματολειπτικη και εξ αποστάσεως, συνεπως ελλειπής και αναξιόπιστη. Στο βαθμό που ενδιαφέρει, φαίνεται οτι σε γενικές γραμμές προσανατολίζεται στην κατάρτιση, δηλαδή το χτίσιμο δεξιοτήτων για επαγγελματίες, παρά την εκπαίδευση, δηλαδή την ανάπτυξη μιας ευρύτερης αντίληψης για το χώρο της τυπογραφίας και τη αναμιξη με την έρευνα στο χώρο. Με άλλα λόγια ο σχεδιασμός δεν πρέπει να περιορίζεται στην επίλυση ενός συγκεκριμένου προβλήματος (o σχεδιαστής ως problem-solver) αλλά να επεκτείνεται στην αλληλεπίδραση με το πολιτισμικό πλαίσιο (ο σχεδιαστής ως cultural commentator), και την καινοτομία στο χώρο (o σχεδιαστής ως innovator). Αυτή η εξάπλωση της αντίληψης του επαγγελματία ως παράγοντα που συμμετέχει και πιθανά συνεισφέρει στο γνωστικό χώρο είναι μια εξέλιξη που δε μπορεί να κινητοποιηθεί μέσα από την αγορά εργασίας, παρά από τις διάφορες σχολές. (Η σύγκριση με την αρχιτεκτονική ως χώρο έρευνας, εκπαίδευσης, και επαγελματικής δραστηριοποίησης προσφέρει το πιο πρόσφορο παράδειγμα.)

ΘΑ: Γιατί μέχρι σήμερα η δημόσια εκπαίδευση στη γραφιστική, έτσι όπως ασκείται στο ΤΕΙ της Αθήνας, δεν ΄χει καταφέρει να αποκτήσει εκτόπισμα στην ελληνική αγορά και να αντιμετωπίσει την πρωτοκαθεδρία των ιδιωτικών σχολών; Είναι μόνο ζήτημα χρημάτων; Είναι ζήτημα προσωπικοτήτων- διδασκόντων; Ή έχει να κάνει με τη γενικότερη κακοδαιμονία της εκπαίδευσης στην Ελλάδα;

ΓΛ: Δυστυχώς δεν μου έχει δοθεί η ευκαιρία να γνωρίσω το πρόγραμμα των ΤΕΙ απο κοντά, οπότε δε μπορώ να εκφέρω γνώμη. Υπάρχουν όμως κάποιες παράμετροι που ισύχουν γενικότερα, που διαφοροποιούν τη δημόσια από την ιδιωτική εκπαίδευση στο χώρο. Πρώτα από όλα η συνέχεια και η μακροπρόθεσμη προοπτική: ένα δημόσιο πρόγραμμα μπορεί να ενσωματώσει πηγές και εμπειρία ετών, θέτοντας στόχους για την ευρύτερη διαμόρφωση του χώρου (για παράδειγμα την παραγωγή ερευνητών και διδασκόντων της επόμενης γενιάς). Δεύτερον, η επένδυση σε υλικοτεχνική υποδομή (π.χ. εκτυπωτικές μηχανές) και αρχειακό υλικό (π.χ. συλλογές εντύπων και αντικειμένων) που συνεισφέρουν όχι μόνο στην βαθύτερη κατανόηση του αντικειμένου, αλλά και στην ενθάρρυνση της έρευνας στο χώρο, και της αναβάθμισης του γνωστικού χώρου στην ευρύτερη κοινωνία. Τρίτο, η υποστήριξη διδασκόντων με μεγάλο βαθμό απασχόλησης με στόχο την καλλιέργεια αρίστων τεχνικών διδασκαλίας, αλλά και την παραγωγή ερευνητικού έργου. Με άλλα λόγια, η διεθνής εμπειρία δείχνει ότι ενώ τα ιδιωτικά ιδρύματα προσανατολίζονται στην άμεση εξυπηρέτηση της αγοράς, τα δημόσια ιδρύματα έχουν τη δυνατότητα να παράγουν γνώση, και να αναπτύξουν τον γνωστικό πεδίο στο οποίο στηρίζεται η επαγγελματική δραστηριότητα. Τέλος, υπάρχει και ένας ουσιαστικός κίνδυνος από τον οποία νομίζω ότι υποφέρουν τα ΤΕΙ: ενώ το Κράτος πρέπει να χρηματοδοτεί τις σχολές, πέραν τούτου πρέπει απλά να εμπιστεύεται τους ερευνητές και διδάσκοντες να σχηματίσουν οι ίδιοι τα προγράμματα σπουδών με ευελιξία και με ευαισθησία στην εξέλιξη του χώρου, χωρίς άλλη ανάμιξη.

design and process

Gerry Leonidas — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 14:20:49 +0000

This listing is by no means exhaustive, and is limited by the time I have to review and upload files; so it's bound to grow over time. Depending on the subject, some dissertations stand perfectly on their own; others are more meaningful in the context of specific projects.

