![]() “When typography is part of the image and part of the expression, it made me understand that no communication is impartial,” says Brody. It also enhanced the power of type to persuade, and become a tool of manipulation-a key to creating a spread that informs in the way it intends to. That notion of type as image is something that elevated Brody’s publication design into new realms: suddenly the possibilities for creative expression through lettering were through the roof. ![]() So it was by challenging that, and realizing typography was also about image-making: that was the breakthrough for me.” It’s taught as such a strict rule-based profession-very elitist, monastic almost. ![]() “When I was at college I really hated it. That enfant terrible approach to lettering and layout might have been born of the fact that Brody “always hated typography,” as he tells me. Brody’s designs revolutionized the way magazines deal in letterforms, drawing on punk, Russian Constructivism, and general rule-breaking to reflect The Face’s broader aims of exploring youth culture with a wry edginess within the pages of a publication found on high-street news stands. Perhaps the magazine that’s most revered for its typographic originality and its vast influence on print design is The Face, under Neville Brody’s art directorship from 1981 to 1986. “There’s a wealth of typefaces you can buy off the shelf, but then anyone else could buy that same typeface. So why do these sort of publications come to them, rather than choosing from the vast array of existing typefaces there are in the world? “I think it’s really just a case of wanting to be a little bit more unique,” says Sawdust co-founder Rob Gonzalez. The studio specializes in bespoke typography and brand display typefaces, working for the likes of Wired, t he New York Times, Creative Review, and Esquire. It’s something that London-based design studio Sawdust is keenly aware of. But underpinning all of these-and often, the sly, unnoticed thing that sets a magazine apart from its contemporaries-is its typography.Īs all designers but less print consumers know, typographic choices can make or break a magazine’s aesthetic. And it’s made us wonder: what is it about certain magazines that really speak to us? How do they really feel new, exciting, readable, and bold when there’s so damn many of them? For some, it could be their niche (cats, for instance, as with Puss Puss or everyday object-based minutiae, like MacGuffin or mental health, as we explored earlier this month.) For many, they sell on the quality of their photographic or illustrated output and for many more, on the promise of sharp, inquisitive editorial approaches. Maybe it’s the fact the most BUY BUY BUY time of year is upon us, maybe it’s because we’ve just celebrated and pored over the winner’s of this year’s Stack awards, maybe it’s because we’re feverishly getting to grips with the first issue-proper of the Eye on Design magazine, but at the moment, there’s a helluva lotta print chat going on.
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