I am giving priority to texts that I think new students will benefit most from having access to.

Tim Ahrens: Size-specific adjustments to type designs (2007)
Published by Mark Batty Publisher (book page)

Eduardo Berliner: Problems relating to the translation of a drawn letterform to a digital typeface (2003)

Jose Scaglione: Test procedures: Problems related to the use of laser printers for typeface design (2005)
(Large file ~ 25MB)

Malou Verlomme: Technological shifts in type design and production (2005)

context and history

Veronika Burian Oldrich Menhart: calligrapher, type designer, and craftsman (2003)

Wolfgang Homola Type design in the age of the machine: the ‘Breite Grotesk’ by J. G. Schelter & Giesecke (2004)

Mitja Miklavčič Neo-grotesque sans serifs of the 1950s and 1960s (2006)

Dan Rhatigan Three typefaces for mathematics (on TypeCulture) (2007)

Alice Savoie French type foundries in the twentieth century (2007)

Juliet Shen Searching for Morris Fuller Benton (on TypeCulture) (2006)

Sandra Winter Anna Simons: scribe, lettering artist, and teacher (2006)

world script matters

Jo De Baerdemaeker (forthcoming)

David Březina (forthcoming)

Victor Gaultney Problems of diacritic design for Latin script text faces (2002)

Patrick Giasson (should be online already…)

Tom Grace: Considerations for the design of foreign-script typefaces (2003)

Fernando Mello: Evolution of Tamil type design (2007)

Titus Nemeth: The current state of Arabic newspaper type and typography (2006)

Emma Williams: A study of the development of the Gurmukhi script (2008)

Gerry Leonidas — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 13:58:22 +0000

Senior Lecturer in Typography at the University of Reading

* Programme Director and main busybody of the MA Typeface Design

Knows a few things about typography in general, and Greek typography in particular

A proper cv is here

Current print subscriptions, for whatever that may imply: Baseline, Economist, Eye, Fray, the Guardian, IDJ, Prospect, SEED, Sight & Sound, Slanted, Uppercase

Gerry Leonidas — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 13:56:09 +0000

Greek typography

texts

library

about

Gerard Unger gets the S[o]TA award

Gerry Leonidas — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 13:53:19 +0000

Yesterday evening Gerard Unger was deservedly awarded the S[o]TA Award, and joins an illustrious group of previous recipients (here's one pic; surely there will be more soon). I had the pleasure of following John Downer and Juliet Shen with a few words. He later asked me if I'd written it down, and I responded that I only had headings noted:

Not possible to read, so here's an exact transcription, in anticipation of a fleshed-out text:

– Why?

– Excellence in design practice

Longevity (40)
Identity
Integrity – work founded on deep engagement
Establishment of a genre [even in Dutch environment
Contribution to our innate sense of “rightness”

– Teaching

Rietveld, Rdg, Leiden
immersion in st[u]d[ent] processes
openness
sharing
absence of ego

– Writing

engaging with discourse
strong inv[olvement] w[ith] how we read
defining the field [of typeface design]
leaving texts for reflect[ion]

I realize these notes don't make much sense, but they give the outline of my thoughts yesterday. I'll replace them with something more concrete soon.

gerardunger, typecon, typefacedesign

Saturday 21 March 2009

Gerry Leonidas — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 13:52:21 +0000

Where did my day go?

family

Supreme gadget

Gerry Leonidas — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 13:50:57 +0000

If looks could determine the success of an invention, then this straight-out-of-Jules-Verne sonofusion machine (nucler fusion triggered with sound wave pressure) must be a sure winner!

The National Academy of Engineering hosts a project inviting scientists and thinkers to propose the ”Grand challenges for engineering” in the 21st century. There's some interesting choices, including both the obvious and the ones that become so once you understand their implications (I wouldn't have guessed “controlling the nitrogen cycle” in a million years). There are some good comments (is nanotechnology a field in itself or a subset of electronics?), and the list of personalities involved is a good entry point to few hours of catching up.

First picked up on TierneyLab in NYT.

science, media